[StratCat]

Ha!

I would've definitely recommended the Weller WES51 station at ~100 bux street.

BUT,

After scoping out the Aoyue, noting it's price, THEN seeing it's COO, I totally agree the Aoyue better fits the spirit of the ZERO and this thread!

It's going to be an interesting century...

 

[Matias]

OPA627 inside.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Nice pic !!!

How are you liking the Zero with 627 Matias ?


Peete.

 

[ccschua]

As we move up the value chain, the micro details become more and more important. I am really impressed with the output sound quality of ZERO DAC (considering the mod that I have done is nothing). The first 5 seconds of listening will tell whether the system setup meets the golden ears.

I had been wondering regarding some bottleneck along the digital and analogue chain upto the amplifier. After reading all the articles about transport, jitter, LC XO clock and tranmission line theory, I begin to wonder if I can unlock the potential bottleneck to bring greater transparency and detailing to the ZERO DAC.

What I am lacking is a oscilloscope to check the signal received by the CS8416, whether the square wave is really a square or not. and also whether the jitter is present due to the cheap XO clock (clock signal will change with differnt temperature). The advantage of LC Clock is obvious i.e. greater microdynamics and transparency.

To overcome that I think the best is to do an AB with the well known transport such as CEC TL51 and to see if really my present transport require an upgrade.

I just wonder how u guys think about the digital feeding to the ZERO.

 

[LeBuLLeT]

ccshua you have big big plans for this Zero don't you? Can't wait for your finished product.

 

[DCT]

The DIY Dac (Lampucera) mod by Lukasz is pretty good. I bought one on ebay and replace all SMD with OS-CON capacitors. I like the sound of this Dac better than the zero. You can give this one a try it only cost 74US

 

[ccschua]

I was trying to compare if my Sony dvd player is doing its jobs as a transport. What I did was to compare it with this usb to SPDIF converter (foobar2000 player) with Monster coaxial cable.

http://www.ha-info.com/Product/spdif.htm

In the end, I dont really detect any difference between cd/dvd player and direct ASIO4ALL outputusing foobar.

conclusion : both the cd/dvd and usb/spdif performs the same.

The other suggestion is the ZERO DAC CS8416 is NOT sensitive to jitter. (yes, it has its own PLL)

 

[ccschua]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCT /img/forum/go_quote.gif The DIY Dac (Lampucera) mod by Lukasz is pretty good. I bought one on ebay and replace all SMD with OS-CON capacitors. I like the sound of this Dac better than the zero. You can give this one a try it only cost 74US

why dont show us the photo of your own DAC instead of claiming the sound better. better in what sense

 

[ccschua]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeBuLLeT /img/forum/go_quote.gif ccshua you have big big plans for this Zero don't you? Can't wait for your finished product.

all that is left is capacitor mod job.

1. replace 4 cap supply to DAC and receive with Sanyo OSCON
2. replace KLE cap with ELNA.
3. replace yellow cap with WIMA red cap
4. cap, cap , cap.
5. BNC plug to replace Coaxial plug.

and I am done.

 

[AudioPhewl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ccschua /img/forum/go_quote.gif why dont show us the photo of your own DAC instead of claiming the sound better. better in what sense

I have the same DAC sitting around here somewhere. Stock vs. stock Zero, the Zero gave a more pleasing sound, wider soundstage, and had more depth.

The CS4397 based DAC had more immediate detail. The top-end felt stronger. This was intensified by the removal/bypassing of the output capacitors. It's a good little project for the money. But it's not as good as the tweaked Zero with HDAMs. IMO, of course...

~Phewl.

 

[brandnewgame]

I've read plenty of this thread, but not the whole thing. Can anyone tell me if the Zero with OPA627's pairs nicely with the AKG K701s? My other option seems to be waiting for a second hand Heed CanAmp, though as I live in the UK I might never find a good deal for it. If there's a better option I'd love to hear about it

 

[AudioPhewl]

Not sure if it helps, but my Zero is feeding my Stax energiser and holds its own quite nicely

.

Am obviously not using the Zero's headphone amplifier, but it drove my 600ohm Senns nicely.

~Phewl.

 

[liquid steel]

And the saga is over.

After a month and a half, I finally have a working ZERO

Ordered HD600's and a ZERO from Lawrence
HD600's arrived in 4 days
Amp Arrived a week and a half-ish later
DAC opamp was in backwards, and toasted
Ordered 2x OPA627 and a Dual mono PCB off Ebay
Waited 2 weeks for delivery, and only the OPAmps were included (*facepalm*)
Waited a week for the seller to respond and ship the damn PCB
Waited a week for it to arrive

IT IS FINALLY WORKING! I must say, it is well worth the investment (although a month less of waiting would have been nice ). Sound is vastly improved over the headphone out on my HK AVR146. Simply incredible.

A few glory shots

http://i34.tinypic.com/2mxq5qx.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/1g0ikx.jpg
http://i34.tinypic.com/23tqgqb.jpg
http://i35.tinypic.com/9hjqf9.jpg

Just glad I finally have everything in working order. Time to get lost in Lotus again <3

edit: OK, one decent shot that isn't resized http://deathmobile.net/brian/pics/goods.JPG

 

[LeBuLLeT]

Congrats liquid steel. Because of the Zero I listen to music a lot more now, what about you?

 

[liquid steel]

Unfortunately my music listening time has been cut down severely this semester. Taking 20 credits of classes + working 15 hours a week + ladyfriend means I have very little time to just sit back and relax.

If I am at home, however, music is playing. Always. I can't imagine I will listen more, but I can definitely say I will listen clearer