Yikes! As impressive as the modded Zhaolu 2.0 is, the DA7.2x outperforms it in every way, even with only 24 hrs. on it (according to Eddie). It has deeper and better-controlled bass, better resolution, blacker background, much larger soundstage, faster transients, more texture. I had been listening to one of my reference CD's, stuck the 7.2x in, and the difference was immediate.
A short listen to the discrete headphone amp tells me it's significantly better than the stock one in the Zhaolu.
It's a pain to operate on (I had to switch an internal connector for 110V. operation). Every screw on the top, bottom and rear panels has to be removed in order to get to the boards, which remain attached to the front panel. The 1796 DAC chip looks authentic. The case is an anodized vertically-split clamshell. The front panel is 1/4" thick. It's got pretty good power conditioning, although I use a balanced conditioner. The volume control is a knockoff Alps motorized 100k pot which feels very smooth. Volume, source inputs, mute and upsampling (NOS and 2X) can be controlled by the remote, which is machined from a billet of non-magnetic stainless steel.
Oh, the "Citypulse" logo is backlit and a little label on the front tells us it's the "Yearn Series"!
Regards,
Larry Welsh
