[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

All I know is that MizMoxie must be well and truly over seeing messages from RPGWizard with some breathless new observation on the ZO2 - I can relate. 

What?
 

 

[RASeymour]

I lived with Version 1 all summer and enjoyed it immensely (after the ringing in my ears from the pop while turning it off and on stopped).   Pre-ordered V2 (or ZO2) and am enjoying it as well.  While I've not not done a comparison, I like the sound of the ZO2 better. 
 
Using a rockboxed, un-eqed Clip+ and RE0 (with comply tips).  I had basically shelved the RE0's but decided they may work well with the ZO2 and they do. 
 
I found with both versions that when I set the bass level on the Zoid, I didn't change it much.  One tweak would be to have the volume come on first instead of the bass level since I use that more.
 
Battery life on the ZO2 seems improved as the first version was running out all the time on me.

 

[gaspir324]

As breathless as you might find them, look at the thread's title
And maybe you won't start another threadwar.... live and let live

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

As breathless as you might find them, look at the thread's title
And maybe you won't start another threadwar.... live and let live

There is a difference between 'Impressions' and 'Wild Speculation' or even 'Speculative Observations'. Several people here *have* given valid impressions of the ZO2's sound signature, and I thank them for their efforts. 
 

 

[DannyBai]

Received my revised ZO2 and a thank you card today.  The thank you card was signed by what I assume the whole staff which included 4 or 5 people.  I don't have the card with me at the moment but it indicated that they appreciated that we stood by them.  I thought it was a nice touch and something I can appreciate.
For me, it seems that all that was wrong has been fixed.  I do not hear any hiss when using LOD or HO.  When I power the ZO2 on, I do not hear any popping.  When I turn it off, the music just quits and there is no popping or noise at all.  The original ZO still played music when it was off but this revised version does not play music through it when it's powered off.  This is for both LOD and HO.  By no means I care about this but something I noticed.  The volume has been toned down quite a bit.  When using LOD, the volume on the iphone is not affected and it is only controlled from the ZO2.  The lowest volume setting is at a very comfortable level and by not means is it too loud.  When using HO, the volume is so low that I can have the volume on my iphone all the way up and adjust through the ZO2.  I think it might be a little too low through HO but it would only affect the person who listens at an unreasonably high level.  I don't remember any other issues with the first batch but it seems digiZoid has fixed the problems that we mentioned.  I am very happy with the fixed unit and all in all, I believe didZoid has stood behind their product and has done a great job to satisfy their customers.  For the International customers, I hope there can be something that can be worked out for the heavy fees associated with shipping because I think the revised version is worth the exchange.  

 

[lee730]

At least we have another good impression so far on the updated version. Looking forward to receiving mine.
Quote:

Received my revised ZO2 and a thank you card today.  The thank you card was signed by what I assume the whole staff which included 4 or 5 people.  I don't have the card with me at the moment but it indicated that they appreciated that we stood by them.  I thought it was a nice touch and something I can appreciate.
For me, it seems that all that was wrong has been fixed.  I do not hear any hiss when using LOD or HO.  When I power the ZO2 on, I do not hear any popping.  When I turn it off, the music just quits and there is no popping or noise at all.  The original ZO still played music when it was off but this revised version does not play music through it when it's powered off.  This is for both LOD and HO.  By no means I care about this but something I noticed.  The volume has been toned down quite a bit.  When using LOD, the volume on the iphone is not affected and it is only controlled from the ZO2.  The lowest volume setting is at a very comfortable level and by not means is it too loud.  When using HO, the volume is so low that I can have the volume on my iphone all the way up and adjust through the ZO2.  I think it might be a little too low through HO but it would only affect the person who listens at an unreasonably high level.  I don't remember any other issues with the first batch but it seems digiZoid has fixed the problems that we mentioned.  I am very happy with the fixed unit and all in all, I believe didZoid has stood behind their product and has done a great job to satisfy their customers.  For the International customers, I hope there can be something that can be worked out for the heavy fees associated with shipping because I think the revised version is worth the exchange.  

 

 

[puresilence]

Yeah I'm waiting on more impressions on the "fixed" version before pulling the trigger on one...

 

[estreeter]

@DannyBai - thank you for those detailed impressions - most enlightening.
 
On the point of the ZO2 'V1' 'playing music while in the 'off' position', I am working on the assumption that all I am hearing in that state is the amp stage, and turning the SmartVektor on gives me immediate confirmation that I have profoundly changed the sound signature. One thing I will note with the ZO2 is how quickly I become accustomed to the 'base level' SmartVektor as 'normal' - going back to one of my other amps (or straight from the HO) requires a period of adjustment, but I know this from previous attempts to do side-by-side comparisons of kit, particularly amps. 
 
The biggest single change, for me, is the intimacy of the sound with SmartVektor engaged, but its difficult to argue that this is not a toy aimed at the basshead in many of us - with certain cans, its actually too much of a good thing, even at 'base level'. Properly marketed, Digizoid could easily license the technology to a much larger company - I'd like to see SmartVektor integrated into a wide range of gear, on the proviso that it would never be 'on by default', ala Bose and various other lifestyle marques. 

 

[burtomr]

Quote:

On the point of the ZO2 'V1' 'playing music while in the 'off' position', I am working on the assumption that all I am hearing in that state is the amp stage...

Hmmm? I thought when the ZO2 is 'off' it's in bypass mode = No amp / No SmartVector.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Hmmm? I thought when the ZO2 is 'off' it's in bypass mode = No amp / No SmartVector.

I don't know enough about the electronics - perhaps someone from DigiZoid can clarify this. If that were the case, then the 'ZO2 V2' has clearly had this 'bypass mode' disabled. I admit that it makes more sense that the ZO2 wouldnt be able to amplify the incoming signal from your source when its 'off', but very little about the 'ZO2 V1' has been predictable from the day I got it  
 
(note that some amps will automatically turn on when an input signal is present - I cant recall exactly which ones, but the Pico Slim rings a bell)
 

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

Hmmm? I thought when the ZO2 is 'off' it's in bypass mode = No amp / No SmartVector.

The ZO2 is completely off and no music goes through.  You are right for the ZO1 and music goes through un-ampep.  I don't remember if the first batch of ZO2 allowed music to play through.

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

@DannyBai - thank you for those detailed impressions - most enlightening.
 
On the point of the ZO2 'V1' 'playing music while in the 'off' position', I am working on the assumption that all I am hearing in that state is the amp stage, and turning the SmartVektor on gives me immediate confirmation that I have profoundly changed the sound signature. One thing I will note with the ZO2 is how quickly I become accustomed to the 'base level' SmartVektor as 'normal' - going back to one of my other amps (or straight from the HO) requires a period of adjustment, but I know this from previous attempts to do side-by-side comparisons of kit, particularly amps. 
 
The biggest single change, for me, is the intimacy of the sound with SmartVektor engaged, but its difficult to argue that this is not a toy aimed at the basshead in many of us - with certain cans, its actually too much of a good thing, even at 'base level'. Properly marketed, Digizoid could easily license the technology to a much larger company - I'd like to see SmartVektor integrated into a wide range of gear, on the proviso that it would never be 'on by default', ala Bose and various other lifestyle marques. 

Wise idea.  They could present this to the Sharks.  Not sure if that show is still on or if that's the correct name of the show. 
 
 

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

The ZO2 is completely off and no music goes through.  You are right for the ZO1 and music goes through un-ampep.  I don't remember if the first batch of ZO2 allowed music to play through.

 
Yes, the first batch ('ZO2 V1', by my naming scheme) does play your music minus SmartVektor, but when you turn the ZO2 on you will hear some very unpleasant sounds as the SmartVektor 'wakes up' and beings processing your music. This is one area where a big company could iron out those kinks - when you pressed the 'SV' toggle on their AV receiver/amp/whatever, SmartVektor would kick in gracefully. 

 

[Jae304]

Quote:

I don't know enough about the electronics - perhaps someone from DigiZoid can clarify this. If that were the case, then the 'ZO2 V2' has clearly had this 'bypass mode' disabled. I admit that it makes more sense that the ZO2 wouldnt be able to amplify the incoming signal from your source when its 'off', but very little about the 'ZO2 V1' has been predictable from the day I got it  
 
(note that some amps will automatically turn on when an input signal is present - I cant recall exactly which ones, but the Pico Slim rings a bell)
 

Sorry but you're wrong.  When the ZO2 (v1) is off, it is in bypass mode -- there is no amplification happening then.  When you turn it on, you're not just turning on the Smart Vektor processing.   
 

 

[5370H55V]

Just got my ZO2v2 today, the thank you card was a nice touch. It seems to be the same unit I sent in for repairs since the little bubble in the rubber coating is still there. The unit still has some slight background noise when used with the panasonic hje900's but then again, they've hissed with every single amp I've tried. I'll be getting the tf10's and phonak pfe 232s in a week so we'll see if the problem persists with other iems. Its absolutely silent with my m80 and hfi-580's though. The volume could still be improved, I feel its now too low with HO and still too high with LO. As others have mentioned, with the volume on the ZO on max its still less than the volume from the DAP by itself. With LOD the volume is now listenable, but even with the ZO volume on lowest its still on the high side of what I consider my normal listening levels. Digizoid also disabled the bypass feature on the ZO2v2, though I had no use for it anyways.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the fixed version of the ZO2. Its much improved over the ZO2v1, although I wouldn't mind if Digizoid has another round of recalls to tweak the volume levels...