If you're looking for a sure-fire way of improving the listening experience of your existing headphones, then you'll want a dedicated digital-to-analogue converter (DAC). By converting digital audio signals into a higher-quality analogue signal, DACs deliver superior sound.
One of the best around is the Zen DAC 3, which is now at an all-time low of £179 at Amazon. That's a £50 discount on the price they launched at.
The Zen DAC 3 produces a pleasingly smooth and refined presentation, with a spacious sound field and good detail thrown in for good measure, earning solid praise for its performance-to-price ratio. And right now you can get all this at a temptingly low price.
Specs aside, its compact footprint – smaller than a typical paperback – makes it an ideal desktop companion for elevating your computer audio experience too, regardless of whether or not you’re using headphones or pairing it with a conventional hi-fi system.
Despite its modest size, the Zen DAC 3 offers impressive connectivity as well. The front panel features 6.3mm and 4.4mm balanced headphone outputs, while the rear panel provides stereo RCA and balanced 4.4mm line outputs.
It also includes a switchable fixed/variable output for use with amplifiers or active speakers, making it significantly more versatile than similarly priced competitors like the AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt.
The third-generation model brings several meaningful upgrades too, including a shift from USB-Type B to the more modern USB-C, along with enhanced support for 32-bit/768kHz PCM, and DSD512 hi-res streams. It also maintains MQA decoding capability and houses a 16-core XMOS processor paired with a four-channel Burr-Brown DAC chip.
While it may not match the dynamic punch of some competitors, its refined presentation, solid build quality and versatile connectivity make it worth serious consideration.
In short, if you're looking for an easy-going, undemanding sound signature that prioritises refinement over aggressive dynamics, then the Zen DAC 3 could be your perfect match – especially at a discounted price of £179 at Amazon.
MORE:
Read the full iFi Zen DAC 3 review
I used a DAC for the first time and it’s a game-changer for my music library
Best DACs 2025: USB, desktop and portable digital-to-analogue converters
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