The Antelope Zodiac / Zodiac + / Zodiac Gold DAC Thread - Page 22

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphinxvc 

I've been travelling for the past week but I finally got home to listen to my Zodiac today.  

 

 

 

Do you know if the Zodiac can drive the T1's well?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Permagrin 

Congratulations!
I would have one as well if the timing was sooner on the release. But I ended up with the Anedio so no regrets at least. It would really be interesting to compare the two. At the $1295 deal price they're peers price-wise and I assume audio quality-wise.

Thanks.  Agreed that it would be interesting to a see a compare.  Ref 7, D1, DAC2...maybe if I hit the lottery.  I'd do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by preproman 

Do you know if the Zodiac can drive the T1's well?

No, sorry.

So, I've been exceedingly happy with the Zodiac so far.  It's had some fluctuations through the first 50 hours, but overall it's still the sound I was expecting & after.  I've heard the Zodiac Gold and Voltikus before, and had that audition in mind when I ordered the Zodiac Silver.  I hoped it would share the same DNA, and it does.  

It does lack that transcendental quality that makes the Zodiac Gold & Voltikus worth the 3K more, but that's fine by me, because it's hard to find anything lacking with the Silver.  

• The tonal balance, there's no tilt to it, there's no sense of warmth, or cold, or any of that.  It sounds transparent.  Of course, that's the point of any hi-end converter, but I mention it because I still hear other expensive converters described as warm, bassy or cold, edgy.  

• I imagine the clock does a great deal to make the music sound as natural as it does.  

• I've already started to take for granted the detail level, spatial cues & extension of the Zodiac.  So I've ordered an LCD-2 to leverage all that.  The 650s, they don't cut it.

• If I had a gun to my head and was asked to attribute a "tone" to the Zodiac I would say it's a little "light". That's where I find the sixmoons review spot-on.  "Light" means it lacks a bit of "authority" or "weight."  As sixmoons says, this is mainly due to the inadequate wall wart power supply that comes with the Zodiac. And it's why Antelope sells the Voltikus.  But I chose to go with a third-party power supply (Teddy Pardo), which was a third of the price.  It should clean up the weight issue, will update regarding that.  (If it does, then I would just have to take that bullet.)

• Lastly, the HP-out of the Zodiac has made my CTH obsolete.  It was even at first, but through burn-in the Zodiac has pulled definitively ahead.  

One thing I should mention to forewarn potential buyers is that I've had some strange issues getting the Zodiac to play nice with Windows XP drivers.  I'm not sure if it's the same case for Vista or Seven, as I haven't tried with them.  It's lost lock multiple times, even mid-track sometimes with XP.  With Apple it is perfect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Permagrin 

The LCD-2s wont disappoint. After almost a year and a half I still appreciate their amazing accuracy of reproducing sound.
After you get them please leave a link here to your impressions/review so I can hear what you think. I quit paying attention to the main threads here a long time ago.

They're fantastic.  Just a great experience.  The soundstage may be small, but c'mon, we're talking headphones here.  Still, the separation is excellent and nothing sounds crowded.  The bass lines, the vocals, everything, it all works well and coagulates into a musical loveliness my ears appreciate.  The only thing lacking for me is the Zodiac's inability to drive them hard, so I've ordered an O2 as a quick and dirty solution.  

Finally got my Teddy Pardo Zodiac PS today.  It managed to get to my local PO after a month without a "to" address on the box.  

Anyway, the difference it makes is noticeable.  Backgrounds are blacker, and therefore dynamics are improved and microdetails are better resolved.  Imaging too it seems.  It really renders instrument solos beautifully.  Exceedingly happy with both purchases!!  

After listening to it more, I realize I downplayed it when I said "makes a noticeable difference."  It's more than noticeable.  I can now hear the space around instruments and voices, everything has such weight to it.  I think if I had a proper pair of speakers, I would probably get the holographic vocalist standing in front of me effect.  The downside is the Zodiac is now slightly more unforgiving.  But good recordings make me go through the entire album.  

Although I won't be experimenting with DACs at least until summer or beyond, the Zodiacs look promising and I like the way they are moving beyond the jitter capabilities of D/A chips. What is the best price on the Zodiac Plus?

$2.5K retail, but I've seen them go for as low as $1.5-1.7K on the FS boards.  If it interests you, I have confirmed with Antelope that the Silver version is the same as far as sonics go.   What it lacks are the pro audio connections (like AES or dejittered clock outputs) and the mute or mono-summing buttons.

The bad news is the holiday sale is over and the price has gone back up on the silver to $1.7K.  It was previously $1.3K. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphinxvc 

$2.5K retail, but I've seen them go for as low as $1.5-1.7K on the FS boards.  If it interests you, I have confirmed with Antelope that the Silver version is the same as far as sonics go.   What it lacks are the pro audio connections (like AES or dejittered clock outputs) and the mute or mono-summing buttons.

 

The bad news is the holiday sale is over and the price has gone back up on the silver to $1.7K.  It was previously $1.3K. 

Thanks, the comparo between the Sliver/Gold has great interest,especially with the added cost of a PSU. 

Apparently the Gold can act as a USB convertor to an outboard DAC, and might therefore be compared to a device such as the Off-Ramp 5. *That* would be interesting as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pigmode 

Thanks, the comparo between the Sliver/Gold has great interest,especially with the added cost of a PSU. 

 

Apparently the Gold can act as a USB convertor to an outboard DAC, and might therefore be compared to a device such as the Off-Ramp 5. *That* would be interesting as well.

Yep, I think the + can act as clock/de-jittering device too.  Just to reiterate what I said before, the Zodiac+ and the Silver are equals in sonic performance, while the Gold is on different level.  You should definitely consider the third-party options for PS too, it makes the total price much less intimidating.  

I could not help but look at the Teddy Pardo site and see that the power supply has the following noise level graph; http://www.teddypardo.com/Products/Power%20Supplies/TeddyZodiac.html

Do you see thet teltale peak right around 50-60hz? That's in the audible range and is related to the mains input. It seems to be endemic among linear power supplies and I can't help but wonder why virtually all manufacturers fail to come up with a solution and soft-pedal the problem.

No idea.  Interesting point.  I'll send an email to Teddy later and ask about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphinxvc 

Quote:

Originally Posted by pigmode 

Thanks, the comparo between the Sliver/Gold has great interest,especially with the added cost of a PSU. 

 

Apparently the Gold can act as a USB convertor to an outboard DAC, and might therefore be compared to a device such as the Off-Ramp 5. *That* would be interesting as well.

Yep, I think the + can act as clock/de-jittering device too.  Just to reiterate what I said before, the Zodiac+ and the Silver are equals in sonic performance, while the Gold is on different level.  You should definitely consider the third-party options for PS too, it makes the total price much less intimidating.  

Ahh, and here I thought the Gold could be scratched off the list. You seem to be well informed. Do you have any comments on the nuts & bolts of how the Gold is improved over the Plus?