[tianguis]

Andrew:

They're both the same. For 110v operation, the input supply plug to the PCB is switched to another position. You can see the two positions in one of the close-ups on Eddie's site (two white connectors next to each other, one is blank). Eddie forgot to do it to mine so I have an excuse to pop the hood.

Larry

 

[pojen_h@hotmail.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tianguis All: I just received the 7.2x tracking number from Eddie. I should have it Monday or Tuesday. Apparantly, the delay was due to having packaging made to survive international shipping. Regards, Larry Welsh

Wow, that is great to hear. Please post your thought on 7.2x. I am serious in getting new DAC to work with my G5. (still wondering should I go for USB or optic)

 

[tianguis]

I received the 7.2x this morning. Gotta convert it to 110v. Build quality and finish are impressive. It weighs a lot more than the Zhaolu. Impressions later.

Larry Welsh

 

[pojen_h@hotmail.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tianguis I received the 7.2x this morning. Gotta convert it to 110v. Build quality and finish are impressive. It weighs a lot more than the Zhaolu. Impressions later. Larry Welsh

Nice to hear that. What headphone(s) will you be using? Can you comment on the optical inupt on these DACs? (i.e., is there any difference) Looking forward to hear what you think on these DACs.

PoJen

 

[tianguis]

Yikes! As impressive as the modded Zhaolu 2.0 is, the DA7.2x outperforms it in every way, even with only 24 hrs. on it (according to Eddie). It has deeper and better-controlled bass, better resolution, blacker background, much larger soundstage, faster transients, more texture. I had been listening to one of my reference CD's, stuck the 7.2x in, and the difference was immediate.
A short listen to the discrete headphone amp tells me it's significantly better than the stock one in the Zhaolu.
It's a pain to operate on (I had to switch an internal connector for 110V. operation). Every screw on the top, bottom and rear panels has to be removed in order to get to the boards, which remain attached to the front panel. The 1796 DAC chip looks authentic. The case is an anodized vertically-split clamshell. The front panel is 1/4" thick. It's got pretty good power conditioning, although I use a balanced conditioner. The volume control is a knockoff Alps motorized 100k pot which feels very smooth. Volume, source inputs, mute and upsampling (NOS and 2X) can be controlled by the remote, which is machined from a billet of non-magnetic stainless steel.
Oh, the "Citypulse" logo is backlit and a little label on the front tells us it's the "Yearn Series"!

Regards,
Larry Welsh

 

[roy_jones]

Thanks for the review/comments!!

One thing- this DAC is basically the same price as the Lite DAC-60, so I would be curious to hear a review of the two DACs. We know the DAC-60 can be modded with excellent results.

 

[Towert7]

Nice initial impressions. I would be interested to see how you like it after a few weeks of use.

Also, are you using this dac with an external headphone amp? If you were previously using the stock headamp from the Z2.0 and are now using the discrete headamp, that might be accounting for some of the difference in sound.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tianguis It's a pain to operate on (I had to switch an internal connector for 110V. operation). Every screw on the top, bottom and rear panels has to be removed in order to get to the boards, which remain attached to the front panel.

Larry, is it gonna affect your warranty by any chance.

This is what Eddie's site says here http://www.diykits.com.hk/da7.2.html
Quote:

Unit has a seal on the chassis box and the warranty is voided if the seal is broken.

 

[tianguis]

Towert7:

No external headphone amp. I primarily use this in my main system and rarely listen with cans. See my profile for equipment.

Andrew:

Eddie emailed me to say he forgot to configure it for 110v and told me what to do. No problem with warranty, there was no seal.

Larry

 

[skysaxon]

Larry, sounds great. Photos if you can, please!!! I want to see that remote.

 

[bizkid]

Sounds nice, i might get it for my active monitors

I own the CEC CD5300 which uses the original technology copied/licensed in this DAC, it is very very dynamic, combined with the powerful HA01 and the W5000 this is a simply amazing combo. Also its detailed but its not hyper detailed in an unnatural way, details never get in your way, music just flows.

I hope the DA7.2x will be close enough to it

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bizkid Sounds nice, i might get it for my active monitors I own the CEC CD5300 which uses the original technology copied/licensed in this DAC, it is very very dynamic, combined with the powerful HA01 and the W5000 this is a simply amazing combo. Also its detailed but its not hyper detailed in an unnatural way, details never get in your way, music just flows. I hope the DA7.2x will be close enough to it

Do you have any internal pics of CD5300? Are there those red "discrete output stage" modules in there just like the CEC DA53?

 

[bizkid]

Yes they are in there too. Also the CD5300 got a better power supply. You can find some infos about the technology here: http://www.cec-international.de/pages/s40.html
(pdf download)

I saw pics somewhere but i cant find them right now.

 

[falang]

I'm interested in hearing more apout the integrated headphone amp...and a comparison to the new Zhalou 2.5 (I know this may take a while).

Cheers.

 

[educator]

I asked Eddie Wu about the headphone amp in the 7.2 and this is what he answered me:

The head amp is as good as the upgrade head amp as using at D-2.0.
Cause of the analog part with better extension at both high and low ,head amp also better performance too !