Both are desktop DAC/amps, $285 against $229. This page puts them side by side on the only three things a maker can be held to — power, output impedance and noise — and then asks the question that actually matters: which headphones do they treat differently?
The iFi Zen DAC 3 reaches 100 dB on 564 of the 567 models here, the Creative Sound Blaster X5 on 561.
| Specification | Creative Sound Blaster X5 | iFi Zen DAC 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 64 mW | 210 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 112 mW | 50 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 57 mW | 28 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 29 mW | 18 mW |
| Output impedance | 1 Ω | 1 Ω |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Price | $285 | $229 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 561 | 564 |
A figure marked not published is missing from the maker’s own material, which is not the same as being good or bad. Where one of these two publishes a number and the other does not, the comparison on that axis cannot be made at all — and saying so is more useful than guessing.
3 headphones reach 100 dB on the iFi Zen DAC 3 but not on the Creative Sound Blaster X5 — Moondrop COSMO, Symphonium Helios, Symphonium Zenith.
561 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both. That is a power count and nothing more; whether either source suits a given headphone also depends on the two lines above.
Each has a page of its own with every power figure traced to what the maker published and a full headphone list: Creative Sound Blaster X5 and iFi Zen DAC 3. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.