# iFi Zen DAC or Fiio K5Pro?



## armdias

I want to buy a DAC/headphone amp and I'm currently undecided between these two models.

From the reviews iFi Zen DAC seem to have a somewhat "better" sound, but the K5Pro, while no slouch, is less "fun" but very versatile.

I'm planning to use the DAC/Amp to drive an AKG K240, a K702/712 (these 2 headphones are not very easy to drive properly, from what I read) and in the future a Sennheiser 600 or 650.

What would you recommend and do you think would be a better match?

Also, I will not be getting the power suply for the iFi, don't know if this will make any difference the iFI being only USB powered...

Thanks!


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## mnemonix (Aug 2, 2020)

The K5 pro measures better: less distortion, better signal to noise and has much more power to drive your listed headphones.

You are confusing the issue with your subjective use of terms like "better" and "fun" _without saying what you think they mean._

Subjectively, some people may feel the Zen DAC is more "fun". This simply means it colours the sound by introducing more harmonic distortion or providing a less than flat frequency response dependent on the load. In the case of the Zen DAC people perceive this colouration as a "warmer" sound. From a strictly technical standpoint this is a flaw, but you may prefer it or you may not.

If you want a DAC/amp that simply converts the digital signal and amplifies it in a relatively neutral way suitable for the impedance and sensitivity of  your listed headphones so they perform as per their best specification, get the K5 pro or other equal or better measuring amp.

People tend to forget, as they spend their money on expensive cables with marginal effect, or amplifiers with built in colouration, that it is far easier and no less correct to simply adjust an equaliser or tone control to alter the sound to taste.


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## M-83 (Dec 14, 2020)

I have the K5 Pro, and am considering selling and getting an ifi Zen Dac for the exact reasons stated in this thread.

@armdias you raised some great points/questions and @mnemonix your explanation is spot on

Thanks to you both.  I think I shall end up with the ifi Zen Dac, possibly with a Garage1217 Polaris.

I have Denon AH-D2000 arriving tomorrow, and may sell on my Philips Fidelio X2HR too if I like the D2000.


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## Julius Decimus (Dec 14, 2020)

armdias said:


> I'm planning to use the DAC/Amp to drive an AKG K240, a K702/712 (these 2 headphones are not very easy to drive properly, from what I read) and in the future a Sennheiser 600 or 650.


Do you use EQ ? For a good Equalizer you need to volume down the sound. If you use EQ, resampling and effects in general, consider the Fiio K5Pro.

If you do not use EQ and effects, go with the Zen Dac.
My main headphones are AKG712, 280mW per 32ohms is not enough if you use EQ and lower the volume. No EQ and "bit perfect" might be enough though. The BurrBrown Dac in the Zen sounds better than the one in the Fiio however. So from this point of view, if you play your music bit perfect to the dac, get the Zen dac, otherwise go with the Fiio for the more power.
HD650 are much more easier to drive than K712, so dont worry about them. If the power is enough for the 712, will be plenty for the Sennheisers.

Edit
Oh my, its an old topic. Anyway, i will leave the comment, might be helpful for someone.


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## M-83

Julius Decimus said:


> Do you use EQ ? For a good Equalizer you need to volume down the sound. If you use EQ, resampling and effects in general, consider the Fiio K5Pro.
> 
> If you do not use EQ and effects, go with the Zen Dac.
> My main headphones are AKG712, 280mW per 32ohms is not enough if you use EQ and lower the volume. No EQ and "bit perfect" might be enough though. The BurrBrown Dac in the Zen sounds better than the one in the Fiio however. So from this point of view, if you play your music bit perfect to the dac, get the Zen dac, otherwise go with the Fiio for the more power.
> ...


Thanks for your post.  I too realised retrospectively that it's an old thread lol

Interesting that you say about EQ.  I don't EQ at all, and use Amazon HD.  The only tying that puts me off the ifi Zen, is the huge cost for the ac adapter at half the price of the dac itself!


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## iFi audio

M-83 said:


> getting an ifi Zen Dac for the exact reasons stated in this thread.



Once (and if) you get one, please let us know how you like it


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## M-83 (Dec 14, 2020)

iFi audio said:


> Once (and if) you get one, please let us know how you like it



Will do. I'm on the fence. I'm not sure it will be powerful enough to drive my Denon ah-d2000 with enough dynamic headroom. Also bothers me to read that it ships without mains power adapter that costs almost half the price of the DAC.

If you can convince me the Zen is the better purchase then I'll go for it.

The Fiio K5 Pro is powerful and is well built and is cheaper than the Zen Dac when taking psu into account.

I'll sleep on it. Bed time here in the UK! 😂


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## iFi audio

M-83 said:


> Will do. I'm on the fence. I'm not sure it will be powerful enough to drive my Denon ah-d2000 with enough dynamic headroom. Also bothers me to read that it ships without mains power adapter that costs almost half the price of the DAC.
> 
> If you can convince me the Zen is the better purchase then I'll go for it.
> 
> ...



Please have a look at this headphone calc we have: https://ifi-audio.com/home/headphone-calculator/

ZEN DAC's balanced headphone out should handle these Denons rather well. Our iPower isn't mandatory and can be had later on


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## M-83

iFi audio said:


> Please have a look at this headphone calc we have: https://ifi-audio.com/home/headphone-calculator/
> 
> ZEN DAC's balanced headphone out should handle these Denons rather well. Our iPower isn't mandatory and can be had later on



Thanks I'll take a look.

I don't have a balanced cable on the Denon's it's just stock single ended cable.


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## M-83

iFi audio said:


> Please have a look at this headphone calc we have: https://ifi-audio.com/home/headphone-calculator/
> 
> ZEN DAC's balanced headphone out should handle these Denons rather well. Our iPower isn't mandatory and can be had later on


Is there a cheaper 3rd party alternative to the iPower that you can recommend?


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## M-83

iFi audio said:


> Please have a look at this headphone calc we have: https://ifi-audio.com/home/headphone-calculator/
> 
> ZEN DAC's balanced headphone out should handle these Denons rather well. Our iPower isn't mandatory and can be had later on


Well I returned my Fiio K5 Pro today...and I'm without a dac & amp. I'm still undecided on whether to get the ifi Zen or not.


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## Julius Decimus (Dec 15, 2020)

M-83 said:


> Interesting that you say about EQ.


Good day.

Yes, yes, yes. For a lets say 3db bass boost, you need to volume down with 3db the whole signal. To avoid clipping. May not matter on old recordings from the 70 to mid 80s, but on new ones yes.

Take a look here if interested in EQ: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...ost-ideal-sound-for-non-professionals.796791/

https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/audio-clipping-and-creative-uses-of-limiting.html

For example. Many similar topics can be found.



M-83 said:


> I'm on the fence.


Sorry that i cant help with advice. I just saw the topic active and wrote the comment. I dont have Zen Dac, but from what i read for your headphones, they are 25 ohms, Zen dac should be OK for them. Especially when you do not use EQ. You can look at reviews and then decide probably. Look at youtube as well, Currawong has a good review of the Zen Dac. Search for others as well.

Generally most improvement in the sound come from the headphones. Then the amplifier, then its the Dac. So.....if you are happy with your headphones, you can take the dac without power supply and then later add separate amplifier to it (since you dont have any dac if i understood correctly). Even after years. For no EQ, i think this has enough power. Consider also what music you are lisening to, is it new or old one from 70-80s. On new recordings they just make them very loud these days. Sorry again for not being too helpful.

That is if you want the Zen Dac, if something else in mind as well, compare them and then decide.


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## M-83

Julius Decimus said:


> Good day.
> 
> Yes, yes, yes. For a lets say 3db bass boost, you need to volume down with 3db the whole signal. To avoid clipping. May not matter on old recordings from the 70 to mid 80s, but on new ones yes.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your message and link to EQ info.  I'll take a look though I am not sure I'll get involved with EQ.

I've ordered the ifi Zen Dac & it arrives Thursday/Friday.  I'll use it with USB power to start with and maybe buy a cheap 5V 2A-3A main adapter from Amazon UK/eBay.

I intend to buy a Garage1217 Project Polaris asap so I'm not too concerned with the power from the Zen Dac in the short term.

I listen to a lot of EDM, film sound tracks, dance music, some calm classical, 80s, 90s.  Varied taste really.

I am very happy with the Denon D2000s already.


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## M-83

iFi audio said:


> Please have a look at this headphone calc we have: https://ifi-audio.com/home/headphone-calculator/
> 
> ZEN DAC's balanced headphone out should handle these Denons rather well. Our iPower isn't mandatory and can be had later on


ifi Zen Dac ordered.  Will let you know how I get on.

Thanks.


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## Julius Decimus

M-83 said:


> I've ordered the ifi Zen Dac & it arrives Thursday/Friday. I'll use it with USB power to start with and maybe buy a cheap 5V 2A-3A main adapter from Amazon UK/eBay.
> 
> I intend to buy a Garage1217 Project Polaris asap so I'm not too concerned with the power from the Zen Dac in the short term.


That is great. Happy listening.


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## Sebastien Chiu

M-83 said:


> ifi Zen Dac ordered.  Will let you know how I get on.
> 
> Thanks.



Awesome to hear! Feel free to keep us posted here on your impressions and happy listening!


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## iFi audio

M-83 said:


> Is there a cheaper 3rd party alternative to the iPower that you can recommend?



I don't know products other than our own, so can't help you with that 



M-83 said:


> ifi Zen Dac ordered. Will let you know how I get on.


Great, please do once you have it


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## M-83 (Dec 17, 2020)

Sebastien Chiu said:


> Awesome to hear! Feel free to keep us posted here on your impressions and happy listening!


Hi Sebastian,

I have received my ifi Zen Dac and am enjoying a glass of wine and a listen. I must say, I'm very impressed. It sounds great, and is much more suited to the Denon D2K I think.

I much prefer it to the Fiio K5 Pro in every way.  I have "Power match" setting on. Although it has modest power output in single ended connection compared to the Fiio, it is still very impressive. I'm currently powering it on 5v USB from my laptop. It's surprisingly portable to take from one room to another and use it with a different device.

Personally, I much prefer the ifi over the Fiio in all respects. I think for £129 GBP, the Zen Dac is amazing value. I can certainly recommend it.

I will be pairing it with a Project Polaris in my home office, but if I want to listen downstairs then I'll just bring it with me.

Thanks for your input.


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## iFi audio

M-83 said:


> Personally, I much prefer the ifi over the Fiio in all respects. I think for £129 GBP, the Zen Dac is amazing value. I can certainly recommend it.



Thanks for your feedback and enjoy!


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## M-83

iFi audio said:


> Thanks for your feedback and enjoy!


No worries.  Will do thanks!


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## Sebastien Chiu

M-83 said:


> Hi Sebastian,
> 
> I have received my ifi Zen Dac and am enjoying a glass of wine and a listen. I must say, I'm very impressed. It sounds great, and is much more suited to the Denon D2K I think.
> 
> ...



Thanks so much for the feedback, glad you're having a wonderful value-driven time! Happy listening


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## Maverick255

Hi! 
I have fiio k5 pro and i'm considering to buy ifi zen dac. 

I will use it for Grado Sr60 and DT990 250ohm.

For dt990 i think i need more power and my laptop has usb 3.0 but it's not working correctly so i will need to plug in usb 2.0. 

Does it could be powered by 2A 5V usb power supply (i had this from my old smartphone) via this cable? Is it have DC in 5.5mm 2.1 plug?


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## Brava210

I have both fiio k5 and ifi zen.
They sound very similar.
The K5 drives my DT770s a lot better than the fiio does.
But they are both great amps.


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## M-83

Brava210 said:


> I have both fiio k5 and ifi zen.
> They sound very similar.
> The K5 drives my DT770s a lot better than the fiio does.
> But they are both great amps.


Wow I had both and thought the Zen Dac was warmer and lusher though less precise than the K5 Pro.

I returned my K5 Pro as it was too dry for my liking.

I much preferred the Zen Dac but it died on me 2 weeks after I got it.

I now have a Schiit Modi 3 which is somewhere between the Zen Dac and K5 Pro.


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## iFi audio

M-83 said:


> I much preferred the Zen Dac but it died on me 2 weeks after I got it.



Ouch, I'm sorry to hear that. Thanks for giving it a try, though!


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## X1787X

armdias said:


> I want to buy a DAC/headphone amp and I'm currently undecided between these two models.
> 
> From the reviews iFi Zen DAC seem to have a somewhat "better" sound, but the K5Pro, while no slouch, is less "fun" but very versatile.
> 
> ...


Amir from audiosciencereview preferred the K5 Pro, so naturally as a user of Head-Fi you have to buy Zen Dac instead. 



Just kidding, that is a joke about the old beef between Amir M and Jude about Schiit.



As a Zen Dac user I am pretty satisfied. You definitely can't go wrong with it, and the build is much better than the K5 Pro. It also has balanced 4.4 pentaconn output


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## X1787X

iFi audio said:


> Ouch, I'm sorry to hear that. Thanks for giving it a try, though!


Can you guys please stop making silent little revisions? If I bought my ifi zen dac a month later I would be able to use the 7.3 instead of 5.3 firmware


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## M-83

X1787X said:


> Amir from audiosciencereview preferred the K5 Pro, so naturally as a user of Head-Fi you have to buy Zen Dac instead.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Lol yeah of course - though I also frequent ASR as well as Head-fi   

I loved the Zen Dac sound vs the K5 Pro.  Frankly, measurements are not the be-all and end-all of the audio world, regardless of what Amir and many others suggest.

I sold my Schiit Modi 3 and picked up a Modi Multibit - which is hands down the best budget dac I've come across.  It will embarrass £500+ dacs.  But, it does not measure "well".  But who cares?  It sounds so good.

I also run a Project Ember now, which is a fantastic amp.  Outputting over 2.0W at 50ohms.

I need power because I now have Argon Mk2 (planar 50 ohm) having traded in Denon  D2000 (biodyna 24 ohm).

I'm considering options for a more a sensibly priced powerful portable integrated dac/amp for use elsewhere in my house and would be willing to give Zen Dac another go, but I'm not sure if it has the guts to do Argon justice.


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## X1787X

M-83 said:


> Lol yeah of course - though I also frequent ASR as well as Head-fi
> 
> I loved the Zen Dac sound vs the K5 Pro.  Frankly, measurements are not the be-all and end-all of the audio world, regardless of what Amir and many others suggest.
> 
> ...


I think they can just about drive the argons if you plug in the 5V power supply


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## iFi audio

X1787X said:


> As a Zen Dac user I am pretty satisfied. You definitely can't go wrong with it, and the build is much better than the K5 Pro. It also has balanced 4.4 pentaconn output



Thanks and enjoy!


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