Fosi Audio ZD3 Balanced DAC Review

[CedarX]

Excellent results and priced well. Thanks for the extensive testing Amir.

I must say though, this really irks me and something I wish @Fosi Audio would take a step back from and just focus on making excellent audio products that stand on their own merit;

View attachment 408347

Fosi Audio ZD3 Fully Balanced Desktop DAC

Presents tailored DAC performance, ensuring superior audio quality for pure enjoyment with ease of use.

fosiaudio.com

I mean really, now recommending op-amp swapping based on genre? Apologies for being a little negative here in a review thread, but I feel this needs to be called out.


JSmith

@Fosi Audio As you recommend op-amp swapping based on musical genre, I assume you have identified measurable characteristics associated with each one of these "signatures": could you share more details about these measurements?

If I want to compare the "Warm, Smooth " and "Neutral, Dynamic" signatures for example, what do I need to measure to see the difference?

 

[Doublej]

I am still waiting for a DAC with HDMI arc with EQ presets (5bands+). I'm using a 42 oled TV as a PC monitor and sometimes I want to use the build-in TV apps. It would be very nice if I could set an EQ for the speakers for all my use cases.

More than just a DAC, the WiiM Ultra will give you HDMI ARC with multiple equalization options and room correction too.

 

[Gatordaddy]

I must say though, this really irks me and something I wish @Fosi Audio would take a step back from and just focus on making excellent audio products that stand on their own merit;

I mean really, now recommending op-amp swapping based on genre? Apologies for being a little negative here in a review thread, but I feel this needs to be called out.


JSmith

Unfortunately, I can see this being an effective way of marketing themselves to the general audiophile audience

 

[Romario]

The youtuber Audio Masterclass explains everything about the different opamps on this product, with the specs on screen. It's a fun watch.

 

[Kimbrough Xu]

Just nuts what 180 clams can get you in a DAC these days. And a remote. Perhaps they can intro a $225 model with EQ and analog input in the future. These guys at Fosi have nailed what the mainstream listener wants in audio. They are doing what Vizio did to TVs a decade or so ago -- produce really good ones at a budget price that drives quality up and prices down among all competitors.

Thats exactly what I want, to support all my digital and analog audio sources.

 

[Power Pop 23]

cool, at last topping E50 competitor

Agreed. Maybe, just maybe, this offering will incentivize Topping Audio to bring the convenience of 12 volt I/O to their 50 series and 30 series

 

[dtaylo1066]

Thats exactly what I want, to support all my digital and analog audio sources.

Wiim Ultra is about as close as you can get now on the cheap. Analog and phono in. Only thing missing is balanced out.
MiniDSP flex will also work. Though both will digitize your analog.

Emotiva has DAC with analog in/out but no EQ. ifi Neo iDSD 2 great but the same, no EQ. Boo.

​

 

[Doublej]

WiiM Ultra has an Optical Input too!

 

[Highvolt60]

Does HDMI ARC support volume level adjustment and/or does that level show on the TV screen attached ?

 

[DanTheMan]

For the same price, you can get a better measured SMSL dl100, which also has hdmi arc and in addition LDAC bluetooth and a good headphone amplifier.

No 12v triggers though.

 

[CedarX]

Unfortunately, I can see this being an effective way of marketing themselves to the general audiophile audience

I’m not so sure…: how come Fosi dare to tell audiophiles how these opamps “sound like”? It is well known that true audiophiles only trust their “ears” (perception)!

I have zero issue with the rollable opamps feature—it’s a feature… valuable or not is up to debate. But I do have an issue when Fosi develops what looks like pure marketing BS to scam the audiophiles even more.

Why didn’t they propose 4 sets of buttons & display background colors with the exact same musical genre recommendations for each?

 

[tccalvin]

I’m not so sure…: how come Fosi dare to tell audiophiles how these opamps “sound like”? It is well known that true audiophiles only trust their “ears” (perception)!

I have zero issue with the rollable opamps feature—it’s a feature… valuable or not is up to debate. But I do have an issue when Fosi develops what looks like pure marketing BS to scam the audiophiles even more.

Why didn’t they propose 4 sets of buttons & display background colors with the exact same musical genre recommendations for each?

But in order to "hear" those differences, audiophiles first have to be told what those differences are!

After all, if audiophiles only believed in their own personal perception, we wouldn't have the "AKM velvet-y sound" or the "ESS harshness" or the "Analog feel of R2R DACs".

 

[WOLFAGRAM]

Hallo Folks.

I usually prefer products from countries with high levels of human and worker rights. That means, I tend to vote with my wallet.

But this product seems to have much going for it. The looks, the features, specifications, performance, price - they all seem good. If it is also built to last, it would be one of the few budget DACs to get.

Cheers.

 

[JSmith]

Unfortunately, I can see this being an effective way of marketing themselves to the general audiophile audience

What @Fosi Audio may not realise is things like this will turn some people away from their brand... not to it. Best not to alienate your initial market.


JSmith

 

[Tell]

What @Fosi Audio may not realise is things like this will turn some people away from their brand... not to it. Best not to alienate your initial market.


JSmith

Well that kind of bogus stuff doesn't take away from it's actual features, price and objective performance, so even though I don't agree at all with this op-amp swapping I don't see the big harm in it, it's not like they're snake oil expensive and probably won't degree the performance either. So I'd say it's a bit silly to turn away from a product because of this.
But of course, if I'd be the boss over Fosi I would instantly remove that from their website and also just solder the op-amp directly to the board.

 

[EJ3]

Not use case, this is a DAC not an integrated amplifier.

Mostly my use case.
No analog in, though.
I have no need for any kind of amplifier, integrated or otherwise.

 

[JSmith]

op-amp swapping I don't see the big harm in it

Sure, but I wasn't talking about that... I was talking about what I posted on page 1 from their website. Claiming specific genres suit a certain op-amp and claiming unexplainable audible differences using fluffy language... now that is just silly snake oil, which they just don't need to do at all as their products are decent.

Gustard lost a few people too when they started selling audiophool fuses...


JSmith

 

[AudioSceptic]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Fosi Audio ZD3 balanced stereo DAC. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $179.99.
View attachment 408318
The ZD3 manages at the same time to look elegant/modern and cute! The choice of round display is smart as is displaying the level the largest in the center. Feature set is rich with inclusion of trigger in/out (for powering downstream amp/devices) and HDMI ARC:
View attachment 408320
It is especially nice to have "discrete" buttons on the remote to select inputs. Again, this lends itself to nice automation in addition to being easier to use than going in menus or sequential selection.

Fosi Audio ZD3 Measurements
Starting with balanced output, we immediately see signs of competent implementation:
View attachment 408321

View attachment 408322
View attachment 408323
It easily achieves transparency even in unbalanced output:
View attachment 408324

I am now able to measure HDMI ARC which nicely shows same performance as USB on ZD3:
View attachment 408325

Performance is noise bound. Competitors use 4.2 volt output which uses the best dynamic range of the audio analyzer. If Fosi had done that, it would probably extract another half a dB of SINAD. Here is the dynamic range to indicate that:
View attachment 408326

Performance naturally improves a bit if we go to max output of nearly 5 volts:
View attachment 408327

Multitone performance is excellent and approaches state of the art where our hearing is most sensitive:
View attachment 408329
For compatibility with reviews elsewhere, here is the output with 50 Hz tone driven into unrealistic 600 ohm load:
View attachment 408330

There is some inconsequential jitter components as indicated by spikes near our 12 kHz tone:
View attachment 408331

Likewise, linearity is a hair off in one channel:
View attachment 408332

Only one default filter is provided which is just fine with me:
View attachment 408333
View attachment 408334

We see a hint of ESS DAC IMD Hump which is more than acceptable:
View attachment 408335

Wideband frequency sweep shows excellent response:
View attachment 408336

Conclusions
The ZD3 nails the look and importantly, feature set of what one wants in a low cost DAC. It provides full transparency with excellent noise and distortion. And makes this reviewer happy with such features as single button input selection and large (relatively speaking) volume level display. Company is clearly in tune with its customer needs. Its entrance is enriched by that knowledge and excellent engineering. Really, the growth of Fosi as a company in this desktop category is just amazing.

It is my pleasure to recommend the Fosi ZD3 balanced stereo DAC.
------------
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/

Seems great, apart from the filter turnover. Should this be designed for CD (44.1 kHz) or 48 kHz audio by default?

 

[CedarX]

The youtuber Audio Masterclass explains everything about the different opamps on this product, with the specs on screen. It's a fun watch.

Assuming I watch the same video you suggested, Audio Masterclass doesn’t explain anything: yes, there are spec differences between these opamps… But how do these differences relate to actual, measurable, audible characteristics and how do they create “signature” differences? And in the end, what is the basis to recommend opamp A for genre X?

 

[Ropeburn]

Well that kind of bogus stuff doesn't take away from it's actual features, price and objective performance, so even though I don't agree at all with this op-amp swapping I don't see the big harm in it, it's not like they're snake oil expensive and probably won't degree the performance either. So I'd say it's a bit silly to turn away from a product because of this.
But of course, if I'd be the boss over Fosi I would instantly remove that from their website and also just solder the op-amp directly to the board.

I'd call the average Sparkos opamp for 80 standard moneys a piece "snake oil expensive" indeed. And they're rather popular amongst the "rolling" crowd.

Some people seriously double their device's prices like that. Of course after being told by uToobers that that their 100 moneys device now outperforms ones for 2000.