[Davesrose]

Ok, I'm thinking of getting my first dedicated DAC. Since getting a headphone amp, I've noticed some clipping coming from my laptop's pathetic sound card. If I run enough cords to my HK reciever, there's a big jump in SQ! I've noticed the Zhaolu gets a lot of coverage on this site. I also notice it has the same chipset as the first DAC I was looking at, the HeadRoom MicroDac. Has anyone listened to both? Is there a real difference in SQ?? My first inclination is to go with the MicroDac since it's easier to find and I have the MicroAmp (making the stack would be one killer portable rig). I could also run the MicroDac from my laptop's USB...does the Zhalou have USB? It does seem like threads show the Zhalou being a favorite here. So even with the concept of a DAC being fairly simple (i/e it's all based on what D/A converter they're using), the sound quality would be better on the Zhalou?

 

[uzziah]

i haven't heard either but i'll bump you since i'm interested in the same question

zhaolu doesn't have usb


if i had to guess, i'd imagine the zhaolu would be an improvement over the microdac, maybe by a wide margin

 

[Davesrose]

Thanks for the bump uzziah

I guess if I wanted absolute sound quality, I'd want to get an external soundcard for my laptop (one that had digital audio out). Have seen some posts that say there's noticable difference with MicroDAC with digital vs USB. That would also mean I could use the zhaolu.

Since Headroom uses quality parts, I'm wondering if there's really a sound difference between them.....since their brains are both the same

Maybe zhaolu's more popular here because it's cheaper? Wait, expense normally doesn't equate with Head-Fiers

 

[uzziah]

maybe; if you have a laptop, and get a usb dac, i seriously wouldn't be screwing around with an optical out

what you'd have to buy is something like the audiotrak optoplay and plug it in to usb; you'd need it for the zhaolu, but what a waste of money for a usb dac IMHO


edit: OH, and here's the thing: it's not about "quality parts" or not (well it is....but what i'm trying to say is...) just because they use the same DAC CHIP doesn't mean that they are created equal; there's a LOT more going on in the circuitry that influences the sound than just the dac chip itself; clearly one can see that the circuits are very different (in size alone); it's a common mistake to think "these have the same dac chip" therefore they are equal; they will retain the similar characteristics of a particular chip (4398 in this case) but not sound the same or on the same level



i'm in a similar quandry because i'm trying to decide whether to do this:

portable: shuffle + k81dj
home: zhaolu/discrete + dt880

OR

transportable: h120+microdac+govibe+k81dj
home: pc+micro+govibe+dt880



anyway, for me it will simply come down to:
how much i'll be listening portably; for me that means: how much time studying in the library vs at home, how long bus rides (haven't found an appartment yet, don't know how far away from university i'll be) and if i'm willing to lug a brick and change batteries every couple hours

i recognize that i would most probably be making some compromises with the portable solution, but i'm not sure how much; i'll probably go with the zhaolu if i find that i'll be home listening a decent amount; but if i'm NEVER home listening at my desk, what's the point? therein lies the rub



for you, if you DON'T need portabiltiy, which it seems you don't, forget it, discussion over, drop the microdac and get a zhaolu or some other home dac, much better value

 

[Davesrose]

humm.....looked up review on that. Since it's doing it's own processing, and has the inferior D/A, I would think that wouldn't be as pure as straight USB to MicroDAC. I know that the PCMCIA Audigy has the cirrus logic chip....think Creative Labs Xmod has the cirrus logic chip too.....Since the audigy has digital out, I wonder if it's doing any D/A converting, or if it gives it to the DAC.

 

[uzziah]

uhhh.. you're talkin bout the optoplay? that's exactly what i'm saying, you don't need it if your dac has usb input, waste of money in every way

but if you have a laptop and have a dac with no usb input then well you need something

 

[Davesrose]

Yeah, I don't need the DAC to be really portable....just to be small enough to sit next to my laptop. For traveling, I could just bring the MicroAmp and use my laptop's soundcard for DAC (and miss the better DAC that I left at home

). Though maybe getting the Audigy (for piping to the dedicated DAC at home) sounds OK for portable use.

 

[Davesrose]

yeah, I was talking about the otoplay. The audigy is pretty cheap online, so I'll probably go for that if I need digital out for the zhaolu

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah uhhh.. you're talkin bout the optoplay? that's exactly what i'm saying, you don't need it if your dac has usb input, waste of money in every way but if you have a laptop and have a dac with no usb input then well you need something

 

[mrarroyo]

The Micro Dac is a very nice piece at $300 delivered, used they go for about $250 including S&H. The customer service at HeadRoom is fantastic.

By the way if your DAC fails and needs fixing it is very easy to send it in to HeadRoom. Just some food for thought.

 

[Davesrose]

Yeah....I'm impressed with the quality of my MicroAmp.....and having the USB feature with the MicroDAC would be very very convenient. I suspect the sound quality might be reaching/if not bettering the zhaolu if your PC is a source (since with the zhaolu you'd have to find a way to give it a good digital source). Anyone have any experience with the MicroDAC and zhaolu, and can confirm how close the sound is?

 

[Davesrose]

BTW, The current DAC I'm using for my CD player is my reciever....HK AVR110. Just looked up the specs on it. It's using an older Cirus Logic D/C: the CS 4392 . Guess CDs would sound better on the MicroDAC as well (since it has the CS 4398).

 

[uzziah]

you're making some strange leaps of logic and i'm afraid they don't really make sense

on a desktop you can get an av710 for $25 or less and you have bitperfect output; there are more expensive options like emu cards, but the av710 is the great bitperfect budget card

on a laptop the options aren't so cool, and makes me desire usb input more; no pci slot so you need some obscure device like the optoplay or more expensive options, and you still have to use usb

 

[Davesrose]

how does comparing my current home theater D/A chip to a new dedicated DAC's D/A chip not make sense? I just looked up some comparisons of the chips, that said the new CS chip is quite a bit clearer.

and if you want bitperfect in a laptop, wouldn't creative lab's pcmcia sound card(which has optical out), give you that? I would assume it would be bypassing the soundcard's DAC. I guess if I wind up getting the MicroDAC, I can see what the difference would be between bit perfect (and creative's card) vs using the usb.

But I'd still like a real comparison of the SQ of MicroDAC vs the zhaolu

 

[Meyvn]

now that I've found this thread, I'll give you my initial impressoins from having heard them both, though on separate occasions: I'm an audio skeptic in general, and I can say that I heard a much bigger difference between the Zhaolu and my cheap source's analog out, than I did with the MicroDAC and the same. Cymbals were more richly heard, as well as percussion in general, and I got more detail in the highs out of the Zhaol. The improvement in the MicroDAC vs. the cheap source was much less noticeable to my ears. I think the main value in the MicroDAC is its transportability and size, as well as the benefit of supporting a great American company that holds itself to excellent service standards. Not to say that Eddie Wu doesn't have great service, of course, because he does. What he does not have, though, is an essentially risk free return policy if you don't like the product.

 

[Davesrose]

Thanks for your thoughts Meyvn....many sorries for posting in the headphone section as well!!! Didn't know it was against the rules. Won't happen again, promise.

This is a difficult choice, as the MicroDAC has many strong qualities, and is easy to order/ better support. There is a bit of hesitency I have about using paypal for a broken English site half way around the world

Have also noticed a few threads on here where people got the wrong chip from Eddie....don't get me wrong, I know he tries....and if that happens, he's good for his word.

I've noticed threads say that although the zhaolu 2.5 no longer has xlr outputs, the sound has much improved. That's probably better for me since I probably won't be getting into any balanced audio for awhile! With the money I may save with the zhaolu, I could probably find good ways to pipe my laptop to it. Well if I don't get the MicroDAC by christmas, I'll have to listen to the zhaolu at the Atlanta meet. If I do, then I'll bring my laptop rig and microstack to the meet!