[actorlife]

Yeah I am patient bring them on when you're ready MizMoxie !

 

[MizMoxie]

Quote:

Speaking of headphones, now I know 90% of headphones will benifit from the Zo, but is there a pair that stands out from the rest and have a excellent synergy . I would assume during the r&d phaze, Digizoid would of tested many sets of headphones.  I know it's very subjective, but MizMoxie care to comment on what pair of IEMs, headphones or anyones for that matter that the Zo v2 truely benifits from ?
 
 

You are absolutely right, it is quite subjective, and it wouldn't really be very fair for us to point to a particular headphone or setup and say that it (or they) benefits the most. Everyone listens differently and unfortunately it does take some time and effort to find the right setup for yourself. The best thing I can suggest is to continue to look at the reviews of the current ZO and see what setup they have and the attributes that you are looking for. Best of luck in your search!
 

 

[i2ehan]

I had VERY high expectations for the ER4S, having heard all the buzz behind it offering the best detail retrieval among universals. As analytical as it sounds, I imagined the ER4S to sound thin, and lack bass body/impact. Whenever I'm faced with that combination, I can't help but scream out in joy because, simply put, I know my Zo, and my Zo knows me. Just as was the case with the RE252's, which are also on the analytical end of course, the Zo NEVER ceases to impress me. I'm hearing all the nuances, and all the while, the notes are thicker, and the bass body & impact is just out of this world! Even at max setting, there's just no loss of SQ whatsoever! This is the ER4S we're speaking of! Believe it. 

 
Suffice to say, I cannot WAIT to see where the Zo V2 takes my ER4S, and whether or not it's a marked improvement, it makes little to no difference, really. I'll always have the original Zo to fall back on, if need be. No exaggeration, but if the original Zo was still available, I'd order a second to keep as a spare. God forbid if ever I have to send my current Zo in for repair; I don't know how I'd manage without it. Nevertheless, I have just as high hopes for the V2, and my credit card is practically glued to my fingers, until the little devil gets released. 

 
Hats off to Digizoid for giving my entire music collection a whole new meaning. In my most humble opinion, the Zo is the best DAM.N purchase I ever made through Head-Fi, period! 

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

I had VERY high expectations for the ER4S, having heard all the buzz behind it offering the best detail retrieval among universals. As analytical as it sounds, I imagined the ER4S to sound thin, and lack bass body/impact. Whenever I'm faced with that combination, I can't help but scream out in joy because, simply put, I know my Zo, and my Zo knows me. Just as was the case with the RE252's, which are also on the analytical end of course, the Zo NEVER ceases to impress me. I'm hearing all the nuances, and all the while, the notes are thicker, and the bass body & impact is just out of this world! Even at max setting, there's just no loss of SQ whatsoever! This is the ER4S we're speaking of! Believe it. 

 
Suffice to say, I cannot WAIT to see where the Zo V2 takes my ER4S, and whether or not it's a marked improvement, it makes little to no difference, really. I'll always have the original Zo to fall back on, if need be. No exaggeration, but if the original Zo was still available, I'd order a second to keep as a spare. God forbid if ever I have to send my current Zo in for repair; I don't know how I'd manage without it. Nevertheless, I have just as high hopes for the V2, and my credit card is practically glued to my fingers, until the little devil gets released. 

 
Hats off to Digizoid for giving my entire music collection a whole new meaning. In my most humble opinion, the Zo is the best DAM.N purchase I ever made through Head-Fi, period! 

I've been told that this little device is simply amazing, so I plan to try it. Its interesting reading this as the only thing that disappoints me about my ER4Ps is the thin bass and sound. I can't wait to try these out with the ZO.

 

[Arnotts]

I'm very interested in checking out the ZO V2 .
 
I've got a question, though. How does the ZO perform as an amp? Would it be comparable to a Fiio E9 or would it be more like a Fiio E7? I currently use the headphone amp out of a Xonar Essence STX, so I'm wondering if it would provide more power as well as improved bass. Thanks .

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Amp-wise I believe the price reflects the power it brings fairly. It's a little more powerful than an E11 for example that is like $79 or something like that. Volume level wise it's a big difference, I go from like 28% volume to 11% on my Audigy 2 ZS with XB500 (which is an easy driven headphone), isn't that like 255% difference on the volume slider? O_o It sounds like I was listening to a big powered speakersystem rather than a tiny headphone.
 
The volume adjustment would even come handy to me, usually I just lower the different channel volume levels a bit so that I don't have to set it as low as 11% though (just in case there's some bug/accident that would bring the main vol slider to 100% which when it would become dangerously loud to listen to even for a couple of secs max)
 
I agree with i2ehan, there's just something about it that makes the sound sound less like headphones (often thin) and more like speakers, more powerful/meaty/full/engaging/dynamic/tonally more natural sounding with a bit better soundstage but like I've said in my review already I believe that comes as result of the A LOT more forward sound (it stays balanced unless maximizing the bass but it's like the whole frequency range moves forward when using ZO). Particularly noticable in rock songs.
 
Arnotts> It certainly would improve bass response even if you wouldn't boost the countour levels it affects how the bass response sounds like, I haven't tried STX but I was dissappointed with D2's bass response, I thought both Titanium HD and Audigy 2 ZS with kX Audio drivers had better bass response than it.

 

[Arnotts]

Much appreciated, sir. Very informative post. Thanks.
 
I'm asking because I don't want to bother getting an extra external amp if the ZO is capable enough. My headphones are all pretty easy to drive (Ultrasone Pro 750, Alessandro MS1, AD700, Shure SRH940), but even so, I'd like to make sure they're being driven to their full potential.

 

[eba0922]

Quote:

Personally, I frown a bit when companies make claims that go completely against the laws of physics. If an audio device's driver is incapable of physically outputting low sub-bass, then there's nothing you can do about it, period. You can boost all you want but the driver's physical limitation will prevent it from being able to output those rolled off low frequencies. What products like zo does it simply boost/enhance frequencies that are not quite low enough so that most audio devices can still output those frequencies, but what you'll be hearing will NOT be what the music should sound like, because the frequency range that is being boosted was never supposed to be boosted in the musical material--if they were, the mastering engineers would have mastered them that way to begin with.
 
Instead of using presets, it's far better to use a parametric EQ and actually dial in a contour that actually fits the specific headphone/speaker you are using. So let's say if your headphones start to roll off after 40Hz, and sounds a bit anemic in the 80Hz range, then you surgically dial in two separate parametric bands that specifically fill those holes. You don't just use a broadband curve that boosts the entire bass region, unless you just couldn't care less if the music actually sounds anything like what the mastering engineer intended the recording to sound like. But this is assuming your headphone/speaker CAN reach that low in the first place. If they can't, then you're only adding coloration that's going to screw up all the hard work the mastering engineer did.
 
If you're using products like zo on small multimedia speakers that have tiny drivers, there's only so much it can do because a 2" or 3" driver will not be able to output low frequencies past a certain point. Boosting frequency ranges within its physical limitation only makes it very colored and you're still not getting those missing low frequencies, which then makes the whole thing even less neutral/balanced. The mastering engineers who made those recordings you're listening to would have veins on their foreheads exploded when they see/hear you doing that to the music they painstakingly created using decades of hard-won professional expertise.
 
IMO, it's better to use that money to actually first get a pair of headphones that can output low enough frequency ranges, and then use a parametric EQ and dial in the ideal sonic signature for that specific headphone. For people who are using portable players that have parametric EQ's (for example, the "Equalizer" app on the iPhone/Touch/iPad), you'll save a lot of money because an app like that will do wonders for you and it costs only $2.99. If you're using the computer as a source, then that's even less excuse to throw away $100 on a gadget like zo because parametric EQ's can be had for free on the computer by using excellent professional quality VST plugins that don't cost a dime.
 
But if none of the stuff I've mentioned is a concern, and you just want to having someone else try to fix your very specific and idiosyncratic problem with a broad and imprecise solution, then I guess the zo is worth the price.
 
They do need to hire a better marketing/webmaster person though. They can't even spell "you're" properly in their own advertising copy.
 
 

 I've been following this thread since the beginning, and have valued your input. But I have noticed you stopped replying? What are you thoughts on the device now that many credible reviews are out?
 
 

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by i2ehan /img/forum/go_quote.gif

my credit card is practically glued to my fingers, until the little devil gets released.

 
 

Forget the ZO, I'm just going to go out and buy shares in DIGIZOID ! In an environment where retailers are struggling to prise cash from consumers wallets, we have people foaming at the mouth to get their hands on a product. The doom and gloom on the news gets darker with each passing day, but even after telling myself 'no more luxuries in 2011 !', the ZO has weakened my resolve.
 
Are we living in a bubble, folks ?

 

[Br777]

funny, i was just thinking that buying stock in digizoid would be a wise investment.
 
This company must have a much wider scope than I realize because they seem to effortlessly, and without concern about stretching themselves thin financially, be able to simply create the exact product that they intend to...  especially considering how little they charge for the ZO.
 
So many companies represented on head-fi, even seemingly large ones, seem to be at the mercy of their overseas manufacturer, or have trouble with aspects of their vision in one way or the another, often making compromises, or inflating their price beyond the average customers reach.  Digizoid seems to just get er done and keep it cheap so to speak.  They either have a very solid company, or one heck of a PR department
 
 
either way I am very eager to finally own one of their products.  Its very rare to see so much universal praise for a product on this site, especially one that garnered so much skepticism at first.  As far as the head-fi community was concerned, they had no reputation preceeding them, no well known name behind them, and their product seemed gimmiky at best.  Now it seems the line is wrapping around the building for v2.  That says a lot in this community.
 

 

[illquid]

The amount of hyperbole in this thread is getting to astronomical levels, all aboard the FOTM train!

 

[ANDEROAN]

Quote:

The amount of hyperbole in this thread is getting to astronomical levels, all aboard the FOTM train!

do you own or have ever heard the ZO? than so the hyperbole of your hyperbole is the only hyperbole here my friend, and yours is the only train to this thread of which you will find no one getting on, other than your case, lol, what FOTM, in the end you will come to see the ZO of it all, or be stuborn and deprive your brain of pure joy, and continually to blow your ears while all of the rest of us enjoy blowing our minds! 

, oh and what color are the clouds in the world that you live in? just curious, mine are blue, and hey is that captain crunch I see, lol, and there's big bird, and I see a ship, wonderful simply wonderful sunny days!
 

 

[i2ehan]

Quote:

The amount of hyperbole in this thread is getting to astronomical levels, all aboard the FOTM train!

 

[Lunatique]

Quote:

 I've been following this thread since the beginning, and have valued your input. But I have noticed you stopped replying? What are you thoughts on the device now that many credible reviews are out?
 

My opinion still stands. I chose not to continue in this thread because it's unfair for me to judge a consumer product using professional audio standards for accuracy/neutrality (and by accuracy/neutrality, I mean this: http://www.head-fi.org/t/564465/misconception-of-neutral-accurate#post_7634871, not the common misconception of what it is). 
 
I would never have posted in this thread about a fun consumer product if not for the fact that I wanted to let people know they can use parametric EQ's and get much more accurate/neutral results than a one-size-fits-all approach--if that is important to them. 
 
If accuracy/neutrality is important to you, then realize that what Zo does is an illusion, and it's not the kind of illusion that will stand up to professional audio level of scrutiny (if I made a post about Zo in a professional audio forum where mastering engineers hang out, the tone of the conversation will be very different). digiZoid does not aspire to be in that market anyway; nowhere in its entire marketing campaign does it ever allude to professional audio level accuracy/neutrality, so it's unfair to demand they answer to such level of scrutiny. 
 
As with all consumer products, its marketing speak is vague enough that no serious technical information is given, or disclaimers of the fact it cannot actually produce frequencies that's beyond a headphone/speaker's driver's limitations. In its marketing claims, it says something vague about getting big sound out of small speakers, but it's an illusion--they enhance frequency ranges that are more commonly within average consumer headphone/speaker's limitations, and that's not the same thing as actually reproducing the missing frequencies. If you have a typical multimedia speaker with 2" or 3" driver, and you activate Zo, then play a log sweep from 20Hz to 20KHz, you'll realize the Zo cannot magically allow the tiny driver to reproduce sub-bass frequencies outside of its physical capabilities. The laws of physics dictates this. (Before anyone says anything about tiny drivers in IEM's, realize that IEM's and speakers are nothing alike. One is in your ear canal, very close to your eardurm, while the other has to physically move a lot of air in order to reproduce low frequencies that you can hear--that requires size). What it'll do is boost/enhance the range within the driver's capability, and do it in such a way that it won't distort so quickly as it would from simple EQ'ing, but that's very different from actually reproducing the completely missing frequencies (and the marketing speak cleverly gets around this too, never claiming to be able to reproduce frequency ranges outside of your driver's physical limitations).
 
Anyway, I'm not in the target consumer range of digiZoid. I'm an audio professional who treasures accuracy/neutrality, and abhors one-size-fits-all "non-solutions" that are common in consumer products meant for fun (such as EQ presets that someone else made without ever knowing the frequency response of the headphone/speaker I'm actually using). But most consumers aren't in this to learn how to surgically EQ their headphones/speakers--they just want to turn something on and have fun, regardless if the resulting sound is accurate/neutral or not. 
 
My previous advice still stands. If you are using an iOS device, for a few dollars, you can get parametric EQ apps like "Equalizer," which will allow you to surgically EQ your headphone/speaker according to its unique frequency response. If you are on the computer, freeware parametic EQ plugins of excellent quality are in abundance (EasyQ, Electri-Q, and a bunch of others). You will get much more accurate/neutral results by learning how to properly EQ than you would from Zo, assuming accuracy/neutrality is important to you. If not, then just have fun and don't worry about any of this. 
 
If you are using headphones and speakers with severe driver limitations that prevents reproduction of frequencies that create a full-range sound, then there's absolutely nothing you can do. You can only boost/enhance frequencies that your driver can physically reproduce (this is what Zo does essentially, except it uses clever tricks to allow dramatic boosting/enhancement without distorting too soon), but what the driver cannot physically reproduce will never magically just appear no matter what you do. The only way to get full-range sound is to get headphones/speakers that are capable of full-range frequency reproduction. Even if the sonic signature is not accurate/neutral, as long as it can reach the extremes of lows and highs, you can always EQ it to be much more accurate/neutral. Of course, the closer to accuracy/neutrality, the less dramatically you'll have to boost/enhance, and that is always the best solution. 
 
I know Zo has lots of fans, and I know that it satisfies the needs of many, so like I said, if you are within digiZoid's target customer base and enjoy the product, then great. Everyone's happy. I'm only returning to this thread because someone asked me to, and also to remind everyone that there are alternatives (much cheaper ones). 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[illquid]

Quote:

do you own or have ever heard the ZO? than so the hyperbole of your hyperbole is the only hyperbole here my friend, and yours is the only train to this thread of which you will find no one getting on, other than your case, lol, what FOTM, in the end you will come to see the ZO of it all, or be stuborn and deprive your brain of pure joy, and continually to blow your ears while all of the rest of us enjoy blowing our minds! 

, oh and what color are the clouds in the world that you live in? just curious, mine are blue, and hey is that captain crunch I see, lol, and there's big bird, and I see a ship, wonderful simply wonderful sunny days!
 

 
Typical reaction of a believer! haha, its all in good fun as your reply was...
 
But the truth is YES, I do own one, otherwise I would be in no position to make such a statement, even light heartedly!
 
It worked very well with my TF10, not that great with my SM3s and the lack of volume control just means it hasn't made the cut in my portable setup and is sitting forlornly gathering dust on my desk. Still interested to see V2 though! I still like the product a lot, although it is not the audio equivalent of LSD like some of the stuff I've been reading on this thread!!