[Hawaiibadboy]

@Hawaiibadboy DSD Pro (AK4497 based) unboxing/first impressions video in case you missed it

This thing sounds very very nice and the spectrograph is so dope I wish my Astell and Kern could do it

 

[Ivan TT]

This thing sounds very very nice and the spectrograph is so dope I wish my Astell and Kern could do it

I read your YouTube comments re: dope and spectrograph so I know what you mean
Have you tried playing with sound quality mode and filters yet?
Also, it seems you were mostly using 2.5mm balanced out in your vid above, can you confirm?

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

I read your YouTube comments re: dope and spectrograph so I know what you mean
Have you tried playing with sound quality mode and filters yet?
Also, it seems you were mostly using 2.5mm balanced out in your vid above, can you confirm?

Yup 2.5 until yesterday and 3.5 gave me some odd feedback sounds but settled down. Might be a bad connect on this unit. My opinions on this were built around the balanced output. Have not played with filters yet

 

[Alex3221]

From the few numbers and English text in the description, and the photo on the TaoBao page, the new one has upgraded capacitors and op-amps.

Using Google translate I got this:

"Upgrade the magic version of the analog board op amp section to provide + / _12V power supply LPF circuit using AD8620A OP using AD797 and related circuit parameters to make appropriate adjustments"

Do you think is worth the upgrade? Considering I don't have the skill to mod it by myself.

 

[DBaldock9]

Using Google translate I got this:

"Upgrade the magic version of the analog board op amp section to provide + / _12V power supply LPF circuit using AD8620A OP using AD797 and related circuit parameters to make appropriate adjustments"

Do you think is worth the upgrade? Considering I don't have the skill to mod it by myself.

Yes, the upgraded op-amps (AD797, socketed; & AD8620A, surface mount), and capacitors (surface mount), should yield better sound from the AK4497 DAC.

 

[Youghin]

Yup 2.5 until yesterday and 3.5 gave me some odd feedback sounds but settled down. Might be a bad connect on this unit. My opinions on this were built around the balanced output. Have not played with filters yet

Ibasso DX120 vs This DSD Pro, which would you recommend?

 

[gazzington]

Yes, the upgraded op-amps (AD797, socketed; & AD8620A, surface mount), and capacitors (surface mount), should yield better sound from the AK4497 DAC.

So it's worth spending extra on this version?

 

[Ivan TT]

Mind if I chime it re: AK4497 mod?

1. AD8620 is an improvement compared to OP275, especially OP275 that finds its way into DSD. Not the best sounding opamp for LPF IMO, but a very good one nevertheless. I sourced some from taobao - B-brade, which is a better grade and I have doubts about them, it's likely they are not genuine. Are those used in the mod genuine is anyone's guess, but cheapest genuine part I could find retails for $13 per opamp.

2. AD797 rocks, and it is either NOS or second hand, based on the colour scheme (recent iterations look differently, I have genuine A and B grades). I note that it is soldered in, so no opamp rolling in this version. Also, AD797 is the only opamp that was picking up EMI/RFI in my DSD (out of 20+ opamps I tried), not sure if that would be the case with modded DSD though.

3. Tantalum capacitors are generally considered inferior to electrolytics for audio (DC-decoupling in this case), higher THD etc. They are sometimes used in space-restricted designs (F.Audio FA1), but I'm not entirely sure how it is an upgrade.

4. Zishan DSD benefits immensely from improved power supplies (3.3, 5 and 9V) and changed/improved bypass capacitors (All opamps have 12uF bypass caps, but do not have 0.1uF that every datasheet recommends). Missed opportunity IMO.

5. 22Ohm output resistors is such a last century. Forget about BAs, hybrids and dynamic driver earphones don't seem to be affected too much though. No easy solution here I'm afraid, but a missed opportunity IMO. The good news is that AD8620 has higher output current compared to OP275 and is capable of handling high capacitive loads (cable and headphones form a capacitive load), so one can bridge 4 output resistors on the balanced out, this should improve things with BA's.

6. 12V improves driveability of Hi-Z earphones, but of no benefit for Lo-Z (i.e. 16-32 Ohm) ones. Opamps are claimed to sound better on higher voltage rails, so may improve things a bit.

Since my statements above appear inconclusive even to me, I believe this modded version would be an improvement, but not a drastic one and would still not realise full potential this player has.

 

[Youghin]

Mind if I chime it re: AK4497 mod?

1. AD8620 is an improvement compared to OP275, especially OP275 that finds its way into DSD. Not the best sounding opamp for LPF IMO, but a very good one nevertheless. I sourced some from taobao - B-brade, which is a better grade and I have doubts about them, it's likely they are not genuine. Are those used in the mod genuine is anyone's guess, but cheapest genuine part I could find retails for $13 per opamp.

2. AD797 rocks, and it is either NOS or second hand, based on the colour scheme (recent iterations look differently, I have genuine A and B grades). I note that it is soldered in, so no opamp rolling in this version. Also, AD797 is the only opamp that was picking up EMI/RFI in my DSD (out of 20+ opamps I tried), not sure if that would be the case with modded DSD though.

3. Tantalum capacitors are generally considered inferior to electrolytics for audio (DC-decoupling in this case), higher THD etc. They are sometimes used in space-restricted designs (F.Audio FA1), but I'm not entirely sure how it is an upgrade.

4. Zishan DSD benefits immensely from improved power supplies (3.3, 5 and 9V) and changed/improved bypass capacitors (All opamps have 12uF bypass caps, but do not have 0.1uF that every datasheet recommends). Missed opportunity IMO.

5. 22Ohm output resistors is such a last century. Forget about BAs, hybrids and dynamic driver earphones don't seem to be affected too much though. No easy solution here I'm afraid, but a missed opportunity IMO. The good news is that AD8620 has higher output current compared to OP275 and is capable of handling high capacitive loads (cable and headphones form a capacitive load), so one can bridge 4 output resistors on the balanced out, this should improve things with BA's.

Since my statements above appear inconclusive even to me, I believe this modded version would be an improvement, but not a drastic one and would still not realise full potential this player has.

The mod is solely for experienced user or anyone could do it?

 

[Ivan TT]

The mod is solely for experienced user or anyone could do it?

It's sold on taobao, refer to this post:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-zishan-dsds-corner.826185/page-68#post-14521353
or ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Upgraded-v...270807?hash=item3fa4b51657:g:dWQAAOSwUyBbQyCw

 

[Youghin]

It's sold on taobao, refer to this post:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-zishan-dsds-corner.826185/page-68#post-14521353
or ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Upgraded-v...270807?hash=item3fa4b51657:g:dWQAAOSwUyBbQyCw

Hehe what I was trying to ask was “ does owner needs to have intermediate elec knowledge to deal with the mod (DIY) or basic one will do?

 

[Ivan TT]

Hehe what I was trying to ask was “ does owner needs to have intermediate elec knowledge to deal with the mod (DIY) or basic one will do?

I don't think owner needs to do anything at all, it's pre-modded version that does not require any further intervention from the owner.
No soldering, no opening, no nothing.

 

[gazzington]

I think it comes with all the mods done. It's a lot more pricey than the old one though

 

[Youghin]

I’m struggling whether to pick this DSD or Ibasso DX120.... anyone owns Paw5000 MK2? It was in my wish list

 

[hakuzen]

i got the upgrade of zishan dsd 4495seq time ago.
thought +/-12V would be great to drive my planars without any extra amplification. and it does, but found out some caveats.
and going symmetric (+/-, quite better design), got rid of those tiny output decoupling caps, which is great to avoid bass roll-off when using small loads.
but:
1- only LPF opamp was rollable without soldering.
2- upgrade maker added an output resistance >10ohms, which kills (FR alteration, mainly highs) many BA iems. asked to the upgrade maker about the chance to bridge that resistor. he didn't understand me (language barrier) or he didn't want to understand me. but guess the resistor can be bridged, always you take care of not applying excessive volume when using low impedance iems (you'd fry them, even some dap components could be damaged).
because of 1 and 2, i decided to sell it in the classifieds (my solder skills are near null)
3- some of the sandwiched buffers (4) were not soldered properly. the awesome guy who bought my unit, found out and fixed it (he surely has great solder skills); anyway, he returned the unit back to me, due to various reasons.
4- in high gain, the battery was lasting very short, and the unit was getting very warm (when charging+playing, it was hot).
5- the extra power also brought higher distortion than stock zishan.