Zhaolu 2.0 ARRIVED!!! IMPRESSION INSIDE!

[hyamaiata]

Originally Posted by Sean H

Yes. You would use an optical Toslink cable between the Transit and the Zhaolu.

Thanks, Sean H. Until today I had my mind set up that I'd save money until I can get to buy the Micro DAC so I can get the full potential hidden in my K 701. Now this DAC comes out and it seems to be the bargain of the year. Should I get the Transit and the Zhalou D2 with the CS4398 chip instead of the Micro DAC? Or should I sell my Micro Amp and get the Zhalou with the discrete headphone amp when it comes out? I know this questions are difficult to answer but you guys can at least give me an idea of what I should be expecting. This DAC seems to be very superior in performance compared to other DACs in the price range and I'd like to know if the Micro DAC is one of those.

Thanks in advance.

[Sean H]

Originally Posted by skullguise

I haven't yet listened to the headphone amp. And the DAC was slightly thrown into the system, with not my best IC's and power cord. So even out of the box, in less than optimal setup, it is showing some great promise.

Over time, I hope to be able to compare to the Lavry DA-10 and the Rega Apollo, but that may be some time away; too much to do outside of audio right now.....

Pretty sweet, eh? Thanks for sharing initial impressions. I don't think you had heard a previous model before, right? It's pretty darn amazing how good these Zhaolu's sound, the price is just fantastic.

[Sean H]

Originally Posted by hyamaiata

Thanks, Sean H. Until today I had my mind set up that I'd save money until I can get to buy the Micro DAC so I can get the full potential hidden in my K 701. Now this DAC comes out and it seems to be the bargain of the year. Should I get the Transit and the Zhalou D2 with the CS4398 chip instead of the Micro DAC? Or should I sell my Micro Amp and get the Zhalou with the discrete headphone amp when it comes out? I know this questions are difficult to answer but you guys can at least give me an idea of what I should be expecting. This DAC seems to be very superior in performance compared to other DACs in the price range and I'd like to know if the Micro DAC is one of those.

Thanks in advance.

As you said it's really hard for anyone to say what you should do. No doubt the Zhaolu kills about anything in it's price range ($175-$225, I mean come on?) rather it seems it competes with digital pieces waaaaay beyond it's price. If you decide to go for the Transit (I use a Sonica with mine) and a Zhaolu then going for the upgraded discrete amp is a no brainer, at $40 the thing is practically a gimme. The amp performs waaaaaay beyond what that price might suggest, it's crazy. I mean the way people are blown away at the price/performance of this DAC the discrete amp is even crazier in price/performance. $40? It's nuts.

[TooNice]

What does the $225 price include?

[hyamaiata]

Originally Posted by TooNice

What does the $225 price include?

http://www.ifiaudio.com/d2.html

As you said it's really hard for anyone to say what you should do. No doubt the Zhaolu kills about anything in it's price range ($175-$225, I mean come on?) rather it seems it competes with digital pieces waaaaay beyond it's price. If you decide to go for the Transit (I use a Sonica with mine) and a Zhaolu then going for the upgraded discrete amp is a no brainer, at $40 the thing is practically a gimme. The amp performs waaaaaay beyond what that price might suggest, it's crazy. I mean the way people are blown away at the price/performance of this DAC the discrete amp is even crazier in price/performance. $40? It's nuts.

Thanks for your help Sean, it is really helpful. Do you know when is the amp upgrade going to be available? And, what is the difference between the Sonica and the Transit? I just saw a Sonica at eBay for $19.00 and the Transit is ussually sold at $60.

Thanks again.

[Sean H]

Originally Posted by hyamaiata

Thanks for your help Sean, it is really helpful. Do you know when is the amp upgrade going to be available? And, what is the difference between the Sonica and the Transit? I just saw a Sonica at eBay for $19.00 and the Transit is ussually sold at $60.

I think Zhaolu is getting them to dealers in a few weeks.

The Transit is newer than the Sonica, it basically replaced the Sonica which is no longer made. Both are almost identical in design. Both have Toslink optical output. What you have will work great.

[johan851]

So upgrading the headphone out would make this a viable option for a use as a preamp, wouldn't it? It'd be interesting to see how it compares as a pre-amp versus 'real' pre-amps for a speaker setup...

[hyamaiata]

I think Zhaolu is getting them to dealers in a few weeks.

The Transit is newer than the Sonica, it basically replaced the Sonica which is no longer made. Both are almost identical in design. Both have Toslink optical output. What you have will work great.

1. How does your HF-1 performs when amped directly from your Zhalou's headamp? Have you tested the headamp of your Zhalou with higher impedance headphones such as the HD650 or K701? Is it able to get their full potential out?

2. Where can I get a good and reasonably priced toslink cable?

Thanks.

[Cyrilix]

Originally Posted by hyamaiata

1. How does your HF-1 performs when amped directly from your Zhalou's headamp? Have you tested the headamp of your Zhalou with higher impedance headphones such as the HD650 or K701? Is it able to get their full potential out?

2. Where can I get a good and reasonably priced toslink cable?

Thanks.

He has. He said that the headphone amp for the 1.3 provided good results with low impedance cans, but weren't exactly the best for high impedance cans.

[bizkid]

Come on guys nobody else received his Zahlou yet? Eddie shipped 50 and there were also chengze and lawrence selling them. Where did all the DACs go?

Anyway i noticed (with the AD1852) using foobar upsampling to 96khz (otachan ssrc) vocals sound slightly clearer. I wonder if its distortion from upsampling or the DAC just delivers a cleaner signal working at 96khz.

[Cyrilix]

Originally Posted by bizkid

Come on guys nobody else received his Zahlou yet? Eddie shipped 50 and there were also chengze and lawrence selling them. Where did all the DACs go?

Anyway i noticed (with the AD1852) using foobar upsampling to 96khz (otachan ssrc) vocals sound slightly clearer. I wonder if its distortion from upsampling or the DAC just delivers a cleaner signal working at 96khz.

You forget that this DAC has a chinese market as well.

[fwojciec]

Originally Posted by bizkid

Anyway i noticed (with the AD1852) using foobar upsampling to 96khz (otachan ssrc) vocals sound slightly clearer. I wonder if its distortion from upsampling or the DAC just delivers a cleaner signal working at 96khz.

I noticed that as well - as if the highs were clearer, and it mostly noticeable in vocals - the effect is very subtle though (at least in my setup). I was quite impressed at first but now I'm not sure if it actually sounds better or worse. I would be interested to hear other peoples' thoughts on this - is there any explanation for this (or is it just placebo)?

Filip

[bizkid]

Originally Posted by Cyrilix

You forget that this DAC has a chinese market as well.

I think its avaible in local stores in china

[hyamaiata]

Originally Posted by bizkid

Come on guys nobody else received his Zahlou yet? Eddie shipped 50 and there were also chengze and lawrence selling them. Where did all the DACs go?

Anyway i noticed (with the AD1852) using foobar upsampling to 96khz (otachan ssrc) vocals sound slightly clearer. I wonder if its distortion from upsampling or the DAC just delivers a cleaner signal working at 96khz.

bizkid, you are getting the discrete headphone amp upgrade when it becomes available, right? If yes, I think I'll wait for your impressions on how well does it manages the K 701 because if I get the Zhalou, my setup will be exactly as yours.

Thanks.

[Loftprojection]

Not too familiar with this whole Zhaolu frenzy but find it interesting

Soo I just went to the distributor www.ifiaudio.com and saw the "Great March High DIYEDEN" DAC. Any of you very informed guys have info on that one as well? It's a bit more expensive then the Zhaolu and no headphone amp (which I don't need anyway) so did any of you ever compare it to the Zhaolu either 2 or 1.3? Many thanks.