[Brain Damage]

Hi folks, I am new to reply on Head-fi. Find this thread interesting: I have had the Zorloo Ztella MQA version for just over a year - bought before commercial release during Zorloo's Kickstarter program.

However, I now seem to have a faulty connection: when I move my phone whilst using the Ztella, audio cuts out in the left channel and I only experience audio in the right ear. I have swapped over with numerous iems and headphones and tried Ztella on 2 other smartphones.

Similarly, my Ztella is in pristine condition (I never use it as a portable DAC). I merely use it to listen to music from my phone in bed or when plugged into laptop using Tidal.

I have an LGV30 which fully decodes MQA, but I do prefer the Ztella with my Beyers.

Has anyone experienced this issue? Don't know whether to buy a replacement or the Helm Bolt. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Brain Damage]

does the ztella or helm bolt visually show higher than 96khz for mqa in uapp? i thought it could unfold higher than that

I believe the highest sample rate that the Ztella can handle (fed directly to it) is 96kHz. UAPP recognises this and hence you will either always see 88.2/96 direct.

The Ztella completes the final unfold inside the DAC to 176kHz/192kHz (and for some 2L recordings up to 384kHz). I've never tested the final output from my earphones to be 100% sure though. Has anyone tested this?

 

[Brain Damage]

does the ztella or helm bolt visually show higher than 96khz for mqa in uapp? i thought it could unfold higher than that

I believe the highest sample rate that the Ztella can handle (fed directly to it) is 96kHz. UAPP recognises this and hence you will either always see 88.2/96 direct.

The Ztella completes the final unfold inside the DAC to 176kHz/192kHz (and for some 2L recordings up to 384kHz). I've never tested the final output from my earphones to be 100% sure though. Has anyone tested this?

 

[Brain Damage]

Well thanks to Zorloo; despite struggling to get a response initially, they have responded and are going to replace my faulty Ztella DAC.
Excellent service in the end.

 

[nc8000]

Well thanks to Zorloo; despite struggling to get a response initially, they have responded and are going to replace my faulty Ztella DAC.
Excellent service in the end.

I was never able to get a reply from them in about 6 months of trying to contact them. It works fine on my usb-c devices, but no usb-c to lightning have made it work with other Apple devices. I’ve been asking and asking it their adapter is special (as I didn’t order it) as none of the adapters I have will work even though they all work fine for charging and synching

 

[BenKatz]

Hello!

I'm thinking about getting the ztrella mqa version but ive got a few questions i need calcifications with:

a) on Android, did I understand correctly that the device does NOT decode MQA directly from the Tidal app and I need to play Tidal through a separate app for MQA (UAPP), and I also assume UAPP doesn't have the feature to download tidal music for offline listening?

b) in-line mic/volume controls are not guaranteed to work on every android phone from what I've read. Is this true or was this a bug that was fixed in an update?

c) did anyone compare it with the Fiio BTR5 (usb mode) ?

Thanks!

 

[PROblemdetected]

Well thanks to Zorloo; despite struggling to get a response initially, they have responded and are going to replace my faulty Ztella DAC.
Excellent service in the end.

What mail did u use to get contact to?
Ive tried with the support one but I didnt get any response.

Ive got a similar problem with my unit

 

[Brain Damage]

Hello!

I'm thinking about getting the ztrella mqa version but ive got a few questions i need calcifications with:

a) on Android, did I understand correctly that the device does NOT decode MQA directly from the Tidal app and I need to play Tidal through a separate app for MQA (UAPP), and I also assume UAPP doesn't have the feature to download tidal music for offline listening?

b) in-line mic/volume controls are not guaranteed to work on every android phone from what I've read. Is this true or was this a bug that was fixed in an update?

c) did anyone compare it with the Fiio BTR5 (usb mode) ?

Thanks!

I haven't compared my Ztella to the Fiio, but I can confirm UAPP does not have the license to allow you to listen to Tidal downloads offline. If you have an Lgv series phone (with an integrated MQA decoder), you can completely unfold Tidal Masters Downloads offline directly via the Tidal App.

You do need UAPP to get the most from your Ztella; the Ztella DAC will not render MQA Tidal Masters directly from the Tidal App and that's because the Tidal App streams through the Android audio driver which upsamples 44.1kHz to 48kHz. UAPP bypasses the Android audio driver to the USB driver via OTG and this allows the Ztella to take complete control of Tidal Masters streams: it can then complete the final unfolds (render MQA files) and you will see the magenta led activate.

Upgrade to the most recent Ztella firmware as there was a volume issue and crackling issue that has now been resolved by the latest firmware download.

Also, if you are using iems or headphones with an integrated mic, you are still able to use this integtated mic whilst simultaneously using the Ztella DAC (not many other USB dongle DACs have this ability).

 

[Brain Damage]

What mail did u use to get contact to?
Ive tried with the support one but I didnt get any response.

Ive got a similar problem with my unit

I used the contact us support section on the Zorloo website to email them. They didn't respond for a couple of weeks, so I then used this section of their website to send a second email reiterating my disappointment in their lack of a response. This seemed to work because a few days later I received a response from Zorloo Support in my junk folder.

 

[onlinekute17]

guys, is there any difference in sound quality between the mqa and standard version - on non-MQA tracks?

 

[Brain Damage]

guys, is there any difference in sound quality between the mqa and standard version - on non-MQA tracks?

No. The only difference between the 2 Ztella DACs (mqa and standard) can be heard when listening to Tidal Masters (mqa encoded tracks).

 

[Trunksleo]

Hi, i have a problem with the ztella. When i plug in windows 10 recognize the ztella like ess audio usb. Someone has this problem?

 

[MikkiT]

Is anyone having problems with the Zorloo usb-c to lightning adapter? The long adapter I have cuts out intermittently and the new small adapter I just received from them doesn’t work at all. I have sent them an email but haven’t yet received a reply. I have managed a workaround using a usb-c to usb-a adapter and the Apple camera connector that works without any problems. I know the fault isn’t with the Ztella as it works fine on my Xiaomi Mi 9 SE and my wife’s Galaxy S9.

 

[nc8000]

Is anyone having problems with the Zorloo usb-c to lightning adapter? The long adapter I have cuts out intermittently and the new small adapter I just received from them doesn’t work at all. I have sent them an email but haven’t yet received a reply. I have managed a workaround using a usb-c to usb-a adapter and the Apple camera connector that works without any problems. I know the fault isn’t with the Ztella as it works fine on my Xiaomi Mi 9 SE and my wife’s Galaxy S9.

I didn’t buy their Lightning adaptor as I had several usb-c to Lightning adapters but I have not been able to get any of them to work on any of the 6 iPhones or iPads we have in the house and I’ve had no reply to any of my about 10 emails to Zorloo support. It works great on my usb-c iPad pro which was the main reason for buying anyway

 

[MikkiT]

I didn’t buy their Lightning adaptor as I had several usb-c to Lightning adapters but I have not been able to get any of them to work on any of the 6 iPhones or iPads we have in the house and I’ve had no reply to any of my about 10 emails to Zorloo support. It works great on my usb-c iPad pro which was the main reason for buying anyway

I have a couple of usb-c to lightning adapters I bought a while ago, but most of these on the market will only support charging and not data transfer. They seem to be for converting a usb-c charging cable to lightning and not for anything else.