So there’s been a bit of a buzz around lossless audio lately, hasn’t there? Everyone’s suddenly gone all high-fi, and it seems like every other week there’s a new gadget promising crystal-clear sound. Well, iFi, the British audio wizards (they call themselves ‘trailblazers’, but we’ll let them off), have just dropped their latest creation: the ZEN Blue 3.
They’re claiming it’s the world’s first wireless DAC (that’s a digital-to-analogue converter, by the way) that can send and receive super-high-quality audio without losing any of that lovely sound detail. Pretty bold claim, eh?
The ZEN Blue 3 is a sleek bit of kit, all metal and looking rather smart. It’s got a simple display to show you what’s going on, and some fancy brass buttons for that premium feel. Under the hood, it’s packed with the latest tech, including Bluetooth 5.4, which is basically the Rolls-Royce of wireless connections.
One of the big selling points is that it can handle loads of different audio formats, from the old faithfuls like AAC and SBC to the newer, higher-quality ones like LDAC and aptX Adaptive. So, whether you’re streaming from your phone or hooking up to your fancy hi-fi, the ZEN Blue 3 should be able to handle it.
Now, here’s the thing: wireless audio and lossless sound haven’t really been best mates up until now. Usually, when you go wireless, you have to accept a bit of a drop in quality. It’s kind of like trading convenience for sound. But iFi reckons they’ve cracked it. They’ve used this new Qualcomm chip that’s supposed to be a game-changer, and combined it with their Snapdragon Sound tech. This means you can enjoy CD-quality music without any wires, which is pretty impressive.
So, is the ZEN Blue 3 the future of wireless audio? We’ll have to give it a proper listen to find out. But if you’re after top-notch sound without the hassle of cables, it’s definitely worth checking out. It’ll set you back £299 ($299 USD), which isn’t cheap, but if you’re serious about your tunes, it might just be worth it.
You can pick up the ZEN Blue 3 now directly via iFi online.
