Signature tailoring

The ZEN CAN Signature 6XX analogue headphone amplifier takes sonic tailoring to the next level with ActivEQ. The original ZEN CAN, iFi's all-analogue headphone amplifier, boasted the ability to drive tough headphone loads, a balanced circuit design, vanishingly low levels of distortion and versatile sonic tailoring. The ZEN CAN Signature 6XX takes this to another level. It further improves the sound quality with enhanced circuit design, whilst maintaining the versatile features of the ‘regular’ version and adding something special, a custom EQ setting precisely tailored across the entire frequency response curve to make the most of a popular headphone model.

The new feature, called ActivEQ, combines active and passive components to create a specific EQ curve to suit a particular pair of headphones, performed in the analogue domain without a hint of additional noise or distortion.

When the ‘HD 6XX’ button is pressed, the ZEN CAN Signature 6XX calibrates its signal to complement the headphone’s response characteristics right across the frequency range, thus tailoring its performance to precisely fit the HD 6XX like a made-to-measure suit. In particular, the 7kHz treble and bass below 500Hz is gently elevated.

The ZEN CAN Signature 6XX features four gain settings in six dB steps – 0dB, 6dB, 12dB and 18db. This enables the amp to precisely suit the connected headphones. Unity gain (0dB) is useful to ensure low noise with sensitive in-ear monitors, while the higher gain settings make the most of tougher headphone loads, delivering excellent dynamic headroom.

The ZEN CAN Signature 6XX offers stereo RCA and 3.5mm single-ended inputs, plus a 4.4mm Balanced input. A 4.4mm balanced output is also provided, to connect to power amps equipped with a balanced input. It provides a pair of headphone outputs – a 6.3mm output for headphones that have a standard single-ended connector (compatible with all headphones) and a 4.4mm Balanced output for headphones offering balanced connection. An increasing number of high-quality headphones and in-ear monitors either come so equipped or give the option of detaching the cable and upgrading to a 4.4mm Balanced connector, and this output makes the most of them (it is particularly recommended for high-impedance headphones).

Technical Details