Zorloo ZuperDAC

This is a review of the Zorloo ZuperDAC DAC/amp combo.
 

 

 
 
The Zorloo ZuperDAC was sendt to me for free from Zorloo in exchange for my honest review of it. I’d like to say THANK YOU to Zorloo for letting me check it out.
 
Zorloo seems to have sold a lot more than expected of the ZuperDAC since it has been out of stock for quite some time now. It’s my understanding that the retail price of the ZuperDAC is $79 but since it’s not available anywhere right now I haven’t been able to confirm it. According to the Zorloo website the ZuperDAC should soon be available from there again so if you’re looking for one there’s still hope:
 
http://www.zorloo.com/zuperdac
 
I’m not in any way affiliated with Zorloo.
 
About me:
 
Built and accessories:
The Zorloo ZuperDAC is a combined adaptive USB DAC and headphone amplifier designed to be used with computers, laptops and some Android devices.
 
As far as I understand it comes in two flavors: silver or gold colored.
 
The external build of the ZuperDAC seems simple but also durable. There’s actually not too much to say about these thumbnail sized devices but the ZuperDAC chassis is made of aluminum and it features one USB A male connector and  a 3.5mm headphone output. Under the hood is the pretty common and highly regarded ESS Sabre ES9018K2M DAC chips combined with the ES9601 headphone amplifier section also from Sabre.
 
The retail package is also plain and simple but does still give a nice presentation. There’s no accessories whatsoever included and to be completely honest that’s ok for the intended usage since pretty much everyone has plenty of USB cables lying around at home these days. Maybe Zorloo could have included an USB OTG cable but at this price point I’m not complaining.
 

 
Compatibility:
The ZuperDAC supports Mac and Windows. It also works pretty well with Android devices. It runs fine with the third party app USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP) without any external power from my LG G3 phone and several other devices I’ve tried it with. ZuperDAC draws quite a bit of power when connected to a phone or tablet and although its power drain is still less than the likes of DACport Slim and GO720 it will still be enough to make it an issue when used this way.
 
The ZuperDAC support sample rates up to 24bit/192kHz.
 
Not surprisingly, given its size, the ZuperDAC is not super powerful.  That being said it still packs enough power to push my Hifiman HE400i’s beyond what I found to be comfortable listening levels and also making them sound very good when doing so. It does run quite hot when pushed hard.
 
The specs:

1. Sabre ES9018k2m DAC chip and SABRE9601 headphone driver
2. Accepts up to 192kHz input files @24 bit.
3. Volume controlled by computer vol +/- keys
4. 115dB SNR 
5. 0.003% THD
6. Outputs 30mW @ 32Ohm load
7. Output impedance 4.7Ohm
8. Output level 1VRMS
9. Power usage: 70 mA
10. Dimensions:46 x 23 x 10 mm
11. Weight 16g

 
Sound:
I’ve used the ZuperDAC quite a lot during the last couple of weeks and it has played for well over 100 hours.  
 
I’ve combined it with my LG G3 phone, Sony Xperia Z3Compact and two laptops running Windows 7 and it has worked very well with all combinations.
 
Demo list:
Mark Knopfler – Sailing to Philadelphia
Røyksopp (Feat.Susanne Sundfør) – Save Me
Ane Brun – These Days
Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana
Metallica – Die Die My Darling
The Peter Malick Group – Immigrant
Eva Cassidy – Songbird
Thomas Dybdahl – A Lovestory
Norah Jones – Don’t Know Why
Celldweller – Unshakeable
Jack Johnson – Better Together
Seinabo Sey – Younger (Kygo remix)
Dire Straits- So Far Away
Bjørk - Moon
Lupe Fiasco - Deliver
Morrissey – Earth Is the Loneliest Planet
 
I’ve got to be honest and admit that I find it pretty difficult to describe the sound from DAC’s. To me the sound of headphones and IEM’s are easier to describe than that of amplifiers and DAC’s. Because of this I’ll do a brief description of the overall sound from the ZuperDAC and then compare it to a couple of other DAC/amp to highlight the difference and similarities to them.
 
Listening to the ZuperDAC without comparing it to others it has got a full and rich sound without feeling muddy or losing control. Sub-bass reaches low and the mid bass has a nice drive too it. I find it to be a bit on the warm side with a lush and full midrange and full, smooth highs that roll off a bit earlier than I ideally would prefer but also help to make the overall sound soft and smooth. Dynamics are very good and music has a great drive to it when listening with the ZuperDAC as source. Soundstage width is great as is depth and it has a good separation as well. It’s also delivers a fair amount of transparency. All of this together makes for an effortless presentation that’s very easy to enjoy and doesn’t bring any listening fatigue whatsoever.
 
I find the ZuperDAC to pair very well with every pair of headphones and IEM’s I’ve tried it with bur particularly good with brighter tilted ones.
 
Comparison:
Please note that the comments in the comparison section are not in absolute terms but in comparison between subject A and B. This means (as an example) that if subject A is found to be brighter than subject B it does not necessarily mean that subject A is bright sounding in absolute terms. I hope this makes sense.
 
I this comparison both DAC/amp combos where fed by different Android devices both running USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP) with the exact same settings and I was listening through my Philips Fidelio X2’s.
 
I used a splitter/switch box to easily switch between the two units being compared and a simple Android app to volume match them.
 
Spoiler alert: people expecting huge differences between the objects compared here are going to be disappointed. The differences between DAC/amps within the same price range are usually not very big in my experience. The differences described below are definitely there to my ears but I wouldn’t call them big while other with a different way to describe things could call them huge because as always in here your miles may vary and most probably will.
 

 
HiFime Sabre9018 USB DAC ($79) vs Zorloo ZuperDAC
These both use the Sabre 9018 chip but I’ve compared enough DAC’s with the same chip before to know that the chip is very a small part of the equation and despite using the same chips set two units can sound vastly different.
Compared to the ZuperDAC the HiFime has very similar bass impact and quality. It does however have better clarity and treble extension. The ZuperDAC is darker sounding and that combined with the rolled off treble gives it a more laidback and relaxed presentation.   
 
They both have one 3.5mm headphone output but the HiFime has a combined headphone out and optical out.
 
The ZuperDAC get much hotter than the HiFime while power is quite similar in both.
 
None of them have a physical volume button.
 
In my opinion both of these drain battery too fast to be ideal to pair with Android devices without the use of an external battery.
 
Both are very quiet (little background hiss).
 
The ZuperDAC supports up to 24bit/192kHz while the HiFime only support up to 24bit/96kHz.
 
SHOZY Lancea (originally $179 now $99) vs Zorloo ZuperDAC:
The SHOZY Lancea and the ZuperDAC sounds really similar. They both have a slight raise in the mid bass department and the treble rolls off a bit more early than I’d describe as natural on both, maybe even slightly earlier on the ZuperDAC but the difference is very subtle. The Lancea has ever so slightly tighter bass across the whole lower spectrum. The ZuperDAC is a touch darker while the Lancea has an equally small amount of more energy in the upper midrange presentation making it sound slightly crispier but apart from this they’re very similar. The combination of the rolled off treble and lack of energy once again makes the ZuperDAC the most relaxed of the two.
 
The Lancea is smaller that the ZuperDAC, maybe about half of its size and is connected to the source through a female micro USB port.
 
Both have a single 3,5mm output but that acts as a line out function when maxing out the volume.
 
The ZuperDAC get a good deal warmer while they both offer a similar amount of power.  
 
The Lance is very well suited to be paired with Android devices due to its lesser power demands and high compatibility with such devices while the battery drain from the ZuperDAC makes an external battery mandatory with it in my opinion.
 
Both are very quiet (little background hiss).
 
The Lancea supports up to 20bit/48kHz sample rate while the ZuperDAC supports up to 24bit/192kHz.
 
CEntrance DACport Slim ($99) vs Zorloo ZuperDAC:
Compred to the ZuperDAC the Slim has a bit better textured bass and also a touch less bass presence. The clarity is better, in comparison it’s like the Zuperdac has a bit of vail in the presentation while the Slim is crystal clear with a bit more aisr between instruments. This makes the overall sound of the ZuperDAC more laid back and relaxed, apart from this the overall tonality of both unit are quite similar.
 
The Slim, while still a small unit, is still quite a bit bigger than the ZuperDAC (I’d say about three times bigger) and is connected to the source through a female micro USB port as opposed to the USB A port used on the ZuperDAC.
 
Both have a single 3,5mm output and both offers a line out function when maxing out the volume. The Slim has a physical volume control and a gain switch while the ZuperDAC doesn’t have any physical controls.
 
The Slim runs a bit hotter than the ZuperDAC but it also offers a lot more power.
 
None of these are very well suited to pair with Android devices due to their power draw but the ZuperDAC still works better with this kind of set up.
 
Both are very quiet (little background hiss) but the Slim has some while the ZuperDAC doesn’t have any that I could detect.
 
They both supports up to 24bit/192kHz sample rate.
 
Summary:
The Zorloo ZuperDAC is a great little device. It may not have the most neutral sound but it still deliver a highly enjoyable and non-fatiguing presentation that works great with all the headphones and IEM’s I’ve tried it with.
 
It works with laptops, tablets and smart phones which makes it highly versatile and combined with the excellent build quality and very compact size it’s a great device to use in pretty much any setting such as home, in the office or when travelling.  
 
I really hope that Zorloo continues to bring us more great sounding surprises in the future.
 

Zorloo Zuperdac vs Audioquest Dragonfly Black
 
The battle of the budget USB DACs
 

 
 
TL;DR; Both are excellent and sound quite similar. The Dragonfly Black is a bit warmer and intimate, while the Zuperdac keeps things neutral and wide with a bit more detail and layering.
Zuperdac wins on sheer audio quality, the Dragonfly Black is a better smartphone companion.
 
Specifications:
 
                                Zorloo Zuperdac                       Audioquest Dragonfly Black
 
- Resolution               Up to 24-bit / 192 kHz            Up to 24-bit / 96 kHz
- Output                     30mW                                     1.2V
- DAC-Chip                ESS Sabre ES9018K2M        ESS Sabre ES9010
 
 
 
Gear and music:
The A/B-ing was done using the Shure SRH840, Vivo XE800 and Zero Audio Tenore. My music collection mainly consists of 16-bit / 44.1khz flac files and Spotify Extreme.
 
 
Introduction and price.
Both the Dragonfly Black (v1.5) and the Zuperdac play ball in the sub $100 USB-DAC league. Both have the same thumb stick form factor and are therefore natural rivals.
Audioquests Dragonfly Black can be bought from many retailers for $99 while Zorloo asks a modest $74 + $5 shipping for their offering.
 
Round 1: In this budget segment every penny counts, so the Zuperdac takes an early lead here.
 

Audioquest Dragonfly Black on the left, Zorloo Zuperdac to the right. 
 
 
Fit and finish.
The Dragonfly definitely enjoyed a bit more love on the aesthetics side. It comes with a well-documented box and a leather carrying pouch. The Dragonfly itself is covered in a soft touch coating over a full metal body. A nice little touch is the colour changing dragonfly logo. Depending on the sample rate of the music played, the subtle led changes colour: green for 44.1kHz, blue for 48kHz, amber for 88.2kHz, and magenta for 96kHz. In the meantime, the Zorloo Zuperdac has cut some corners here. The device comes in a little foam filled box with nothing more than a small user manual. In this price range I am all for focussing your money where it matters most (sound). However, a protective cap for the USB port would have been nice for a product intended for portable use. The chassis is likewise made of metal, but this time without a soft touch finish. There’s a tiny light next to the headphone jack which tells you if the device is in operation.
 
Round 2: Both devices are built like a tank and will probably take some abuse. The soft touch finish and the subtle logo light of the Dragonfly gives it a more premium look.
 

Small and simple.
 
 

Tiny power LED.
 
 

The Dragonfly comes with a small leather carrying pouch.
 

The soft touch finish of the Dragonfly next to the Zuperdacs aluminium housing.
 
 
Features
The Dragonfly limits output to 96khz/24bits while the Zuperdac goes all the way up to 192khz/24bits. The Dragonfly is plug and play, the Zuperdac requires you to download a driver from their website. I suspect the need to install a driver is the price you pay for 192khz support. While installing a driver is hardly rocket science, I like Audioquests approach here. These budget DACs are usually not intended to be used with summit-fi gear where anything over 96khz could make a difference. The majority of people will probably use these DACs to listen to streaming services or CD-rips with some portable headphones/IEMs. To use the Hi-Fi capabilities of both devices, you'll need software like Fubar2000 (Windows), Fidelia (Mac OSX), Onkyo HF player (Android/iOS) or USB Audio Player (Android). 
 
The “Analogue volume control” on the Dragonfly is a two-edged sword; on one hand, the volume scales perfectly with every volume slider step in window. On the other hand, when using sensitive IEMs, the volume may still be too high at the lowest volume setting. The volume of the Zuperdac only rises every 4 points in the Windows volume slider, but do start at a far lower volume level. Both power my IEMs and headphones to ear-deafening volumes. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you which one is more powerful since they both max out the volume of my modest equipment.
 

1% might still be too loud for sensitive IEMs.
 
I love the fact that they are both natively supported by Android; buy a cheap Android phone, connect the DAC via a OTG cable and you’ll have your own little budget DAP. As battery life concerns, the Dragonfly takes the crown here. The Zuperdac gets a little warm after a while, indicating some energy loss in the form of heat. To get an impression of the battery consumption, I listened to the same 16bit/44.1khz flac album with a fully charged smartphone in airplane mode.
 
Smartphone headphone jack: From 100% to 95% in 40:56 minutes.
Dragonfly: From 100% to 95% in 40:56 minutes.
Zuperdac: From 100% to 92% in 40:56 minutes.
 
Probably not the most reliable test, but it gives you a rough estimation of the battery usage.
 
Round 3: Both are easy to use and do what they promise. Hats off to the efficiency of the Dragonfly when combined to a smartphone.
 

Xiaomi OTG cable, Dragonfly black and Vivo XE800.
 
 
Sound:
Now, this is where it gets interesting. Both offer a very similar, balanced sound and are a huge step up from my smartphones & laptops on-board headphone jack. The DACs produce music whereas my phone, tablet & laptop produce sound. With these devices, music is more dynamic, detailed and clear, they really do ‘unveil’ the music.
 
Treble: The Zuperdac has a fantastic neutral sound to it. Highs are extended beautifully without sounding piercing or coloured. Cymbals in jazz and rock are spot on and very satisfying. The highs of the Dragonfly are somewhat smoother, but not to a degree where they get coloured. They’ve got a likewise great extension to them and hold their own during a full range drum solo. Quantity wise they seem to be on the same level.
 
Mids: Very engaging and lively on both DACs, this is where I noticed the biggest difference to my smartphone’s stock sound. Once you get used to the dynamic sound of these DACs, you don’t want to return to the boring sound of your laptop. The soundstage of the Zuperdac is wider and airier, while the Dragonfly is more intimate. This may give the sense of a fuller midrange in the Dragonfly, but I don’t think this is actually the case. Voices are as powerful and engaging on both DACs. It does however seem that the midrange of the Zuperdac is a bit more layered compared to the Dragonfly. Likewise, guitars and drums have a bit more detail and resolution to them.
 
Bass: There is a noticeable bass accentuation in the Dragonfly, but it’s very well done. No bloating of any kind, just a little more oomph to the sound. The Zuperdac keeps things true to source here. Both are very capable in playing some bass pumping tracks when asked to. It comes down to preference and synergy when deciding which one suits you best.
 
Round 4: The Zuperdac takes the lead here with a wider soundstage and a more layered sound. Although differences are small, they are noticeable after some extensive listening.  
 
Compared to the Audioquest Dragonfly 1.0: The Zuperdac offers a more detailed and layered sound compared to the Dragonfly 1.0. The Dragonfly Black is a bit more detailed and bassy compared to the smoother Dragonfly 1.0. Also, the Dragonfly 1.0 is not suitable for mobile use due to its power consumption. The Dragonfly 1.0 is by no means a slouch and offers a clear and balanced sound. Still a great gateway DAC when you see the low prices for which used Dragonfly 1.0s can be picked up these days.     
 
Conclusion:
Both the Zorloo Zuperdac and the Audioquest Dragonfly Black offer a serious step up from the on-board laptop/smartphone sound. The Dragonfly looks and feels great and is very considerate with your phones battery. The Zuperdac has a wider soundstage, sounds more natural, layered and detailed compared to the more intimate, bassy and smoothened sound of the Dragonfly Black. These differences are small and the headphones/IEMs used obviously have a much larger effect on the sound. Either way, if you are still listening to music through your on-board headphone jack, you are going to love these.
 
 
 
Disclamer:
Both devices were bought with my own money. I’m not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned. Impressions and opinions are personal so YMMV. Comments and corrections are welcome.

Website: zorloo.com

 



 
 

Product details and Specs: LINK

 

MSRP: $74

 

To read more about the original project, you may check here

 

 

Inside the box you'll find just the small DAC unit and short guide. No cables or drivers are included.

 



 
 

Compatibility:

 

The Zuper DAC was mainly tested with a Windows 7 PC. The extra software drivers are needed, and while it connects to a normal USB port it may take a few plug/unplug tries for to the DAC to be recognized by the system, and after that there's still need to switch to the device. A bit annoying.

 



 
 

 

Build & Design:

 

The whole ZuperDAC (ZDac) housing is made of thick aluminum and while being a really small and lightweight device it feels very sturdy. The size is quite comfortable, very similar to a regular DiskOnKey device, which makes it ultra portable and pocket friendly. The only thing that'd be missing is a cover for the USB connection.

 



 
 

 

Power, Hiss:

 

Being a very small device, its power is rather limited. While the ZDAC can drive more sensible/lower impedance gears to a more than needed volume, it won't be able to bring more demanding stuff to their best. It can get loud enough with just raising the volume up, but will start to distort things and lack in dynamics. The good thing is that hiss was nonexistence even with the most sensible IEMs.

 

Synergy:

 

After trying practically every type and form of ear/headphones (from IEMs to  full-size over-ear cans), the better and more noticeable results were with earbuds and on-ear portable headphones (both closed and open-back). While overall signature was different, IEMs showed very little improvement, and full-size cans, like the SM HP200 couldn't show their real strengths through the ZDAC. On the other hand, sets such as the FA 004 and 006 or even the R-Lite showed very impressive results. The VE Asura and Hifiman Compact earbuds with their 150ohm impedance sounded quite good, even though they didn't reach their fullest.

 

 

Sound impressions:

 

 

The ZuperDAC has a pretty versatile signature that makes it a strong and potential upgrade to the regular computer sound card or Smartphone 'stock' amp section. While the results depend mainly on a good synergy, when well paired the overall sound presentation is quite impressive and engaging.

 

Starting from the bass, it is probably the first characteristic to notice, not for just the quantity but for its immersive nature. It's nicely enhanced, with stronger impact and higher and more refined quality. While it can get a touch boomy with warmer/darker ear/headphones when compared to higher-end devices, it also gives a nicer and more convincing sense of warmth and richness that isn't at the expense of the clarity (and probably the opposite). While the sound cannot be called better balanced, the bass is still tighter and has a slightly more natural character. The extra bass makes itself well present  across the whole range and still manages to remain refined and detailed at the bottom limit, which is deeper and shows a better attack and decay, and more realistic speed without overly thickening the lower bass notes. All-in-all the bass is very enjoyable and easy to like.

 

With the forward and well weighted low end, the midrange would hardly be perceived as thin, but still keeps some more distance from the listener. Unlike the bass, the mids and highs have a very similar linear response, and are offered in a more laid back way with a very relaxed overall tonality. There's no specific boost on the whole midrange. Clarity is quite improved and separation is definitely worth mentioning as the sense of space brings forward a more coherent positioning of things. While it is not exactly impressive as the low-end, the mids still maintain an impressive level of detail, though leaner but arguably more realistic in note presentation. Tonally, it's quite on the neutral, or slightly towards the warmer side, still having no real coloration and maybe just a more dry touch on it. Even with the detail being far from aggressive or forward, the level of texture and layering are very good, combining smoothness and extra refinement for a fatigue free listening experience with nicer fullness and dynamics. Bass bleed could be perceived with certain earphones, but without reaching to an annoying level. Extra micro detail is easily noticed but still loses next to more analytical sources.

 

Similarly, the treble is neither harsh nor sibilant even at the moderate volumes. Even more aggressive sets are smoothed down a bit, but without lacking their extra brightness. With most sets this small DAC will show a good balance between being "lively" and "smooth". While the highs are fairly well-extended and remain crispy and detailed, quantity-wise they won't fit the treble fans needs which will probably prefer a higher emphasis on the upper registers.

 

The presentation is another strength of the Zuper DAC as it maintains a pretty good sense of depth and width, sounding very dynamic, engaging, and very competent for an entry level device. The soundstage is wide and spacious; not a 3D-ish spherical form, but more likely a thin oval shape if anything, losing a bit in terms of height. It is worth noting that the ZDAC tends to position things a bit farther away than they should, missing some sense of realism. Even though, instrumental separation and layering are still excellent and anything but congested. Imaging is decent and dynamic range is fairly good, just not as impressive. Neither not exactly effortless nor really transparent to the source as it tends to add a certain coloration.

 

                   

Conclusion & Value:

 

All-in-all, the ZuperDAC is a well achieved little, very little device and definitely a good option to consider as an entry Amp/Dac. Sound quality is very well rounded and easy and fun to listen. It has certain limitations in terms of synergy and power to take in count, and some changes could be made in the design to get a 5 Star rating; maybe a volume control knob, different connections than regular USB, and the inclusion of a cable or adapter. But, as it is the ZuperDAC already provides a good value for money for the asking price as an enjoyable and good sounding product.

 

Lastly, I'd like to thank Zorloo for lending me the unit for the review.