本帖最后由 昔日荣光 于 2022-12-29 15:04 编辑
转一个国外用家的贴子
Merry Christmas all! At last I've got some time to make a few notes regarding the acquisition of my EverSolo DAC-Z8 almost a month ago. Quite some time has been spent plumbing in the new piece of kit and decomissioning an older DAC that got me into all this - to be honest this was all due to the discussions I've had with @nice Monkey going back before I had my Zidoo to the period where we were in COVID_Lockdown and I had time to spare. His support holds no bounds and has been marvellous!
But all my kit is neatly stacked within a nice low-level cabinet and as I've mentioned previously, wiring down and back up is a real PITA and takes me a lot of time. So in reality I currently have 2 DACs, namely the DAC-Z8 and my Gustard X-16. Again as mentioned a/b testing is out and I'm not prepared to say which sounds "better" for a whole load of reasons. Suffice it to say the Z8 is the one I constantly play with right now.
Things to note: -
Construction is really good to a very high standard - I believe the same as with the Z6
Yes it has a Remote Control! So damn convenient, but as yet I haven't found a way to get the Z8 working within my Harmony Elite Hub - mirroring the remote to the Harmony one, doesn't seem to work and with support having ended by Logitech some time ago, I have to use the EverSolo's Remote separately, which for me is a real nuisance
It has an in-built Headphone Amplifier
This link, I think, best reviews the Z8 but importantly compares with the Z6:
Main technical difference between the Z6 and Z8 are that the Z6 has 2 DAC chips: 2 x ES9068 whereas the Z8 has 1 x the latest ESS Sabre Flagship ES9038Pro DAC which has 8-channel decoding capability undertaken by the Texas Instruments OPA1612 "Operational Amplifier"
I've found that setting the DAC's own volume level to 50% provides good integration with the rest of my HiFi - 100% is just too much. I haven't as yet played with my Headphones connected but I'm told to be careful with the volume otherwise you could blow your ears! Consistent thinking me thinks
There are both PCM and DSD filters 3 x Z6 and 7 x Z8 - select to your listening preference but I'll make a comment below
There are both XLR and RCA outputs - you can have both active or individually
Update to current Firmware 1.0.0.42 dated 18.11.2022 for both models
Ok currently I play with my Z1000 Pro as the Streamer connected to the Z8 via USB (with USB Audio enabled) and Output through the RCAs' into my AVR. I have setup my AVR in the past in Pure Direct mode with no DSP but Yamaha does not permit my Sub-Woofer to play in this mode. To my ears I've always found Pure Direct rather flat so I play in 2-channel mode which invokes subwoofer output. I could of course get stuck into altering the AVR's speaker frequency cross-over settings and have my floor-standing Spendor BC1's push out the lower frequencies. But as connoisseurs will know these speakers are very old now and the lower frequencies are better with a SW - the Spendor BC1's are renowned for their Mids and Trebles, always have been and still are and have found that DACs bring out the best in them. Same applies when playing and listening to films in surround sound.
Regarding selection of filters, I've researched that Digital sound processed by high quality DACs can have very high frequency artifacts embedded which translates to a high pitched noise, "whisteling" away in the background. I've noticed this to a greater or lesser extent depending on which DAC I deploy. You are suggested by most reading material to choose a fast roll-off filter but I choose a medium one as this takes away this whisteling for me. You may be limited to what you can choose with the Z6 should this be important though.
Right, I use UAPP (USB Audio Player Pro) and not MP7 to play my files which are Hi-Res both PCM and DSD. I play DSD Natively (set withinn the Zidoo) and also to play my TIDAL music, which also plays fine - vey fine (IMHO) - with MQA (Master) tracks - both the Z6 and the Z8 are MQA certified. There are tons and tons of settings within this software but there are forums out there that can help with them. Suffice to say you need to set "Bit-Perfect" to on and whether or not you play through the Zidoo or say through a phone or tablet (by the way it's Android software so very sorry if you use say an Apple phone or tablet) when turning the DAC on, it needs to Intitilize through the software with the DAC. You need to see a notification that all's good otherwise you'll be limited to the Android DAC in the streaming device: -
Listening
In summary I'd say that the Z8 represents both practical and quality of sound than anything I've used to date. The Gustard's practicality doesn't stack up relatively but the sounds coming through are the best I've heard, maybe better than the Gustard? - you'll have to wait for the next installment My treasured and beloved Spendor BC1's have never sounded better - music to my ears!
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