[DemonicLemming]

Tough question...do you have any preference for a tube vs solid state amp?
 
Quote:

Thanks man thats really appreciated. Can i ask you what dac and amp or dac/amp combo would really be my best buy for a 400$ budget? I have a 2011 macbook pro and senns hd650
 

 

 

[sebmtl1]

to be honest, it will be my first amp, so no no preferences, lemme know what you think

 

 

[DemonicLemming]

The Zero seems to be a safe bet...but, a personal favorite of mine are the Travagans amps.  I have a White and love it (especially the size, it makes a great work desk setup).  May be something to look into.  Skylab's review is a bit old now, but he quite liked them for the price point.
 
Quote:

to be honest, it will be my first amp, so no no preferences, lemme know what you think

 

 

 

[sebmtl1]

ok thanks man peace

 

 

[throzen0303]

Should I get this ZERO amp or pay $50 more for the XS DAC 01A ?

 

[Phos]

Does anyone know how this compares to the Audio GD Sparrow?  It also seems as though Audio gd is selling what I assume to be pre orders of the NFB-12 at a price of 200 which I also assume to be a real bargain.  I'm not sure 100% considering that the Audio gd site isn't the best translated site around.  

 

[notoriousmatty]

Just got this thing.  Burned it in for about 100 hours.  It was very harsh at first, almost shrill. Bass?  Forget about it.  It warmed up a bit throughout the break in.  I actually prefer my 300 dollar netbooks headphone input with stock earbuds over this Zero.  I have beyer 880s 250ohm.  The bass is fuller and hits harder and the highs arent harsh on the laptop.  I know that beyers are best served with a tube and maybe ill look into that.  The zero is my first piece of head fi equipment ive owned and im highly dissapointed. 

 

[nocooler]

I'm considering the zero for my 1st full sized amp. I currently use my total bithead which is good - but I think I'd like more inputs.
 
I typically listen to my grado sr60's or 225i's - and my audio technica m50's. For tunes I listen to rock, alternative, metal, but lately I've been on the mellow kick - stuff like Jack Johnson.
 
In the future - I see some higher end grado's, maybe a some other various flavors of phones.
 
Would this amp be a good fit for me? I know all my existing head phones are easy to drive and probably won't see much of an improvement over the bithead, as it does a good job of bringing the grado's to life.
 

 

[ripleydog]

Hi sebMTL1- I have a Macbook pro as my source. I just ordered a Little Dot MkIII and a Beresford 7520 DAC so I can bypass the soundcard in my Mac for better sound. I listen to speakers as well, so I got  the LD MkIII because I can use it as a tube preamp for my stereo as well- a cost effective way to learn about tube sound, I hope! I can let you know how it goes if you wish. Good luck! I also hope to try using the Beresford as a CD decoder in the future as well.

 

[ripleydog]

Quote:

i dont mean to hijack, but im new to this dac/amp thingy. Im willing to buy a new headset (hd650) but i am very confused what to do next. I have a macbook pro and im confused weither i have to get a DAC or an amp or something that can do both. Is the ZERO a dac and an amp at the same time, meaning that i only have to buy one piece instead of 2 (dac + amp)? Also, whats the better thing to do, get a zero or get a udac2 +little dot mk or get a headroom micro amp?? Sorry but i am SO confused lol!
 

 Also new- please see my post of 5-7-2011. Thanks! I forgot to click on "reply to message".
 
 

 

[jbl772]

can someone give me a link to where i can buy an authentic one??
 
 
i found 2, but if you know a better place feel free to tell me

 

1. http://www.audiophilechina.com/cp-show.asp?C_id=50&S_id2=37&s_id=40

2. http://www.ebay.com/itm/09-NEW-VERSION-ZERO-24-192KHZ-DAC-HEAD-AMP-USB-OPA2604-/110606551605?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c0aa0a35#ht_10050wt_698

 

 

[Keulz]

Hello everyone.
 
I currently have a HD 598 and i would like to know i it's a good idea to buy the zero dac to go with.
 
It would be for music (classical, rock, a bit of everything) and games.
 
Thx in advance.

 

[onelivewire]

I just grabbed one of these from another member on the forum, primarily for use with a pair of loudspeakers and subs. Like ripleydog, I usually use a Macbook pro as my source, and my cd player's optical if not. There are a couple of things I'd like to note just in case there's anyone out there wondering how this will run on a 2.1 stereo setup, rather than just on phones.
 
Firstly, I am quite impressed with the detail that this DAC achieves across the low-band. Bass lines sound much clearer and crisper than with a cheaper ipod/cd-p/computer preamp, which really brings an instantaneous, headphone-sounding immediacy to music. It's as if the kick drum is sitting 5 feet in front of me, and you can tell if it is tuned well or not! 
 
I'd also say that the DAC does seem to have a very level frequency response, as the british loudspeakers in combination with the luxman serve to bring out alot of mid-highs, as would be expected. This wasn't always the case when using cheaper preamps. For me, this means I need to use the loudness filter on the lux to even the playing field, obviously but the DAC is not to blame, unless for its transparency. 
 
The detail across the entire spectrum is quite enjoyable, and every album I listen to I am finding new sounds here and there - the layers are just so much easier to pull apart. Regular lossless cd rips have taken on a larger sound stage, and old vinyl rips of Pink Floyd seems to stretch even wider and deeper.
 
Headphones are obviously a world of difference from a cheap preamp, but I don't do enough phone listening to comment heavily on that. 
I should also note that I'm running with the 627 opamps
 
On the whole, I'm quite pleased with the Zero, and interested to hear back from anyone else - especially those running the zero through subwoofers

 

[VirtualOne]

I've just bought the 09 version with USB and 627.

I'm using Sennheiser 555, and I hear hiss at all times (save when it gets drowned by the music). To ensure I get no suggestions to adjust my volume settings in Windows and such, I simply disconnected the USB cable, so the amp has no input. The hiss is still there, and gets louder as I turn up the volume knob. So it seems to be generated by the amp. The hiss is not very loud, but even with the volume at zero I don't have to struggle to hear it. I'm on 230V, if it matters.

Since this was supposed to be an upgrade, I'm feeling a bit down. I mean, I know low quality amplifiers have noisy backgrounds, but from what I read about Zero I had hoped I'll get a decently silent background. I get no hiss with 555 connected directly to Soundblaster X-Fi. I don't know that much about audio, except that maybe higher impendance headphones might help (555 is 50 ohm). Or not, since I would have to turn up the volume and hiss also increases then?

Is this hiss normal or did I just get unlucky with my sample?
Thanks.

 

[AmarokCZ]

It is quite long time since i completely upgraded my ZERO (upgrade included replacement of headphone amplifier with another one with silent background), but I don't remember me complaining about background noise (with AKG K240).
I would say that this is not normal (original headphone amplifier is quite nousy, but nothing horrible), but it depends on how loud are you listening (with K240 a was listening with potentiometer at 8 to 9 o'clock).
You can try LINE OUT with another amplifier to chceck if headphone amplifier is really the problem.