Zorloo Ztella USB C DAC impressions thread

[TimeSnow]

 

[LamerDeluxe (tm)]

I went and got a bunch of high res, dsd and MQA files last night and everythung played back flawlessly. Sounded brilliant as well.

Nothing as analogue sounding as a Mojo, but easily the best sounding actually portable DAC I've heard below 400.

Good to hear, that sounds promising.

 

[peter123]

I went and got a bunch of high res, dsd and MQA files last night and everythung played back flawlessly. Sounded brilliant as well.

Nothing as analogue sounding as a Mojo, but easily the best sounding actually portable DAC I've heard below 400.

Do you think it's better sounding than the E1DA ES9038S?

 

[TimeSnow]

Do you think it's better sounding than the E1DA ES9038S?

It's certainly better in ways that I appreciate, which is form factor... and of course, you can't accidentally destroy it by sticking a balanced cable in it... I tried. LOL.

I don't have a E1DA ES9038S to compare directly... but I stopped using my Mojo, because it just was too annoying to carry around for the benefit... this on the other hand is no more difficult than a slightly longer cable.

 

[wwyjoe]

I would say Ztella is the best sounding USB-C dongle based on form factor.

But when moving up to slightly bigger dongles, i would give the crown to iBasso DC01 (see my impressions here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/usb-c-to-3-5mm-adapters-dac-lets-find-the-best.908839/page-43)

 

[TimeSnow]

I would say Ztella is the best sounding USB-C dongle based on form factor.

But when moving up to slightly bigger dongles, i would give the crown to iBasso DC01 (see my impressions here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/usb-c-to-3-5mm-adapters-dac-lets-find-the-best.908839/page-43)

That form factor thing makes all the difference to me... I sold my DFR because of that, and then my Mojo, for the same reason...

 

[TimeSnow]

Checking the Tidal masters... So amazing... Truly a great time to be a music fan.

 

[peter123]

It's certainly better in ways that I appreciate, which is form factor... and of course, you can't accidentally destroy it by sticking a balanced cable in it... I tried. LOL.

I don't have a E1DA ES9038S to compare directly... but I stopped using my Mojo, because it just was too annoying to carry around for the benefit... this on the other hand is no more difficult than a slightly longer cable.

Thanks! I thought you had the ES9038S, my bad.

Lately I've been using the Cubilux HC-1 USB-C dongle and like it a lot. It will certainly be interesting comparing the two in due time.

 

[John Milton]

This sounds very promising. Can’t wait for mine to arrive. Hopefully next week, it says it’s shipped.

 

[JimJim]

I'll try with my two Samsungs..S9 and Note 10+

Any luck using on note 10? Does the mic works?

 

[TimeSnow]

Any luck using on note 10? Does the mic works?

Sorry mate I'll try that this morning!

 

[TimeSnow]

Any luck using on note 10? Does the mic works?

No mic or phone via Ztella. Tried on S9 and Note 10 plus.

Support says sorry.. Annoying but honestly I expected this based on previous experiences.

 

[Koei]

I have problems with losing the headphone connection on my Xiaomi Mi9T. It's like I thinks I unplugged the headphone, because the headphone symbol goes away. The light on the Ztella stays on. Anyone else got problems with this? My non MQA version played flawlessly on my laptop. I'll swap them when I got time, but I think this might be an android issue.

 

[CANiSLAYu]

Big fan of this dongle. I have the MQA version and it’s better than the other dongles I have (a Google one, an Apple one, Meizu non-pro and iBasso DC01).

No issues on my Pixel 3. I did have issues with my iPhone 11 Pro Max (using their USB C to lightning adapter) and iPad Pro 11”, but the firmware update released today fixed it.

The iBasso DC01 doesn’t have as black a background and the more sensitive the monitor the worse it is. No issues with the Ztella in that regard and it’s smaller and supports MQA, which I appreciate as a Tidal subscriber. My biggest gripe with it is the LED is pretty bright. Annoying when listening in the dark before bed. I have to flip it so the LED is facing backwards, but kind of defeats the purpose of having it.

 

[LamerDeluxe (tm)]

Big fan of this dongle. I have the MQA version and it’s better than the other dongles I have (a Google one, an Apple one, Meizu non-pro and iBasso DC01).

No issues on my Pixel 3. I did have issues with my iPhone 11 Pro Max (using their USB C to lightning adapter) and iPad Pro 11”, but the firmware update released today fixed it.

The iBasso DC01 doesn’t have as black a background and the more sensitive the monitor the worse it is. No issues with the Ztella in that regard and it’s smaller and supports MQA, which I appreciate as a Tidal subscriber. My biggest gripe with it is the LED is pretty bright. Annoying when listening in the dark before bed. I have to flip it so the LED is facing backwards, but kind of defeats the purpose of having it.

Thanks for your impressions. I'm really looking forward to receiving mine. Good to hear you prefer it over the DC01 and Meizu. As for the bright LED, I always use a piece of black electrical tape (gaffer) for that (for bright LEDs in a hotel room for instance). Really easy to remove without any traces.