Fosi ZH3 Balanced Headphone Amp & DAC Review

[Raider]

Apart from obvious problems like ground loops or insufficient power to run the device, switching DC PSUs does not affect the sound in any way. Also, this DAC measured transparent with the original PSU, so if there were any audible difference, it could only be worse.

It's helpful to know about the problems of sighted testing, human bias and how small level differences affect the sound impression you get from a device. You should look into those topics.

no man ifi has noise floor is like 20-30dB lower than the stock and spikes are at 1uV instead of the stock which are probably horrible the difference in power deliver are so huge it impacts the clarity a lot - its the same power rating for both but.... on the ifi i was able to drive it on headphones so much it became a hot plate after couple of hours (was at most warm with stock)

 

[Raider]

My connection ended up like this.

same for me

 

[RandomEar]

no man

Yes, man.

ifi has noise floor is like 20-30dB lower than the stock and spikes are at 1uV instead of the stock which are probably horrible

So you don't even know if the stock PSU is worse, then? Dude, come on. Look at the numbers in the OP: The DAC delivers over 114 dB of dynamic range at 4 V. There's not much headroom to improve it further.

It's also unlikely that the noise floor is limited by the PSU. There's additional filtering if the DC input inside the DAC which you completely ignore. You do not listen to the PSU, you listen to the output circuit of the DAC.

the difference in power deliver are so huge it impacts the clarity a lot - its the same power rating for both but.... on the ifi i was able to drive it on headphones so much it became a hot plate after couple of hours (was at most warm with stock)

Look at the OP of the thread you are commenting on. The amp section delivers 2.5 W at 33 Ω and it doesn't clip or distort - there is no lack of power with the stock PSU. And you said yourself that the rating of both PSUs is the same. How do you think the ifi would provide more power if it doesn't even have more power?

The PSU also has no influence on "clarity" because it doesn't affect the frequency response. Please inform yourself about how stuff works.

 

[Raider]

Yes, man.


So you don't even know if the stock PSU is worse, then? Dude, come on. Look at the numbers in the OP: The DAC delivers over 114 dB of dynamic range at 4 V. There's not much headroom to improve it further.

It's also unlikely that the noise floor is limited by the PSU. There's additional filtering if the DC input inside the DAC which you completely ignore. You do not listen to the PSU, you listen to the output circuit of the DAC.


Look at the OP of the thread you are commenting on. The amp section delivers 2.5 W at 33 Ω and it doesn't clip or distort - there is no lack of power with the stock PSU. And you said yourself that the rating of both PSUs is the same. How do you think the ifi would provide more power if it doesn't even have more power?

The PSU also has no influence on "clarity" because it doesn't affect the frequency response. Please inform yourself about how stuff works.

stock psu is like 5$

theres whole huge audio PSU market out there You dont know of

 

[RandomEar]

stock psu is like 5$

Cheap doesn't mean bad. If it performs to spec, it performs to spec.

theres whole huge audio PSU market out there You dont know of

Oh, I know. But I also know what actually matters. The audio market is full of snakeoil: The fact that you can buy stuff means that people buy it, not that it's actually useful or necessary. People sell crystals which are supposed to cure cancer - do you think any crystal can cure cancer? If not, how come those are still sold and people buy them?

 

[Raider]

Cheap doesn't mean bad. If it performs to spec, it performs to spec.


Oh, I know. But I also know what actually matters. The audio market is full of snakeoil: The fact that you can buy stuff means that people buy it, not that it's actually useful or necessary. People sell crystals which are supposed to cure cancer - do you think any crystal can cure cancer? If not, how come those are still sold and people buy them?

U can always return internet buy so get lost

 

[onethreetwowaitthatswrong]

Does anyone have experience with this and one of the following Topping DX5II, Fiio K13, JDS Element 4? What are your thoughts in comparison?

I have both the ZH3 and the DX5II, that I use at different places. So far so good for both of them. I'm not using DSP or tone control on either. If I had a subjective opinion, it would be the tiniest pinch in favor of the Topping, but I have nothing to say against the Fosi (and the difference in setups and endpoints make my difference negligible).

 

[Henrik]

I have replaced factory power supply with this: SilentPower by iFi Audio iPower X (12V)
My god its good now

Perhaps you were inspired by this? 8:36 in ...

 

[Raider]

Perhaps you were inspired by this? 8:36 in ...

I posted that but forum rules it out

 

[Bleib]

Yeah, you need to summarize it somewhat, had a few vids taken down as well. Any and all videos I've seen on iiWi are subjective though, I've never seen him support things with objective data.

I wouldn't waste my money, Amir's measurements make it clear that it's fully transparent

The Ifi power supply he which mentions costs around 110 USD, I paid about 160-170 USD for the DAC itself.

 

[Raider]

Yeah, you need to summarize it somewhat, had a few vids taken down as well

But but... that youtuber is right the amp acquires more quality - sounds more realistic instantly I dont know if it mesures better i suppose it is


on top of that.... it isn't much more expensive than topping dx 5 II combined

 

[Bleib]

But but... that youtuber is right the amp acquires more quality - sounds more realistic instantly I dont know if it mesures better i suppose it is


on top of that.... it isn't much more expensive than topping dx 5 II combined

Yeah, but then again, DX5 II has crossfeed, stronger amp, PEQ, bigger display, built in power supply etc

 

[Raider]

Yeah, but then again, DX5 II has crossfeed, stronger amp, PEQ, bigger display, built in power supply etc

It isn't available sooo even the Fosi runs out

 

[RandomEar]

But but... that youtuber is right the amp acquires more quality - sounds more realistic instantly I dont know if it mesures better i suppose it is

Did you actually test that correctly?

• Precisely level-matched?
• Switching quickly (< 5 s)?
• Blinded?

 

[Raider]

Did you actually test that correctly?

• Precisely level-matched?
• Switching quickly (< 5 s)?
• Blinded?

all i can say is... im not connecting the original psu whatsoever it kills this dac it was measured and tested with scientific psu

 

[Bleib]

all i can say is... im not connecting the original psu whatsoever it kills this dac it was measured and tested with scientific psu

Hah, is the original PSU running on thoughts and prayers?

 

[RandomEar]

all i can say is... im not connecting the original psu whatsoever it kills this dac it was measured and tested with scientific psu

Where was it measured? The results in this thread are with the stock PSU.

 

[Raider]

Hah, is the original PSU running on thoughts and prayers?

yep its like that dac itself runs on polymer caps - psu isn't its rubbish cheap crap thrown for free

 

[Raider]

Where was it measured? The results in this thread are with the stock PSU.

they dont match up

 

[RandomEar]

they dont match up

How? What doesn't match? Where are the measurements which disagree?