[MrNurse]

My setup was:
Sansa Rockbox Clip+ > Fiio E5 > Ultrasone Pro 900.
 
I was very happy with the bass and SQ, but I wanted more. I read reviews and I'm a huge basshead so I decided to go with the ZO2 instead of the E11.
 
I received my ZO2 today, lowered the bass EQ on my Clip+ and tested my bass-heavy song "Dub King" at about 90% volume.
I immediately noticed that there's more detail, texture, and feedback to the bass as the song was building up. Then the beat drops and all I hear is distortion! There's about a 20% decrease in impact and 50% decrease in bass quality compared to my E5. 
 
I tried the ZO2 with my HFI-580 and it sounds great! A little bit unnatural as you can tell the bass is artificially boosted, but very unique bass. It's excellent for certain genres. If it sounded like this on my Pro 900's, I'd keep it for sure.
 
I had high hopes for the ZO2 being a mini-subwoofer. I loved the design, the feel, the size...everything! But the bass disappointed me with my Pro 900.

How can it sound pretty good with certain headphones, but horrible on others?
I tried my Clip+ > E11 > ZO2 > Pro 900's...bad idea...so I don't think it's a power issue.
 
I quickly went to buy the Fiio E11 amp to compare. There's the same detail, texture, and feedback as the ZO2 but with no distortion! I'm happy with my E11, but I wanted to fall in love with the ZO2.
 
Has anyone had the same experience with the ZO2 and Pro 900 or similar cans?
 

VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLLB-htnuq4
 
 

 

[bowei006]

http://www.inearmatters.net/2012/01/impression-digizoid-zo23-bass-deluxe.html
 
 
Quote:CLIEOS @ In Ear Matters

To put in bluntly – no, ZO2.3 isn’t the best portable amp you can buy for under $100. That is, if all you want is a portable amp with flat response and best transparency. To use it purely as an amp (low gain mode with level 0 bass contour, which has no bass boost at all), I’ll have to say ZO2.3 is right between an FiiO E6 and a JDS Labs cmoyBB (probably much closer to the later) and  not nearly as good as FiiO E11. Why? Because like cmoyBB, ZO2.3 lacks good transparency as an amp. While cmoyBB adds lushness to the music, ZO2.3 has a sense of warmness in its background and actually rolls off at the bass end.  However, the realistic question is ‘does anyone use ZO as amp only?’ I certainly hope not – that would be a big waste! The key is - ZO2.3 as a decent amp by itself, is neither the best nor the worst. But once you look pass ZO2.3 as an amp, it is really a marvel of its own

I was going to buy the ZO2 for my HFI 580's too until i heard of this problem. I get a good number of PM's and i got this a while ago
 
The conversation went like this, all the posts below are from teh SAME USER. i didnt feel the need to include what i said. i didn't add some parts in to reduce the size. this is a PM from a user to me, just saying
 
 

 I ended up with the pro900 because I realized I valued clarity and sound quality over bass. The pro900 are great no regrets but the zo2 is giving me problems. So im back looking for portable amps again lol, I plan on returning the zo2 if they dont improve with burn-in.

 
 

Ya the problem is the zo2 removes small details from the music. Maybe they just dont pair well with the pro900? Also when I use the higher contour levels the sound gets distorted and its almost impossible to listen to. The thing I like about the pro 900 is the bass is clean and tight, with the zo2 there is more quantity but it becomes muddy. It really isnt my type of amp. How does the e11 improve bass with its bass booster in your opinion? Does it become muddy or does it just improve quantity? Also does the ibasso have any bass enhancement?
 
If you want to see what I mean about the zo2 just read this thread.http://www.head-fi.org/t/589201/digizoid-zo2-3-impression-discussion-thread/45#post_8065053

 
 

Cool, ordered the E11 and L3 so well see how that works out. Thanks.

 
 

Hey man I just got my e11 in the mail. I've only been listening to it for a couple minutes but it seems like exactly what I  was looking for. This amp doesnt hide and detail at all, or make anything muddy plus it has a bass boost. Thanks again for helping me out. Just one more thing though, is it better to increase the volume on my iphone or on the e11? Which way gives better sound quality?

 
 
 

Ya no problem you made my life alot easier its the least I could do. This thing powers my pro 900 no problems and now im in the process of returning the zo2 lol. My LOD arrived in the mail literally minutes after I sent you the message lol, definitly improves clarity and makes it sound better, I guess volume on the iphone is a non issue now. Overall im much happier with the E11. Thanks again.

 
 
i don't have personal experience with it. but i have had personal exchanges with someone that does. after reading i noted. the ZO2 had too many problems and too many revisions and after reading many reviews i deduced like clieos did in the top link. it was a novelty amp that added something new to the audiophile world but wasn't worth it if i really needed an amp.  i follow digizoid on facebook. teh majority of people that send them pics have the ZO2 in use with another amp to drive the headphones actually. 
 
And so..i went with the E17.and never looked back.

 

[MrNurse]

Quote:

http://www.inearmatters.net/2012/01/impression-digizoid-zo23-bass-deluxe.html
 
 
I was going to buy the ZO2 for my HFI 580's too until i heard of this problem. I get a good number of PM's and i got this a while ago
 
The conversation went like this, all the posts below are from teh SAME USER. i didnt feel the need to include what i said. i didn't add some parts in to reduce the size. this is a PM from a user to me, just saying
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
i don't have personal experience with it. but i have had personal exchanges with someone that does. after reading i noted. the ZO2 had too many problems and too many revisions and after reading many reviews i deduced like clieos did in the top link. it was a novelty amp that added something new to the audiophile world but wasn't worth it if i really needed an amp.  i follow digizoid on facebook. teh majority of people that send them pics have the ZO2 in use with another amp to drive the headphones actually. 
 
And so..i went with the E17.and never looked back.

Wow, thanks for those quotes and page references. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one experiencing this.
I would really like to keep the ZO2 because it's the perfect size, etc.
 
The vocals and bass is more clear from my E11, but my E11 is a little big for my portable preference.
 

 

[bowei006]

Quote:

Wow, thanks for those quotes and page references. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one experiencing this.
I would really like to keep the ZO2 because it's the perfect size, etc.
 
The vocals and bass is more clear from my E11, but my E11 is a little big for my portable preference.
 

it's fine man. the braiding was awesome. and we are both ultrasone and fiio users that's all that matters join the possee

 

[Totally Dubbed]

Very nice links Bowei,
 
My main concern is this:
-I don't need a volume boost, my internal amp on my SGS sort that out.
-I don't even REALLY need a bass boost either - I have quite bass-heavy phones
 
I just want something that cleans the sound, and I can REALLY hear the difference.
 
I've had the E7, and returned it almost immediately, as over the E5, all it did is add a LITTLE, I'm talking about 10% more volume than what the E5 was producing.
Bass wise, it added bass, but just like the E5, instead in 3 levels rather than on/off.
 
All together my experience with the E7 was very bad + was very bulky, bigger than my phone, width wise.
 
So my question to the community, is this:
If I don;t really need an amp, and having a bass boost is a nice addition.
 
What portable amp would you recommend?
When I talk about portability, I really mean it....I mean something really small, that I can carry around, almost like the E5/6
Also I would like keeping all of this under $120 -> I'm not spending more...
 
Any recommendations would be apprecaited.
So far I've concluded the ZO2v3 will be my best option, then closely followed by the E11 - hesitations over the E11 simply because of 1 reason:
-Its not THAT portable for me, the e5, on the other hand is, however the e5, doesn't bring any life to the music, just adds volume and adds a lot of bass (+10dB), which as I stated don't need THAT much - I thus haven't used my E5 for over 6-8months.
 
Oh and I bought THESE (2x 3.5mm to 3.5mm interconnects, one at 3m, the other at 7cm), and feel obliged to buy an amp now
 
Thanks !

 

[MrNurse]

Quote:

Very nice links Bowei,
 
My main concern is this:
-I don't need a volume boost, my internal amp on my SGS sort that out.
-I don't even REALLY need a bass boost either - I have quite bass-heavy phones
 
I just want something that cleans the sound, and I can REALLY hear the difference.
 
I've had the E7, and returned it almost immediately, as over the E5, all it did is add a LITTLE, I'm talking about 10% more volume than what the E5 was producing.
Bass wise, it added bass, but just like the E5, instead in 3 levels rather than on/off.
 
All together my experience with the E7 was very bad + was very bulky, bigger than my phone, width wise.
 
So my question to the community, is this:
If I don;t really need an amp, and having a bass boost is a nice addition.
 
What portable amp would you recommend?
When I talk about portability, I really mean it....I mean something really small, that I can carry around, almost like the E5/6
Also I would like keeping all of this under $120 -> I'm not spending more...
 
Any recommendations would be apprecaited.
So far I've concluded the ZO2v3 will be my best option, then closely followed by the E11 - hesitations over the E11 simply because of 1 reason:
-Its not THAT portable for me, the e5, on the other hand is, however the e5, doesn't bring any life to the music, just adds volume and adds a lot of bass (+10dB), which as I stated don't need THAT much - I thus haven't used my E5 for over 6-8months.
 
Oh and I bought THESE (2x 3.5mm to 3.5mm interconnects, one at 3m, the other at 7cm), and feel obliged to buy an amp now
 
Thanks !

 
Soundmagic a10 brings more life to your music, and is smaller than the E11 which I agree is a bit larger than I'd like. The E11 is also a bit fragile as you can dent it if you're not careful. The ZO2 doesn't really clean up the SQ since it's more of a bass booster.
I'm returning my E11 because of the dent as I'm getting a new E11 or the A10.
 

 

[Totally Dubbed]

Quote:

 
Soundmagic a10 brings more life to your music, and is smaller than the E11 which I agree is a bit larger than I'd like. The E11 is also a bit fragile as you can dent it if you're not careful. The ZO2 doesn't really clean up the SQ since it's more of a bass booster.
I'm returning my E11 because of the dent as I'm getting a new E11 or the A10.
 

cheers for the feedback bro
 

 

[Totally Dubbed]

Got 2 ideas:
 
Order from amazon + with their return policy, see which is best?
 
Between the:
-FiiO E11 @ £44
 
-Sound magic @ £65
 
-DigiZoid @ £86 (less keen about this one, seeing as its very expensive + I can get it for £75 from digizoid themselves)
 
Opinions?
I'm thinking possibly the soundmagic and e11? and then return the one I don't want?

 

[NotSoSerious]

E5 vs. E6?
I know the E6 probably has better overall SQ and clarity, while supposedly being more sturdy then the E5 with the plastic.
I have heard rumors that the E5, while not quite on par with the E6 in terms of SQ, has more bass and impact.
 
Is this true?
 

 

[Totally Dubbed]

I have no idea about e5 vs e6, I'm sure there are threads about it - but personally, I would get the e6, if its not too much more expensive.

 

[NotSoSerious]

Quote:

 
I have both the E5 and E6 and I prefer the SQ of the E6. The soundstage feels wider than on the E5 and I get the feeling that instrument separation is a bit better (of course it depends on your source and headphones).
However, I think that the bass boost on the E5 is much better. It feels like bass is boosted more whereas on the E6 it feels like the overall volume is just raised. In this I agree with the review from Anything but iPod.
 
But with bass boost turned off there is no question - the E6 easily triumphs the E5. If I want bass to be raised, I just EQ my player instead.

 
I did look it up.
It was the bass quantity that was holding me back.
I was thinking about just EQing the E6 since it has better quality, but since I am probably using a LOD...
 
Eh, I think I will just get the E6.
 
 

 

[Totally Dubbed]

Quote:

 
I did look it up.
It was the bass quantity that was holding me back.
I was thinking about just EQing the E6 since it has better quality, but since I am probably using a LOD...
 
Eh, I think I will just get the E6.
 
 

hehe the joys of "jumping in"
 

 

[MrNurse]

Quote:

 
I did look it up.
It was the bass quantity that was holding me back.
I was thinking about just EQing the E6 since it has better quality, but since I am probably using a LOD...
 
Eh, I think I will just get the E6.
 
 

Def. report back!


Quote:

Got 2 ideas:
 
Order from amazon + with their return policy, see which is best?
 
Between the:
-FiiO E11 @ £44
 
-Sound magic @ £65
 
-DigiZoid @ £86 (less keen about this one, seeing as its very expensive + I can get it for £75 from digizoid themselves)
 
Opinions?
I'm thinking possibly the soundmagic and e11? and then return the one I don't want?

Definitely the E11 and A10 and then keep the one you like. I'm curious to the sound and bass comparison between the two because I'm still torn on which one to get.

 

[KimChee]

Glad to read this post, I gave serious thought to the Digizoid.  I love my E11

 

[Totally Dubbed]

Oh well  -seems like I couldn't cancel my order with amazon.
 
All 3 amps will be coming in lol
(Ordered the ZO2 via a very kind head-fier)
 
You guys will benefit from a comparison and i will lose money on postage