[neog007]

I'll think out loud too... Could it be possible to buy an upgrade amp board and connect it to the stock zishan or is a technical crazy/impossible idea?

 

[notamethlab]

Why not buy in ali express?

There is nothing wrong with AliExpress, the version in AE is the stock option with no upgrades. In TaoBao you can customize it to your liking with the available options. Read the OP.

 

[hakuzen]

I'll think out loud too... Could it be possible to buy an upgrade amp board and connect it to the stock zishan or is a technical crazy/impossible idea?

i think that is the idea of the upgrades.
both pcbs are connected through a 10pins cable. that cable looks epoxied to the connector, so you'd have to remove the epoxy, reconnect to the new amp board (upgrade), and re-epoxy it, if you like.
 
another matter is the potentiometer type and outside connections. they are different from stock zishan, so guess you'd need a new front out shell, to fit them.

 

[hakuzen]

   
The A1 amp is more powerful, but the standalone player is powerful enough for most peoples needs anyway. The A1 amp does increase the sound quality though, it is worth it in that regard, but due to the extra bulk most will be fine with the sound of the standalone player to remain portable.
 
Yeah, most of the changes can be done if you are able to solder, but not the power supply upgrade as that has unknowns, and the resistor change isn't a straight swap, there is some linked resistors, also I'd guess the resistance's have been changed to accommodate the removal of the decoupling capacitors. Look at the second pic in the listing below, you can see the metal film resistors, I count 13 of them. Personally I wouldn't want to do it myself when it is so cheap to get it done by the pro.
 
Also, many of the changes are based on the players amp section, but even after all the modification it still won't be as good as the A1 amp! So I'm fine just using the A1 amp instead, the modification is only for people that wan't the best sound out of their standalone player.
 
https://world.taobao.com/item/530460657059.htm?fromSite=main&spm=a312a.7700824.w4004-15375179235.6.fbi9lw

i understand that the power supply upgrade is done in the upgrade pcb. do you know if it affects to other parts of the zishan? i.e., could you order an upgrade together with the power supply upgrade, so you can just replace your stock pcb when the power upgraded upgrade arrives?

 

[golov17]

 

[neog007]

Sincerelly this Taobao's upgrade thing makes me a headache 

 

[golov17]

Sincerelly this Taobao's upgrade thing makes me a headache :angry_face:

new upgrade options?

 

[vapman]

I have read this thread in its entirety several times and it's surely possible I missed something.... but I still have no idea what the various upgrade options are and if they aren't something i can do myself.

 

[neog007]

ok I think that, basically, they're 8 different board upgrades and the power upgrade (this one is optional). The thing is that not all that 8 different upgrades are available at the same time -stock matters I guess-, so you have to ask to the seller wich ones are and choose the most suitable to your preferences.
Besides that, it appears that the rolling oamp functionality is kept in all that 8 upgrades.

 

[neog007]

just tested the coaxial output it works flawlessly!
 

 

[anyone007]

Since I don't know anything about amplifier, but I need one to drive my 650 ohms earbuds, does stock ZiShan + Mini A1 Amp would do the trick? I can't relate with other terms regarding the standalone player (with amp -- the upgrades).

 

[musicday]

You can't go wrong with the price of this music player and how much can offer as functionality and files format that can decode.By the way check the price of a new sealed Clip+ these days.
I had to place an order for the one with the copper metal buttons,thank you for help Neog007.

 

[vapman]

  ok I think that, basically, they're 8 different board upgrades and the power upgrade (this one is optional). The thing is that not all that 8 different upgrades are available at the same time -stock matters I guess-, so you have to ask to the seller wich ones are and choose the most suitable to your preferences.
Besides that, it appears that the rolling oamp functionality is kept in all that 8 upgrades.

If anyone can summarize the differences in all the different upgrade boards in one post that would be insanely helpful.
 
8 different upgrade options is completely ludicrous! I still want one of these players, although the occasional distortion puts me off. :/ But maybe when I figure out what all the different upgrade options are I'll grab one.

 

[leeyeo]

Any quirks on the UI? I hope it won't lag with my files, I got around 50 to 60 folders arranged for artists > albums > songs. 

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

  I have read this thread in its entirety several times and it's surely possible I missed something.... but I still have no idea what the various upgrade options are and if they aren't something i can do myself.

If anyone can summarize the differences in all the different upgrade boards in one post that would be insanely helpful.
 
8 different upgrade options is completely ludicrous!

 
If you have to ask if you can do it yourself then no you can't, it is not simple, only a knowledgeable DIYer could do it themselves, requires intricate soldering for most parts. The upgrades all improve the analog stage resistors and capacitors over stock, as I've said before, and the only difference between the 11 packages is choice of opamps, resulting in various sound sigs, different types of presentation, staging, separation, timbre, body etc, and no one can summarize the sound difference between the 11 packages because it is too subjective and no one has heard them in context of the Zishan. All 11 packages have the same changes to resistors, capacitors, and the optional power supply upgrade, the only difference between packages is opamp choice for different sound sigs, none are better or worse than the other, just different, basically it will be hard for you to choose which package is best for you if you don't have previous knowledge of testing these opamps in other products, you will have to rely on telling the seller which genres of music you like and he will tell you which package might suit you.
 
If you don't want to mess around just get the standard player combined with the A1 amp as that will still be a bit better than the upgraded dap, the A1 amp is Class A, with Discrete transistor buffer, AD797 as voltage amp, and using metal film resistors throughout. Fyi, AD797 is Analog devices competitor to Burr-brown OPA627, they are both in the top ten highest performing opamps around, but for some reason OPA627 is more famous, no idea why, I actually prefer the sound of AD797 over OPA627. I also prefer Muses01/02 over OPA627.
 
You can't actually go wrong with any of the packages, although personally I would avoid getting the AD8610/20 as that is quite analytical, but it's an awesome opamp that's still in the top 10 best, just imo not as musical as the others, it's super clean and kinda boring. You will notice that most of the packages use LME49990 as LPF, mainly just have to pick which opamp you want for voltage amp, and since the A1 amp uses AD797 I would not pick that just so the Zishan is different than A1 so you can have two sound sigs to pick between player and amp. So basically the only decision you have to make for which upgrade package is whether you want OPA627, OPA637, LME49990, AD8610/20 (I wouldn't get these two personally), and I personally wouldn't pick LME49990 either because using the same opamp for both LPF and voltage amp is a waste, you will get a more simple sig, compared to using different opamps for LPF and voltage amp which can complement each other's sigs. So there is only two options for me if I were to get the upgrade packages, OPA627 and OPA637, but I'm not a huge fan of OPA627, but I do like OPA637 better, but this is out of stock from the seller and he doesn't have an ETA. So, no upgrade for me! Lol. Also bear in mind OPA637 is permanently in a higher gain (5+) compared to OPA627, so maybe not the best for iems, It may or may not affect the noise floor with iems depending on Zishan's circuit.
 
So basically OPA627 will be the best option for most people, even though I like a few opamps better than it...