EverSolo Z8 DAC & Amp Review

[MusicNBeer]

Now we just need bigger, and maybe fancier, VU meters, and we're done, uh?
Love mine, since almost 4 months!

I'm thinking a spectrum view. We'll see when the next firmware version drops.

 

[AdrianusG]

Hi,

If i had to choose between this Eversolo/Zidoo Z8 and the Topping D70 pro, which would be the best contender right now?
Prices are the same, they now both offer a beautiful display, and both offer the same set or very similar features.

Both look well built and are fully transparent to the source, actually my only real concern right now is .. reliability!

i'm also considering Topping E70, again sound-wise i'm unlikely to hear any difference between those 3, but reliability (will it still work after x days or weeks and so on)

Is there any one that has experience with one or the other?
Thanks in advance for advice and/or answers.

Ad

 

[0rangutan]

Hi,

If i had to choose between this Eversolo/Zidoo Z8 and the Topping D70 pro, which would be the best contender right now?
Prices are the same, they now both offer a beautiful display, and both offer the same set or very similar features.

Both look well built and are fully transparent to the source, actually my only real concern right now is .. reliability!

i'm also considering Topping E70, again sound-wise i'm unlikely to hear any difference between those 3, but reliability (will it still work after x days or weeks and so on)

Is there any one that has experience with one or the other?
Thanks in advance for advice and/or answers.

Ad

I had the Z8 and E70 for a little while.
Both sound much the same (fantastic) but the Z8 is a much better construction/functionality and likely to last a lot longer than the Topping, based on their usual reliability.

 

[AdrianusG]

@Orangutan,

That's what i was thinking, for a long time my mind was set on the E70, but then this Z8 came along, and i was already thinking, price difference is 300 Euro's though.

your answer is appreciated, thanks.

 

[AdrianusG]

I also should say that whichever one, it's gonna be my end-game DAC
for the foreseeable time, meaning at least 4-5 years (if it keeps on functioning that is!), i never but stuff for 1-2 years till something "new and improved" comes along.

 

[0rangutan]

I think that anyone reading this forum should know that you don't need to spend this much to get a great sounding DAC in the first place. So the VfM equation is really down to how you value the appearance, build and other features (eg. VU meters). For me it was worth the extra.

 

[Monsieurétourdi]

Hi,
I am currently using a sabaj D5 DAC, do you think that if I switch to this Eversolo Z8, I will have a significant audio gain ?
Apart from the beautiful screen and the VU meters (which I love), 4 years separate them, technologies have evolved ?

 

[Purité Audio]

Do you have any measurements for the Sbaj dac, unless it is adding audible distortion then they will sound identical.
Keith

 

[Monsieurétourdi]

Do you have any measurements for the Sbaj dac, unless it is adding audible distortion then they will sound identical.
Keith

This dac was measured here in 2019, I bought it after reading this review, but sorry, I'm a music lover, I can't read the results to compare, too technical for me !

Review and Measurements of Sabaj D5 DAC & Amp

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Sabaj D5 DAC and balanced headphone amplifier. It was kindly sent to me by the company. The D5 costs US $470 on Amazon in US. It uses the top of the line, ESS ES9038Pro DAC chip. So in theory, performance should be excellent. The D5 is...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Purité Audio]

As a dac it is a very fine performer, therefore audibly transparent.
Keith

 

[Rillosi]

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the Zidoo EverSolo Z8 stereo balanced DAC and headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $699.
View attachment 261200
As you can tell this is not "yet another desktop DAC." A beautiful and responsive 3 inch LCD display can provide different levels of information including three types of VU meters! The menus are so rich that on first use you are prompted to choose your language. SO many things are configurable down to level of brightness of the ring around the volume control! (I set it to highest for this picture.) More useful settings include being able to set the steps from for the volume control starting from 0.5 dB going to 2 dB. Company clearly has extensive software development experience (as evidenced by their media/video players) which they have brought to bear here.

The back panel holds another bonus feature in the form of both USB-B and USB-C inputs:
View attachment 261201

You can select the independently so you can use them for two hosts. A reassuring relay click accompanies every input selection.

Nicely done!

The only wish I have is for larger volume control display. It shows such when adjusting the volume but then you are left with the small font. You can replace the VU meters with "audio info" but that doesn't include the volume level.

Zidoo EverSolo Z8 Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard with USB In/XLR Out at full volume:
View attachment 261202
I must say, I was not ready for the unit to top the charts right out of the box. But that is what it did, finishing easily in our top 20 best DACs ever tested (out of now 400 units!!!):
View attachment 261458

RCA output drops a bit more than usual but still fully transparent to everyone's ear:
View attachment 261204

If you need less drive capability, here is the output relative to voltage level:
View attachment 261206

Dynamic range is superb as you can already predict from SINAD above:
View attachment 261205

Multitone intermodulation distortion is great as well:
View attachment 261207

Linearity and jitter are nailed:
View attachment 261208
View attachment 261209

IMD distortion shows a hint of increased intermodulation distortion which ESS DACs are known for:
View attachment 261210

You have your usual smorgasbord of filters that comes with ESS DACs:
View attachment 261211
View attachment 261212

Best to stay with the default Fast Linear and not complicate your life. That choice gives you this excellent wideband THD+N versus frequency:
View attachment 261213

Zidoo Z8 Headphone Amplifier Measurements
Company had told me that the headphone amplifier was a "bonus" feature and that it is as far as power, but not clarity/distortion:
View attachment 261214
View attachment 261459

Lack of clipping with any load means that you can use the full volume range that is there:
View attachment 261216

Noise level is good but not state of the art:

View attachment 261217
View attachment 261218

Zidoo Z8 Listening Tests
I started listening using Sennheiser HD650 headphone. I was pleasantly surprised that there was enough volume for average to somewhat above average listening levels. For kicks, I switched to my tough to drive, everyday headphone, the Dan Clark Stealth. Yet again I was surprised that in high gain, the output was usable. I am thinking burst level of power is more than the average I measure above. Clarity was superb as was absolute fidelity. I wanted to sit there and listen and keep looking at the VU meters!

Conclusions
Wish you could see my face smiling as I type this, reflecting my experience with the Z8. Not only does it have superb performance but it is a delight to see and use. Zidoo jumps into a very crowded and competitive market and easily makes room for itself with state of the art performance and delightful user interface.

The only wishes are larger volume level indicator and more headphone output. OK, one more wish: a spectrum analyzer in addition to VU meters!

Overall, this is a job well done indicating company has significant engineering and design experience.

I am happy to recommend the Zidoo EverSolo Z8 DAC and stereo headphone amplifier.

----
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

At the end of the day I decided to buy the Eversolo DAC Z8

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the Zidoo EverSolo Z8 stereo balanced DAC and headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $699.
View attachment 261200
As you can tell this is not "yet another desktop DAC." A beautiful and responsive 3 inch LCD display can provide different levels of information including three types of VU meters! The menus are so rich that on first use you are prompted to choose your language. SO many things are configurable down to level of brightness of the ring around the volume control! (I set it to highest for this picture.) More useful settings include being able to set the steps from for the volume control starting from 0.5 dB going to 2 dB. Company clearly has extensive software development experience (as evidenced by their media/video players) which they have brought to bear here.

The back panel holds another bonus feature in the form of both USB-B and USB-C inputs:
View attachment 261201

You can select the independently so you can use them for two hosts. A reassuring relay click accompanies every input selection.

Nicely done!

The only wish I have is for larger volume control display. It shows such when adjusting the volume but then you are left with the small font. You can replace the VU meters with "audio info" but that doesn't include the volume level.

Zidoo EverSolo Z8 Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard with USB In/XLR Out at full volume:
View attachment 261202
I must say, I was not ready for the unit to top the charts right out of the box. But that is what it did, finishing easily in our top 20 best DACs ever tested (out of now 400 units!!!):
View attachment 261458

RCA output drops a bit more than usual but still fully transparent to everyone's ear:
View attachment 261204

If you need less drive capability, here is the output relative to voltage level:
View attachment 261206

Dynamic range is superb as you can already predict from SINAD above:
View attachment 261205

Multitone intermodulation distortion is great as well:
View attachment 261207

Linearity and jitter are nailed:
View attachment 261208
View attachment 261209

IMD distortion shows a hint of increased intermodulation distortion which ESS DACs are known for:
View attachment 261210

You have your usual smorgasbord of filters that comes with ESS DACs:
View attachment 261211
View attachment 261212

Best to stay with the default Fast Linear and not complicate your life. That choice gives you this excellent wideband THD+N versus frequency:
View attachment 261213

Zidoo Z8 Headphone Amplifier Measurements
Company had told me that the headphone amplifier was a "bonus" feature and that it is as far as power, but not clarity/distortion:
View attachment 261214
View attachment 261459

Lack of clipping with any load means that you can use the full volume range that is there:
View attachment 261216

Noise level is good but not state of the art:

View attachment 261217
View attachment 261218

Zidoo Z8 Listening Tests
I started listening using Sennheiser HD650 headphone. I was pleasantly surprised that there was enough volume for average to somewhat above average listening levels. For kicks, I switched to my tough to drive, everyday headphone, the Dan Clark Stealth. Yet again I was surprised that in high gain, the output was usable. I am thinking burst level of power is more than the average I measure above. Clarity was superb as was absolute fidelity. I wanted to sit there and listen and keep looking at the VU meters!

Conclusions
Wish you could see my face smiling as I type this, reflecting my experience with the Z8. Not only does it have superb performance but it is a delight to see and use. Zidoo jumps into a very crowded and competitive market and easily makes room for itself with state of the art performance and delightful user interface.

The only wishes are larger volume level indicator and more headphone output. OK, one more wish: a spectrum analyzer in addition to VU meters!

Overall, this is a job well done indicating company has significant engineering and design experience.

I am happy to recommend the Zidoo EverSolo Z8 DAC and stereo headphone amplifier.

----
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Thank you, Amir, for your great job and suggestions (it is excellent your YouTube video called "Speed Reading DAC Audio Measurements"). At the end of the day, I decided to buy the Eversolo Z8-DAC and the Eversolo DMP-A6 Streamer. So, I could have the best of the two worlds for a fraction of the so-called ultra-high-end audiophile setups. Considering that I am A-B comparing these two with my Auralic VEGA G2.1 through XLR connection, I am grateful and surprised.

 

[Monosauras]

I had the Z8 and E70 for a little while.
Both sound much the same (fantastic) but the Z8 is a much better construction/functionality and likely to last a lot longer than the Topping, based on their usual reliability.

How about startup time?

I had the Eversolo A6, but ended up returning it. Because it ran Android it didn’t have a true standby (no wake on lan) and took quite some time to fully boot. What is the experience with the Z8?

Thanks

 

[0rangutan]

How about startup time?

I had the Eversolo A6, but ended up returning it. Because it ran Android it didn’t have a true standby (no wake on lan) and took quite some time to fully boot. What is the experience with the Z8?

Thanks

Near instant on the Z6/Z8.

 

[Nutul]

Near instant on the Z6/Z8.

NOTE: The Z8 is a pure DAC (e.g. no software other than the USB controller and the UI settings), while the A6 is a streamer / player / DAC and it runs apps on top of Android (which, weird as it may sound, is an OS, or acts like one... hence the looong startup time)

 

[Monosauras]

NOTE: The Z8 is a pure DAC (e.g. no software other than the USB controller and the UI settings), while the A6 is a streamer / player / DAC and it runs apps on top of Android (which, weird as it may sound, is an OS, or acts like one... hence the looong startup time)

Yep. I knew that going in, too. But what I didn't realise what that it lacked a standby mode. Just didn't work well in practice for me.

Near instant on the Z6/Z8.

Thanks!

So... next question I guess... the headphone amp portion.

Company had told me that the headphone amplifier was a "bonus" feature and that it is as far as power,

I don't (yet) know much about the technical specs of headphones. Would the Focal Utopia be capably driven by the Z8 alone? Or would I still benefit from a seperate headphone amp?

 

[boomtheroom]

Was it Tested as a Preamp?

 

[AdrianusG]

At the end of the day I decided to buy the Eversolo DAC Z8

Thank you, Amir, for your great job and suggestions (it is excellent your YouTube video called "Speed Reading DAC Audio Measurements"). At the end of the day, I decided to buy the Eversolo Z8-DAC and the Eversolo DMP-A6 Streamer. So, I could have the best of the two worlds for a fraction of the so-called ultra-high-end audiophile setups. Considering that I am A-B comparing these two with my Auralic VEGA G2.1 through XLR connection, I am grateful and surprised.

Hi Rilossi,

I'm curious how happy you are with your z8 purchase?, no strange hick-ups, problems after couple months?
I'm askin because this is currently 1 of 3 i have on my wish-list.
The other 2 I'm contemplating are the Topping D70 pro (very similar to this zidoo z8, sans the headphone amp) and the simpler and cheaper Topping E70 (with ES Dac) , so it's gonna be one of those 3.
Just want to make sure/ justify for my self the price extra I'd have to pay for this z8.
Greetings

Ad

 

[Nutul]

I'm curious how happy you are with your z8 purchase?, no strange hick-ups, problems after couple months?

I just pop in to say that I have mine since early April this year, and not a single problem. It is on at least 4h a day, sometimes 8.
I feed it through USB with a Pi4 running moOde.
44.1 / 96 / DSD whatever i throw at it, plays without a glitch.

HTH

 

[0rangutan]

Similar experience here - Z8 owned since it was released, used daily, no issues at all, sounds superb.

 

[AdrianusG]

Similar experience here - Z8 owned since it was released, used daily, no issues at all, sounds superb.

Thanks for answers guys!

I finally pulled the plug, and ordered the Eversolo/Zidoo Z8 from Audiophonics France.
Now just the Excruciating wait hahaha.