iFi Audio ZEN BLUE V2 is rated
out of
5 by
58.
iFi Audio ZEN BLUE V2
Hi-Res Bluetooth DAC
£199
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Please contact web after sales for more info.
For delivery of in-store only deals, please contact your local store for more details.
Ts&Cs apply - see our delivery page.
For delivery of in-store only deals, please contact your local store for more details.
Ts&Cs apply - see our delivery page.
Disabled assistance
All products that are available to purchase on the Richer Sounds website can be delivered free to blind, partially sighted or those with a disability. Find out more
Please contact web after sales for more info.
For delivery of in-store only deals, please contact your local store for more details.
Ts&Cs apply - see our delivery page.
For delivery of in-store only deals, please contact your local store for more details.
Ts&Cs apply - see our delivery page.
Effortlessly stream high quality Bluetooth sound to your music system, with the iFi Audio ZEN Blue V2.
Award-winner made better
Winner of multiple awards, including the prestigious What Hi-Fi 2020, ‘5-star’ review, the iFi Audio ZEN Blue was hard to beat. Until now. The ZEN Blue V2 upgrades the Bluetooth antenna, giving an improved range of up to 80%. This means that the receiver now works better in larger rooms and is more reliable in large, open-plan spaces.
Top quality, Bluetooth sound from your smartphone, PC, laptop or Mac to your Hi-Fi
The ZEN Blue V2 continues to offer a simple yet high quality way of wirelessly transmitting the sound from your smartphone, tablet, laptop, PC or Mac to your Hi-Fi or speaker. Whether you use Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal or any other music app, the ZEN Blue V2 sets the sound free from your smartphone’s speaker and truly opens up the sound’s potential.
Hi-Res sound for crystal-clear clarity
Bluetooth isn’t new, but transmitting at such high quality is rare. The ZEN Blue V2 supports the highest quality Bluetooth formats, including HWA (Hi-Res Wireless Audio) by LHDC, Qualcomm’s aptX, aptX HD, LDAC and HWA. Apple’s AAC is also supported. If you haven’t experienced Bluetooth audio for some time, you might be surprised as to just how much the sound quality has improved over the past few years.
Hi-Fi quality electronics inside
Making the most of HD Bluetooth, the internal electronics offer the highest quality sound – just as you’d find in quality Hi-Fi. The ESS Sabre DAC (Digital to Analogue Convertor) is the same as in many high-end AV receivers and other digital products. The discrete circuit layout uses top quality audio components, such as OV series op amps, Texas Instruments power supply and TDK (Class 1 ceramic) capacitors.
Ultra-low distortion
The result of using such high quality components on a carefully implemented board is stunning sound quality with ultra-low levels of background noise for crystal-clear detail and clarity. Distortion is kept to the lowest levels, making your music sound its most natural and lifelike.
Output the sound your way
When it comes to connecting the ZEN Blue V2 to your Hi-Fi, AV or speaker system, you really can take your pick. Choose between optical and coaxial connections for hooking up to your digital amp or AV receiver. Alternatively, RCA phono outputs make the perfect connection to your Hi-Fi amp or mini system. For the highest quality sound, there’s even a balanced output.
Balanced output option
Making this top quality Bluetooth DAC even better, the 4.4mm balanced output is yet another standout feature at this price. More usually found in studio equipment, the balanced connection gives vanishingly low levels of noise interference and crosstalk, for professional quality sound. If your amp or mixer is equipped with a balanced input, this is the connection to use.
Get the very best Bluetooth connection, with the iFi Audio ZEN Blue V2.
Award-winner made better
Winner of multiple awards, including the prestigious What Hi-Fi 2020, ‘5-star’ review, the iFi Audio ZEN Blue was hard to beat. Until now. The ZEN Blue V2 upgrades the Bluetooth antenna, giving an improved range of up to 80%. This means that the receiver now works better in larger rooms and is more reliable in large, open-plan spaces.
Top quality, Bluetooth sound from your smartphone, PC, laptop or Mac to your Hi-Fi
The ZEN Blue V2 continues to offer a simple yet high quality way of wirelessly transmitting the sound from your smartphone, tablet, laptop, PC or Mac to your Hi-Fi or speaker. Whether you use Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal or any other music app, the ZEN Blue V2 sets the sound free from your smartphone’s speaker and truly opens up the sound’s potential.
Hi-Res sound for crystal-clear clarity
Bluetooth isn’t new, but transmitting at such high quality is rare. The ZEN Blue V2 supports the highest quality Bluetooth formats, including HWA (Hi-Res Wireless Audio) by LHDC, Qualcomm’s aptX, aptX HD, LDAC and HWA. Apple’s AAC is also supported. If you haven’t experienced Bluetooth audio for some time, you might be surprised as to just how much the sound quality has improved over the past few years.
Hi-Fi quality electronics inside
Making the most of HD Bluetooth, the internal electronics offer the highest quality sound – just as you’d find in quality Hi-Fi. The ESS Sabre DAC (Digital to Analogue Convertor) is the same as in many high-end AV receivers and other digital products. The discrete circuit layout uses top quality audio components, such as OV series op amps, Texas Instruments power supply and TDK (Class 1 ceramic) capacitors.
Ultra-low distortion
The result of using such high quality components on a carefully implemented board is stunning sound quality with ultra-low levels of background noise for crystal-clear detail and clarity. Distortion is kept to the lowest levels, making your music sound its most natural and lifelike.
Output the sound your way
When it comes to connecting the ZEN Blue V2 to your Hi-Fi, AV or speaker system, you really can take your pick. Choose between optical and coaxial connections for hooking up to your digital amp or AV receiver. Alternatively, RCA phono outputs make the perfect connection to your Hi-Fi amp or mini system. For the highest quality sound, there’s even a balanced output.
Balanced output option
Making this top quality Bluetooth DAC even better, the 4.4mm balanced output is yet another standout feature at this price. More usually found in studio equipment, the balanced connection gives vanishingly low levels of noise interference and crosstalk, for professional quality sound. If your amp or mixer is equipped with a balanced input, this is the connection to use.
Get the very best Bluetooth connection, with the iFi Audio ZEN Blue V2.
Connectivity
Analogue Audio Output
Yes (RCA phono)
Bluetooth
Yes
Coaxial Digital Output
Yes
XLR Balanced Outputs
Yes (4.4mm not XLR)
General
Manufacturer's Warranty
1 year
Audio
Frequency Response (Hz)
1 - 44,000
High Resolution Audio
Yes
Dimensions
Dimensions WxHxD (mm)
160 x 35 x 107
Weight
Weight (KG)
0.8
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Rated 5 out of
5
by
Pete7236 from
Easy to set up. Great sound.
I found the Ven Blue very easy to set up with good clear instructions. It means I can now stream to my 1980’s sound system and am getting a great sound.
Date published: 2024-01-31
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Hotmetal from
Great sounding, flexible BT receiver
TL;DR, the Zen Blue v2 is a flexible and capable Bluetooth receiver which performs excellently with or without an external DAC and works with Android and Apple. Zero issues with Bluetooth connectivity.
I have a high-quality legacy system built around a Tron Seven valve phono/preamp, vintage rebuilt Quad II power amps and AudioNote speakers. As I like to listen to content on Mixcloud and Twitch as well as other digital sources but had no way to stream from my phone, I needed a Bluetooth receiver that would sound good enough not to be shown up by my revealing system. I first tried a £30 solution from a well known online supplier which connected analogue out via 3.5mm jack to 2 RCA. This worked well enough but sounded comparatively 2 dimensional, although streets ahead of running audio out of a headphone jack from my iPad.
Richer Sounds pointed me to their cheapest solution initially, so props to them for not trying to upsell me when I was dipping my toe in the water.
Convinced that Bluetooth audio could sound better, I relegated the cheap Bluetooth receiver to my upstairs system and researched receivers with digital output. The Ifi Blue v2 has Toslink optical, S/PDIF coax digital output as well as RCA from its own internal dac.
Having also consulted people in the industry from the engineering side, I was recommended that the Ifi gear is well respected, with more attention to detail of factors affecting sound quality than cheaper lifestyle brands.
I have tried this unit in the system using decent quality RCA interconnects from the internal ESS Sabre DAC as well as optical into my original 2009 Cambridge DACMagic.
At this point the audio is absolutely as good as from my Meridian CD player or Innuos Zen server (into the same DACMagic via USB).
It's hard to notice a major difference between the analogue output of the Ifi and the optical connection and DACMagic. Both DACs are very capable. For me, I've settled on the Toslink>DACMagic but if you don't have a decent external DAC the analogue output is also excellent.
I am streaming LDAC from a Samsung S21+.
I have also connected my MacBook Pro and iPad to the Ifi without issue, although Apple only use AAC at best, and I had to use Terminal commands to change the laptop from SBC to AAC codec on its built-in BT 4.2 hardware.
In my opinion it was worth spending the extra to get a solution that not only provided digital out and BT 5.2 but also was built by a company with knowledge of audio performance rather than just features.
Date published: 2024-01-11
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Butchersdog from
Fantastic bit of kit.
Bought this to link into an Audiolab 8000A amp through to Dali Icon floorstanders for when I just want to play some digital music from my phone.
I was impressed. This Zen vastly improves the sound quality. It was easy to set up and pair the unit with my phone through Bluetooth.
Ideal if you want an easy life and settle back, listen to some tunes without having to get up to change the vinyl.
Date published: 2024-01-06
Rated 4 out of
5
by
jasnichb from
A nice bit of kit
Ideal for streaming from my smartphone to my HiFi amplifier without wires and also being able to power and charge the 'phone at the same time, if required. Need to balance the 'phone volume control with that of the amplifier though. Sounds very good. Plenty of output connection options too.
Date published: 2023-11-21
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Zen4me from
A very worthwhile upgrade.
Did a bit of research online, then spoke to Euan at Richer Sounds who was very helpful. This neat little device has breathed new life into an ageing, but still great sounding analogue system. As intended I'm now able to do so much more, including streaming and connecting to various other devices. Sounds great and has more than met my expectations. Very satisfied with both the product and my experience with Richer Sounds.
Date published: 2023-10-30
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Mr Monsieur from
Fantastic
I should have given 5 stars to this. But I generally do not like (or read) 5 stars reviews because so many of them are fake, and nothing is perfect. However, in the configuration I am using it (700£ish system from RS, Marantz receiver and Monitor audio bronze- and Spotify straight from the phone) this DAC deserves a glowing review. I was of course attracted by excellent reviews and a reasonable price. To this price point, it has transformed the sound and the clarity is impressive. You hear the stick hitting the hi-hat and the piano string vibration. I listen to quite a variety of music and the biggest difference is with electronic music and classical with the digital output (I do not have a coaxial input in my system and there were no appropriate analogue cables in the shop, I might try it later as I kind of prefer the smoothness of it). A good cable from the shop, and a massive improvement to the system for 180£. To sum it up, if you are looking for something to hook up by Bluetooth to a rather modest system, this is a choice I would certainly recommend. Thanks to RS in Romford -as usual, I’ll keep coming. .
Date published: 2023-08-15
Rated 5 out of
5
by
High5 from
Excellent build & sound. Very pleased.
Bought to upgrade an older Linn system (after having tried a newer system and preferred sound on the older one). Previously had cheaper Bluetooth receiver which thought was fine. Did not realise the level of improvement that this upgrade would bring. Has a higher input level meaning amp doesn’t need as high a volume to achieve same sound level. Very clear and precise sound. Also now using for TV sound (LG) via Bluetooth (rather than a sound bar) which is also excellent with no lip sync issues. Was initially hesitant due to slightly higher price than other options, but very pleased to have gone for it.
Date published: 2023-08-09
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Kenff from
Great piece of kit very good sound quality
I have 3 of these units this one I bought for my bedroom system which is a Vintage Trio/Kenwood amp hooked up to Celestion speakers and a Pioneer PL12D the ifi zen blue allows me to stream from my Phone/Ipad etc with very good sound quality making the zen blue an amazing upgrade for any hifi system
Date published: 2023-04-30
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