[macky112]

I found that z1 stock to be overly bloated mid and bass and lack common transparency. At least with my own unit. How does z2 compare.?

do you have a point of reference, like comparing to another DAP that's less bloated?
these Chinese DAP doesnt have the tightest QC, so I am not surprised if you have a faulty unit, but then again, different ears different hears.

comparing all of my budget Chinese DAPs: Benjie S5, Wallnut V2.1, Zishan Z1; Z1 sounds the best, and there is a bass roll off on Z1 too, not as bad as the Walnut V2.2 but it is noticeable. so I am wondering why your are hearing a bloat in the lower sound spectrum.

 

[fairx]

do you have a point of reference, like comparing to another DAP that's less bloated?
these Chinese DAP doesnt have the tightest QC, so I am not surprised if you have a faulty unit, but then again, different ears different hears.

comparing all of my budget Chinese DAPs: Benjie S5, Wallnut V2.1, Zishan Z1; Z1 sounds the best, and there is a bass roll off on Z1 too, not as bad as the Walnut V2.2 but it is noticeable. so I am wondering why your are hearing a bloat in the lower sound spectrum.

well I don't have any other dap as of now. Maybe i can describe fiio x5 iii or cayin n5 from my last audition? These two player shines my ty 320 ohm. Great resolution, Tight and balance. Smooth but engaging at the same time. So I'm confident my earbud is not flawed.

I do own Samsung s1 and iPhone 5 as normal player for Spotify.

It's kinda funny in the z1 thread people complaining that some difference in file type and removing tags can improve the sound. I'm not skeptical of these claims because to me z1 CAN sound rather inconsistent. Out of the box it sound fantastic. Then a day after it sound meh. I tried different codec, remove tags and pic. Sometimes it sound good and next time it sounds bad.

When it sound good then it's quite good. Better SQ than my samsung s1 or iphone 5 connected to amp - because 320 is power hungry. When it sound good the separation are great, dynamic and resolution quite good.

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

Just happens when when i type this I'm listening to good sounds.

I know maybe I shouldn't say anything since its not even 50 hours burning yet. But to sound in swing moods? It's perplexing. It even made me question my hearings in last couple of days.

I have 2 card and both with same song on root so i can listen ti these reference song first when I switch card. Just happens i listen to other cards just now.

hope I'm just an isolated case here.

 

[lecky]

Compared to my DX90, Z1 has slightly more mid presence and is less liquid in sound. the HA gets it closer to the DX90 than stock, but still leaving the Z1 as its own thing. I do value the mid presence of the Z1. I can see how others might not. I'm not sure if Z2 has the same mid present tendency as the Z1. It's possible that the low sub-bass is less on the Z1 and Z2 than DX90 but if so it's marginal, I don't find them deficient. Z2 seems a little more detailed and coherent than Z1 regardless of opamp - not a huge amount but it seems worth it to me. My first impression was that the Z2 is more dynamic sounding than Z1, but I was less and less sure of this with more listening. This is all on early listening to the Z2, so take it as quite provisional.

 

[Abdi]

Compared to my DX90, Z1 has slightly more mid presence and is less liquid in sound. the HA gets it closer to the DX90 than stock, but still leaving the Z1 as its own thing. I do value the mid presence of the Z1. I can see how others might not. I'm not sure if Z2 has the same mid present tendency as the Z1. It's possible that the low sub-bass is less on the Z1 and Z2 than DX90 but if so it's marginal, I don't find them deficient. Z2 seems a little more detailed and coherent than Z1 regardless of opamp - not a huge amount but it seems worth it to me. My first impression was that the Z2 is more dynamic sounding than Z1, but I was less and less sure of this with more listening. This is all on early listening to the Z2, so take it as quite provisional.

My Z2 arrived today. Out of the box better sound than Z1, but at high volume is noiser also some random "pops". After a few ours of burn in no more "pops", better layering and better spatiality than Z1.

 

[macky112]

Compared to my DX90, Z1 has slightly more mid presence and is less liquid in sound. the HA gets it closer to the DX90 than stock, but still leaving the Z1 as its own thing. I do value the mid presence of the Z1. I can see how others might not. I'm not sure if Z2 has the same mid present tendency as the Z1. It's possible that the low sub-bass is less on the Z1 and Z2 than DX90 but if so it's marginal, I don't find them deficient. Z2 seems a little more detailed and coherent than Z1 regardless of opamp - not a huge amount but it seems worth it to me. My first impression was that the Z2 is more dynamic sounding than Z1, but I was less and less sure of this with more listening. This is all on early listening to the Z2, so take it as quite provisional.

should go for the 100 hr burn in and then let us know XD

 

[macky112]

well I don't have any other dap as of now. Maybe i can describe fiio x5 iii or cayin n5 from my last audition? These two player shines my ty 320 ohm. Great resolution, Tight and balance. Smooth but engaging at the same time. So I'm confident my earbud is not flawed.

I do own Samsung s1 and iPhone 5 as normal player for Spotify.

It's kinda funny in the z1 thread people complaining that some difference in file type and removing tags can improve the sound. I'm not skeptical of these claims because to me z1 CAN sound rather inconsistent. Out of the box it sound fantastic. Then a day after it sound meh. I tried different codec, remove tags and pic. Sometimes it sound good and next time it sounds bad.

When it sound good then it's quite good. Better SQ than my samsung s1 or iphone 5 connected to amp - because 320 is power hungry. When it sound good the separation are great, dynamic and resolution quite good.

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

Just happens when when i type this I'm listening to good sounds.

I know maybe I shouldn't say anything since its not even 50 hours burning yet. But to sound in swing moods? It's perplexing. It even made me question my hearings in last couple of days.

I have 2 card and both with same song on root so i can listen ti these reference song first when I switch card. Just happens i listen to other cards just now.

hope I'm just an isolated case here.

ok, to start things off, the two DAPs you mentioned are $280 and $400 on Amazon.com, and Z1 is about $35 on ebay.com

and then QC is a possible issue, and your unit may have bad solder/workmanship on the PCB somewhere, may be even the headphone jack contact points are jacked (no pun intended, lol)

Z1 is a solid little player that simply sounds good as long as you dont pair it with ultra low impedance earphones or multi-BA IEMs. Like my Koss KSC75 sounds awesome with Z1 (heck, KSC75 even sounds great with Walnut V2)

 

[fairx]

ok, to start things off, the two DAPs you mentioned are $280 and $400 on Amazon.com, and Z1 is about $35 on ebay.com

and then QC is a possible issue, and your unit may have bad solder/workmanship on the PCB somewhere, may be even the headphone jack contact points are jacked (no pun intended, lol)

Z1 is a solid little player that simply sounds good as long as you dont pair it with ultra low impedance earphones or multi-BA IEMs. Like my Koss KSC75 sounds awesome with Z1 (heck, KSC75 even sounds great with Walnut V2)

yeah maybe i should try open and inspect inside. As long as it sound better than my iPhone its should be sufficient. As i said out of the box it sound fantastic. I understand i i can't compare it to much higher proper dap.

This new report of z2 sound tempting. Is the amp power better than z1?

 

[tamio]

Just bought Z1 3 weeks ago and then Z2 was released :'(

Is it worth to sell Z1 and buy Z2, or keep using Z1 guys?

 

[chickenmoon]

Just got my Z2 from the CKLewis store. Will try to check it out later on today.

 

[knudsen]

Just got my Z2 from the CKLewis store. Will try to check it out later on today.

What can possibly be more important than testing z2

 

[chickenmoon]

I've got some other stufff to do and I also received today an xDuuo X3 DAP and two IEM, an RHA T20 and a Sony MDR EX-1000 so I am a bit overwhelmed you see.

 

[lecky]

Just bought Z1 3 weeks ago and then Z2 was released :'(

Is it worth to sell Z1 and buy Z2, or keep using Z1 guys?

I think many people would find the difference not enough to justify the swap. It's worth it to me, definitely, but I think it's such that nobody can guarantee that you'll feel the same. Fortunately it's not a terribly expensive experiment to see if it's worth it to you.

 

[JesvsR]

First impressions of the Z2¡¡
- In detail, it's a point better than Z1
- The soundstage is very nice: it's wider than Z1, but you don't feel the instruments too separated
- The soundfirm is... neutral, i mean, it doesn't rise any frequency, but it doesn't sound cold at all.

I like it so much, and I think it's an improvement over Z1

 

[lecky]

yeah maybe i should try open and inspect inside. As long as it sound better than my iPhone its should be sufficient. As i said out of the box it sound fantastic. I understand i i can't compare it to much higher proper dap.

This new report of z2 sound tempting. Is the amp power better than z1?

I can't say if the amp is more powerful, it's not obvious, but the level of gain is about the same.

 

[knudsen]

Could anyone post some photos of the inside of this bad boy? I am mostly interested in the brands/values of the capacitors, so I already now can order some alternatives for testing. Thanks a lot