[joefosho315]

I've been looking for a while now for an external DAC to replace my TBAAM. During the introduction of the zhaolu, I was really tempted to get one with all of its hype. A couple months later however, the zhaolu is not really talked about as much. Is this DAC really just a FOTM, slowly passing its prime? Or do you guys who own the Zhaolu still think it's really a fantastic DAC for the price? I would characterize my sound preferences as leaning towards the crisp, detailed sound that the AD1852 seems to offer.

 

[Gone4T]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joefosho315 Do you guys who own the Zhaolu still think it's really a fantastic DAC for the price?

The reason that the Zhaolu D2.0 isn't talked about quite so much is because we are all listening to and appreciating our CD's to a level IMO not heard before,we just don't have the time to post on this or any other forum > the music rules.

I have both the cs4398 and ad1852 boards but after some tweaking to them if I was to buy again I think I would forget the cs board.

 

[SK138]

It's a good value. It's a better value if you get it bone stock and mod it. The sound is not as refined as my Musical Fidelity A3.24 but it's close. I would buy it again for sure.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

The Zhaolu is about what I would expect from a DAC of its' price. The Lite DAC-ah is a better bang for the buck, IMO.

 

[d-cee]

have had my ZHaolu D2.0 for a few months here (AD1852 board) and it keeps getting better (removed the DC blocking caps)

recently got the discrete headphone unit and some new opamps and with each opamp change i love it more.

also changed my source to an E-MU 0404 and that imporved things further.

very revealing DAC for the price, and responsive to system upgrades, you'll love it for the price.

 

[granodemostasa]

I heard it against several dacs recently, while it's no top dac, it's sill a very good piece of equipment. I'll soon find out if it's as good as it's suppose to be, since mine is about to return from repairs this week.

imho there are four things contributing to the lack of zhaolu talk recently:
1. the lack of any new modifications that can be done by a wide variety of people; after the zapfilter and ori mods, there just isn't that much to do; unless one wants to re-engineer the dac or something. I guess finding synergy is the main pass time for us zhoalu owners now.
2. the recent LA meet put the zhoalu in a very bad light, i'm not sure what this means since both the dacs were broken at the time; but nevertheless there haven't been any rebuttal reviews/impressions since.
3. The new fotm like the Storm and Citypulse are about to take over the dac scene.
4. The owners of the dac are starting to come out with criticisms; while slow to start with, we are starting to find the machine slightly lacking in bass extension, mpact and treble clarity (but at what price point this is a fair criticism?)

 

[Zanth]

I'm sorry, I was not aware they were broken. How were they broken? Mods gone awry?

 

[granodemostasa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth I'm sorry, I was not aware they were broken. How were they broken? Mods gone awry?

Jon L's dac had an rca connector problem, and the signal was being transmitted between smashed paper and a loose cable.

My dac had the RCA's comming off/meaning it was not grounded/and getting interference as a result. The gain was also off. My transformer also had some unexplain problem.

interestingly; all the ori modded dacs went back to ori after the meet.

 

[Thaddy]

It seems that the Zhaolu is only worth it if you can pour another 50% of it's price into mods. The praise is very high, and I'm sure the DAC is deserving of it, but I've only seen it for the modded units. The DAC-Ah is another excellent DAC in it's price range, as Iron Dreamer already stated.

 

[RogerWilco]

I am happy to say i have had no issues with my ori dac.Still sounding extremely good.

 

[003]

Thaddy didn't you order a D02A?

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Not ALL of the Zhaolu-s at the meet were broken, only the modded ones!

crazyfrenchman's stock CS board version was working fine, and what I based my prior statement upon. Stock, it has a glassy sheen of harshness to the highs, as well as being thin/light in the bass. Detail is good, but not great, and the midrange is solid if unspectacular.

 

[lan]

I think anything new receives some sort of spotlight and then it dies down. It's the natural progression of things.

The zhaolu is better than average I believe for the price.

The DAC-Ah is good for the price but performance wise to me it's just ok. It's lacking in some detail/clarity. This unit is also a good target for mods.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer Stock, it has a glassy sheen of harshness to the highs, as well as being thin/light in the bass. Detail is good, but not great, and the midrange is solid if unspectacular.

That's generally my comments on many of the lesser sources and the Zhaolu is not exempt.

 

[Jon L]

At the LA meet, for some reason, I didn't get to hear any Zhaolu 2.0 with the cap bypass mod, which is reportedly essential to reach even Zhaolu 1.3's sound level.

Source choices really are very taste/system dependent. For example, many people love the Meridian 508 and G08, but I don't think very highly of them personally. Many swear Meitner is God's gift to men, but just as many claim it's hyped POS compared to their favorite NOS, tube DAC of choice.

In my speaker setup, I prefer the Ori Mod Zhaolu to several acclaimed DAC's in $2000-3000 range, and I'm hoping the new genuine 75 Ohm BNC input will also nudge the performance a smidge. Now I have to buy/make some great BNC digital cable..

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

Is it possible to talk about one thing all the time forever?

Thankfully, NO!

Let's keep things in perspective about the ZL 2.0; namely, how much it costs, and how it compares to things that cost as much as it costs.

Cast in that light, I would take it over any player under $500 and perhaps up to $900-$1000, which is pretty good, considering how much it costs.

-Matt