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Review: ZERO 24 BIT/192KHz DAC/Headphone Amp/Pre-Amp - Page 131

post #1951 of 9228
3/15/08 at 2:46am


How should I set up my optical settings for the ZERO?
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post #1952 of 9228
3/15/08 at 6:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by coredump View Post
4 LED all together. One by the optical. One kind of over by where the power comes in and 2 on the smaller board at the front. It looks like the only two not lit are the reset and mute.
Hmm... looks all fine.

If you press the Preamp button again and again, do you hear some clicking?
Check the cables to this smaller board. Are they attached to their sockets?
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post #1953 of 9228
3/15/08 at 9:38am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by souperman View Post


How should I set up my optical settings for the ZERO?
It depends. With the X-Fi's, setting it to the highest rate seems to sound better to most folks. Where it's at right now will give pleasant results too. You'll have to experiment a little, when the Zero is burnt in.
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post #1954 of 9228
3/15/08 at 9:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by CountChoculaBot View Post
So I read here that Zero DAC Amp > Hotrodded X-Fi Fatality. Is that the general consensus? What if it was Hotrodded X-Fi + iBasso D2 (or Go-vibe petite, or any other similar portable amp) vs the Zero DAC? How much better would the Zero DAC be (I'd have to sell my iBasso D2 if so to get this baby )? This is assuming everything has had opamps rolled, and damn the expense of the opamps

Oh yes, is digital out good for gaming? I think I read somewhere that games can't pass 5.1 audio out through digital? Or is that bologna (or am I supposed to spell it baloney in this case? =\)?
First the games: If you already have dedicated speakers and stuff for the surround, keep them and drive them like you always have. For audio, you'd enable the optical or coaxial out, to the Zero for headphones or use the Zero's output to another amp for phones. The X-Fi will drive all outputs at the same time too. So, you can turn off what you don't want driven. This is a general consensus from gamers who have improved their audio for music, and kept their surround rigs for games.

The Zero's attraction here, is that it is going to sound better than almost all portable DAC/Amps. You would need to spend $400+ to get the same performance, and even then, it might not sound as good in the headphone amp. The Zero's dual mono headphone amp is really pretty sweet. So, for less than $200, and some cheap to get Opamps, you have quality improvements that have been estimated to be worth 3 to 4 times the expenditure. This has drawn a sizable crowd, and they confirm it's abilities.
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post #1955 of 9228
3/15/08 at 12:01pm
im running lt1364 x 3 and it sounds pretty sweet, just waiting for the opa627bp to arrive

btw i just set my audio card to PCM 192khz, surely this is the best option since the Zero is labeled '24 BIT/192KHz' too?

*also toying with the idea of buying HD650s, i've got a pair of darth on their way too, worth getting the senns too?
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post #1956 of 9228
3/15/08 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Penchum View Post
First the games: If you already have dedicated speakers and stuff for the surround, keep them and drive them like you always have. For audio, you'd enable the optical or coaxial out, to the Zero for headphones or use the Zero's output to another amp for phones. The X-Fi will drive all outputs at the same time too. So, you can turn off what you don't want driven. This is a general consensus from gamers who have improved their audio for music, and kept their surround rigs for games.

The Zero's attraction here, is that it is going to sound better than almost all portable DAC/Amps. You would need to spend $400+ to get the same performance, and even then, it might not sound as good in the headphone amp. The Zero's dual mono headphone amp is really pretty sweet. So, for less than $200, and some cheap to get Opamps, you have quality improvements that have been estimated to be worth 3 to 4 times the expenditure. This has drawn a sizable crowd, and they confirm it's abilities.
Thanks for the info

Now I just need to sell my iBasso D2 -_-
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post #1957 of 9228
3/15/08 at 1:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by magnetiq View Post
btw i just set my audio card to PCM 192khz, surely this is the best option since the Zero is labeled '24 BIT/192KHz' too?
IMO if your source audio is 44.1kHz and you don't use a sample rate converter there is no need for 192kHz. I think that the DAC is working well if it knows the sampling rate of the source data.

On the other hand there is a discussion about the DAC1, that their DAC is operating at 100-ish kHz, because that's the best frequency for the DAC to convert the digital data. They use an ASRC to up- and downsample any data to 100-ish kHz.
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post #1958 of 9228
3/15/08 at 2:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Penchum View Post
It depends. With the X-Fi's, setting it to the highest rate seems to sound better to most folks. Where it's at right now will give pleasant results too. You'll have to experiment a little, when the Zero is burnt in.
What should my output source be?
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post #1959 of 9228
3/15/08 at 2:42pm

Will the Zero play SACD and/or DVD-A sources?

Will the Zero play input from either of these "newer" sources?

I don't know much about them, for example, if the digital output can be converted to CD format, and if so, does it make sense to do so?
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post #1960 of 9228
3/15/08 at 2:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by magnetiq View Post
im running lt1364 x 3 and it sounds pretty sweet, just waiting for the opa627bp to arrive

btw i just set my audio card to PCM 192khz, surely this is the best option since the Zero is labeled '24 BIT/192KHz' too?

*also toying with the idea of buying HD650s, i've got a pair of darth on their way too, worth getting the senns too?
I think it is going to depend on your own ears. With my X-FI card, I have it set to the highest possible, because there is a very slight sound improvement. Others have reported the same, and others have reported that it is better to keep it from oversampling.

I'm a Senn fan. I have been for years and just can't help it. From my first HD-580's, I have loved the sound and comfort. I now have the HD-650 and HD-600 too, and I love all of them. I have always protected my hearing and I have little loss, so this might play into my preference as well. I guess I would say the Senn's are excellent for all types of music and all types of equipment, so this gives me great flexibility with little fuss. It is easy to recommend them.
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post #1961 of 9228
3/15/08 at 2:50pm
I just got new 650s last night, and I'm already impressed, just from listening through a cheap DVD player and my low-end Dennon, and my old 3G iPod. wow.
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post #1962 of 9228
3/15/08 at 2:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sorcer View Post
Will the Zero play input from either of these "newer" sources?

I don't know much about them, for example, if the digital output can be converted to CD format, and if so, does it make sense to do so?
It doesn't matter what the media is being played, it depends on what the deck outputs. If it is optical or coaxial at 192, it will do it. Check the deck in question to see what it outputs. I don't think it is going to be a problem.
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post #1963 of 9228
3/15/08 at 4:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sorcer View Post
I just got new 650s last night, and I'm already impressed, just from listening through a cheap DVD player and my low-end Dennon, and my old 3G iPod. wow.
The HD650s are amazing! I've read a lot of praising things about them here on the board but never could justify the extra costs My primary phones were the K701s and I mean were.... A couple of weeks ago they went nuts when I attached them to my newly acquired DV336i Anyway, they went for a repair and I bought the 650s to keep me company meanwhile.

The rest is history.....
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post #1964 of 9228
3/15/08 at 5:59pm
From what I gather, there is one OpAmp for the DAC and two for the headphone amp, right? What's the general consensus on the absolute best combo for when using the amp function (for an HFI-780, preferably)?

So far, I think I've read that dual OPA627's are the overwhelming choice for the DAC, but what of the headphone amp? I've been reading that the LME49720 is good, would many consider it the best? Or would that go to something like the LT1364?
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post #1965 of 9228
3/15/08 at 6:36pm
Don't have the 780's but with Senns you can't go wrong with the 627s in the dac and either one that u mentioned in the amp. The 49720s are a great combo with the 627s but ultimately to my ears the 1364s edged them out for my favorite in the amp..
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