Audiophiles and music enthusiasts looking for clean power for their headphones will be thrilled with the iFi audio ZEN CAN Signature, a premium Desk-Fi headphone amplifier that's designed for IEMs and headphones with audiophile-grade components for superior sound.

The ZEN CAN Signature utilizes premium components throughout to ensure high quality sound. The unit offers four gain settings, allowing you to drive most headphones and in-ear monitors. Input connections include a balanced 4.4mm line input, as well as unbalanced 3.5mm and stereo RCA line inputs. For outputs, the ZEN CAN Signature includes a 4.4mm balanced and a 1/4" single-ended headphone output, as well as a balanced 4.4mm line output for connecting to additional equipment such as the ZEN DAC Signature V2 (sold separately). The ZEN CAN Signature also includes XBass, an analog bass boost, and XSpace, an analog headphone spatializer.

For Audiophile IEM and Headphones    Enhanced Circuitry    Premium Components    Signature Sound    Inputs: 4.4mm Balanced, 1/4", Stereo RCA    1/4" SE + 4.4mm Bal Headphone Outputs    Balanced 4.4mm Line Output    Analog Volume Control + Power Match    XBass Switchable Analog Bass Boost    XSpace Headphone Spatializer

• The ZEN CAN Signature is an all-analog headphone amplifier that excels at driving demanding headphone loads with its balanced circuit design, extremely low distortion, and exceptional sonics. It features enhanced circuitry and audiophile-grade components.
• The balanced, symmetrical dual-mono circuitry can deliver 1890mW (11.0V) into 64-ohm loads and offer over 15V to loads of 600 ohms or higher, all through its balanced output.

• Laptops and smartphones typically have a low power output of less than 1.0V. With a quality pair of headphones, you often find yourself running out of power, never truly experiencing their full potential.
• Connect your laptop, phone, or DAC to the ZEN CAN Signature, and plug in your headphones. Delivering 50 times more power, you’ll finally hear what you’ve been missing.
• The ZEN CAN Signature offers more than just power; it also delivers warm and exceptional sound quality. This is thanks to its Class-A balanced discrete circuitry, inherited from the flagship Pro iCAN headphone amplifier.

• The ZEN CAN Signature offers a range of input options, including stereo RCA, 3.5mm single-ended, and 4.4mm balanced inputs, making it versatile enough to connect with your laptops, phones, or DACs.
• For output, it provides a 4.4mm balanced option for headphones that support balanced connections. It also features a 6.3mm jack for headphones with standard single-ended connectors. If you’re using earphones with a 3.5mm plug, a 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter is included.
• The unit also includes an analog balanced output on the back panel, ideal for connecting active speakers via a 4.4mm to XLR adapter. As the ZEN CAN Signature is fully balanced and dual-mono circuit design, this is the recommended output option.

• The ZEN CAN Signature offers multiple customization options to suit a wide range of headphones.
• Starting with PowerMatch, the unit provides four gain settings in six dB steps: 0, 6, 12, and 18 dB. This feature ensures compatibility from supersensitive IEMs to power-hungry headphones. We recommend starting at 0 dB and then gradually adjusting the switchable gain level to find your optimal volume for both enjoyment and comfort.
• It also features two analog processing modes, XSpace and XBass, designed to enhance the soundstage, and low-frequency response of your headphones. XBass tackles a common problem, particularly with open-back headphones: the loss of bass frequencies.

The ZEN CAN Signature employs a military-spec PCB to enhance signal integrity. It also incorporates audiophile-grade components, such as:

• ELNA Silmic II and OS-CON capacitors offer excellent noise reduction capabilities and frequency characteristics.
• iFi/AMR OV (Operationsverstärker) series op-amps provide low noise and distortion, delivering performance that equals or surpasses many high-end headphone amplifiers.

Unlike other headphone amplifiers that come with standard power supplies like those for notebooks, the ZEN CAN Signature includes the iFi iPower2 power supply. This features Active Noise Cancellation II to eliminate all incoming EMI and RFI noise, ensuring a clean and clear audio experience. The iPower2 is already exceptional, being more than 10 times quieter than standard power supplies. For those looking to further enhance their setup, consider the DC iPurifier2, which can further reduce system interference, as well as the iPowerX power supply.

Balanced Audio Circuit

• A fully discrete and balanced amplifier audio circuit.
• Full symmetric dual-mono headphone amplifier with gold-plated 4.4mm balanced connection.
• Premium engineering is more expensive but lowers the noise floor to a whisper-quiet levels.

OV Series Op-Amp

• iFi audio incorporated a custom OV Series operational-amplifier.
• This top-notch component contributes to the extremely low noise, low distortion (0.0001%), and wide bandwidth.

TOCOS Multitrack Potentiometer

• A Tokyo Cosmos Electric Co. (TOCOS) multitrack potentiometer is used. This has close channel-matching tolerance for optimal performance (always use above 11 o’clock).

MOSFET

• Switching between settings has been engineered to ensure sonic transparency with advanced trench technology MOSFET is used as a muting switch.
• This FET-based switching is handled by a microcontroller, which only wakes up when the user changes a setting, thus eradicating any sonically deleterious interference.

TDK Capacitors

• TDK C0G (Class 1 ceramic) capacitors offer high stability and low losses for resonant circuit applications.
• Getting ever closer to the theoretical ideal of pure, frequency-constant capacitance, these capacitors reduce capacitor-induced distortion to vanishingly low levels.

Panasonic OS-CON

• Panasonic OS-CON caps totaling 5410 uF give very low Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), and excellent noise reduction capability and frequency response characteristics. In addition, OS-CONs have a long lifespan, and its ESR changes little even at low temperatures, since the electrolyte is solid.

ELNA Japan Silmic II Capacitors

• iFi Audio uses ELNA Japan Silmic II capacitors for the power supplies.
• The primary constituent of the newly developed dielectric is silk fiber.
• This material was believed to be as unfathomable as an aluminum electrolytic capacitor.
• The new material beats silk fiber and mixes it with Manila hemp fiber to provide the dielectric to an aluminum electrolytic capacitor used for high-grade music.
• The result is second-to-none superior acoustic properties and excellent linearity.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Will this work with old record players that need pre-amps to operate?

A: No the Antelope Zen Go Synergy Core Desktop 4x8 USB Type-C Audio Interface BH #ANZGSC is UB audio interface and does not have a phono preamp built in.

Q: 2. Will the mono switch help detect if one of the stereo channels is out of phase? In other words, if the left channel is 180 degrees out of phase from the right, this can be difficult to detect with headphones, but if the channels are summed to mono, the cancellation should be audible in each ear. Is this the case with this mono switch?

A: THE ONLY THING THAT IS EFFECTED IS THE LOW FREQ. SIGNALS. ONE IN THE RT. EAR & ONE IN THE LEFT. TELLING THE DIFF. IS HARD ENOUGH WHEN THE SOUND IS COMING FROM SPEAKERS. MAKE SURE OF THE SOURCES ARE CORRECT BEFORE YOU START. AS MY DAD ALWAYS TOLD ME WAS KISSKEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID WITH LOVE DR PETE

Q: 3. Does this work over seas

A: The included 12 VDC supply is 120 VAC 60 Hz only. It is not compatible with most electrical systems outside North America.

Q: 4. Approximately how much power willl this provide to my Beyerdynamic Dt 1990 pro 250 ohm headphones in watts and milliwatts? Is the interface enough power alone with out an after market headphone amp?

A: I contacted technical support at Antelope directly and while they do not have a specification for the power of the headphone output on the Zen Q Synergy Core Desktop 14x10 Thunderbolt 3 Audio Interface, they did tell me that they had previously tested this interface with different 250 ohm headphones and felt that the volume level was sufficient for general monitoring purposes. However, what each person considers sufficient volume is subjective and what works for one person may not work well for another person. If you will want to have high volume or very strong bass, then you will most likely want to use a separate headphone amp with the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro headphones.

Q: 5. Can this interface do the same processing internally like a DBX 286s does for compressor, de-esser, gating, etc?

A: Yes but it does not work the same way as a dbx 286s. The Zen Go Synergy Core Desktop 4x8 USB Type-C Audio Interface uses software and digital signal processing to achieve those functions and is made primarily for recording applications. The dbx 286s does not and is used primarily for live sound applications.

Q: 6. If your running a mono left and mono right output to the left and right inputs in the headphone amp, why in the world would I need to use TRS cables instead of regular 1/4 TS cables? I almost bought this until I saw the requirement of TRS cables. I've got plenty on hand but this doesn't make any sense to me. Even my mixer monitor outputs are regualar 1/4 left and right.

A: Check out Rane Note 110 - Sound System Interconnection from ranedotcomMike Rivers Article - Balanced and Unbalanced Connections from presonusdotcom (html and links not allowed in replies)Can be confusing, but worth understanding. Cheers...

Q: 7. Please explain the mono switch. What I'm looking for his a device that will mix the stereo channels into mono and deliver the mono signal to both headphones channels. Can this unit do that?

A: The stereo/mono switch sums the stereo input to mono. In this mode all headsets connected will be fed a mono signal. (Same signal to both left and right).

Q: 8. Does the Zen Go work with iOS devices?

A: No this is for Mac or PCs with a USB-C connection.

Q: 9. Is The Zen Go compatible with iOS devices?

A: No, the Zen Go Synergy Core is not compatible with iOS devices. It is designed for use with Mac and Windows computers. However, its core functionalities can be used without a computer and it can be powered by a USB charger or power bank (the same type that you would use to charge a mobile phone or tablet).

Q: 10. What does Discrete ultra-linear preamps mean or do can this cancel out background noise pick up?

A: "Discrete" means that the preamps are made up of individually crafted components, and "linear" means that they amplify the signal at a fixed ratio. Neither of these terms entail any type of noise cancellation, which is not a normal function of microphone preamps. The Antelope Zen Tour Synergy Core Desktop Audio Interface is able to run real-time audio effects, some of which (filters and noise gate) can be used to mitigate background noise.