souravin
Well-Known Member
Which is what has made both my chord mojo and zen dac more or less redundant. The Zen Dac was a replacement for the internal one on my CXA81 (the internal one sounded a bit too sharp and thin over USB from my PC though not much of a concern over a cleaner source such as the Allo USBridge Signature) as i wanted a DAC that was always powered on while connected to my PC, something that was not possible with the mojo, at least not without knackering its battery if left connected at all times. I still pressed the mojo into service time to time when streaming through the Allo USBridge Signature and while the SQ justified the pains of manually switching it on to a great extent, it was still inconvenient to me.
The SQ of the RME as well as its connectivity compensates for the Mojo while having the convenience of being always on like the ZEN dac. And the remote, with the level of adjustment it allows, is and i quote RME in this “a heaven send” (thats actually written in the manual - it would help imagining it in a curt german accent). Which is precisely why i got it for after much deliberation- the convenience and control that it allows over the music and experience, both of which are important to me. It arrived just yesterday but i’m already bowled over by the convenience aspect of it. Yet to use it for exercising control over the music i.e. EQ and what not.
In that respect, The Zen DAC One respect does look like a very promising device. I think i can vouch for its SQ at the very least. With the Allo Shanti LPSU and XLR cables fed to a decent amplifier, its full potential can be unleashed.
P.s. : Im already contemplating it. IF they price it below 20K, I’ll retire my E30 immediately as it’ll be more usefuk for the purpose that im employing it for currently i.e. connection my amp to my bedroom tv over optical. A wireless solution would entirely eliminate cable clutter at the expense of a negligible loss in SQ from what i’ve heard about the BT reception and SQ of the standalone zen blue. And in any case, a compromise im willing to make
Great to know your experience. I'm using iFi Zen Blue since last year and the sound is awesome. Mostly iPad and Apple Music. However this new DAC makes me interested once again as it hosts USB in. I believe it would be accompanied by iPower2. If not, I will get one. I do not use any Coaxial as my vintage Marantz CDPs are more than enough to me. My beloved Schiit Multibit is now used by my brother, hence this quest. Audioquest Jitterbug with Pearl cable from a dedicated laptop would be the source.
