[Lad27]

Hi guys,

Contacted lately Daniel Chin from COEM Audio in Brisbane. He sells Zhaolu v2.0 (both chipsets) for very reasonable price. I'm after one with discrete modified headamp. He can order them for next shipment, but to make a special order, he needs to have certain number of pre-orders. Anyone in Australia interested? He also indicated that he plans selling headamp mod kit in the future if there is enough interest.
Check him out at coemaudio.com.au, he's got some amazing stuff there.

Cheers

 

[d-cee]

yeah Daniel and John are fantastic to deal with. always pleasant, communicative and very generous. top blokes for bringing in all this gear that would otherwise be hard to get in aus or expensive to import

im waiting for my D2.0 through coem as well.

i spoke to daniel about the headamp and chip options and he said they would be coming but in due time..

i am definitely interested =D count me in as one

 

[Firevortex]

whats the price?

 

[theexec]

I'm in aus but ordered through eddie, and I don't find it anymore expensive. but its nice to support local dealers since we can actually go there and test out the equipment

 

[d-cee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firevortex whats the price?

http://www.coemaudio.com.au/products.php?catagory=DAC

Quote:

Originally Posted by theexec I'm in aus but ordered through eddie, and I don't find it anymore expensive. but its nice to support local dealers since we can actually go there and test out the equipment

how much did you pay for the DAC all up after shipping and exchange rate? because my understanding is that the pre-order price that coem are offering on the AD1852 is cheaper than buying direct from eddit, but also....

and here's the deal killer for me, straight from an email from Daniel...

Zhaolu dac comes with JRC5532 installed, but comes with DY2000 and LT1057 for free for you to play around with. The power capacitors have been replaced with ELNA capacitors, digital circuit capacitors have been replaced with OS-CON, the DC-blocking capictors have been replaced with MUSE Bi-polar capacitors. Not sure what we want to call this one yet but something like special "export version" or something like that. Hahahaha...

So there we have it, a modded zhaolu delivered to aus with LOCAL support and warranty that is modded and costs less than buying a stock straight from overseas =)

only issue is the wait, but hey i'm willing to wait for this deal!

edit: oh and did i mention they're great guys to deal with! some of the best customer service i've experienced from an online retailer. they're passionate about their product and are dedicated to keeping the customers happy!

 

[theexec]

coem might actually have a slightly better deal than what i got,
$370AUD incl shipping
discrete amp upgrade,
blackgates upgrade
AD1852 version

not sure if i'd get the DY2000 and LT1057 to play with... eddie was offering hk promotion deal a while ago, but I ordered only a few days ago

the coem mods sound pretty cool too ><

 

[revo_909]

when is this going to happen? or do they start taking preorder now?

 

[Firevortex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d-cee http://www.coemaudio.com.au/products.php?catagory=DAC how much did you pay for the DAC all up after shipping and exchange rate? because my understanding is that the pre-order price that coem are offering on the AD1852 is cheaper than buying direct from eddit, but also.... and here's the deal killer for me, straight from an email from Daniel... Zhaolu dac comes with JRC5532 installed, but comes with DY2000 and LT1057 for free for you to play around with. The power capacitors have been replaced with ELNA capacitors, digital circuit capacitors have been replaced with OS-CON, the DC-blocking capictors have been replaced with MUSE Bi-polar capacitors. Not sure what we want to call this one yet but something like special "export version" or something like that. Hahahaha... So there we have it, a modded zhaolu delivered to aus with LOCAL support and warranty that is modded and costs less than buying a stock straight from overseas =) only issue is the wait, but hey i'm willing to wait for this deal! edit: oh and did i mention they're great guys to deal with! some of the best customer service i've experienced from an online retailer. they're passionate about their product and are dedicated to keeping the customers happy!

not sure how much the JRC5532 is worth but the rest of the upgrades are the same by eddie under blackgate upgrades. so its $164USD($221AUD) total for A-1852 version, $217USD($293AUD) for A-CS4398 from Eddie not including shipping. so ya its prob a bit cheaper to buy it from COEM if you getting it shipped here. if not Eddies price on the CS4398 seems to have a bigger price difference. with discrete amp upgrade + shipping $370 sounds really good

but it seems eddie has ran out of the discrete amp upgrades

and COEM dont offer it.

 

[Lad27]

Quote:

Originally Posted by revo_909 when is this going to happen? or do they start taking preorder now?

Yes, contact Daniel Chin (there is an email link on COEM website). For him to do this special order he needs to have several (I don't know exact number) customers interested. As you can see a few of us are already in, so if we can get up to a critical mass, the ball will start rolling. Daniel is quick with his replies.
Nice to see some interest generated by this thread and to see there are local dealers with good deals. We are already being ripped on headphones (go and check prices on KSC75's, Sportapros, Grado RS-1, 2's from aussie dealers.

KSC75 can be bought for $US11.99 on Amazon, but sorry cannot deliver electronic goods to Australia...

 

[hugz]

I emailed daniel about this and he replied with some info about it..

For preorders, the headamp upgrade is $65 on top of the cost of the zhaolu (AD1852 $230, CS4398 $320). They're hoping to get them in around the 21st if they have enough interest. I suppose email them if you're interested

I'm still thinking about if I want it or not. I'm choosing between zhaolu and storm

 

[mtan002]

I had my Zhaolu D2.0 some time ago. But I am still interested in a discrete headamp upgrade some time later.

 

[Lad27]

Contact Daniel - he's taking orders now, till 14 July. He may sneak you amp module in.

 

[pauls]

I'm pretty interested too since I just got an iRiver H140 from eBay. I figured that a dedicated DAC would be much further down the track, but just found this thread as it's the first time I've cruised the "Dedicated Source Components" Forum. (I’ve always mainly looked at the Portable Audio, Headphones and Amps forums.)

Iwas surprised that:
1) A DAC could be had this cheap, and
2) An Aussie dealer with very competitive prices.

I'm very interested in this offer, but need to do much more homework. Are you guys talking about the AD1852 or CS4398 version? Does the special "export version" that d-cee refer to above include both versions? From what I've read, I think I'm leaning to the CS4398, because I suffer severely from "upgraditis". Now that I know I'm not up for slightly less than $1000, the extra $90 doesn't concern me.

Also, about the discrete headamp - does this enable you to use the DAC as an Amp, as well as allowing you to add other amps into the chain? I'll keep doing my homework, but from my brief readings I'll be in this pre-order for sure.

Cheers

pauls

 

[Lad27]

Welcome on board. Both chipsets are offered. 4398 is on the paper technically superior (hence $100 difference I guess), but again, some guys here prefer sound of 1852. I would use analogy of RS-1 vs RS-2 debate on numerous threads. Boils down to personal preference.
The unmodded Zhaolu comes with stock headphone amp which isn't a star performer. Apparently the discrete head amp mod offered here for $60 brings it to the level of mid-priced dedicated solid state phone amps. I've read some favourable comments on this mod on Zhaolu thread - bottom line - it is claimed that you can get a hell lot of sound for not much of the dough.
So, yes, you may end up with a DAC and a decent headphone amp in one package.
I'll send you PM containing Daniel's email with instructions how to get into it and some other details (I have it on my work computer, check your PM in the morning).

On ya, mate.

 

[adhoc]

i'm a little confused, how much will it be a top-line dac MINUS the headphone section?