iFi ZEN-CAN SIG MZ99 – Headphone Amplifier

iFi Zen Can Signature Meze Classic 99 version with up to 1890mW Balanced Output

Premium Desk-Fi Headphone Amp
For IEMs and headphones with audiophile-grade components for superior sound.

Signature Sound. Tailored by iFi.
The ZEN CAN Signature is an upgraded version of the original, award-winning ZEN CAN headphone amplifier.

Design for IEMs and headphones with audiophile-grade components for superior sound.

Enhanced circuitry. Premium components. Signature Sound.
The original ZEN CAN, our all-analogue headphone amplifier, excelled at driving demanding headphone loads with its balanced circuit design, extremely low distortion, and exceptional sonics. The ZEN CAN Signature takes this design further, featuring enhanced circuitry and audiophile-grade components.

Its balanced, symmetrical dual-mono circuitry can deliver a maximum of 1,890mW (11.0V) into 64-ohm loads and offer over 15V to loads of 600 ohms or higher, all through its balanced output.

Why ZEN CAN Signature? Because More Power Matters.
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.

However, the ZEN CAN Signature offers more than just power; it also delivers warm and exceptional sound quality. This is thanks to its Class A discrete balanced circuitry, inherited from the flagship Pro iCAN headphone amplifier.

3 In, 3 Out. Free to Connect.
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 available, so there’s no need to worry.

The unit also includes an analogue 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.

No Pain. Just Gain and Bass.
The ZEN CAN Signature offers multiple customisation options to suit a wide range of headphones.

Starting with PowerMatch, the unit provides four gain settings in six dB steps: 0dB, 6dB, 12dB, and 18dB. This feature ensures compatibility from super-sensitive IEMs to power-hungry headphones. We recommend starting at 0dB and then gradually adjusting the switchable gain level to find your optimal volume for both enjoyment and comfort.

It also features two analogue 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.

Premium Inside and Out
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.
• For more details, refer to the photo below.

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.

The Signature brothers.
If you’re looking to upgrade your Desk-Fi system to support high-resolution music files up to 32-bit/384kHz, DSD256, and MQA, the ZEN DAC Signature V2 is the ideal companion for the ZEN CAN Signature. This device can serve as a pure DAC, enhancing your audio experience.

To set it up, simply connect your laptop to the USB Digital Input on the ZEN DAC Signature V2. Then, link it to the ZEN CAN Signature using either RCA cables or an iFi 4.4 to 4.4 cable. We highly recommend using the 4.4 to 4.4 cable for optimal performance. Once connected, you can enjoy high-resolution music files seamlessly.

• A fully-discrete and balanced amplifier audio circuit. The 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.
• As with many other iFi audio products, we’ve incorporated a custom OV Series operational-amplifier. This top-notch component contributes to the extremely low noise, low distortion (0.0001%) and wide bandwidth.
• A Tokyo Cosmos Electric Co. (TOCOS) multi-track potentiometer is used. This has close channel matching tolerance for optimal performance (always use above 11 o’ clock).
• 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 micro-controller, which only ‘wakes up’ when the user changes a setting, thus eradicating any sonically deleterious interference.

• 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 caps totaling 5,410uF give very-low Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), excellent noise reduction capability and frequency response characteristics. In addition, OS-CONs have a long-life span and its ESR changes little even at low temperatures since the electrolyte is solid.
• We use ELNA Japan Silmic II capacitors for the power supplies.

  The primary constituent of the newly developed dielectric is silk fibre. This material was believed as unfathomable as an aluminium electrolytic capacitor. The new material beats silk fibre and mixes it with Manila hemp fibre to provide the dielectric to an aluminium electrolytic capacitor used for high-grade music. The result is second-to-none superior acoustic properties and excellent linearity.

Technical Specifications:
Input Voltage		5V/2.5A
Output (RMS)	Balanced Single-Ended	>15.1V/385 mW (@ 600 Ohm) >11.0V/1890 mW (@ 64 Ohm) >6.2V/1200 mW (@ 32 Ohm) >7.6V/98mW (@ 600 Ohm) >7.4V/870 mW (@ 64 Ohm) >7.2V/1600 mW (@ 32 Ohm)
THD&N		<0.006% (@ 360 mW/2.4V 16 Ohm) <0.005% (@ 100 mW/1.27V 16 Ohm)
SNR	Balanced Single-Ended	>121dBA (@ 15.2V ) >120dBA (@ 7.6V )
Output	Balanced RCA 3.5mm	7.4V RMS 3.8V RMS 1.92V RMS
Gain		0dB, 6dB, 12dB and 18dB
Frequency Response		10Hz – 200kHz (-3dB)
Power consumption		No Signal ~5W Max Signal ~12W
Dimensions		158 x 117 x 35 mm 6.2″ x 4.6″ x 1.4″
Weight		550 g 1.21 lbs
Line Section
Outputs	BAL UNBAL	6.7V max. (variable) 3.5V max. (variable)
Output Impedance	BAL UNBAL	<200Ω <100Ω
SNR	BAL UNBAL	<110dB(A) @ 0dBFS <110dB(A) @ 0dBFS
THD+N	BAL UNBAL	<0.007% @ 0dBFS <0.015% @ 0dBFS
Headphone Section
Outputs	BAL UNBAL	6.7V max. @ 600Ω 3.5V max. @ 600Ω
Output Power	BAL UNBAL	>1000mW @ 32Ω; >74mW @ 600Ω >320mW @ 32Ω; >40mW @ 300Ω
Output Impedance	BAL UNBAL	<1Ω <1Ω
SNR	BAL UNBAL	<116dB(A) @ 0dBFS <115dB(A) @ 0dBFS
THD+N		<0.005% (1V @ 16Ω)