Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio  

Support Head-Fi by starting your Amazon.com shopping by clicking here

Follow headfi on Twitter!

Follow Rocky Mountain Audiofest (RMAF) on Twitter!

Head-Fi Is Sponsored By:

Featured

Head-Fi's Sponsors
(Premier Sponsors bolded)

Featured

Can Jam '09
(2009 International
Head-Fi Meet)
Impressions,
Reviews, Photos


Can Jam '09 graphic
courtesy of Edwood

Click on the links below
for Can Jam '09 photos,
impressions and reviews:

blubliss 1, 2, 3
dallan 1, 2, 3, 4
santacore 1, 2
nhat_thanh 1, 2
vpivinylspinner 1, 2, 3
amb 1
augustwest 1
eaglejo 1

johnsonad 1
shellylh 1
Jon L 1, 2, 3, 4
Germancub 1
zippy2001 1
IPodPJ 1
bhd812 1
Edwood 1, 2
abellaw 1, 2
minidiscs 1

atothex 1
HighLife 1
achristilaw 1
SiBurning 1, 2, 3, 4
SiBurning 5, 6, 7
LFF 1
Iron_Dreamer 1
doping panda 1
morphsci 1
ironbut 1
shaizada 1
jasper994 1, 2
jp11801 1
Uncle Erik 1
drubrew 1



(More impressions/photos
still being added.)

 


 

Head-Fi Blogs
and Facebook

Check out Head-Fi's new
Blogs section.

Featured Head-Fi Blogs:


Jude's "Take My Word"

 From Japan - by Sasaki

Currawong's Blog

(
Start your own Blog!)

Attention
Facebook Users



Join the official
Head-Fi.org
Facebook Group


Featured

Head-Fi's Sponsors
(Premier Sponsors bolded)

Featured


Go Back   Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio > Blogs > Currawong

Can Jam 2010 (2010 International Head-Fi Meet) & The Most Recent Sponsored Threads

Can Jam 2010 (2010 International Head-Fi Meet) In Chicago, Illinois, June 5-6, 2010!





Head-Fi search by Google.
Rating: 5 votes, 5.00 average.

Introduction to the Zero DAC and Headphone amplifier.

Posted 09-17-2008 at 01:30 AM by Currawong
Updated 04-06-2009 at 12:47 PM by Currawong (Fixed a couple of things.)
Tags zero dac

Jan 2009: After the issues people have had receiving faulty Zeros, we have asked the maker of the HDAM upgrade to design an alternative to the Zero. This is now known as the Compass. You can read the Head-fi discussion about the design. This is likely to be available from February and, though it's a bit more expensive than a fully upgraded Zero from Lawrence, it is made to much higher standards.

April 2009 Edit: This guide is merely for information only. It's not a recommendation for the Zero. Due to its poor reliability, buying it is not recommended.

What is the ZERO?

The ZERO is a Digital to Analogue converter (DAC) and headphone amplifier/preamp made in China that has become popular on head-fi.org due to its low price (US$99 for the basic unit) and that it can be upgraded for around the same amount for a huge improvement in sonic quality.

The ZERO's product page from Tianyun100 (in Chinese).

Where can I buy it?

The Zero is available on eBay (click here for a direct search link). People have reported good experiences buying from wsz0304 on eBay. If you don't want to use eBay, the unit from Lawrence. He can be contacted at lawrencechanbig ((%)) msn.com. (Replace the obvious with an @ symbol). As of late October 2008, a few people have reported that their units from Lawrence arrived defective or not with the options requested and difficulty in resolving these issues.

What can it do?

The ZERO, internally, consists of two parts: a DAC, which can convert a digital signal, either coaxial or optical, into an analogue signal, and a headphone amp + pre-amp that can be used with either headphones or a power amp, headphone amp or powered speakers.

Normally, only the DAC section is in operation, with output going straight to the rear RCA jacks. If the Preamp button is pressed, the output goes through the amp/pre-amp section as well, controllable with the volume knob. If headphones are plugged in and the Preamp button is pressed, the ZERO becomes a headphone amplifier.

How can I connect it to my CD player or computer:



You have only two choices of connection to the ZERO: Optical digital, using a plastic or glass TOSLINK cable, or a coaxial digital cable with RCA connections. Many CD players have both of these as an output options. Many sound cards have optical digital outputs, as well as "SPDIF" coaxial digital output. Some improvement in sound quality will result from using a good quality coaxial digital cable, such as from Blue Jeans, or a quality glass optical cable instead of the one that comes with the ZERO. Penchum found a good quality glass optical cable which I need to find the link for.

What upgrades are possible?

To understand this, we have to take a look inside the unit. Inside, you will see three main parts, the large transformer, the large circuit board for the DAC and a smaller circuit board for the headphone/pre-amp.



OPAMP upgrades:



On the larger DAC board is a removable chip known as an OPAMP. On the headphone/pre-amp are two OPAMPs. These chips are essentially the equivalent of a bunch of transistors and amplify the signal. Since they are presumably cheaper, use less power and are more compact to manufacture, they are often found on audio cards, in CD players and other audio devices. The 3 OPAMPs in the ZERO are "dual" OPAMPs, that is, amplify two channels. This is important to know, as there are "single" OPAMPS as well. These OPAMPs can be replaced with better quality ones, resulting in a much better sound from the ZERO.

The current best all-round recommendation from Penchum's testing is to use two Burr Brown OPA627 OPAMPs in the DAC and two LT1364 OPAMPS in the headphone/pre-amp section. WAIT, yes, I did just say "two" OPA627's, as they are single OPAMPs, you'll need an adaptor to use them in the slot, known as a Brown Dog adaptor.



Your OPA627s may be the soldered version and not the socketed version and look like this, with the second chip underneath:



The sound signature of the OPA627 was described by Penchum as being "tube-like". It's gives a rather warm, but still very detailed sound.

Luckily, Lawrence sells an upgraded ZERO for US$275 (including shipping, but note this might vary depending on which country) which includes these better OPAMPS, better volume control saving those of you who just want to buy a nice unit and listen to music without taking off the cover and fiddling an easy option.

Other people have experimented with "OPAMP rolling" - experimenting with many different combinations of OPAMPs in the ZERO, but the purpose of this guide is not to get into that. If you're interested in doing that, there are a great many you can get free samples of and try.

Volume Pot Upgrade:

The default volume pot in the ZERO is a cheap and somewhat nasty Chinese unit which is known to often be imbalanced at low volumes and even give a bit of hum and hiss. Unfortunately the only replacement known of at this stage is a NOS (New Old Stock) ALPS pot from Japan which Lawrence has a number of. If you've already got a ZERO, replacing the default one will require soldering skills. Otherwise, if you order the upgraded ZERO from Lawrence, you can order the better volume pot for an extra $20.

OPAMP replacement with a HDAM:

Not to confuse the HDAM with what Marantz created, it's a different thing, a HDAM unit replaces an OPAMP altogether with, get this, transistors! That's right, one of the best upgrades you can make to the ZERO is to replace the thing that replaces transistors in the first place, with what it replaced! Confused yet?

The idea came from the Burston HDAM unit that is often used to upgrade CD players in the same way. However, while the Burston unit is a little expensive, the Chinese manufacturer of them, Audio-gd, is not, and you can buy not only the same unit Burston sells, but a newer model with a slightly different sound signature. The older, but more neutral sounding module is known as the Earth. The newer module is called the Sun.



The problem with these units is, as they are vertically-mounted circuit boards (once they are plugged into your OPAMP slot) the cover of the ZERO wont fit back on. As a result, both Lawrence and Audio-gd sell versions that include a 10cm or so long set of wires so that the HDAM can sit elsewhere in the case. Though the units weren't originally designed to be used with extension wires, there have been no reports of problems.

Currently, replacing just the DAC OPAMP with a HDAM is recommended. You can try replacing the pre/hp amp opamps with HDAMs. IMO it's a bit overkill, as the money would be better spent on a dedicated headphone amp, such as one of the Audio-gd models. If you've bought an upgraded ZERO, replacing the pair of OPA627's with a dual-HDAM unit is the go. Feel free to experiment though. All three opamps in the Zero are dual/double opamps.

If you have a soldering iron, connecting the earth wire of the HDAM to the earth leg of the RCA jacks is something I recommend, as it improves the SQ, giving it more accuracy and punch. No soldering iron? You could just use an alligator clip. Edit: This is NOT necessary to do. Also, attaching the ground wire to any of the chassis screws is not recommended as the HDAM becomes quite hot. If it's too much hassle, just leave the ground wire not touching anything.



The unnecessary capacitors:

An interesting find on the web is a site called The Lampizator. In it, the owner does some quite crazy modifications to his Zero in the name of better sound. However, while we aren't interested in the really crazy stuff, one of the mods is quick, easy and only requires a small pair of wire cutter or even strong scissors and is well worth it, scary as it sounds.

As stated on the Lampizator site in the "bad points" about the Zero: "The output RCA are connected to noise killing caps which shouldn't be there at all." If you snip off these caps, the muffled treble of the Zero will clear up considerably, opening up the top end. There is no downside to this modification, except voiding your warranty (though return shipping would probably cost as much or more than the unit itself anyway).

Note: Myriad felt that after snipping these caps, the sound was too bright for him with his Grados. Grado owners might want to keep this in mind as they are reputably bright headphones.



Headphone compatibility:

The ZERO has enough grunt to drive low or high impedance headphones, however remember that the headphone amp built in is very basic. With low impedance cans such as the AKG K701 and Denons, the result is rather good, though not with as much spaciousness and separation in the sound as you'd get with a dedicated amp. If you've been listening out of a crappy PC soundcard and switch to a ZERO, it will be a massive improvement. The ZERO will make do if you have good headphones and haven't yet heard better, but wont in any way compare to adding a good few hundred dollars worth of amp will.

Can I put my amp on top of the ZERO:
It's probably not a good idea unless, like me, you have a slow spinning fan blowing air across the units. The ZERO heated up my Little Dot MKV quite impressively before this.

Summary:

The basic ZERO unit:

US$99
DAC OPAMP: B-Brown OPA2604
HP/pre OPAMPs: ?
Volume pot: "Song" (China)

The upgraded ZERO: (Lawrence's version)

ZERO DAC
DAC OPAMPs: Burr Brown OPA627
HP/pre OPAMPs: LT1364
Volume Pot: ALPS (Japan)

The upgraded ZERO: (wsz0304 version)

ZERO DAC
DAC OPAMPs: Burr Brown OPA627
HP/pre OPAMPs: NE5532 (original)
Volume Pot: Song (original)

The "as far as you can go without soldering" ZERO:

ZERO plus a HDAM unit with extension wires.
DAC OPAMP: Audio-gd Earth or Sun, or Moon.

How does it compare to other DACs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Diss View Post
I have a Zero with just an OPA624 upgrade. I've compared it to a DIYEden Great March II and to a Lavry DA10.

On a 100 scale, if an iPod rates a 5 and the Lavry a 95, then my Zero is about a 60 and the Great March II is about 85.

Total Comments 64

Comments

  1. Old Comment
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fsma View Comment
    Are you talking about the ones at the RCA jacks? or the opamps?
    Both
    permalink
    Posted 02-07-2009 at 11:18 AM by domzz domzz is offline
  2. Old Comment
    MadMan007's Avatar
    fsma - So what can happen if you do cut them? I hope nothing terrible, I've been using mine like that for a while heh.

    And I believe you're just saying that the headphone amp ones are needed but the line level RCA output ones can be cut?
    permalink
    Posted 02-07-2009 at 12:44 PM by MadMan007 MadMan007 is online now
  3. Old Comment
    Rick's Avatar
    the RCA ones can go yes, the head amp / preamp ones..............no. dc offset == bye bye headphones eventually.
    permalink
    Posted 02-07-2009 at 01:34 PM by Rick Rick is offline
  4. Old Comment
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fsma View Comment
    the RCA ones can go yes, the head amp / preamp ones..............no. dc offset == bye bye headphones eventually.
    Could you be more speciffic?
    permalink
    Posted 02-07-2009 at 02:19 PM by domzz domzz is offline
  5. Old Comment
    MadMan007's Avatar
    Well I decided to check the DC offset of my Zero with the HA caps cut. I did a little reading to recall what DC offset is and remembered I'd checked DC offset on some vintage gear. I measured after the unit was warmed up for a few minutes and did the measurement with with no signal going in of course. At low volume there is little to no offset, 1mV or so, even at max volume there is ~12mV offset and I never listen anywhere near max. Both channels were the same. That is not ideal but it's not bad by any means.

    I wish I had not desoldered the caps so I could just reconnect them, while unsoldering them I destroyed the caps. Measuring is really easy with a multimeter, just turn it on, turn on the HA section and measure from ground to signal on each channel, you can use an extension cable or mini-RCA cable if needed. If some other people could measure that would be good, especially if you just clipped one of the cap leads and can reconnect it with an alligator clip.

    What doesn't make sense is that a DC offset filter like this is done as a sub-sonic low frequency high-pass filter. I don't get how removing that would affect the high frequencies, it should affect low frequencies if anything unless it's not working right in the first place?
    permalink
    Posted 02-20-2009 at 05:48 AM by MadMan007 MadMan007 is online now
  6. Old Comment
    Rick's Avatar
    I was just repeating what I had read elsewhere at the time. I currently have them cut off on mine as well. under 20mV is nothing to worry about, 1-12mV DC offset is not going too harm anything.
    permalink
    Posted 02-20-2009 at 07:38 AM by Rick Rick is offline
  7. Old Comment
    MadMan007's Avatar
    I'm not saying your info wasn't potentially useful it was a valid concern it just needed to be tested in the real world.
    permalink
    Posted 02-20-2009 at 04:23 PM by MadMan007 MadMan007 is online now
  8. Old Comment
    Rick's Avatar
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MadMan007 View Comment
    I'm not saying your info wasn't potentially useful it was a valid concern it just needed to be tested in the real world.

    either way, I feel better now knowing you've only got 12mv dc offset at most hehe. thanks.
    permalink
    Posted 02-20-2009 at 08:12 PM by Rick Rick is offline
  9. Old Comment
    Hi all, i got 5 questions for you

    1- Are HDAM and OPAMP-Earth different names for the same chip?

    2- Is the HDAM better than the OPAMP627 just as OPAMP627 is better than OPAMP2604?

    3- Whats the original HP/pre OPAMPs chip?

    4- Is the fully upgraded version what people call FrankenZero? If not, what's the difference?

    5- The real difference in sound quality between the original and the fully upgraded versions is due mostly to a single component (in each case, which component would it be) or it's more like 1/3 + 1/3 +1/3 per component changed (HDAM + LT1364 + ALPS)? In other words, is there a component change that is responsible for 80% of the improvement in sound quality from the original to the fully upgraded versions?

    Actually i'm quite confused. The fully upgraded Lawrence's version in eBay says that it's HDAM+LT1364+upgraded ALPS but in the specifications it's said that the OP-AMP is the OPA2604. Am I missing something here or it's him who made a little mistake in the description?

    thank you all,

    lao

    EDIT: With all this improvement, it's easy to see that the price (220USD) comes really close to the one of the Audio-GD Compass (258USD). So, the question is, how the Zero fully upgraded compare to the Compass? Is it worth to do the upgrade or it's better to take the Compass instead of upgrading the Zero original?
    permalink
    Posted 03-18-2009 at 02:42 PM by laobrasuca laobrasuca is offline
    Updated 03-18-2009 at 02:51 PM by laobrasuca
  10. Old Comment
    MadMan007's Avatar
    1 - HDAM is a generic name for a discrete component opamp. The 'Earth' is one version, there's also 'Moon' and 'Sun.'

    2 - HDAMs are known to be better, what proportion of better is hard to say.

    3 - NE5532

    4 - FrankenZero is different from the prebuilt upgrade versions. It has different or additional caps mainly. The upgraded version has opamp upgrades or HDAMs and possibly the better volume pot.

    5 - Most of the difference is due to upgraded opamps. The volume pot doesn't really change the sound per se I believe, it's mainly beneficial for keeping L/R balance for low impedance phones at low volume levels.

    You'd have to ask Lawrence, it's probably a typo in his description because the OPA2604 is the base opamp in the DAC section and that's what the HDAM replaces.

    You have to count shipping for the Compass as well since the $220 fully upgraded Zero includes that, so the real cost of the Compass for now is ~$316, or closer to $100 more.
    permalink
    Posted 03-18-2009 at 03:00 PM by MadMan007 MadMan007 is online now
  11. Old Comment
    Nice, thanks for the answers.

    Ok, got it, i though that the 220$ did not include the shipping fees! Well, in this case the diff is more expressive

    Thx again,

    lao
    permalink
    Posted 03-18-2009 at 03:25 PM by laobrasuca laobrasuca is offline
  12. Old Comment
    So, now that I've had my Zero for awhile and its burned in, I have to say it sounds pretty lovely for the price. The only downside is it has a tendency to overheat, and when it starts to warm up it can introduce some noise. I've expanded the vents on the top and added a 120mm AC fan blowing air in through the top vent, gasketed for vibration dampening, and that appears to have alleviated the issue. Part of my problem is my headphone amp sits on top of the DAC, I think.
    permalink
    Posted 03-18-2009 at 03:46 PM by Tristor Tristor is offline
  13. Old Comment
    What about the frequency response, do the upgrades change it somehow? (20Hz-30KHz for the original version) Or the opamp's have nothing to do with it?

    lao
    permalink
    Posted 03-19-2009 at 06:20 PM by laobrasuca laobrasuca is offline
  14. Old Comment
    Haoting's Avatar
    There is one upgrade path that everyone has seem to have missed regarding the Zero dac, and that is nobody has looked into giving the Lampizator's unique idea of adding a vacuum tube output to the Zero dac. Here's the link. ZERODAC

    Has anyone tried what the Lampizator has done and what are the results?
    permalink
    Posted 03-19-2009 at 09:47 PM by Haoting Haoting is offline
  15. Old Comment
    Currawong's Avatar
    Lao: Whatever changes are made aren't relevant. Frequency response information for a product is mostly useless.

    Haoting: Yes, the Lampizator's guide is one we've come across. His suggestions were the basis of some of the mods (such as the cap snip) and the FrankenZero.
    permalink
    Posted 03-20-2009 at 12:28 AM by Currawong Currawong is online now
  16. Old Comment
    Haoting's Avatar
    Currawong, that's partly correct , but Lampizator's mod does not involve opamps like in the FrankenZero, he only utilizes a vacuum tube as an output.

    As written on his website, the Lampizator does not believe opamps provide the best sounding results. He prefers tubes, that's why he's the Lampizator.
    permalink
    Posted 03-21-2009 at 04:11 PM by Haoting Haoting is offline
  17. Old Comment
    Currawong's Avatar
    Haoting: Nothing to do with opamps and the Zero had anything to do with what people got out of the Lampizator's site. I don't know where you got the idea that we did.

    The cap snip suggestion, and some of the first ideas about mods to the Zero, such as cap replacements that ended up with the FrankenZero, came from the Lampizator's site.
    permalink
    Posted 03-21-2009 at 04:19 PM by Currawong Currawong is online now
  18. Old Comment
    Pricklely Peete's Avatar
    Besides Haoting, tubes aren't exactly the be all and end all solution either.

    There are drawbacks to any back end you use on an analog circuit, the SQ of which, depends mostly on the entire chain surrounding the unit rather than individual parts. In any event I'm sure the Lampy mod is loads of fun as are the other mods suggested for the Zero (most of which I have done) ....there is no best way to do things but there is a best way to achieve the most from gear. I've found the pinnacle of this to be the HDAM equipped FrankenZERO. Don't take my word for it though because I'm bound to say that. I'll let others speaks for that mod.

    Peete.
    permalink
    Posted 03-21-2009 at 09:51 PM by Pricklely Peete Pricklely Peete is online now
  19. Old Comment
    gilency's Avatar
    pardon my ignorance, but, can you connect your Zero to your stereo system or is it just for headphones?
    permalink
    Posted 04-04-2009 at 03:59 AM by gilency gilency is online now
  20. Old Comment
    Currawong's Avatar
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gilency View Comment
    pardon my ignorance, but, can you connect your Zero to your stereo system or is it just for headphones?
    Yes, using the RCA jacks on the rear.
    permalink
    Posted 04-04-2009 at 04:08 AM by Currawong Currawong is online now
 

All times are GMT. The time now is 12:56 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
SEO by vBSEO 3.3.2
Head-Fi.org