Zorloo Ztella USB C DAC impressions thread
Jan 3, 2020 at 6:40 PM Post #121 of 393
I'm listening to someone talking on YouTube right now and it also sounds more around me than in my head. But it also sounds really natural, not like some effect.
It is perfect for IEM and on the go mobility with your phone, but not to be confused with others in regards to musicality e.g. Mojo or CH2 with higher demanding headphones, sounds great out of my iPhone 6s and Noble k10U which has been my trustworthy soulmates for years, I love the form factor and MQA decoding which is great coming from my iPhone streaming Tidal and Qobuz on the go....
 
Jan 3, 2020 at 6:41 PM Post #122 of 393
Jan 3, 2020 at 6:44 PM Post #123 of 393
It is perfect for IEM and on the go mobility with your phone, but not to be confused with others in regards to musicality e.g. Mojo or CH2 with higher demanding headphones, sounds great out of my iPhone 6s and Noble k10U which has been my trustworthy soulmates for years, I love the form factor and MQA decoding which is great coming from my iPhone streaming Tidal and Qobuz on the go....

I still have to A/B with my FiiO X7 II with THX AAA module, I'm pretty sure that one will win. Now if it could to the hardware MQA decoding as well, that would be really awesome.
Right now I still can't play MQA offline, which is a shame.
 
Jan 3, 2020 at 7:06 PM Post #124 of 393
Yes, I do have it, I'll try that.
20200104_000344.jpg


Try that and just adjust the gain and see what it does.
 
Jan 3, 2020 at 7:18 PM Post #125 of 393
I still have to A/B with my FiiO X7 II with THX AAA module, I'm pretty sure that one will win. Now if it could to the hardware MQA decoding as well, that would be really awesome.
Right now I still can't play MQA offline, which is a shame.
I am sure the THX AAA will beat the living #$%^ out of whatever you tend to promote power-wise.....I LIKE IT though...have not heard FiiO X7 II so can not give my 2c about the comparison, I am still old school AK120 when it comes to non-streaming portable and then I have LX8, Mojo and CH2 doing heavy-duty which is not a fair nor accurate comparison......but what I would like to know is how it sounds against similar sound thieves...?
 
Jan 4, 2020 at 2:10 PM Post #126 of 393


Try that and just adjust the gain and see what it does.

It makes the soundstage wider, not deeper/3D though, but it also makes things sound more harsh.

I am sure the THX AAA will beat the living #$%^ out of whatever you tend to promote power-wise.....I LIKE IT though...have not heard FiiO X7 II so can not give my 2c about the comparison, I am still old school AK120 when it comes to non-streaming portable and then I have LX8, Mojo and CH2 doing heavy-duty which is not a fair nor accurate comparison......but what I would like to know is how it sounds against similar sound thieves...?

I'm going to compare and report back.

EDIT: First impression, Rihanna - Don't stop the music MQA.
X7II THX (balanced) - Clearly more sub bass power. Voice sounds fuller/more natural, at the same time slightly more harsh/digital/sibilant. Better instrument separation towards the edges of the stereo image.Bass makes the mix a bit muddy.
Ztella - Sharper attack, smoother sound, sub bass lacks some power, thinner sounding voice. Instruments at the stereo extremes drown a bit.

EDIT2: Soul Bossa Nova - Quincy Jones MQA
The X7 is much more natural sounding, like actually being there. Also more transparent, reverb sounds better, instruments are separated very well, sound is warmer and fuller. The Ztella sprinkles detail around nicely, but it still is like listening to a track instead of being there.

EDIT3: Man, I wish the X7 could do the second stage MQA decoding, I'd love to hear that.
EDIT4: It seems the FiiO M11 Pro can do full MQA decoding. It also has the THX amplifier.
 
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Jan 4, 2020 at 2:21 PM Post #127 of 393
It makes the soundstage wider, not deeper/3D though, but it also makes things sound more harsh.

So all stereo audio audio files have three channels: Left Centre Right.

The LR channels when turned up make things sound wider. If you delay them slightly you can make things sound a bit more spacious as well.

Try turning them all the way down, so that volume to 0.
 
Jan 4, 2020 at 3:15 PM Post #128 of 393
So all stereo audio audio files have three channels: Left Centre Right.

The LR channels when turned up make things sound wider. If you delay them slightly you can make things sound a bit more spacious as well.

Try turning them all the way down, so that volume to 0.

I've never heard about stereo audio files having a center channel before. Usually isolating center audio is done by calculating differences in the left and right channels.
I know about the stereo delay tricks, I've used that a lot when creating music. Reverb helps a lot as well.To get some really good spatial positioning you can use a HRTF/holophonic effect, this is commonly used with VR applications.
 
Jan 4, 2020 at 5:11 PM Post #129 of 393
I've never heard about stereo audio files having a center channel before. Usually isolating center audio is done by calculating differences in the left and right channels.
I know about the stereo delay tricks, I've used that a lot when creating music. Reverb helps a lot as well.To get some really good spatial positioning you can use a HRTF/holophonic effect, this is commonly used with VR applications.

You're right that the 'center' channel is a composite channel. But it's distinct. Which is why you can eq the mid and the sides

The way to think of the mid/center channel is that it's the mono channel. Its what's the same in both speakers. The 'sides' - L and R - are what's not in the 'mono' 'center' channel.

Making the sides louder changes our perception of how much stereo - i.e. Information - is in file.

Hope that makes sense.

FTR I'm a producer and mix engineer for a living.
 
Jan 4, 2020 at 5:24 PM Post #130 of 393
You're right that the 'center' channel is a composite channel. But it's distinct. Which is why you can eq the mid and the sides

The way to think of the mid/center channel is that it's the mono channel. Its what's the same in both speakers. The 'sides' - L and R - are what's not in the 'mono' 'center' channel.

Making the sides louder changes our perception of how much stereo - i.e. Information - is in file.

Hope that makes sense.

FTR I'm a producer and mix engineer for a living.

Ah, okay, I thought you meant a center channel actually encoded within the source material. The DAW I use has indicators showing the amount of stereo and to indicate how well it would mix down to mono.

Cool to (virtually) meet a professional producer and mix engineer. My experience with audio comes from using/programming synthesizers since the eighties and a bit of music production, recently mostly for some videos I make for my work. Apart from that I'm a programmer (mostly VR/AR currently) with a focus on graphics and audio. I've also worked on TV studio software, including the audio system. So bits of knowledge gained here and there, nothing quite as extensive as being a producer/mix engineer.
 
Jan 4, 2020 at 5:56 PM Post #131 of 393
Ah, okay, I thought you meant a center channel actually encoded within the source material. The DAW I use has indicators showing the amount of stereo and to indicate how well it would mix down to mono.

Cool to (virtually) meet a professional producer and mix engineer. My experience with audio comes from using/programming synthesizers since the eighties and a bit of music production, recently mostly for some videos I make for my work. Apart from that I'm a programmer (mostly VR/AR currently) with a focus on graphics and audio. I've also worked on TV studio software, including the audio system. So bits of knowledge gained here and there, nothing quite as extensive as being a producer/mix engineer.

In a way the mid channel is a separate encode. That's how we can access it so easily. It's harder with hardware (and noisier) but still happens all the time.

Mono submixes either ditch the side channels or sum them. There's cons to both approaches. That's why old mono mixes sound so good, while clicking the mono button on desk or mixer can sound so lousy. Mixing in mono means you have one pipe, so to speak. Mixing in stereo adds data/sound to the left and right channels individually. Old mix engineers knew how to use relative volume to take advantage of that one pipe. A submix button just uses either summing or ditches the extra LR data to produce a pseudo mono mix.

So Stereo is kinda like Mono PLUS left and right.

And nice to meet you virtually as well.
 
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Jan 5, 2020 at 12:23 PM Post #134 of 393

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