Fosi ZH3 Balanced Headphone Amp & DAC Review

[EERecordist]

This is a review, detailed measurements and listening test of Fosi ZH3 balanced stereo DAC and headphone amplifier/preamp. It was sent to me by the company. I can't find the price ($200?). It costs US $199.
View attachment 476977
The ZH3 is attractive and follows the design language of the newer Fosi products. I found the menu navigation with the front panel knob difficult. It would sometimes jump forward/back with little motion, other times it would take a few clicks. It was very frustrating. Fortunately the remote control doesn't have this issue. Back panel shows attractive set of features:
View attachment 476978
Like the inclusion of trigger and RCA inputs. Alas, I forgot to test that. Will do so later.

In the interest of time, I skipped over a few tests and focused on front panel headphone outputs only.

FOSI ZH3 Measurements
I started with medium gain and balanced headphone out:
View attachment 476979
Distortion is well below threshold of hearing. So SINAD is determined by noise alone. 113 dB nicely lands the ZH3 in our very competent bucket:
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View attachment 476981

Here is the dynamic range:
View attachment 476982

At 4 volt, performance is more than you could ask for in this class. At 50 mv, initial measurements using balanced out was somewhat disappointing. Switching to unbalanced, remedied good bit of that:

View attachment 476983

Still, highly sensitive IEMs may experience a bit of noise.

IMD test shows the difference between balanced and unbalanced:
View attachment 476985

Default filter performance is typical and good:
View attachment 476986

There is almost no frequency dependency which is good:
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Now we get to the impressive part which is available power and lack of any distortion/clipping:
View attachment 476988

View attachment 476989
It is especially impressive to see no clipping all the way up to 2.5 watts! I don't think I have seen this before. This is very useful for testing limits of headphone distortion. If you hear any distortion, it is the headphone and not the amplifier!

Fosi ZH3 Listening Tests
I chose to test the Dan Clark Audio E3 headphone with the ZH3. I used the high gain and with it, there was incredible fidelity and lots of headroom. I think I had the volume at 75 even at very high loudness. Detail in the music was amazing as was the bass impact. The combination melted my heart in how clean and dynamic the performance was!

Conclusions
If the price is as I expect, the ZH3 is an incredible offering with ultra low distortion yet a ton of power. It is attractive in design and capability. Listening performance was a delight even with my less sensitive headphone, proving the capability of the output stage. Yes, the noise figures could be a bit better but that will impact very few users with ultra sensitive IEMs.

The inclusion of analog input is a major hit for people like me who also need to integrate an analog source. Few DACs sport such a feature.

It is my pleasure to recommend the FOSI ZH3. Company sure has its eye on the ball as far as feature list and performance.

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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/

Hello Fosi, adding an RIAA/phono input, even other inputs as one would find on an analog preamp would be a natural, and not expensive.

 

[sabih]

Does this DAC have swappable opamp?

 

[Arktez]

These XLR outputs in ZH3 are fully balanced?

 

[br1]

Hi everyone, I'm a tech novice, but I'm a bulimic music listener. I listen exclusively to headphones. I currently use an IFI ZEN DAC V2 (powered by a Raspberry Pi with Volumio) with a Beyerdynamic DT770 80ohm. I'd like to do a small upgrade by replacing the IFI with this Fosi Audio ZH3. Is it worth it, or should I look at more expensive products?
Thanks in advance to anyone who replies.

 

[Corvuscorone]

This does not have LDAC Bluetooth or HDMI (ARC) connectivity, as is the case with the SMSL DL-100, which is about the same price or even cheaper on offer.

 

[Svend P]

I'd like to do a small upgrade by replacing the IFI with this Fosi Audio ZH3

How about an upgrade that is so small you wont hear a difference? Don't upgrade electronics expecting an improvement.

The best you can do is invest in something that allows you to use EQ with your headphones

 

[Svensson]

Hi everyone, I'm a tech novice, but I'm a bulimic music listener. I listen exclusively to headphones. I currently use an IFI ZEN DAC V2 (powered by a Raspberry Pi with Volumio) with a Beyerdynamic DT770 80ohm. I'd like to do a small upgrade by replacing the IFI with this Fosi Audio ZH3. Is it worth it, or should I look at more expensive products?
Thanks in advance to anyone who replies.

I'm not sure if the Zen Dac2 has been reviewed, but a quick search found the following review.

'ifi Zen DAC and Headphone Amp Review'

Nov 14, 2019

This is a review and detailed measurements of the ifi Zen balanced DAC and headphone amplifier. I purchased it from Amazon last week. The Zen DAC costs US $130 including free shipping.

I must say, I am not a fan of the look of the Zen DAC. It hearkens back to 1960s furniture style which would look out of place on most desktops:

Despite commonality of aluminum in audio products today, the Zen must be using some kind of steel for its shell as it is quite heavy for its size. And sturdy to boot.

The controls are confusing. "Power Match" seems to just be extra...

• amirm
• Replies: 649
• Forum: Combination Audio DAC and Headphone Amplifiers

• 

For the price if you were looking for an upgrade, this Fosi seems great PLUS there are helpful alternative suggestions, with provided rationale in the prior comments. If you made a blind purchase from any of the top 20 measured here, I am not sure that at this level, anyone would really hear any real. Go with price / looks at that point and enjoy

 

[br1]

How about an upgrade that is so small you wont hear a difference? Don't upgrade electronics expecting an improvement.

The best you can do is invest in something that allows you to use EQ with your headphones

I understand that a minimal price difference means a small difference in performance, at least the Fosi seems to be more powerful and has a remote control. As for the equalizer, I already use the DSP present in Volumio (a parametric equalizer, with the parameters provided by Oratory1990), and it was necessary for me when I used the Audio Technica ATH-M50x, but with the DT770s I don't feel the need. Thanks.

 

[br1]

I'm not sure if the Zen Dac2 has been reviewed, but a quick search found the following review.

'ifi Zen DAC and Headphone Amp Review'

Nov 14, 2019

This is a review and detailed measurements of the ifi Zen balanced DAC and headphone amplifier. I purchased it from Amazon last week. The Zen DAC costs US $130 including free shipping.

I must say, I am not a fan of the look of the Zen DAC. It hearkens back to 1960s furniture style which would look out of place on most desktops:

Despite commonality of aluminum in audio products today, the Zen must be using some kind of steel for its shell as it is quite heavy for its size. And sturdy to boot.

The controls are confusing. "Power Match" seems to just be extra...

• amirm
• Replies: 649
• Forum: Combination Audio DAC and Headphone Amplifiers

• 

For the price if you were looking for an upgrade, this Fosi seems great PLUS there are helpful alternative suggestions, with provided rationale in the prior comments. If you made a blind purchase from any of the top 20 measured here, I am not sure that at this level, anyone would really hear any real. Go with price / looks at that point and enjoy

Unfortunately, I read the review of the Zen DAC you mentioned after I bought it. The damage was done. I'll keep an eye on the Fosi and when it's available on the market, I'll probably think about it.

 

[Lux Maldini]

Does this DAC have swappable opamp?

Sure.

 

[Lux Maldini]

These XLR outputs in ZH3 are fully balanced?

If it is a digital interface input (USB/COA/OPT) and an XLR output, I think so. But RCA input is definitely not the case.

 

[PAINFAST]

Hi everyone, I'm a tech novice, but I'm a bulimic music listener. I listen exclusively to headphones. I currently use an IFI ZEN DAC V2 (powered by a Raspberry Pi with Volumio) with a Beyerdynamic DT770 80ohm. I'd like to do a small upgrade by replacing the IFI with this Fosi Audio ZH3. Is it worth it, or should I look at more expensive products?
Thanks in advance to anyone who replies.

IFI ZEN DAC V2 improved a lot comparing to the previous gen, so you don't have to consider so much about the DAC&AMPs. However, if you need features like remote controls, bluetooth streaming, PEQs or prefer an upgrade with little additional budget, try Topping DX5ii or Fiio K13.

 

[PAINFAST]

Some problems I encountered during my ZH3 try-out:
1. It can easily get overheated within 5min (Environment Temp.: 25℃. Device Temp.: At around the temperature you might get with a dongle DAC inside your pocket).
2. It still consumes 8 watts even during stand-by, you would probably want to shut it down if no outputs.
3. The AC/DC power supply is NOT included inside the machine, so the power modules are not space-friendly.
4. If you are using WASAPI exclusive mode, it might struggle with decoding with some format of music files.
5. If you want to keep the screen on all the time, please ensure to keep it at 100% brightness, since the LCD screen is using PWM method and might hurt your eye during night time.
6. The 2min auto-screen-off will set your screen at 75% brightness and somehow cannot be customized.
7. The SNR and dynamic range decreases if turning bypass mode off.

 

[hoverdonkey]

Nooooooooo!

I have the ZD3... it's great but I would trade it to have that analogue input... except that Fosi have not provided separate buttons per input on the remote this time! The ZD3 has this feature, my Logitech Harmony remote setup relies on it. I had hoped the tide had turned. Alas not

 

[Lux Maldini]

Some problems I encountered during my ZH3 try-out:
1. It can easily get overheated within 5min (Environment Temp.: 25℃. Device Temp.: At around the temperature you might get with a dongle DAC inside your pocket).
2. It still consumes 8 watts even during stand-by, you would probably want to shut it down if no outputs.
3. The AC/DC power supply is NOT included inside the machine, so the power modules are not space-friendly.
4. If you are using WASAPI exclusive mode, it might struggle with decoding with some format of music files.
5. If you want to keep the screen on all the time, please ensure to keep it at 100% brightness, since the LCD screen is using PWM method and might hurt your eye during night time.
6. The 2min auto-screen-off will set your screen at 75% brightness and somehow cannot be customized.
7. The SNR and dynamic range decreases if turning bypass mode off.

Yes, thank you very much for your feedback. We would like to address some of the points you raised:

1/2. The ZH3's headphone amplifier circuit is a Class A/B dual-power fully discrete push-pull differential complementary balanced circuit. Therefore, it may generate slight heat even when no music is playing. Please rest assured that we have conducted rigorous testing, and this will not affect the normal operation or lifespan of the device.

3. Yes, considering that some customers may prefer linear power supplies, we have used a DC 12V power interface to allow users the flexibility to switch to different power supply methods if desired.

4. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused. However, we are not entirely clear about the issue you mentioned. Could you please provide more detailed information about the specific problem?

5/6. The device features five levels of screen mode adjustment. The "2min" setting refers to the auto screen-off mode. The other four levels allow you to freely adjust the screen brightness.

7. When operating in a non-BYPASS mode, the signal is affected by EQ adjustments, so a change in SNR is normal as the music signal is altered. However, dynamic range should not be significantly affected. Our analog input-to-output path is fully analog, with no ADC conversion involved.

 

[Lux Maldini]

These XLR outputs in ZH3 are fully balanced?

Yes, he is completely balanced.

 

[Grimoire]

It may be $199 shipped to the US, but it's $260 to the UK.

Why?

 

[A Surfer]

It may be $199 shipped to the US, but it's $260 to the UK.

Why?

Would that include taxes and duties? In the UK. I'll bet the price jumps up in the US with tariffs unless something has changed.

 

[Grimoire]

Would that include taxes and duties? In the UK. I'll bet the price jumps up in the US with tariffs unless something has changed.

Before taxes. So why the huge difference? Fosi aren't paying the taxes, so why not the same price?

 

[davmol]

It may be $199 shipped to the US, but it's $260 to the UK.

Why?

You can avoid the overcharging on Fosi store (or Topping store, which does the same) simply by selecting USD (for USA in Fosi's case) and then just entering your UK address as normal and making payment as normal. That's what I recently did and have ordered the ZH3 for $160 USD after the early bird discount, and it's now in transit and I'll pay any applicable VAT / duties when it lands (should I be asked to by the carrier). There is absolutely no reason when buying direct from China that a UK buyer should pay $61 more than a US buyer, when in both scenarios Fosi's terms state that they are not paying import duties / local taxes.