I've read this post a few times searching around about the Zdac -- and/or a viable alternative under$1000. I see you own two of them, and I was curious what made you decide to get two.
That's the tl;dr.
Below turned out to be a long ramble.
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I have the Zdac at work > Beyer A20 Amp > Beyer T70 headphones. I've been through various setups trying to get the right sound (I need isolation badly at work). I've had the baby Schiit stack (which is now 7 layers, but that's another story), Dragonfly 1.2 as amp/dac and as a dedicated dac into my A20 amp. I even tried the Modi to the A20. All were "ok". Different closed back headphones... previous to the T70 was the DT-770, but the T70 is way more refined. (And despite what certain reviewers say, has outstanding bass.)
Finally I ended up with the Zdac. I am finally satisfied with that setup. Closed back, good clear mids, the Beyer hosue sound I love, and lots of "space" -- it's just right to my ears.
I don't have to explain the appeal of the Zdac to you obviously.
For me there are a few non negotiable things: One is I have an almost pathological aversion to wall warts. I also *prefer* driverless USB.
I have been around computers (for a living as a sysadmin and personally) to never trust that a driver will be made available for something in the future. Lots of cheaper products have a certain shelf life, as do windows releases, and things may not get future support, and that's just how it is. No biggie (and I don't do Mac). But a good DAC will be around a while, and I don't want to be stuck with a brick. People argue with my logic, but that's ok. 24/96 is way more than fine. Any source material I have higher than 96k is handled by the "Sox resampler mod" Foobar DSP plugin (it will completely pass 44100;48000;88200;96000 unmolested, or anything else specified -- highly recommended). Honestly, 320k MP3 is fine, but since I have the flacs on disk, I will just listen to those.
So that brings me to the point (finally). I have another spot where I listen a lot at home. A laptop (same portable Foobar install and music library) currently using that Dragonfly to another Beyer A20 amp > Beyer T90 headphones. It's fine, but I bought the Dragonfly to be an on the go thing... and want another dedicated DAC.
So I have been searching for something that meets the same criteria that made me give the Zdac a try. Something in me wants something different, not because I am unsatisfied -- far from it. I guess for amps, I have two of the same, because I like how they act with my headphones. There isn't any good reason not to get a second Zdac -- since I know it's going to do exactly what I want and do it well. I have looked and looked, and nothing else seems to touch it, while meeting my good power supply, high build quality and driverless criteria. the built in amp is passable, but nothing even remotely close to the A20s.
The Zdac just seems to punch so far above its weight, price wise. I am very likely just going to get another one for home. I don't know why these aren't flying off the shelves. Seriously. Especially at the new going rate of $300. Even $450 was a bargain.
So after all this rambling, I return to the opening question: Why did you get two? Have you seen any other DACs that even compare with my two non-negotiables?
Thanks