Fosi ZH3 Balanced Headphone Amp & DAC Review

[esk]

Volume control is what a preamp is about.

Depends on the used devices, it can also be done in amplifier side. It might be a niche feature, but I would have it setup that way and surely this wouldn't be hard to implement.

 

[Wunderphones]

I like what Fosi is putting out there these days.

Still, I think you have to have a pretty firm $200 cap to prefer this to the Topping DX5II or the SMSL RAW-MDA 1. That extra $80-100 gets you a lot of improvement in sound and connectivity.

 

[PJR918BMW]

As I noted, I skipped over some measurements as I have a horrible backlog and yet to take a summer vacation. Given the extremely low distortion at 1 kHz, I predict it would be excellent anyway.

Go on holiday mate. I'm sure everyone will be here when you get back... life is far far too short.

Ps Maybe think about getting some help - and dare I say it - some form of monetistaion to pay for the help! I have bought, as a direct result of this site, three "hi fi" items in the last 12 months - and curse the wasted years of trying stuff and it disappointing me!

Actually dont you have a buy us a coffee button somewhere - I'm off to look!

 

[PJR918BMW]

Go on holiday mate. I'm sure everyone will be here when you get back... life is far far too short.

Ps Maybe think about getting some help - and dare I say it - some form of monetistaion to pay for the help! I have bought, as a direct result of this site, three "hi fi" items in the last 12 months - and curse the wasted years of trying stuff and it disappointing me!

Actually dont you have a buy us a coffee button somewhere - I'm off to look!

..found "member upgrades" . only paid $25 but thats a weeks wage in the UK.

 

[Music707]

From the Fosi shop (US shipping):



Seems to be preorder.

 

[A Surfer]

I like what Fosi is putting out there these days.

Still, I think you have to have a pretty firm $200 cap to prefer this to the Topping DX5II or the SMSL RAW-MDA 1. That extra $80-100 gets you a lot of improvement in sound and connectivity.

There will be no improvement in sound. These devices are all audibly transparent in the vast majority of use case scenarios.

 

[Bleib]

I see this mainly as the replacement for the "aged" Topping DX3Pro+
For similar price we now get balanced as well and in my eyes a nicer design

 

[Power Pop 23]

The officials said that all features are designed to be controllable via the knob, the remote control is made for scenes like where you are far away from the dacamp

Yes. The problems Amir experienced trying to access the menu of the Fosi Audio ZH3 via the knob on the front panel may be limited to the sample he measured.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Good noise performance, very good distortion performance, nice feature set, great power rating, impervious to clipping (must have some sort of limiter built in). Attractive design language. Plus a price that undercuts the competition. All add up to a “Great” rating.

 

[Bleib]

From the Fosi shop (US shipping):

View attachment 477031

Seems to be preorder.

249 USD when I checked. 239 to Europe.
It's possible to pre-order from the official shop now, use the code PREZH3 for -20% off the price, unsure if you have to register for this first (I did in case I'll purchase)

Fosi Audio ZH3 DAC Headphone Amp

An all-in-one desktop HiFi DAC/headphone amp/preamp: With premium chipsets and self-developed fully balanced circuitry, low noise and low distortion. Perfect for HiFi headphones or active speakers, it's the ultimate desktop audio solution. Exceptional Sound Quality: Premium chipset with...

fosiaudio.com

 

[Power Pop 23]

I like the feature set of the Fosi Audio ZH3. I'd like to see WiiM offer a similar product to gain access to Parametric EQ and their software support.

 

[peniku8]

Did you get a chance to measure the output impedance?

Amir doesn't measure output impedance, so at this point it's still unknown whether this is a good product or a bad one.
Altho I would be mighty impressed if it managed to pull of that kind of power into 33 Ohm with a 30 Ohm Zout

 

[shuppatsu]

Since it’s the same knob, does the flakiness of menu selection also extend to the volume control? That would be a dealbreaker.

I have a toaster/air fryer that is great except for an absolutely *terrible* rotary knob. Sometimes multiple clicks will do nothing; sometimes one click will shoot forward 4-5 selections. Absolutely infuriating. And something that got worse over time.

 

[Jeromeof]

I like the feature set of the Fosi Audio ZH3. I'd like to see WiiM offer a similar product to gain access to Parametric EQ and their software support.

Plug a WiiM Mini into the optical input on the ZH3 and you have a very nice cheap solution with PEQ.

 

[Music707]

249 USD when I checked. 239 to Europe.
It's possible to pre-order from the official shop now, use the code PREZH3 for -20% off the price, unsure if you have to register for this first (I did in case I'll purchase)

Fosi Audio ZH3 DAC Headphone Amp

An all-in-one desktop HiFi DAC/headphone amp/preamp: With premium chipsets and self-developed fully balanced circuitry, low noise and low distortion. Perfect for HiFi headphones or active speakers, it's the ultimate desktop audio solution. Exceptional Sound Quality: Premium chipset with...

fosiaudio.com

Not quite right. 239.99 is to EU. To the UK (which still belongs to Europe) it is 259.99.

 

[Power Pop 23]

Plug a WiiM Mini into the optical input on the ZH3 and you have a very nice cheap solution with PEQ.

Agreed, for streaming. I'd like the option to apply Parametric EQ (and RoomFit, as relevant) to more inputs.

Ultimately I'd like to see WiiM revisit the Ultra to include differential architecture, a more performant headphone amplifier and phono preamp, along with a coaxial input and a USB input compatible with computers.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Evidently the Golfing Panther has gone on Summer Vacation. So nice of you, Amir, to give your employees time off, even when you unable to do so yourself!

Thanks, again, Amir.

 

[GD Fan]

Sounds like they used the same front knob that Topping installed for volume on my DX7Pro - give it a spin and that thing generates a random outcome.

 

[TNT]

a lot of improvement in sound

Aa, you have heard it?

//

 

[Kevinfc]

Fosi is quickly moving up as one of the better value brands.