The Antelope Zodiac / Zodiac + / Zodiac Gold DAC Thread - Page 28

I thought the Antelope Audio Zodiac 192 kHz DAC was not an asynchronous USB DAC but an adaptive USB DAC. Is this correct?

In the ~$2,000ish range, I would look at asynchronous USB 2 24/192 DACs with balanced ins/outs. In this range, I would recommend that you evaluate the Grace Design m903 - $1,895. I own the m903 and I think that it is an elegant design and user interface that sounds great and the company is great to deal with. It is their 3rd generation product and they are a pro audio company who's product quality is excellent. The asynchronous USB audio code was written by Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio.

Two useful reads:

http://www.gracedesign.com/support/whitepaper08.pdf

http://www.gracedesign.com/support/m903_manual_RevA.pdf

My $.02

It is async - perhaps you are thinking of the Burson?  There is an interview with Igor Levin on youtube about their proprietary dithering as well which is quite cool.  Async is all about clocking (not enslaving the DAC to the computer's clock), and if there is one thing Antelope/Aardvark knows (and one thing they're well known for in the studio world) it's clocking.

 

I agree that the 2K price range is competitive, and would not suggest the Antelope for low efficiency headphones if you plan on using it as not only the dac but the headamp as well.  The Grace falls flat with planars to my ears though as well if using the headamp, though it it great with the HD800.  

 

Quote: Preproman 

Sweetwater?

 

No.

 

Edit- seems Srajan may have mislead us again (as with the Burson debacle), it may indeed not be asynch... curious, as Antelope themselves don't mention it but never took the time to correct anyone who claimed it was asynch, which is just about every review I've seen - either way, here's the interview:

 

Edited by Radio_head - 10/16/12 at 3:11pm

For me only the DAC section matters.  USB is not even a concern.  I will have my USB conversion done in a separate box then output via ASE.

hmm yeah Srajan confused me when talking about how the zodiac + (in his review of it..was it him?) analogue section was lacking. Did he means the analogue out or the amp? 

cause if its the amp then i may get the + instead of the gold...as i plan on getting this new Senn HDVA amp with balanced out yum  for hd800s (in few years time though lol!) 

Questions: has anyone tried the Zodiac Gold headphone amp with HE-500 or Grado HP-2?

 

Hey Magick Man: how does the headphone amp compare to the one you use for Orthos, when using TH900?

I use the Zodiac + with a Teddy Pardo PSU (nice linear psu) for my stereo setup. Since I am new in head-fi, and about to buy a Audeze LCD-3 I am wondering how they pair up. Can the Zodiac drive these cans without dedicated amplifier? I know I would get better results with an amplifier but I just want to know if I can use the built in amplifier of the Zodiac for a while.
 

yeah i would say so man. lcd phones have low impedence. 

Allright then, thank you for the clarification. I just want to be sure.
 

If you look over the past few pages of this thread, you will find multiple zodiac owners (myself included) who found the headamp to be quite lacking with the Audeze orthos, including a user with the Zodiac+teddy pardo psu.  It will make sound, but it won't sound good compared to any decent dedicated headphone amp.

same with my mdac. i use it with spl auditor. 

 

I think though ill never get a dac hp amp combo again, as i neve use it. currently looking at chord dacs. 

There may come a time when there is a truly good one on the market.  As it stands they are either a DAC from a DAC maker with the HP out sort of "thrown in" by comparison, or great HP amps with the DAC "thrown in" (example the V200 with DAC).  I think we'll see a one box in the future that can do justice to orthos as long as the ortho trend continues.  Someone will properly address the need.

 

Thanks for the advice. I need to look into headphone amps. I already found some reviews of the Audeze, and Zodiac combinations with some different amplifiers. But those amps were almost more expensive then the cans and dac combined. I will look for an entry level amplifier due to budget constrains. Something like a second handed burson HA-160 might fit in my budget.

check out headfonia.com for some amp reviews. great pics and write ups. SPL amps dont work well with anything under 50-60 ohms btw! not sure of other brands... 

 

going 2nd hand via this site is a good option! 

Thank you for your advice.I already found a burson audio A-160 nearby for a good price, so that would save me a lot of shipping and import costs (since I am living in Europe).

But I will look into those SPL amps aswell. Allthough they seem a bit above my budget to get started into head-fi, it might be a nice upgrade in the future.

yah the SPL amps both have same amp section. the phonitor just has crossfeed circuits for mastering work. 

 

i found it worked well with HD800 as its v transparent but yet not cold. Jude from Headfi rates them as one of best

SS amps for brighter cans like HD800.