Review: ZERO 24 BIT/192KHz DAC/Headphone Amp/Pre-Amp

[SLUSHIE]

So I bought a converter and its working great now. Buying a converter seemed like an easier process than returning it.

So far I like it but I wish the bass was a bit louder. I don't really get a tight seal around my ears, I have a odd shaped head or something and there is a small gap behind my ears kind of on my jaw. If I press it tight around my head it is a lot better but I can't really be doing that all the time.

PHOTO!

[Penchum]

Originally Posted by Gaco

I would if I could - that way I'd appreciate the Zero even more when it finally arrives. But the pump for my watercooling system just said "F U" and died on me a week back. Word of advice NEVER buy premade thermaltake liquid cooling systems, they suck. I assembled the perfect computer myself (Q6600@3ghz, 8800GTX 2xRaptorX150gb @ RAID0 etc.) but the LCS was it's achilles heel. I'm waiting for a replacement POS pump but it keeps getting postponed = no computer = no Call of Duty 4 Multiplayer gaming = No working X-Fi to test testdrive my HD600 ion

But seeing the kind of delivery times people are experienceing in general (3 weeks seem to be about average) I will probably have my computer up and running before the Zero arrives, so I will try them on ASAP!

But omg those LT1364 are cheap as dirt, but it's confusing with three versions - which one to buy if I decided?
Linkage for Linear Technology LT1364 OpAmp

Do you have, or can you borrow an MP3 player? You could use that as well for the burn-in.

[Penchum]

Originally Posted by SLUSHIE

So I bought a converter and its working great now. Buying a converter seemed like an easier process than returning it.

So far I like it but I wish the bass was a bit louder. I don't really get a tight seal around my ears, I have a odd shaped head or something and there is a small gap behind my ears kind of on my jaw. If I press it tight around my head it is a lot better but I can't really be doing that all the time.
snip

Good show Slushie! I can't make out which headphones you have, so I'm not sure what you can do to help with the "seal" problem. I can however, reassure you that breaking in the Zero for 100hrs will improve it greatly, even with the default Opamps, so run it like a race horse!

[mp101]

Thanks Penchum.

Is there such a thing as a matched pair of OPA627? I'm not so sure myself as they should be the same (if they work).

eBay have some at around $15 a pair, I have some free samples of the LT1361CN8, LT1364CN8#PBF (only ones they had), LT1469CN8 coming from Linear, and some browndogs from Cimarron.

The Little Dot may move to the bedroom, so I want the Zero to sound as good as possible on the amp side too, I might start with a pair of LT1364's on the browndog first (after the Zero has burnt in), then I migh try a pair of OPA627's on the DAC.

Cheers all

Originally Posted by Penchum

First off, Congratulations! More than one toy is always better!
The way you describe what you are hearing, is exactly what I would expect this soon out of the boxes. You are doing he right thing, burn them in for the 100hr minimum. Watch (actually listen) for major changes around the 40-65 hour area, then smaller but notable ones up to 100hrs. Then, do some critical listening again. You are in for a nice treat!

[Penchum]

Originally Posted by mp101

Thanks Penchum.

Is there such a thing as a matched pair of OPA627? I'm not so sure myself as they should be the same (if they work).

eBay have some at around $15 a pair, I have some free samples of the LT1361CN8, LT1364CN8#PBF (only ones they had), LT1469CN8 coming from Linear, and some browndogs from Cimarron.

The Little Dot may move to the bedroom, so I want the Zero to sound as good as possible on the amp side too, I might start with a pair of LT1364's on the browndog first (after the Zero has burnt in), then I migh try a pair of OPA627's on the DAC.

Cheers all

Not really. A pair of singles is a pair of singles. Ow, and the LT1364 is a dual, so no need for the adapter, just plug it in the DAC. Then try the LT1469s when they come in, in the headphone board. You'll be surprised how nice both the DAC and phones sound.

[king756]

My Zero was delivered yesterday to work looking at the tracking info. Didn't have chance to pop in yesterday to pick it up so am going in later on.

Also received some Sennheiser HD650's off ebay today with a Cardas cable upgrade to go with the Zero.

I've also orderd some samples from Linear Technology lastnight:
LT1364CN8#PBF x 1
LT1469CN8#PBF x 2

Luckily i didn't order them off the net last week as i was going to pay £30 before i found out about the free samples .

[Gaco]

Originally Posted by charley phogg

Firstly I was going to suggest burning in ur HD600's while waiting on ur Zero but Penchum beat me to it.
Also saw you had the P5K and wondered what all you had, sorry to hear about ur H2Opump. You can't overclock the quad's 25% on air? Back that thing down and burn those cans in until your Zero comes, then fix ur pump or get a GOOD effecent air cooler. I know, you wish it was that easy,huh.
Stealing a line from some movie I can't think the name of... There ain't no water in computers!!!!

But seriously, you need to find a way to burn you cans in, otherwise your not gonna know if your coming or going between ur cans burning in, ur amp burning in, ur dac burning in.... swapping opamps around on top of it. Which leads me to something you need to make not of when swapping opamps. Just like the CPU, opamps are marked which way they go in. You'll see an indention on one end offset to one side, thats pin #1. Look at the originals before you remove them and make a drawing or take a pic of all of them for refference. I know it's been mentioned before, but not sure if you've seen it.

I don't have the P5K though it is an Asus board, the ultimate DDR2 of the P35 chipset: Asus Blitz Formula Republic of Gamers!
Should be an excellent overclocker. The reason why my CPU won't OC more than 25% op to 3.0ghz is that I got the Q6600 with B3 stepping by mistake - DOH! Should have had the G0 stepping of course, but that's just life sometimes. I'm going to get a replacement pump from TT(rated for 80,000 hours MY ASS!) though they're on backorder everywhere. It just happened that I did all my research thoroughly as I alsways do on all the components except for the liquid cooling system. I should have known better. But I had never used anything but air cooling up until then and I just wanted it simple, so I ordered that case with a complete water cooling kit. But you never want anything to do with the complete kits! You want to buy all the components seperately, and mostly don't have to worry about compatibility at all since ½" tubing is pretty much standard now (3/8" tubes is the lesser used inferior standard). Anyway I think I'm gonna stop now, I could go on about computer hardware all day long

Originally Posted by Penchum

Do you have, or can you borrow an MP3 player? You could use that as well for the burn-in.

I think I'll get the computer running at leats 2 weeks before the zero arrives, is that enough time? What is the expected burn-in time of Sennheiser HD600?

[Penchum]

I've got just shy of 100hrs on my new HD-600s and they are almost done. About 12 hours ago, the super deep bass came into play! Now they are so cool to listen too!

[king756]

Well picked up the Zero from work.

Them blue LED's on the front are bright!!!! It's also a fair bit heavier than I was expecting.

It has certainly stopped the noise from my Livewire IEM's when listening back via Computer -> Optical -> Zero. With the Livewires it sounds OK to me (keep in mind this is my first amp / dac). With the HD650's I recievied today it seems a bit darker, bass was good on Prodigy's Smack My Bitch up though.

So far I am preferring the sound from the Livewires. Hopefully when the Zero has burnt in and I get the new Op Amps I'll prefer the HD650's for home listening which is what I brought them for.

[crashley]

Got my Zero yesterday, 1/28, and haven't been able to stop listening long enough to post. I ordered and paid through eBay from Lawrence on the 11th, got an email from him on the 22nd with a tracking # and received it in Quebec 6 days later. So 16 days start to finish and I never once sent him an email.

Now, this is my first headphone amp and I'm listening with Allesandro MS-1's, which are a big upgrade over my 20 yr old Signet's, which finally died. So, I have an Apple Airport, optical out to the Zero, and I am floored by the sound. I had goose bumps yesterday while listening to everything from Led Zeppelin to Bill Evans to Massive Attack to Cake to Kenny Burrell. This unit uses the stock Op Amps and hasn't been burned in and to my uneducated ears sounds phenomenal. I hear old familiar songs like I've never heard them before.

I left it running last night but forgot to plug in the laptop and the battery lasted about 1 1/2 hours so total burn in time might be about 12 hours now. Seriously, you mean to tell me this will sound better in a few days?

After having tried the MS-1's for $99 and now the Zero for $174 (both delivered prices) I can't even say, 'damn you Head-fi', because for under $300 I have achieved sonic nirvana. And please don't tell me otherwise :-)

[Penchum]

Originally Posted by king756

Well picked up the Zero from work.

Them blue LED's on the front are bright!!!! It's also a fair bit heavier than I was expecting.

It has certainly stopped the noise from my Livewire IEM's when listening back via Computer -> Optical -> Zero. With the Livewires it sounds OK to me (keep in mind this is my first amp / dac). With the HD650's I recievied today it seems a bit darker, bass was good on Prodigy's Smack My Bitch up though.

So far I am preferring the sound from the Livewires. Hopefully when the Zero has burnt in and I get the new Op Amps I'll prefer the HD650's for home listening which is what I brought them for.

Originally Posted by crashley

Got my Zero yesterday, 1/28, and haven't been able to stop listening long enough to post. I ordered and paid through eBay from Lawrence on the 11th, got an email from him on the 22nd with a tracking # and received it in Quebec 6 days later. So 16 days start to finish and I never once sent him an email.

Now, this is my first headphone amp and I'm listening with Allesandro MS-1's, which are a big upgrade over my 20 yr old Signet's, which finally died. So, I have an Apple Airport, optical out to the Zero, and I am floored by the sound. I had goose bumps yesterday while listening to everything from Led Zeppelin to Bill Evans to Massive Attack to Cake to Kenny Burrell. This unit uses the stock Op Amps and hasn't been burned in and to my uneducated ears sounds phenomenal. I hear old familiar songs like I've never heard them before.

I left it running last night but forgot to plug in the laptop and the battery lasted about 1 1/2 hours so total burn in time might be about 12 hours now. Seriously, you mean to tell me this will sound better in a few days?

After having tried the MS-1's for $99 and now the Zero for $174 (both delivered prices) I can't even say, 'damn you Head-fi', because for under $300 I have achieved sonic nirvana. And please don't tell me otherwise :-)

Congratulations guys! Glad everything has arrived. Yes, the Zero will improve during the first 100hrs. This has been proven by like 50 users or more so far!
Don't sweat the details, just run them and enjoy them! You'll notice the changes as they happen. HD-580s, 600s and 650s all sound great after the Zero has "matured". Keep us posted!

[Seba]

Collected my Zero from customs today. I haven't listened to it almost at all, my friend tested his SA5000's (my old phones) from Zero + LD MKIV SE.

Those leds on front panel are very bright

[kmel]

First... thanks have to go to Penchum for his wonderful review. Without his review I never bought the Zero.

Yesterday the HD650 arrived and today the Zero... perfect timing :-)
I sensed that the Zero would be deliviered only after reading all the pages of this thread, never before.

I opened the Zero to check all cables and looked for loose ICs and did the "wiggle test" on the cables. All fine... nothing happened on the way to Germany.
Switched the Zero to 220V and powered it up.
Wow... these blue LEDs are bright. Too bright I think, they will have to be modified to the intensity of the green LED.

Found a "mute" and a "reset" button. I think it's nice to have "Mute" on the front.

My first impressions with the Echo Audiofire as source: Damn fine listening device, never heard so much details before. Bass is there, it looks (hmm... hears) like the highs and the middle frequencies aren't well developed yet.
Cannot await the end of the burn-in.

Now both items are in the 1st stage of burn-in: 4 hours quiet music.

[Seba]

I was impatient and swapped OPA627's and LT1364 for my Zero

I can hear slight noise when I turn the volume high from Zero. The noise reduced when I swapped those op-amps but it is there still. Though I can crank my Grado's for only 10-11 o'clock because the gain is a bit high.

[Penchum]

Originally Posted by Seba

I was impatient and swapped OPA627's and LT1364 for my Zero

I can hear slight noise when I turn the volume high from Zero. The noise reduced when I swapped those op-amps but it is there still. Though I can crank my Grado's for only 10-11 o'clock because the gain is a bit high.

Do you mean using the built-in headphone amp, or from the DAC to your MK?