The dual OP-amplifier will all work. Like the previous one. Personally, I hope AK05 from AKMLIAM is installed without interference.
If you value compact size/looks, affordability, analog inputs
I have both and would say the Fosi is better looking and (surprisingly, to me) feels more premium / better built. The DX5II has a nicer screen and XLR for headphones (should you need it), and I prefer the remote, particularly the two custom buttons that make it easy to save multiple settings to one button, so I can quickly change between speakers and headphones without having to tweak things in the menu. I would say overall if PEQ is not needed then the Fosi at close to half the price is a no brainer, but you won't be disappointed either way.
Please clarify which DAC you like the best in terms of sound?
Both should be transparent and sound the absolute same as long as it's powerful enough to power whatever you listen with afterwards.
On Youtube, there was comparison between ZD3 (ESS) and ZH3 (AKM). It was not too hard to hear difference. It was small but still there. I am not sure where it comes. There are people who also say conflicting things about them. Some say it is not chip but implementation, but there are people who do seem to say a bit what I would say based on that video. I would probably describe ESS more precise and detailed, perhaps sharper and dry, whereas AKM felt smoother/natural and darker (some say opposite). It could be that I wanted to hear that, or I wanted to like other (it did show which is which after the samples, so I made decision which I liked more before knowing which is which), or there is something wrong with Youtube video. I didn’t do blind test. I preferred ZH3 sound though. My test was with Genelec 2x8050 + 7070 with minidsp htx doing some dirac correction feeded by appletv via hdmi. I didn’t need to focus or be in sweet spot to hear difference. My hearing is between 20 and 16kHz. No evidence of anything, fully subjective. One thing, I listened it through ESS dac that told me the AKM is nicer. So go figure.
Fosi are using "geographical" pricing -again!!!
They sound the same to me, no difference at all, both sound good. I have done level matched testing on DACs before and couldn't tell any difference at all between AKM, ESS, R2R dacs etc, so I don't see the point in doing any more testing. I think if someone ever posts a blind test where they successfully distinguish between two transparent DACs then I'd go out and buy them to test myself, but until that ever occurs (which it probably won't) then I will trust my initial experimentation i.e. there is no difference.
Thank you for your reply! I have one more question: which of these DACs is more powerful for full-size planar headphones, if you use them and have already tried them in operation (I mean the actual power with a balanced 4.4 mm connection, and not the data specified in the technical specifications by the manufacturer), and which model will you leave for your main system and why?
On Ebay.de (Germany) you get the Fosi currently for 151,99€ directly from the Fosi Store. I bought it last Sunday for a few euros more, but still less than 160€. I guess this is an adequate price for this piece of kit.
Amazon has a 15% off Voucher.
Both of them have no problem driving my Hifiman Ananda to ear bleeding levels with no distortion, but I realise they are not particularly hard to drive vs others planars, so I'm probably not the best person to ask. I am using the DX5II on my main system and the Fosi is in my office. The reasons being that I prefer the remote on the DX5II (the custom buttons) and aesthetically it looks better sat on top of my WiiM Ultra (and the Fosi looks better on my desktop).
Precisely speaking, while analog volume control is generally better at noise performance, there's no such thing as "zero loss". The reason why analog volume attenuation can be better is that it may also attenuate the noise floor, but there's a limit to the floor in the first place, and there's thermal noise added by the attenuator itself, canceling such a benefit to some degree.
