Zhaolu in NYC
All:
Received my stock 1852 2.0 today from Eddie (2 days transit time to New York City).
I've been using a modded Nixon Dackit, which I built, and have compared (A/B) to a number of DAC's, including Dodson, Stello, Bel Canto. Differences seemed minor. However, my initial impression of the Zhaolu gives me a big improvement compared to the Dackit: bigger space, more bass tautness, greater dynamics, better micro detail (all this after 10 minutes of listening). There's a slight edginess to the treble which I expect to go away after component burn-in.
I'm using it after a DIY CD-Pro2M, TacT RCS driving a DIY ICEpower amp driving Overkill Audio Ovations, bi-amped and actively XO'd.
I'll be doing mods, probably trying other DAC's, op-amps (the 2.0 even included a trio of OPA2804's), wire, damping.
I'm impressed by the build quality (OF COURSE, I popped the hood). It's quite a heavy little box, nicely finished. A brief listen with Senn 580's seemed promising.
Regards,
Larry Welsh