The Antelope Zodiac / Zodiac + / Zodiac Gold DAC Thread - Page 27

I would not use the Zodiac line (had the base and auditioned the gold) for their amp section.  It will work ok with Grado and (I've been told) well with the Fostex, but does not do the HD800 justice.  Separates will almost always get you a better dac and a better amp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovetroniq 

Thank you,i think that answers my question.Therefore i might look for a cheaper Dac + amp solution.I was hoping that this unit is an outstanding amp/dac unit but i suppose it's more of a  Dac then.I did notice now that most of the people talk about it as Dac and don't call it an Amp.

Indeed, you get the Zodiac for being a superb DAC.  The only time I ever use the headphone out of the Zodiac's are when I just want

to watch a youtube video real quick with some Fostex tbh.  I have had the Z's pretty much since they day they came out.  The fact that I have kept

the first one I purchased and purchased a second tells you I certainly think highly of their capability DAC wise.   

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio_head 

I would not use the Zodiac line (had the base and auditioned the gold) for their amp section.  It will work ok with Grado and (I've been told) well with the Fostex, but does not do the HD800 justice.  Separates will almost always get you a better dac and a better amp.

I feel the same way about the HD800/LCD-2/LCD-3 out of the headout.

With that said, it is still an amazing DAC and rivals some of the best out there even beyond its price range.  Just make sure to factor in a separate

amp with your budget. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by TigzStudio 

 

 

With that said, it is still an amazing DAC and rivals some of the best out there even beyond its price range.  Just make sure to factor in a separate

amp with your budget. 

Thank you very much for your replies guys,i might pull the trigger later on but would prefer to wait for the meet to hear all the difference between those Dac's. Also,as far as i understood all of the Zodiac's have the same sound signature,just an extra inputs/outputs? So,i could go for the cheapest one if i don't need extra whistles,just the SQ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovetroniq 

Thank you very much for your replies guys,i might pull the trigger later on but would prefer to wait for the meet to hear all the difference between those Dac's. Also,as far as i understood all of the Zodiac's have the same sound signature,just an extra inputs/outputs? So,i could go for the cheapest one if i don't need extra whistles,just the SQ?

This is the prevailing thought and in my testing it seems to be pretty much true (I find myself listening to the Gold the most however, possibly due to the knowledge of the improved volume control, stepped relay based). Maybe Marcel can weigh in about it, but it is the thought that as go up the product line you do so to get the enhanced features and capability. What does improve SQ however is the Voltikus PS (To my ears).  I do have other custom power supplies, but I prefer the Volt in the end.  If you are on more of a budget and you don't need the extra bells and whistles the Silver should be just fine along with perhaps an aftermarket PS if you have wiggle room left in the funding. 

Can someone here point me to some info on what exactly a high grade PSU unit does technically to improve the DAC's sound? 

Im really interested in understanding this. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by TigzStudio 

This is the prevailing thought and in my testing it seems to be pretty much true (I find myself listening to the Gold the most however, possibly due to the knowledge of the improved volume control, stepped relay based). Maybe Marcel can weigh in about it, but it is the thought that as go up the product line you do so to get the enhanced features and capability. What does improve SQ however is the Voltikus PS (To my ears).  I do have other custom power supplies, but I prefer the Volt in the end.  If you are on more of a budget and you don't need the extra bells and whistles the Silver should be just fine along with perhaps an aftermarket PS if you have wiggle room left in the funding. 

Hm,that's very interesting knowing that there is one for sale right now on the forum.By the way,how is the SQ in comparison to the other highly regarded Dac's of the moment? I'm looking for a so-called holographic 3d soundstage for Sennheiser hd-800. I have to decide between Anedio D2, Mytec 192, Nad m51 or Antelope line.I would love it to be analytical,detailed and musical at the same time if that combination exists.I recently bought Violectric v200 and another Dac that came to mind is Violectric v800 which could have a good synergy together.As of right now i'm just running the amp of e-mu 1616m soundcard with flac files via foobar and i don't like the sound of piano and cymbals and i would like a bigger soundstage and less of a digital glare.To ease my question,if my budget is 2200$ which Dac to go with if some of you know the sound signatures of all of the Dac's i mentioned.I guess what i like the most is great realistic drums and piano sounds,wide soundstage,not muddy bass guitar lines but somewhat Grado sound as well or the soundstage will contradict that:)? Does this mix exists in one package:))? If so , does Antelope silver matches the most of this criteria?

I notice the zodiac currently on sale is located in NYC. Have you considered asking seller if an audition is possible?

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovetroniq 

Hm,that's very interesting knowing that there is one for sale right now on the forum.By the way,how is the SQ in comparison to the other highly regarded Dac's of the moment? I'm looking for a so-called holographic 3d soundstage for Sennheiser hd-800. I have to decide between Anedio D2, Mytec 192, Nad m51 or Antelope line.I would love it to be analytical,detailed and musical at the same time if that combination exists.I recently bought Violectric v200 and another Dac that came to mind is Violectric v800 which could have a good synergy together.As of right now i'm just running the amp of e-mu 1616m soundcard with flac files via foobar and i don't like the sound of piano and cymbals and i would like a bigger soundstage and less of a digital glare.To ease my question,if my budget is 2200$ which Dac to go with if some of you know the sound signatures of all of the Dac's i mentioned.I guess what i like the most is great realistic drums and piano sounds,wide soundstage,not muddy bass guitar lines but somewhat Grado sound as well or the soundstage will contradict that:)? Does this mix exists in one package:))? If so , does Antelope silver matches the most of this criteria?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoyNamedSue 

I notice the zodiac currently on sale is located in NYC. Have you considered asking seller if an audition is possible?

Since the time of my questions something happened.I've finished my one month on-line research for a Dac.And Antelope didn't even make it to the top 4:)) Not because of sound qualities but some other issues.It's a relieve for me on my whole month quest for Dac to finally know what i want and i have a feeling that i might really like the sound of Antelope but rather not hear it at all because i finally now know what my exact model/target is and don't want to get distracted anymore for anything else.Now it's time to start saving...From my personal research but not from experience it looks like this in order of preference: 1.Resonessense Labs Invicta    2. Nad M51    3.Mytek Digital Stereo192-DSD dac and 4.Anedio D2  also 3 and 4th place could take audio Gd reference 7.1 or reference7 but I'm getting Invicta and that's a final goal.Therefore I'm leaving this thread until i listen to Antelope line at the meet (curiosity).Thank you all for your help and answers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel_hokkaido 

Can someone here point me to some info on what exactly a high grade PSU unit does technically to improve the DAC's sound? 

Im really interested in understanding this. 

http://welbornelabs.com/psdac.htm

http://teddypardo.com/Products/Power%20Supplies/power_supplies.html

Sennheiser used the Zodiac as the DAC to output to their new analog amp at RMAF.  

At the 2K mark which DAC is preferred.  The Zodiac or the Master 7 (Audio-Gd)? 

If you're getting a Zodiac, wait until Black Friday.  Certain sellers give heavy Zodiac discounts then.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio_head 

If you're getting a Zodiac, wait until Black Friday.  Certain sellers give heavy Zodiac discounts then.

Sweetwater?

I know there is a post elsewhere on head-fi on this, but any other Audiolab MDAC vs Zodiac +/gold impressions?