[Traddad]

While this is completely subjective and from a rookie no less, I thought I'd give a little love to an amp that hasn't gotten much buzz.
A while back I decided to buy another headphone amp to go with my iAudio X5L and Alessandro MS-1s. Being the cheap bastid that I am, I decided to try to find a well reviewed amp on the lower end of the price continuum. Having already been underwhelmed by the PA2V2 and the LDM+ I decided to look into the beautifully constructed Zero Audiocraft unit, hoping that the attention to detail was a translation of the designer’s attention to sound.
The short answer is….wow. Detail = detail. Very crisp and precise rendering of all of the sound elements of The Books’ “The Lemon of Pink”. You can discern the movement of the slide on the strings on Jay Farrar’s “Fish Fingers Norway” and although I’ve heard a better rendering of Bill Evans’ “Jade Vision”, it was on a Millet and a set of SR-325i’s.
While the bass is a bit thin, it is also well controlled and continued deep into the range. Headstage was great and Calexico’s “Hot Rail” sounded as if you were standing a rail yard.
Like a gymnastics judge knowing that the Chinese are up next, I’ll give this one an 8.6 out of 10, but as a consumer who watches his cash….it’s a solid 10.

 

[greenzee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Traddad /img/forum/go_quote.gif While this is completely subjective and from a rookie no less, I thought I'd give a little love to an amp that hasn't gotten much buzz. A while back I decided to buy another headphone amp to go with my iAudio X5L and Alessandro MS-1s. Being the cheap bastid that I am, I decided to try to find a well reviewed amp on the lower end of the price continuum. Having already been underwhelmed by the PA2V2 and the LDM+ I decided to look into the beautifully constructed Zero Audiocraft unit, hoping that the attention to detail was a translation of the designer’s attention to sound. The short answer is….wow. Detail = detail. Very crisp and precise rendering of all of the sound elements of The Books’ “The Lemon of Pink”. You can discern the movement of the slide on the strings on Jay Farrar’s “Fish Fingers Norway” and although I’ve heard a better rendering of Bill Evans’ “Jade Vision”, it was on a Millet and a set of SR-325i’s. While the bass is a bit thin, it is also well controlled and continued deep into the range. Headstage was great and Calexico’s “Hot Rail” sounded as if you were standing a rail yard. Like a gymnastics judge knowing that the Chinese are up next, I’ll give this one an 8.6 out of 10, but as a consumer who watches his cash….it’s a solid 10.

I too am a very happy Zero Audiocraft user. I bought one soon after I purchased my first amp, a PA2V2 on this forum. The PA2V2 is tidy, but the ZA blows it away. Super construction. Not a pop, hiss or static to be heard. Can't say the same for the other. The Audiocraft really has a terrific, very even, overall sound. "Crisp" is the best way I'd describe it. To me, this usually means nice mid/hi mid definition, not too bassy, not too much treble. I can't come close to maxing this thing out, it has gobs of power in reserve.

I use it with both a Creative Zen Xtra and Sansa e260 with Sony cans, JVC Marshmallows w/Shure mod, PortaPros and Senn CX300's. It does well with all. I plan on checking out some Grados and HD580's at a local joint this week.

Perhaps after I receive my GoVibe V6 in a couple of days (shipped today) I can give a comparison.

 

[thetargetarcher]

That sounds great. Good to hear that the Zero Audiocraft delivers.

It does look rather well constructed from the pics.

I ordered one today to go with my Senns HD595s.

Do you know what voltage and mAH PP3 batteries you can use in it? I ask as I was looking on Ebay at PP3 NimH batteries and there was a a choice of:

9.6V NiMH 220mAh
9V min 250 mAH
9V NiMH 280mAH
8.4v 260mAH

 

[greenzee]

I've not seen anything expressly stating what batteries can be used, that I recall. I've got a good ol coppertop in mine right now and it's a smooth as can be. Probably have about 5-6 hours on the current 9v.

 

[fordgtlover]

I bought a Zero Audiocraft as my first purchase to drive my HD580s and yes I was impressed. I figured that I was only impressed because I was a newbie. I am now less convinced that was actually the case. After buying a portable pimeta it only a bit better than the Zero Audiocraft.

I have since built myself a Pimeta with an outboard 24v steps, and while it is better again it is not by as much as one might think. It's not day and night. The Pimeta is probably 20% better for almost 4 times the money.

There are no regrets on any of my purchases or builds. They serve different purposes. As the portable pimeta has been stripped to build the desktop pimeta, I now have a good desktop and portable - yipee!

Shortly I'll be building an M^3. It will be interesting to see the differences between all three (or four if you include my original DIY CMoy).

I would actually like to offer up my Zero Audiocraft as a loaner for a portable amp review in the future - I'll even pay return postage from Australia. I'd love to see how it compares to others in its class, in the hands of experienced listners and reviewers such as the recent one by Skylab.

Any views on who would be a good member to offer it up to for review?

BTW - Which of the Zero Audiocraft amps do you have, the previous dual 2227 or the current single 2132.

 

[kramer5150]

Interesting discussion... Those (newer) zero audiocraft amps are tele-rail split cmoys, with SMT resistors instead of metal film. They appear to have a LOT of capacitance though. (all those red square boxes). I wonder if all those caps are needed? Generally I have found filtering caps to be one of the most tone-altering elements in the basic cmoy design. I prefer my cmoys without any.... Just pipe the signal straight into the OP amp (still retaining the R2 resistor of course).

IMHO a well designed cmoy represents the first plateau of diminishing returns. Especially with Grados. where you can go a lot farther with a well designed $40 cmoy and $300 CD deck, than vise-versa.

 

[fordgtlover]

I don't know enough to comment on whether the Zero Audiocraft has a lot of capacitance or not, but it has these.

Zero Audiocraft Capacitors:
Panasonic FM electrolytic 470uf 16v main power capacitor.
Wima FKP2 polypropylene .01uf 100v main power capacitor.
Kemet SMT ceramic .1uf 50v bypass capacitors.
Wima MKS2 polyester .22uf 63v bypass capacitors.
Wima MKP4 polypropylene .15uf 250v bypass capacitors.
Wima MKP4 polypropylene .15uf 250v input coupling capacitors.

 

[thetargetarcher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thetargetarcher /img/forum/go_quote.gif That sounds great. Good to hear that the Zero Audiocraft delivers. It does look rather well constructed from the pics. I ordered one today to go with my Senns HD595s. Do you know what voltage and mAH PP3 batteries you can use in it? I ask as I was looking on Ebay at PP3 NimH batteries and there was a a choice of: 9.6V NiMH 220mAh 9V min 250 mAH 9V NiMH 280mAH 8.4v 260mAH

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenzee /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've not seen anything expressly stating what batteries can be used, that I recall. I've got a good ol coppertop in mine right now and it's a smooth as can be. Probably have about 5-6 hours on the current 9v.

I got a reply from Danny and he said:

The rechargeable battery (9.6V NiMH 220mAh) that you linked me is perfect for the amplifier. Higher voltage and capacity is almost always better than lower.

Other than special low voltage instrumental chips, most opamps will tolerate up to 24volts. However, the capacitor rating for my amplifier cannot handle more than unregulated12volts safely.

 

[greenzee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif I bought a Zero Audiocraft as my first purchase to drive my HD580s and yes I was impressed. I figured that I was only impressed because I was a newbie. I am now less convinced that was actually the case. After buying a portable pimeta it only a bit better than the Zero Audiocraft. I have since built myself a Pimeta with an outboard 24v steps, and while it is better again it is not by as much as one might think. It's not day and night. The Pimeta is probably 20% better for almost 4 times the money. There are no regrets on any of my purchases or builds. They serve different purposes. As the portable pimeta has been stripped to build the desktop pimeta, I now have a good desktop and portable - yipee! Shortly I'll be building an M^3. It will be interesting to see the differences between all three (or four if you include my original DIY CMoy). I would actually like to offer up my Zero Audiocraft as a loaner for a portable amp review in the future - I'll even pay return postage from Australia. I'd love to see how it compares to others in its class, in the hands of experienced listners and reviewers such as the recent one by Skylab. Any views on who would be a good member to offer it up to for review? BTW - Which of the Zero Audiocraft amps do you have, the previous dual 2227 or the current single 2132.

I just bought mine the beginning of February. I'd have to go find my email exchange, but I believe I've got the 2132.

 

[fordgtlover]

When I contacted Daniel (I think) when I bought mine late last year he commented that the 2132 was used in the new design. Presumably that means that a new amp would still be of the same design. Looking at ebay, the design looks like mine - single opamp - but now he offers either a 2132 or a 2228 opamp.

 

[lui_boy]

I purchased the Zero Audiocraft amp from Danny with opa2228. This particular opamp requires a bit of gain from the source to start sounding good. I paired it up with the Sony V6, Sennheiser HD201, and HD580's and noticed nice slightly warm/fuller sounds, clear with little to no hiss. However, it didn't do much for my Grado SR80's and Vibe. I might want to try some different opamps to see if I can pair those up. I highly recommend this amp for those seeking a decent portable amp.

 

[fordgtlover]

I rolled a 2228 into my Zero Audiocraft and didn't really notice much difference from the original 2132. Using a lineout input into the amp makes a very noticable difference to the sound quality over the standard output. I too find that it adds nice warmth and good kick to the HD580 but I can't say that I have enjoyed it much with the Grados, and I don't think it's just the amp.

I don't really get the Grado sound - a bit too bright for me. But the Zero Audiocraft amp works very well with my Ksc75s and HD580s.

For a first amp (or second after a home built CMoy), it's worth considering.

 

[thetargetarcher]

I got the 2228 Op amp. version a few days ago to go with my Senns HD595s.

There is no hiss whatsoever with the amp itself. I only noticed hiss on a couple of mp3s but I think that is down to the actual recording of those songs.

There is a little click when I turn the volume off.

Things sound very clear with the amp.

For my first headphone amp, I am very happy to have purchased a Zero Audiocraft. The workmanship is truely excellent and so is the price.

 

[fordgtlover]

Here's a link to a thread containing my previous impressions, including pics.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...ght=audiocraft