Zhaolu 2.0 ARRIVED!!! IMPRESSION INSIDE!

[bizkid]

LOL Those 2604's btw are in every Zhalou no matter which DAC it comes with. Dunno where that misinformation came from.
I just changed the OPA2604 i put in my Zhalou headphone amp back to the JRC5532. Something changed in the soundstaging which i didnt like and gave me a little fatigue using the OPA2604. Amp upgrade is 1 month away and the headfive 2 months, damn
Maybe ill get the CS4398 board in the meantime, very curious about that

[Sean H]

EDIT. Nevermind.

[skullguise]

Just got my CS-chip-based DAC yesterday from Eddie.

Plugged it in last night to my 3rd system:

- RAM-mod'd Toshiba 3960
- Consonance Cyber 30 amp with NOS RCA 2A3's

The Consonance has two inputs, one already using the Toshiba analog out; so I hooked the digital out from the Toshiba to the D2 and then fed that to the second input of the Cyber 30. With a flick of the switch I was able to compare the two inputs.

Used Ani Difranco "Up Up Up Up Up Up" and Eva Cassidy "Eva By Heart" CD's.

The output level of the D2 was a tiny bit higher, so i tried to keep that in mind while comparing the inputs. I also upped the volume occasionally from the Toshiba to see if that made differences in overall comparison (and other than the volume level, it didn't seem to change the quality).

The Toshiba was around $500-600 mod'd IIRC. It ended up beating out an Arcam CD-73T in my system, to my tastes.

The D2 brought the sound up a whole level. General improvements included:

- Size of soundstage grew a LOT with the D2
- The weight and presence of individual performers & instruments was bigger with the D2
- Details and focus within the soundstage were improved with the D2
- Smoothness was maintained despite this extra detail (the Toshiba was already pretty grain-free sounding, the D2 added more detail without changing that)

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.....

[TooNice]

Umm, I went through all 7 pages. Appart from the mention of $160 for the base unit, and the $40 headphone output upgrade, there was no mention of the cost of other upgrade. Could someone list the price of other upgrades, as well as how much it would cost for the full upgrade?

And while I am at it, could someone also tell me how much the fully modded 1.3 version used to cost?

[chesebert]

Originally Posted by TooNice

Umm, I went through all 7 pages. Appart from the mention of $160 for the base unit, and the $40 headphone output upgrade, there was no mention of the cost of other upgrade. Could someone list the price of other upgrades, as well as how much it would cost for the full upgrade?

And while I am at it, could someone also tell me how much the fully modded 1.3 version used to cost?

Uh..the only reason I bought the DAC for that price,.... was I rode about 30min of subway...asked atleast a dozen people where the heck I am and got on no less than 3 busses to get to the distributor's house to pick up that DAC....so I worked damn hard to get it ...but boy its all worth it in the end....

[Ori]

Originally Posted by bizkid

@all: Can i change the JRC5532 in the headphone amp with the OPA2604 eddie sent me?

My past experience with JRC products is a hit and miss. I'd change to the OPA2604 or look for NE5532 (from Philips/Signetics).
Interesting to note the use of LT1057 opamps in the analog chain in your pics and also in another unit from Eddie. Anybody knows if these are standard from Zhaolu?
Sure looks funny to use the cheapest opamp one can find (JRC5532) in the head amp with expensive opamps (LT1057) on the main board...

[tianguis]

Ori:
The stock Zhaolu uses 3 2604's. Eddie changes them to 1057's and a ceramic DY2000 in the center position. He includes the replaced 2604's. I've swapped out the 1057's for some not-yet-seen-in-Zhaoluland op-amps which sound superb. I'll post when they get a little time on them.

Larry

[bizkid]

Originally Posted by Sean H

You have a 1852 unit, right? Were there OPA2604's in the analog section of the DAC? Not talking about the headphone amp section. Zhaolu has told the US dealer that 5532's come with the 1852 units while 2604's come with the 4398 units, the information is coming straight from Zhaolu. Let us know.

Yes exactly like i wrote. The 3 OPA2604 were in the DAC analog section NOT in the headphone amp. The headphone amp sports 2 JRC5532.

[studeb]

Can anyone comment on sonic improvements to the DAC over the version 1.X?

[Sean H]

Originally Posted by bizkid

Yes exactly like i wrote. The 3 OPA2604 were in the DAC analog section NOT in the headphone amp. The headphone amp sports 2 JRC5532.

Oh, wait a second. Did you get yours from Eddie? Eddie breaks the warranty seal (offers his own personal warranty for one year after doing so) and swaps in opamps and I think he has mentioned putting in 2604's. Ok, now it makes sense. Zhaolu's stock AD1852 units come with JRC5532's. The upgraded CS4398 comes with 2604's. Didn't he give you LT opamps too, or a DY-2000 ceramic or something like that?

[tianguis]

Sean:
There seems to be some confusion here. I got my 1852 from Eddie and it came with two 1057's and a DY2000 on the DAC board, his "Hong Kong Promotion" version. The stock 1852 board came with 2604's, which Eddie included. The headphone board has 2 5532's.

Larry

[bizkid]

Originally Posted by Sean H

Oh, wait a second. Did you get yours from Eddie? Eddie breaks the warranty seal (offers his own personal warranty for one year after doing so) and swaps in opamps and I think he has mentioned putting in 2604's. Ok, now it makes sense. Zhaolu's stock AD1852 units come with JRC5532's. The upgraded CS4398 comes with 2604's. Didn't he give you LT opamps too, or a DY-2000 ceramic or something like that?

No his update were the DY2000 and LT-1057, stock was OPA2604 (which he supplied too)

[Sean H]

Ok, got word from US dealer that the 1852 units DO COME WITH OPA2604 IN THE DAC SECTION. Sorry about this. Sheesh, what confusion! Sorry guys, and thanks for the info. He had told me a while back that Zhaolu told him when you get the 4398 model that you get upgraded opamps to 2604's. He told me he just went back and reviewed that email he got from them again and it does in fact say that when you upgrade to the 4398 model that the HEADPHONE AMP OPAMPS get upgraded to OPA2604's. It's just the headphone amp we're talking about here I guess. Any 2.0 unit will have OPA2604's in the DAC analog section. That makes much more sense to me as I wondered why they would downgrade the opamps to 5532's when the old D1.3 models used 2604's in the DAC section. Now it makes sense.

So if that wasn't confusing enough let me summerize.

Zhaolu stock AD1852:
OPA2604 opamps in the DAC analog section
JRC5532 opamps in the headphone amp

Zhaolu stock CS4398:
OPA2604 opamps in the DAC analog section
OPA2604 opamps in the headphone amp

[hyamaiata]

Will an M-AUDIO Transit allow me to use the Zhalou with my computer? (Note that I'm using a G4 Mac Mini)

[Sean H]

Originally Posted by hyamaiata

Will an M-AUDIO Transit allow me to use the Zhalou with my computer? (Note that I'm using a G4 Mac Mini)

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