Ifi Zen CAN 3 Amp Review – Canned Heat

The Ifi Zen CAN 3 brings great sonic fundamentals and features to the table with only tiny nits to pick.

Introduction

For the longest time, I’ve been a sworn discrete-junky. Just give me those transistors in class A on big hulking heatsinks so I can crank the current! Nowadays I’m more lenient – cooled off, if you will. Ifi Zen CAN 3 is somewhere in between – sure, it’s advertised as class A, but most of the time it’s very much without the ridiculous power draw and heat output. I would go as far as to say that on paper it’s the perfect combo of practical convenience and audio chops.

But do big promises and that British sound pedigree translate into real-world sonic bliss? Read on so we can find out together!

Specifications Zen CAN 3

Physical Things and Usability

Build quality

Like every other model in the Zen series, the Ifi Zen CAN 3 consists of an extruded flattened tube of anodized aluminum which is then capped with the front and the back panels. Like the Zen DAC 3, this amplifier is a clear upgrade from the second edition in terms of looks and sports the same duo-tone face plate.

There’s a plethora of connectors both on the front and the back and none of them have any play to speak of. Of course the Zen CAN 3 doesn’t weigh enough for you to be able to plug and unplug the headphones without holding the unit down so it doesn’t slip. Stacking the Zen CAN 3 seems tricky at first due to the shape of the enclosure. In reality, plonking it down on most flat surfaces is a breeze and the top is flat enough for most smaller format chassis to stay on.

In use

Hooking up the Ifi Zen CAN 3 is quite easy if all you need is the RCA inputs, it comes with the right cable and can even take 3.5mm single-ended audio. Want to use balanced audio? This is where it gets a bit tricky because the BAL input uses a 4.4mm TRRRS input. There’s a good chance that your local AV or even studio supply store won’t be stocking it and you’ll need to shop around the internet. With that said, it seems to me like the inner circuitry of the Zen CAN 3 isn’t balanced, so not much is lost there.

After everything is hooked on, operating the amplifier is quite easy. Depending which input is used, it can be selected from the front by a button press or two. The same goes for flicking through the gain options and EQ presets. I found that xBass did a superb job with many open-back headphones which tend to be a bit shy in the lows. The crossfeed did what it said but I never found it to be too useful. Game and movie mode? Not for me. The coloration was annoying on my headphones and IEMs.

Under the hood

Again, the rather clear images of the PCB allowed me to not go digging in the insides of my Ifi Zen CAN 3. Sure some of the ICs and transistors have blurred out labelling but the general topology is quite clear if one knows where to look. Like with other Ifi Zen units, the power supply is external and supplies 5VDC to the unit. In theory, we could power it from USB but the amp needs up to 2.5A of current which will be out of reach of many USB ports.

The presence of inductors is a telltale sign that switch-mode voltage converters are used to derive the main bipolar rails that the amplifier requires to work. The local capacitors for the output stage are rated to 35V which gives a clue to how high the power rail voltage is. Usually, these capacitors are chosen to be two times the power rail voltage so +/-17VDC is probable here. Ifi suggests using their higher spec power brick to power the amp but I’m sceptical about the improvements as local conversion and regulation should dictate performance. And even with very sensitive IEMs the Zen CAN 3 remained silent.

Looking at the actual amplifier circuit gives us a few clues about how it might work. The first sign is the single-ended potentiometer which means that incoming balanced signals are converted to single-ended by an opamp. It’s very likely that opamps also handle the input stage before the signal goes to the transistor arrays of the power stage. This means that the “class A” claims should come with some disclaimers as opamps usually work in class AB unless forced to do otherwise.

The output stage looks like the usual push-pull affair with arrays of paralleled discrete transistors for better current capability and cooling. It’s very likely that these are biased into class A but can transition to class B at some point. The Ifi Zen CAN 3 does get quite warm in use so I’m not too concerned about hearing the dreaded “kachunk” as it switches gears into class B, or whatever some silly people might claim.

Sound quality and signature

Test setup: I mostly used the Ifi Zen CAN 3 with its buddy DAC, the Zen DAC 3. To better gauge the amp’s performance ceiling, I also used it with the FiiO K19 and FiiO K11 R2R DACs.  Downstream the ThieAudio Monarch MK3, Simgot EA1000, Sennheiser HD6XX, ZMF Auteur Classic and Moondrop Para headphones were used.

As always, let’s start off with the practical stuff. The Ifi takes a second to power up but there are no physical relays clacking and the headphone output shows no noise. Even with very sensitive single DD IEMs, there’s no noise at the lowest 0dB gain setting but even with the SE output there’s not a lot of volume breathing room before things get too loud. Luckily the potentiometer is of high enough quality so channel imbalance isn’t an issue.

In terms of tonality the Ifi Zen CAN 3 has a bit of emphasis on the midrange but probably due to the discrete output stage the mids are quite special, so I don’t mind the slight coloration. The bass has enough extension and authority both with my 8-ohm Para and the 300-ohm ZMF Auteur Classic, even with the bass boost engaged. The highs sometimes can get too splashy but I’ve only heard better on much more expensive amplifiers, so it’s not of any real concern.

Swapping out different DACs displayed that the Ifi Zen CAN 3 is capable of keeping up with higher quality sources and showing their differences even if unlocking the full extent of FiiO K19’s capability requires a bit more capable amplifier. Technicalities wise the Zen CAN 3 was roughly in line with other amplifiers in the price range. The slightly in-your-face midrange prevented the imaging from being especially wide, however, I never found the presentation to be limiting for how much I’d enjoy the music.

Comparison

Topping A50 III
Priced at an identical 229$ the Topping A50 III [review here] is more than a worthy peer to the Ifi Zen CAN 3. It uses a composite opamp power stage to deliver a downright prodigious amount of power in most headphone loads while maintaining good linearity and neutrality in almost every aspect. It too requires somewhat exotic cabling to receive BAL audio but the circuit is fully balanced end to end.

Do you like hearing character in an amplifier? How you answer will dictate your choice. Both are immensely capable machines but the Topping is a very neutral jack of all trades while the Ifi Zen CAN 3 will make more happy those people who appreciate its sonic quirks. If sensitive IEMs are something you listen to a lot, the Topping will be easier to use due to its -6dB gain option.

Pairing notes

While the Ifi Zen DAC 3 was a superb companion to the Zen CAN 3, I couldn’t help to enjoy the company of the warmer FiiO K11 R2R which delivered a more realistic sound with many recordings. Overall I’d just stay away from pairing with excessively cold and clinical sources or headphones as the highs will get too much to bear.

Concluding Remarks

Ifi’s new Zen CAN 3 amplifier is just like every product I’ve reviewed from them – very capable and very much in line with the sonic brand book of the company. If you can get over the fact that it’s not fully balanced, discrete, and not all class A, there’s still a lot of amp to enjoy for both audio newbies and experienced listeners looking for some flavor. The amp stage allegedly comes from Ifi’s top dog unit so the Zen CAN 3 might be an affordable ticket into their sonic philosophy. Recommended with very little reservations!

My verdict – 4/5