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Fosi ZH3 Balanced Headphone Amp & DAC Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
It sounds like the DX5 II would be a better choice if you don't want to worry about buying planar or hard to drive headphones due to the stronger amp?
I'll have to go check the review again I guess. I didn't see that.
RandomEar
Addicted to Fun and Learning
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You're comparing SNR to SINAD and balanced to unbalanced results. Those are not the same quantities, in two dimensions. Also, Amir measured using the medium gain and without weighing. Fosi likely shows the best case SNR (low gain, maybe A-weighed).
So... try again: What doesn't match? Where are the measurements which show worse performance? Why would a different PSU improve any of this?
it would
ziggurcat
Major Contributor
No it doesn't.
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Just thinking out loud here… but Amir’s SINAD shows the ZH3 is limited by noise, not distortion.
If this noise is generated, or perhaps not filtered, by the PSU then wouldn’t a lower noise PSU or a DC filter improve noise levels?
If this noise is generated, or perhaps not filtered, by the PSU then wouldn’t a lower noise PSU or a DC filter improve noise levels?
ZH3 Doesn't but its heat coming out
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Crossfeed that crashes the unit, an amp that can drive all of my headphones into distortion, PEQ that deletes itself or changes the values, a display that doesn’t have a dark mode, a power supply that cannot be easily repaired or replaced. These are literally all of the reasons I sold the unit.
What did you replace it with?
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I just bought a second ZH3 20% off. Two ZH3 cost me $20 more than one DX5II.
Don't have any issues powering your headphones?
ziggurcat
Major Contributor
No it doesn't.
Also no.
Also no.
The display has 4 different brightness options.
Also false.
Bleib
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Who expects great warranty from these cheap units? I don't.
And it's good that the small screen on Fosi turns completely off, but it shouldn't take 2 minutes either
I expect future firmware releases from Topping, I expect none from Fosi
And it's good that the small screen on Fosi turns completely off, but it shouldn't take 2 minutes either
I expect future firmware releases from Topping, I expect none from Fosi
It's also why I'm often willing to pay more for a less "perfect measuring" device and take a chance on US support
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Great arguments… NOT
Just saying the word NO over and over again doesn’t make my or other people’s experience less real. Just read the DX5II thread if you don’t believe me….
The reason Topping has to do all of these updates is to address these ISSUES, but it seems that every new iteration comes with new bugs.
Fosi on the other hand has only released one update as far as I know, to address the pause that sometimes occurs at the beginning of a track. They FIXED the issue, so there’s no need for them to release new updates if there’s no problems to fix.
ziggurcat
Major Contributor
Sometimes only one word is required to debunk misinformation.
I'm an active member in the DX5 II threads. No one has had their DX5 II crash because of crossfeed, the PEQ issue was resolved 8 months ago in a FW update, there was never any distortion with the HPA, the display has always had 4 different brightness settings, and there is no evidence to suggest that the PSU has issues requiring it to be repaired or replaced any time soon.
Imagine believing that a company actively fixing issues is a problem.
Welcome to software development.
I wouldn't be so sure about there being no problems.
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I can’t tell if you’re trolling me or not…
“If you end up keeping the DX5 II, whatever you do, do not use the JanMeier Crossfeed profile right now because it will effectively cause a factory reset.”
These were your own words in the DX5II thread on March 24th.
I had the PEQ issue happen to me several times, so it’s not something I just write off as a simple mistake that any company could make. You can be a beta tester for the DX5II all you want go right ahead, but to try and push other people to be beta testers, especially those not technically inclined, just seems wrong to me on several levels.
The screen has different brightness levels, but what I said and what you can’t refute is that the screen does not turn off completely. That’s a feature that matters to me.
I don’t know how long you’ve been around electronics, but it’s a fantasy to think that power supplies will live forever, especially a SMPS. Having serviceable parts actually matters to some people.
ziggurcat
Major Contributor
That's one option out of several that is currently bugged at the moment. Crossfeed, as a whole, doesn't "crash" the system.
Again, that was an issue they addressed a long time ago.
I hate to break it to you, but there isn't a product on the market that doesn't have software issues. It takes less effort to report a problem to the company than it does to complain about being a "bEtA tEsTeR" in an online forum, and it doesn't require anyone to be technically inclined.
So... not really an issue. Also, anyone is free to suggest new features/options like allowing people to turn the screen off completely.
Never said they do, but if we're talking 20 years from now, that's well beyond what anyone should expect. And by that time, most people in this hobby will have replaced their gear several time over.
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