[roycantos]

My Z02.3 just arrived after travelling halfway around the globe., Its a very good synergy with westone 4 + sansa clip. I don't hear any hiss or muffled sound using the high gain; and it give a new life/bass punch to W4 =).
 
On a side note, Digizoid customer service is very good - replied back in my emails in timely manner, even put $30 value; so it saved me from cu$tom tax =).
 
Suggestion for Digizoid can you please put 'clip' in your next revision =).
 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Already starting to hear burn-in improvements after around 4 hrs. I hear quite different kind of changes with ZO2v3 compared to ZO2v1 when burning in.
 
Let's say if with ZO2v1 with burn in I experienced:
 
- Bass changed from being overhelming to more controlled 
- Transparency was lacking at first which greatly improved later on, was quite a mess with complex passages with lots of instruments floating into each other
- Slight soundstage improvements
 
With ZO2v3 I'm experiencing:
 
- From being somewhat more neutral sounding (by ZO standards) to get more SmartVektor colorisation: more body / "full" sounding, more dynamic, forward 
- Bass getting stronger(?), I have had to lower the contour level since initial listen, more like 0 - 1 level set higher than compared to ZO2v1 now
- Mids coming more forward & clear
- Imaging/positioning getting clearer (better "3D" positional sound)
 

 

[ANDEROAN]

hey RPG YIPPEE! Jesse is awesome, lol, one thing I am interested in knowing, would be if the hiss from the original ZOv1, compares to the near existant hiss from the ZOv2.3? would you find it to be a night and day diference or only marginal? I'm hoping its a marked improvement, as I seem to get quit a bit of hiss from me Zo v1, but that might be from how I have it set up? if you remember off hand or can do a quick check for me, I'd appreciate it, as that will pretty much be a deciding factor in my getting the newest version of the Incredible and awe inspiring mighty ZZOOOO, or not!!!! lol, thanks!

 

[treal512]

Yes, I'd like to know this as well. And maybe use a point system to compare the noise level between both?
 
Or all 3? v1, v2.1, v2.3

 

[XxAlterWavexX]

So is it overall less bassier than the first iterations of ZO? Or can the same bass also be achieved by tweaking the contour levels? Also, you mention "the bypass feature is removed". What are you referring to, exactly? Other than that, thanks for the impressions!

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

So is it overall less bassier than the first iterations of ZO? Or can the same bass also be achieved by tweaking the contour levels? Also, you mention "the bypass feature is removed". What are you referring to, exactly? Other than that, thanks for the impressions!

 
About the same bass quantity can be achieved it's just at the lowest levels this latest version adds a little less than ZO2.1 did. By bypass function I mean the ability that ZO1 and ZO2.1 had that you could still listen while the ZO was turned off and the signal just bypasses the device. When you turn off this latest version it will be silent so you'd have to unplug ZO to continue listen.
 
The hiss can be heard from ZO2.1 and using XB500 headphones (I don't use IEMs) if I don't plug it into the source device and it's very silent (Realtek onboard chip so it's not exactly the most cleanest output on the source). If I connect it to the Realtek chip the hissing obviously gets worse as the internal amp on realtek chip further enhances it a little then I hear about similar level of noise from ZO1 and ZO2.3 which is almost inaudible (well slightly less on ZO2.3) and with ZO2.1 it's quite audible. I'd need a more sensitive IEM for better comparision as the interesting thing would be the noise when just plugging the IEM into the device without connecting to the source. 
 
I can also mention that it has a bit lower output power than ZO2.1 had, why I also think the design probably reminds more of ZO1 now which has somewhat similar volume levels. With my 64 ohm Q40 headphones I have to go from 14% to 16% volume for similar volume and with XB500 from 10 to 12% (compared to ZO2 v1).

 

[gaspir324]

RPGWiZaRD, can you measure the output impedance of 2.3?

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I think I actually prefer low gain with these M-Audio Q40 headphones even if it means I have to go from 18% to 53~54% volume or so. I think it sounds a little better. I know digiZoid recommends high gain with HO use but I'm just going with my ears. So don't think you necessarily have to use high gain with all easier driven IEMs/headphones, especially IEMs it's probably nice so you don't have to set the volume so low on the source and also provides you smoother vol lvl adjustment and avoid accidentaly exposing yourself to high volume in case moving the slider up when it would get really loud in high gain. Besides it won't pick up any HDD activity noise whatsoever from the Realtek HD chip which is common for the onboard chips which at times drove me nuts especially with the Panasonic HTF600 headphones.
 
I also don't hear any distortion whatsoever even at max contour level despite being at 54% volume (which is about the max "casual-listening vol" what I find comfortable with loud mixed trance/pop songs etc but the bass gets a bit uncomfortably loud though at max contour level) on the source with low gain despite the boosted bass response so that might be an improvement I think. It sounds similarly bassy to me as in high gain at least and the contour levels work just as good but the microdetails come out more in the rest of the range and soundstage sounds a little better (better imaging, bigger stage) and possibly slightly better dynamic range and slightly more forward mid- & highrange when using low gain compared to high gain => more SmartVektor sound effect.
 
Time to let it burn in over the night soon.
 
Quote:

RPGWiZaRD, can you measure the output impedance of 2.3?

Don't know how to measure.
 
 

 

[ANDEROAN]

cool thanks for the feedback RPG! let us know more of your impressions after some burning man in, lol!

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

cool thanks for the feedback RPG! let us know more of your impressions after some burning man in, lol!

Yea I haven't really touched the subject of sound quality itself but I think it sounds superb already in low gain mode especially, comparing high gain mode in ZO2 v3 vs v1 it's about equal, at least I can't definitely that either of them are better sounding at this point but in low gain I'd say it sounds a little better than ZO2 v1 with my headphones at least. I still need to spend more time with the music collection to get a better picture though but now it shall burn in and I'll continue look into it tomorrow but based on the burn-in so far I'd say ZO2 v1 was definitely more affected by burn-in than v3. 
 
Might have to give ZO1 a revisit tomorrow too, at least I know M-Audio Q40 and HTF600 fits excellent with ZO2v1 while XB500 almost had better synergy with ZO1.
 

 

[MizMoxie]

Quote:

Yes, I'd like to know this as well. And maybe use a point system to compare the noise level between both?
 
Or all 3? v1, v2.1, v2.3

Here's a "visual point system" for you:
 

 

[treal512]

Wow, thanks! Really looking forward to receiving my v2.3 soon 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Alright it's probably been in use for around 20 hrs now. 
 
One thing's confusing me really, why high and low gain have a little different sound, it's not a night and day difference but it's there when focusing closely on the sound.
 
The low gain seems to offer more SmartVektor effect, dynamic, more spacious soundstage with better imaging/positioning and slightly more forward/in-your-face mids & highs and transparency is slightly improved, it's for example easier to pick out a subtle hi-hat in the background in a complex recording. The bass packs just very slightly less omph on the same contour level as high gain. I think it's even slightly better sounding than ZO2.1.
 
In high gain seems to sound quite similar to ZO1 (well more closer than ZO2.1 at least), it's very slightly less punchy in the bass compared to ZO2.1, soundstage is slightly less spacious than low gain, similar to ZO2.1 now. It's a bit more neutral sounding and everything isn't as "expanded" / "forward" sounding as when using low gain and upping the source volume or using ZO2.1. I would say I enjoy it about equally much as ZO2.1.
 
I'm really enjoying ZO2.3 in low gain mode for some reason. Is it because the the source volume has been increased what could be giving this increased SmartVektor sound effect? I dunno but perhaps they are related. For those who want an idea what "SmartVektor" sounds like can listen to this demo example (yes it probably uses a little higher contour level as bass is increased quite a bit but try also listening to the instruments and vocals and notice the differences in soundstage, dynamicness etc)
 

 
 
Cons & Pros regarding ZO2.3
 
+ High/low gain; Works now with LOD + IEMs + can be used with a bit higher impedance headphones
+ Neutral sounding at lowest contour level (doesn't force the listener to an increased bass response like on ZO2.1)
+ Smaller bass boost capabilities if the user wants just a very fine amount of boosted bass
+ Much faster on/off switching and is now almost completely noise/distortion free
+ Low gain seems to offer even more "SmartVektor" sound effect than previously when used with HO
+ Hiss levels lowered and doesn't pick up as much noise from a noisy sound device
 
- Bypass function removed (no longer possible to listen to music when ZO has been turned off => needs unplugging) but I personally didn't have much use of it anyway, mostly for comparision
- Unable to adjust volume on ZO in high gain (again questionable if this really matters as this mode is meant for HO-use so you can control the volume on the source and it probably even sounds best with the volume level maxed on ZO when using HO anyway)
 
Other notes: Burn-in doesn't seem as important as it is with ZO2.1. 

 

[SkinnyPuppy]

Haven't heard from Digizoid about my ZO I sent in 2 weeks ago. 
 
I'll e-mail them friday if I don't hear about it.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Haven't heard from Digizoid about my ZO I sent in 2 weeks ago. 
 
I'll e-mail them friday if I don't hear about it.

 
AFAIK they said the next batch of ZO2s would be produced sometimes now in January so there's probably a chance that they've run out of them and unable to send directly unless they are modifying the ZO2 you sent in manually but perhaps they are missing the required component(s).