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Zhaolu 2.0 ARRIVED!!! IMPRESSION INSIDE! - Page 15

post #211 of 858
5/21/06 at 3:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackexpress
Where do I sign up to order?
Read several posts above you.
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post #212 of 858
5/21/06 at 3:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by surfboardz26
the headamp sounds great to me. The bass is slightly bloated, but that my tighten up after burn in. Ive only used it for around 3 hours. Overall i think it sounds great. The headamp might be just ok, but the dac itself delivers the music and nothing but the music so i think thats why it sounds great. I cant wait for my amp to be made. This thing will really shine!
Could you elaborate a little bit more on the headamp? What headphones are you using with it? Do you have any <$500 amp to compare it with?
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post #213 of 858
5/21/06 at 3:30pm
Im using rs-1 headphones on this dac / headphone amp and Im just saying it sounds better than the headphone amp on the benchmark dac1. I would say it sounds on par with with the Emmeline sr-71 which is pretty good. The bass on the sr-71 is a little tighter. Comparing it to the dac1 the zhaolu headphone amp seems like it has more air inbetween instrements and better detail. the dac1 headphone amp is slightly grainer and has alot more speed. the detail is still their but i feel like its missing the warmth that the zhaolu gives. Keep in mind mine has blackgates which gives warmer sounds and smoother sound overall.

Compared to the sub $500 melos sha-1 it just doesnt reach the same fidelity that the melos provides. The melos sha-1 is deffinanly better. the music on the melos has more life and sounstage is deeper and wider.
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post #214 of 858
5/21/06 at 3:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by surfboardz26
Im using rs-1 headphones on this dac / headphone amp and Im just saying it sounds better than the headphone amp on the benchmark dac1. I would say it sounds on par with with the Emmeline sr-71 which is pretty good. The bass on the sr-71 is a little tighter. Comparing it to the dac1 the zhaolu headphone amp seems like it has more air inbetween instrements and better detail. the dac1 headphone amp is slightly grainer and has alot more speed. the detail is still their but i feel like its missing the warmth that the zhaolu gives. Keep in mind mine has blackgates which gives warmer sounds and smoother sound overall.

Compared to the sub $500 melos sha-1 it just doesnt reach the same fidelity that the melos provides. The melos sha-1 is deffinanly better. the music on the melos has more life and sounstage is deeper and wider.
Thanks for the information. So, basicly it could be resumed in:
Zhalou - RS1 > Benchmark - RS1
Zhalou - RS1 = Zhalou DAC - SR71 - RS1
Melos SHA-1 - RS1 > Zhalou - RS1

Right? I wonder how would the discrete headamp upgrade change this results?
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post #215 of 858
5/21/06 at 4:08pm
given the bass is tighter on the sr-71 I would say that is slightly better than the zhaolu. But if you think about it its kinda hard to determain the factors on the sound. Is it the zhaolu dac that makes the headphone amp sound nice or is it the fact that the headphone amp on the zhaolu is pretty decent? Do you know what i mean?
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post #216 of 858
5/21/06 at 4:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by surfboardz26
given the bass is tighter on the sr-71 I would say that is slightly better than the zhaolu. But if you think about it its kinda hard to determain the factors on the sound. Is it the zhaolu dac that makes the headphone amp sound nice or is it the fact that the headphone amp on the zhaolu is pretty decent? Do you know what i mean?
Yes, I know, it would be hard to tell but it seems this would make a good headphone amp/DAC combo for those of us who can't afford the million-dollar systems.
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post #217 of 858
5/21/06 at 4:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hyamaiata
I emailed Wei from iFi Audio about this and they are definitely balanced but won't be affected by the headamp. About connection of headphones directly into the balanced outputs, it should surely produce sound but I don't know what you should expect from the sound quality. Some people, like Alwayswantmore, have reported succesful results when connecting their balanced headphones directly into a CDP's balanced outputs but I don't know if this would also apply to DACs. I've seen some people using their balancesd HD 650s connected into the Lavry DA10's balanced outputs but I think those are affected by the amp. Is it the same with the DAC-1?
Ah ok. If I were to get a balanced amp I'd have a balanced setup though right?

I wish I knew how the zhaolu upgraded amp compared to the headfive
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post #218 of 858
5/21/06 at 4:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by surfboardz26
Im using rs-1 headphones on this dac / headphone amp and Im just saying it sounds better than the headphone amp on the benchmark dac1. I would say it sounds on par with with the Emmeline sr-71 which is pretty good. The bass on the sr-71 is a little tighter. Comparing it to the dac1 the zhaolu headphone amp seems like it has more air inbetween instrements and better detail. the dac1 headphone amp is slightly grainer and has alot more speed. the detail is still their but i feel like its missing the warmth that the zhaolu gives. Keep in mind mine has blackgates which gives warmer sounds and smoother sound overall.

Compared to the sub $500 melos sha-1 it just doesnt reach the same fidelity that the melos provides. The melos sha-1 is deffinanly better. the music on the melos has more life and sounstage is deeper and wider.
I thought you sold the Benchmark?
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post #219 of 858
5/21/06 at 4:39pm
that is correct
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post #220 of 858
5/21/06 at 5:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by surfboardz26
that is correct
Ok.
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post #221 of 858
5/21/06 at 6:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by surfboardz26
Im using rs-1 headphones on this dac / headphone amp and Im just saying it sounds better than the headphone amp on the benchmark dac1. I would say it sounds on par with with the Emmeline sr-71 which is pretty good. The bass on the sr-71 is a little tighter. Comparing it to the dac1 the zhaolu headphone amp seems like it has more air inbetween instrements and better detail. the dac1 headphone amp is slightly grainer and has alot more speed. the detail is still their but i feel like its missing the warmth that the zhaolu gives. Keep in mind mine has blackgates which gives warmer sounds and smoother sound overall.

Compared to the sub $500 melos sha-1 it just doesnt reach the same fidelity that the melos provides. The melos sha-1 is deffinanly better. the music on the melos has more life and sounstage is deeper and wider.
Are you speaking of the stock Zhaolu amp?
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post #222 of 858
5/21/06 at 6:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hyamaiata
Yes, I know, it would be hard to tell but it seems this would make a good headphone amp/DAC combo for those of us who can't afford the million-dollar systems.

It is an excellent combo. I have been quite happy with this set up. It is killing my waiting time for my eletrostatic amp so i must say im pleased.

and yes, im talking about the headphone amp on the zhaolu
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post #223 of 858
5/21/06 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by surfboardz26
and yes, im talking about the headphone amp on the zhaolu
So the stock amp on Zhaolu is on par with the SR71 ?! I think I will have to sell my M3 now j/k..

Btw, I ordered mine from Eddie, and I received a free upgrade with DY2000 in the DAC section and LT-1057 on the amp section. Not sure if this will improve the stock amp a bit more.
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post #224 of 858
5/21/06 at 8:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SonicDawg
So the stock amp on Zhaolu is on par with the SR71 ?! I think I will have to sell my M3 now j/k..
Apparently the stock amp in the new 2.0 has been improved from the 1.3 version and should be pretty decent. Think of it this way, it's a decent dual opamp design that is connected to a very nice power supply and it has a direct connection to the DAC (no interconnects and RCA jacks to mess up the sound). This amp should not be bad at all. Now, imagine the upgraded discrete amp!

Just a week or so until 2.0 hits here!!
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post #225 of 858
5/22/06 at 1:37am
Man I wish I knew how the discrete amp compared to say a gilmore lite, headfive, or micro amp
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