Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › Review: ZERO 24 BIT/192KHz DAC/Headphone Amp/Pre-Amp
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Review: ZERO 24 BIT/192KHz DAC/Headphone Amp/Pre-Amp - Page 43

post #631 of 9242
1/6/08 at 4:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shopper View Post
Depends on the point of view. I personally don't consider $220 cheap for a headphone amp - just right. Whereas I'd consider $220 cheap for a speaker amp.
Well I really think it depends what do you expect from an headphone system, and what your other equipments are (cans, dac etc).

Sorry for the OT.
Reply
post #632 of 9242
1/6/08 at 6:48pm
Thread Starter 
Flexibility is key in my book. That is what caught my eye with the Zero in the first place. I already had the Super T-amp and my AR bookshelves, so the idea of digital source to Zero to Super T to ARs was nice, and the ability to just by-pass the amp and listen to good clean headphones was also nice. The more I thought about it, the more attractive it became and the price was outstanding, so it didn't take long to make the purchase. Mini system complete!

Then, the side benefits became clearer. Like, hook the Zero to anyone of my Tube headphone amps, or now, hook it to my MKV SS headphone amp. The idea of using the Zero as a digital to analog bridge, into my Vintage equipment was tested and fantastic, so #2 was purchased.

No matter how you look at this little Zero unit, it gives you options for down the road. I like that. The fact that it is inexpensive, is icing on the cake!
Reply
post #633 of 9242
1/6/08 at 6:57pm
Good idea to get one of these instead of just a headphone amp like the Headsix to drive my DT770/80 pro's? I mean there is a $15 between this and the Headsix.

I don't need portable and a nice silver machine sitting on the desk would look nice
Reply
post #634 of 9242
1/6/08 at 7:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by aZn_plyR View Post
Good idea to get one of these instead of just a headphone amp like the Headsix to drive my DT770/80 pro's? I mean there is a $15 between this and the Headsix.

I don't need portable and a nice silver machine sitting on the desk would look nice
I forgot what your source was, but as long as it is digital, I would agree with what you said.
Reply
post #635 of 9242
1/6/08 at 7:46pm
Yeah it's digital from an xtrememusic.
Reply
post #636 of 9242
1/6/08 at 7:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by aZn_plyR View Post
Yeah it's digital from an xtrememusic.
Same here!! Did you purchase the I/O drive from Creative yet?
Reply
post #637 of 9242
1/6/08 at 7:57pm
Well I didn't need the use of a front panel, since it screws up the look on my case ( I like it clean )

Do I even need that with the Zero? Since I am planning to connect the x-fi to the zero via coaxial
Reply
post #638 of 9242
1/6/08 at 8:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by aZn_plyR View Post
Well I didn't need the use of a front panel, since it screws up the look on my case ( I like it clean )

Do I even need that with the Zero? Since I am planning to connect the x-fi to the zero via coaxial
Ow, no you are correct. It isn't needed. It just gives you more options on inputs & outputs. I like it because of the output features and inputs too. I use it to input my analog audio systems and create WAV lossless files. It has a headphone amp section, but I don't use it unless I'm gaming later at night.
It is worth taking a look at, to see if the additional functionality will help you later. Sound Blaster X-Fi I/O Drive Upgrade Kit - Add a dedicated headphone jack, additional audio I/O and a wireless remote to your Sound Blaster X-Fi equip

It sure is cheaper now than when I bought mine!
Reply
post #639 of 9242
1/6/08 at 10:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Almoxil View Post

Now, I have a small question: does the bundled optical cable have a 1/8" (3.5 mm) plug at one end and an optical plug at the other end? Before buying a decent desk CD player I'll be plugging a iRiver SlimX 550 (don't laugh! ) into it, and a pair of ATH-AD2000's or Alessandro MS-1's (soon to be MS-2's ) into the headphone jack.

Can someone post a pic of the bundled cable? If not, is it similar to the cable below?

Thanks again!
It has a standard optical toslink male connector on both sides. Its only 3 feet however, so you'd need to place the zero very close to the source.
Reply
post #640 of 9242
1/6/08 at 10:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonM View Post
It has a standard optical toslink male connector on both sides. Its only 3 feet however, so you'd need to place the zero very close to the source.
Thanks for the info, JonM. I bought a 1/8" to toslink cable so I can plug the SlimX to the Zero when it arrives.

Do you know of a good desk CD player with optical out to pair with the Zero? Since I will be using the optical out on the CD player, the audio data will bypass the CD player built-in DAC/amp and will be treated exclusively by the Zero, right?

Sorry for the noob question.
Reply
post #641 of 9242
1/6/08 at 10:44pm
Yes, you will be using your CD player as a transport bypassing the internal dac and assorted circuit.
Reply
post #642 of 9242
1/6/08 at 11:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Almoxil View Post
Thanks for the info, JonM. I bought a 1/8" to toslink cable so I can plug the SlimX to the Zero when it arrives.

Do you know of a good desk CD player with optical out to pair with the Zero? Since I will be using the optical out on the CD player, the audio data will bypass the CD player built-in DAC/amp and will be treated exclusively by the Zero, right?

Sorry for the noob question.
Originally, I had trouble finding a portable CD player to use. I only wanted a portable to take up less space. As an interim measure, I had a Toshiba DVD player (single disc) that worked wonderful as a CD transport with optical out. These are cheap to find too. I still use it on occasion too. Just an idea to help you get by.
Reply
post #643 of 9242
1/7/08 at 7:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Penchum View Post
With the default Opamp (OPA2604) the Zero presents a very flat frequency response. Nothing is spiking or suffering dropouts. Knowing this, I'd say the Zero should work well with other headphones. I'm pretty sure some of the folks that ordered the Zero have phones that are not Senns, but I haven't heard back from them yet. Time will tell.
Yup - still waiting for mine, but soon as it comes in I'll post a ('first impressions'?) review with it playing into some Grado RS1s - should be a good test case for brighter/'less veiled' headphones (compared to Senn HD600 and similar)... got a pair of HD580s and Shure E5c knocking about the place to compare with back-to-back as well...
Reply
post #644 of 9242
1/7/08 at 8:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by powertoold View Post
I will the Zero work with sensitive IEMs? Are the only amps that are good for IEMs portable ones?
I'll let you know (e5C) (I'll see if I can get my Shure e500 repaired in time as well maybe - damn fine IEMs those ones, very sad I broke mine/was stupid enough to step on one of them a while back/done nothing about it yet )
Reply
post #645 of 9242
1/7/08 at 9:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Penchum View Post
Originally, I had trouble finding a portable CD player to use. I only wanted a portable to take up less space. As an interim measure, I had a Toshiba DVD player (single disc) that worked wonderful as a CD transport with optical out. These are cheap to find too. I still use it on occasion too. Just an idea to help you get by.
I'll look at my home DVD players. One of them might have a digital output. But I'll also look at your suggestion. Thanks a lot, Penchum.

Now I'm antsy about my Zero! I'm waiting the tracking code from Lawrence.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphone Amps (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › Review: ZERO 24 BIT/192KHz DAC/Headphone Amp/Pre-Amp