Review: ZERO 24 BIT/192KHz DAC/Headphone Amp/Pre-Amp - Page 180

anyone tried the zero with k-701 vs the 0404 usb with k701?,dac+amp performance,can't decide what to get

Thanks for all the input! Judging from the responses i guess the 250ohms dt880 would be a much better match for zero than the 600ohms...

I think i'll just drag my zero all the way to the store to test it again myself to confirm it after burning in the zero amp properly. And check out hd650/hd600 + zero while i'm there.

I wish burn in could be done faster =(

btw if i change opamps do i have to "burn them in" again seperately? sorry for all the noob questions! And much thanks to everyone for this thread.

Nope, it's done mostly for the capacitors.

Ok, I'm an inch away from buying one...

I am a bit confused as to what you guys are saying about the head amp quality... Are you saying that a tube amp in general will be better than a solid state amp as a personal preference, or are you saying specifically that the SS amp in the Zero is mediocre compared to a dedicated SS amp?

Also, maybe a silly question, but just to make sure... will this better the headphone output from my 12 year old Pioneer receiver? If not, I might as well just buy a stand-alone DAC...

Oh ya, I dont know if this has been answered yet, but how does this compare to the Octavart One? Heh, Zero vs One.

In my opinion the Zero amp is pretty darn good for the money. Based on reviews here I expected less but with my HD650s I'd say it's 90-95% of the performance of the LDIII. That's with everything stock, no tube or opamp upgrades.

Well, it's been over 2 weeks since I ordered my Zero from Chan Lawrence and apparently it still HASN'T shipped. Maybe I shouldn't have bought it from him directly and instead used Ebay to buy it...

On a side note, I've had my OpAmp Upgrades for over a week now too. Kinda useless right now, though.

Wow, nice... sounds like I'll be quite good with just using the Zero as a DAC and Amp.

Now, I'm just wondering how it compares to the Octavart DAC/Amp which can be had for a similar price...

had my zero for a week now, got about 65hrs on it.
before i had this unit i could not tell any difference when listening to cd or mp3(320) from my pc ! man i can now!
great bit of kit for the money.
if anyone needs the "final push" JUST DO IT, GET ONE . if you dont like it sell it. you wont lose a lot.
i now want these 627bp chips and an adapter. i want the adapter with "plug in" sockets already soldered in place. where is currently considered the best place to buy?? (must be genuine chips, price not important)
cheers

Don't worry. I'm pretty sure I still hold the record at 31 days.

thats disconcerting...

Any octavart vs. zero inputs?

Well I suppose the Chinese New Year/ Freak Chinese Blizzard was partially to blame.

I doubt anyone on here has heard both the Zero and Octavart.

Oh really? I guess I was out of the loop on that news, heh...

Why don't you think anyone has heard both units?

I think most the people around here have fancy CD players and what not so they don't use external DACs. Those who buy them probably never buy more than one.