Well...I guess I'll be needing line level anyway. I guess that'll be an excuse to go for a preamp as well I'll post back if I get the Zero, must go do some more research than pull the trigger on one them.
Thank you for your help
So, I bought the OPA637 Zero Dac couple months ago. I would have opted for the cheaper versions, becouse I was gonna upgrade the op-amps anyway. But since the OPA637 was the only one that the Finnish importer had, I bought it.
My initial toughts weren't that great. Before the Zero Dac I had an Asus Xonar STX and i use HD650's as my headphones. So Like I said my initial toughts weren't that great. The Zero didn't sound bad, just felt like it had no soul. There was just music, it didn't get my foot tapping.
I was connected via USB so i tought i'd upgrade the USB-cable for a better one. The inculded one looks like it's from the 80's anyway. So I did some research and found out that the Lindy Prerium Gold cable was pretty much the best you can get under 50euros. I wanted to get the 0.5m one, it was pretty hard to find one, but i managed to order one from a small German store. The cable improved the sound quite a bit and i would say that it was now enjoyable.
After the cable upgrade i red that the stock op-amps were probably fake ones. So again i did some research and founded this topic. I red the review and ordered OPA627's for the dac section and LM4562's for the headphone section. I founded this "weird" mod with some resistor and the dual OPA 627's. A photo is probably gonna explane more here.
The result was amazing, it sounds so much better now and most importantly it always gets my foot tapping. I think these are the best changes for the Zero Dac, as far as price is a concern. I definitely recommend these to anyone who isn't happy with the sound, I really love the Zero now.
Hi,
Please forgive me my bad English. I am not a native speaker. Believe me that I do my best to make it at least understandable for you. Moreover: I am a laymen on the field of computer audio..
Regarding the Zero DAC (but equally important for other external DAC's) how do you avoid that lossless music is "distorted" by the sound card during playing back? I have searched for an answer on this question on the internet many times but I never found an answer that was conclusively. When I want to playback FLAC music the music player software either does not give me the opportunity to set preferences which guarantee that the FLAC music is sent directly to the DAC. Some programs give me the possiblity to choose AISO (or Kernel streaming) but it seems that the Zero DAC is not suitable to play back with this "format".Possibly the media player is also not suitable for this "format".
The only possibility which remains then is that I choose for "Direct sound", but in that case the music passes the sound card in my PC and I don't know what this has for consequences for my lossless music.
I would be very happy if any one of you specialists could give me an answer on this question!
I just bought the ZERO Dac -09 anout week ago, i've noticed that when i turn the volume low, right channel on my headphones shuts down, and i can only hear the left channel? Its only on low volume so it doesnt bother me almost at all, just asking is this normal with zero's or do i have a pub unit?
I have a heavily modified DAC Zero, that to me sounds like a much more expensive DAC. Much more...
Here is what was changed in it:
The power supply was reviewed, but nothing really changed. Just adjusted the voltage and all so it would match the standard in Brazil.
The IEC was changed to a top-of-line Furutech
The RCA conectors where replaced by Vampire RCA (digital and analog)
All the analogic stage was replaced by a custom made board.
Power cable was replaced by a Cardas Twinlink that I had from another system which was sold.
All of this actually costed a bit more than the original DAC price, but I have to tell you that it was worth it. It's now a 400usd DAC that sounds better than any 500usd DAC I've heard. Easily.
Mine is also heavily modded (more than the one mentioned above), total cost is less than 300$. The price is lower since I'm not placebo lover so I didn't changed IEC or RCA connectors or others.
In my experience ZERO can beat many DAC/AMPs up to ~500 to 600$.
Mine is also heavily modded (more than the one mentioned above), total cost is less than 300$. The price is lower since I'm not placebo lover so I didn't changed IEC or RCA connectors or others.
In my experience ZERO can beat many DAC/AMPs up to ~500 to 600$.
I saw most of what you done on the page you linked. What have you changed in the analogic stage of the DAC? I found it to be the most important area to upgrade in my experience.
Yes it's the most important. I changed the setpoint of the LPF filter and in my ZERO I also changed the four decoupling caps right in front of the LPF filter. Also the OAs were changed to OPA627.
Kind of new to the whole DACs thing and I'm having problem connecting the Zero DAC. Basically PC => Zero DAC => O2 => Earphones; but I can't get any sound, only hiss. Is my connection wrong?
I forgot to mention that I'm using the usb input. I tried the rca output and still couldn't get any sound. So is there a driver or anything for the zero DAC?
I really hate to create a new thread for my question, so I'll append it here and hope someone can point me in the right direction.
My current setup is as follows: USB --> Pico DAC --> Audio Engine A2 speakers (3.5mm) && Rockhopper M^3 Amp (RCA)
I was hoping to use the Zero DAC as a volume control for the A2 speakers since the knob is currently on the back of those and it's really annoying to reach behind and change the volume. Seeing as the Zero only have 1 Line out, can anyone tell me if this will work by splitting it or something? Or can someone point me in the right direction of another DAC with more output options? The Zero would be nice as an additional headphone amp when I'm bored w/ the M^3, but my main goal here is to feed my M^3 and my powered A2 speakers.
On a side note, adding computer gaming to the mix, has anyone experimented w/ CMSS-3D or Dolby out the DAC for positional assistance while playing FPS games?
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I'll post back if I get the Zero, must go do some more research than pull the trigger on one them.
