[groucho69]

Thought this may be of interest to some here: Harvesting Electronic Components

http://www.instructables.com/id/Har...nents/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

 

[fairx]

So glad that this worked for you - I was surprised at the difference I heard comparing WAV files with no tagging, etc. to "cluttered" files.
The Z1 can really sound so engaging and musical - it is really special with some headphones. I'm having so much fun using it.

I thought my Z1 was broken, but after I deleted all the extra files, I stayed all night listening to music

Right now i think (?) maybe my z1 doesn't sound as good as from out of the box. Well its only nearing 50 hour burn or so. All stock.

Could you guys explain a little bit what's difference before and after stripping stuffs from wav / songs ? Maybe i could do some experiment myself. I have mixed wav, flac, diff, mp4 amd m4a in my card. Some tagged some untagged.

Edit. Just happens that I post my thoughts here.

https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/b...90-dsd-256-thread.854463/page-7#post-13612098

 

[Merlin-PT]

I had exactly your experience:

When it acting bad then it sound bloated and bass loose. Muddy, resolution suffers as if lower / mid bass is all over.

It was even worst when I increased volume, it was not a subjective or minor problem, I thought my unit was broken, could not listen to music like this.

I had 3 folders only, I removed the extra files and for the first time it sounded good.
Then I copied some more folders (without the extra files) but the sound was bad again.
I removed all the embedded album art and it sounded good again.
After that I also removed all the tags, but I could not notice any improvement.

I can't say if the broken sound will be back, because I only have it for a few days.
I wont change the files in the microsd for now.
I also need more time listening to it to evaluate sound quality.

 

[nesty]

I had exactly your experience:


It was even worst when I increased volume, it was not a subjective or minor problem, I thought my unit was broken, could not listen to music like this.

I had 3 folders only, I removed the extra files and for the first time it sounded good.
Then I copied some more folders (without the extra files) but the sound was bad again.
I removed all the embedded album art and it sounded good again.
After that I also removed all the tags, but I could not notice any improvement.

I can't say if the broken sound will be back, because I only have it for a few days.
I wont change the files in the microsd for now.
I also need more time listening to it to evaluate sound quality.

@Merlin-PT , can you provide a snapshot(screenshot) of those files/folders you are referring to? thanks

 

[dmz555]

Really nice, do you have some pics? Is it clean or Frankenstein style cable

https://www.facebook.com/groups/126127707718416/permalink/528676874130162/

http://imageshack.us/i/pnlV299mj
​

Sori im having a hard time uploading pics using my phone. Ill try to update this again later.

It can be made clean or frankenstein style depending on your diy skill.

 

[Merlin-PT]

@nesty
Not exactly, I deleted all the extra files, but I remember:
I had 3 folders with some FLACs, old rips from 3 of my CDs, I used EAC back then, the folders didn't had sub-folders, but I had the cover/backcover images and .cue, .log and .txt files.
I kept the folder and it's *.flac files and deleted all other files: *.cue, *.txt, *.log, *.png, *.jpg

Next day I add more music, this time without any extra files, problem reappears.
I remember some years ago I used a software to embed high resolution covers in some of my music files, so I could see it the android phone.
I used foobar and deleted the embedded covers of some files and sound was ok again. After that I removed all the tags, just in case.

To remove embedded pictures, in foobar select all files, right click the files, tagging, remove all pictures.
To remove tags, in foobar select all files, right click the files, properties, tools, remove tags.

I need more time to see if the problem reappears.
I wont be changing these files for now, so I can see if I have any intermittent HW problem.

 

[fairx]

I hate to sound skepticals but last night when it sounded bad I left it playing to burn and after i pick up again it sound good. All the files in root are wav but in folders theres mixed files with tags and album art. Then i swap to other card and play random which have layers of album folders in folder most of them are tagged and have album art. Still good sounding.

So in my case tag or no tag it doesn't matter.

From my observation;

1. When it acting bad it will sound bad no matter what I do. Swap cards. Turn on and off again. Even resetting.

2. I remember someone complain using it while charging Z1 compress the sound (bad).

3. Sometimes when i swap PO / LO to my amp it sound good and thern bad. There are times that wanted to try sound difference from using PO and turn volume to max

4. In my case cluttered folder doesn't effect sound. When i first listen to OOTB i put a card from my Android phone. Full Of junks and still it sound good.

5. My z1 still on 50-60 hours burn.

If i could guess it's the electronic component inside (resistor or caps) but what triggers? Random? Volume pot? Need longer burn? Hmm. At least as of now it sounds good agin.

 

[nesty]

I hate to sound skepticals but last night when it sounded bad I left it playing to burn and after i pick up again it sound good. All the files in root are wav but in folders theres mixed files with tags and album art. Then i swap to other card and play random which have layers of album folders in folder most of them are tagged and have album art. Still good sounding.

So in my case tag or no tag it doesn't matter.

From my observation;

1. When it acting bad it will sound bad no matter what I do. Swap cards. Turn on and off again. Even resetting.

2. I remember someone complain using it while charging Z1 compress the sound (bad).

3. Sometimes when i swap PO / LO to my amp it sound good and thern bad. There are times that wanted to try sound difference from using PO and turn volume to max

4. In my case cluttered folder doesn't effect sound. When i first listen to OOTB i put a card from my Android phone. Full Of junks and still it sound good.

5. My z1 still on 50-60 hours burn.

If i could guess it's the electronic component inside (resistor or caps) but what triggers? Random? Volume pot? Need longer burn? Hmm. At least as of now it sounds good agin.

@fairx , maybe you have a defective unit. claim your warranty.

 

[Merlin-PT]

I hate to sound skepticals but last night when it sounded bad I left it playing to burn and after i pick up again it sound good. All the files in root are wav but in folders theres mixed files with tags and album art. Then i swap to other card and play random which have layers of album folders in folder most of them are tagged and have album art. Still good sounding.

Did you tried a card with no extra files, no embedded art and no tags?
I only used/tested WAV and FLAC files, try only some of these files in the card.
If possible try a small card 8GB/16GB/32Gb.
Reset the Z1 before you test it: power off, keep pressing Prev button + turn power on, led keeps flashing, power off again.

 

[dmz555]

I tried playing music with intact metadata and album art stuff, z1 played it smoothly nothing seems to be different.

If your zishan z1 sounds not so good you can try to disable its EQ.

How to set EQs:
Press 'Stop' for a few seconds until the LED light blinks faster than normal, then release. And you are in EQ settings mode:
a) Press 'Prev' to choose previous EQ.
b) Press 'Next' to choose next EQ.
c) Press 'Stop' to choose current EQ.
d) Press 'Prev' for a few seconds to disable EQ.
Total 180 EQs.

 

[Merlin-PT]

Reset also disables the equalization.

 

[dmz555]

So i tried using muses02 on my zishan z1 and it paired beautifully with my ps100-150ohms (actual reading is 160ohms in my meter).
Wider sound stage than stock opamp with enhance sub bass, way better instrument separation.
My Fareal/Faaeal 64ohms sounds better on stock op amp.

 

[dmz555]

Hello guys!
Can you recommend me an op amp that can make z1's sound sig neutral.
Thank's alot!

 

[Ivan TT]

I finally found an op-amp that sounds SPECTACULAR with Z1 - TLE2082AC.

Very detailed yet warm sound, no colouration or significant inconsistencies across the spectrum, wider soundstage compared to stock and most importantly - very musical.

There's two caveats however:

1. Sub-bass much deeper compared to stock, it's clean and does not distort and is not boosted disproportionally, but it feels like my ear- and headphones got a 15 inch subwoofer hidden somewhere inside. A minor HPF mastering mistake will not pass unnoticed anymore, but any bass-heavy genres sound like they should.

2. I DO NOT recommend using this op-amp UNLESS you add two capacitors in parallel with 10k resistors as per instructions here:
http://player.ru/showthread.php?t=188998&page=14&p=2195012&viewfull=1#post2195012
I used 82pF ceramic NPO's (as opposed to 220pF in the link above) which gives filter cut-off around 194kHz soldered to op amp's cradle legs 1-2 and 6-7 (#1 is a square-shaped one, use link above for photos).

Don't have a photo ATM, sorry - too busy listening to music to pull my Z1 apart for a photosession , but it looks ugly and unprofessional, my soldering skills are next to non-existent.

 

[noknok23]

don't know where to post this but, stay away of polida2008 for buying op amp, mine took ages to arrive, packed by a dumb monkey with legs bent and soldering very dirty. I am quite disappointed considering his good ratings.