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.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

iFi audio has once again used a white box the front of which has a large product picture, their logo and the Hi-Res Audio logos.

Some of the product's features are printed at the base of the box.

At the top of the box, we find a picture of the product's rear showcasing all available ports.

Both the features and specifications of the product are printed at the rear of the box.

The ZEN Blue 3 sits inside a formed piece of cardboard whereas the rest of the bundle is placed inside a small box.

Along with the ZEN Blue 3 and its power adapter inside the box you'll also find an antenna, USB-A to USB-C cable, optical adapter, RCA to RCA cable, MQA and Tidal setup guide, warranty information paper and a quick start guide.

THE ZEN BLUE 3

For the ZEN Blue 3 iFi Audio has used an 447g heavy aluminum housing that measures 156mm in width, 107mm in length and 33mm in height/thickness.

To have a better understanding of what each LED color represents iFi audio has placed a sticker on top of the ZEN Blue 3.

At the front of the ZEN Blue 3 we find the power on/off button, mode selector button (DAC, RX and TX), four-source input button (Bluetooth, Coax, Optical and RCA), round display (changes color according to the Bluetooth Codec used), round LED (changes color according to kHz), TX mode button (TX and Low Latency) and a brightness level and Bluetooth pairing button.

Turning the device around we find the 4.4mm (balanced), stereo RCA and SPDIF (coax/optical) output ports, stereo RCA, SPDIF (coax/optical) and USB-C input ports and the power port (the RCA ports have silicon protectives on them).

For small round feet keep the ZEN Blue 3 roughly 2mm from your desk.

The bundled white Antenna completes the ZEN Blue 3.

Once you turn it on the iFi logo appears in the center display and the LED next to it changes to green color.

IFI NEXIS & GAIA APPS

Strangely enough you can use 2 apps with the ZEN Blue 3.

First, I started the iFi Nexis app which I've used for past iFi audio models and as you can see it worked well.

By default, my sample arrived with firmware v1.49 so I decided to update to v1.82.

Once that was done however, I couldn't access the settings I could previously (and the entire theme changed).

This brings us to the GAIA app which includes most pages found in the Nexis app (not all however).

CONCLUSION

    When the ZEN Blue 3 was first announced by iFi audio it brought back memories of the ES9023 DAC by Sabre and well, ESS was always among my favorite audio DAC brands. Now I don’t really know if the ES9023 used in the ZEN Blue 3 is the exact same one as the one released well over a decade ago (was a bit surprised to see iFi audio chose this DAC) but during my tests with numerous music players like the M15, M23 and R9 by FiiO and headphones like the 109 PRO and 105 AER (review soon) by Meze, Aventho 300 by beyerdynamic and the FT5 by FiiO the ZEN Blue 3 produced near excellent detail and balance with warn highs and a good amount of bass (some would call it punchy, depends a lot on the headphones used). Soundstage is sufficiently wide with good instrument separation and vocals are emphasized just enough to not overshadow lows. Audio performance aside I really liked the build quality of the ZEN Blue 3 even though at times the buttons didn’t feel responsive enough. What did make me roll my eyes a bit was the white Antenna (not round as seen on marketing material) which may work well but it just doesn't fell right, not when the body of the ZEN Blue 3 is made of aluminum painted gray (light/dark). Yes, I am probably nitpicking, but I do think that everything counts when you spend your money on something (how hard would it had been for iFi audio to paint it black? Anything but white).

    The ZEN Blue 3 by iFi audio currently retails for USD299 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 311.56Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is quite balanced for this product. Bottom line people who are out in the market looking for a feature-rich Hi-Res Bluetooth transmitter/receiver the ZEN Blue 3 is a great choice and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Very Good Audio Performance
- Bluetooth v5.4(Lossless / Low Latency)
- Supported Bluetooth Codecs (aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, aptX, LDAC, LHDC/HWA, AAC and SBC)
- Available Inputs / Outputs (4.4mm Balanced/2x3.5mm Optical/2xRCA/USB C)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- White Antenna (For Some)
- ESS Sabre ES9023 (Good But Old)