INTRODUCTION

    For people who enjoy listening to music while at home, office or even away from both there's never been a better time and that's all thanks to the digital revolution which has essentially allowed the storing of thousands of studio-quality audio tracks in a single memory card (or drive) no larger than a coin. As if that alone wasn't enough, we have numerous audiophile oriented manufacturers in the global market supplying us with music players, both desktop and compact ones capable of producing Hi-Res audio (both wired and wireless) even for people on a budget. iFi audio is one such manufacturer and today with me I have their latest ZEN Blue 3 Lossless/Hi-Res Bluetooth Transmitter & Receiver.

    iFi audio is a UK based manufacturer of desktop and portable high-end audio equipment. Innovative high-end audio should be available to everyone, everywhere, so iFi uses the latest technology, materials and consumer feedback to provide an audiophile quality listening experience at an affordable price. You listen to music, we listen to you.

    The iFi audio ZEN Blue 3 is based around the ESS Sabre ES9023 24-bit stereo audio DAC (integrated Time Domain Jitter eliminator), Comtrue CT5302 dual channel audio DSP (384kHz / 32-bit), Analog MAX97220 DirectDrive Amplifier and the Qualcomm QCC518x Bluetooth v5.4 audio System-on-Chip (SoC). This combination allows the ZEN Blue 3 to handle USB-C up to 24bit 96kHz,  SPDIF (coaxial/optical) up to 24bit 192kHz and Bluetooth up to 24but 96kHz with support for aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, aptX, LDAC, LHDC/HWA, AAC and SBC codecs (1200kbps max). As for available connectivity at the rear of the ZEN Blue 3 iFi audio has placed 4.4mm (balanced), stereo RCA and SPDIF (coax/optical) output ports and stereo RCA, SPDIF (coax/optical) and USB-C input ports. So, let's see just how good this compact Lossless Bluetooth Transmitter & Receiver by iFi audio really is.