Is The FOSI ZD3 Worth It? Comparing FOSI ZD3 $180 Vs $6000 DAC

[@VirtualHiFi]

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[@benoitdugas745]

From time to time i still can't beleive how good your sound samples sound even over KZbin, great job!

[@jazzboy]

the T+A DAC 200 consistently has a more full sound notable in the low mids. But...at a couple hundred bucks, you are 100% correct, the Fosi once again delivers at a budget price. I am using a V3 amp in my active zero baffle setup.

[@mapgeek6]

I think this comparison is a perfect illustration of how high-end audiophile components are a pursuit of marginal gains. You have to pay a LOT to get that extra 0.1% of better sound quality. For some, that tiny marginal gain is worth the money. It's amazing what Fosi is delivering at the price they charge.

[@petko9133]

always interesting content. in fact you are one of my 2 favorite audio reviewers. in practice I learn a lot of useful things from you. thank you! 🖐

[@civilcitizen3586]

*NO FREAKING WAY !!!!* Greg, I have got to get a set of your OP-AMPs, maybe two sets, one for my ZA3. Please, I hope they are not a million bucks...lol. All the way through the "C" and "D" session, I was pitting the little ZD3 going up against that Goliath, but when you got to the end and I saw that it was "C" that was the ZD3, I was nervous..lol thinking out of greed: I gotta get some of Greg's Op-Amps before the price goes sky-high....crazy, they aren't even out. But, seriously, I want two sets right away! And, thank you for taking the time to sample these pieces the way that you do; i almost know all of the songs and that's great because I know how they should sound when you are using a lessor standard piece. The A/B playback is crucial for me to determine what I like.... The little ZD3 took the up-sampling like a true pro! Honestly, I am waiting for a disclaimer where you announce you made a mistake in the A/B, where C was the T&A..lol I'd be PISSED if I bought the T&A and happen to run across this video.... no, sick at my stomach because that ZD3 did the work! You've got to give props to the Asians, they are providing a real service for us little folks who cant justify spending $7,000 for a T$A DAC. So Greg, how can I get those new Op-AMPs? LMK asap ;)))) and BTW, I'm very happy for you with your business success.... your putting in the work. Oh, I forgot to give props to the little ZA3 ;) what a bang-for-the-buck!

[@dixter1652]

just got one on order this morning... it was $150... can't wait to try it out...

[@Grooverski]

Shockingly close considering the price difference. On some parts I like C DAC and D DAC on the other. Interesting. I’ll play with different op-amps with this DAC and see where it can take it. Linear ps is also an option that has to be considered.

[@PaulLodewijk-dc7xq]

Fosi Audio delivers now Fosi Audio Power filters. Only 14 euros. Including split cables. I use two for my system. Very good.

[@habich5997]

A very unfair comparison. I use the Fosi ZD3 DAC in conjunction with my 20 year old Technics SA DA 8 and 2 JBL L90. The Fosi has an exceptionally powerful sound and is warmly tuned. It has powerful mids and is not intrusive. It also does not have a dull sound, as one might assume in the video. If you don't like the warm tone, you can replace the operational amplifier chips with three others included. Fosi even has recommendations for other chips, including a video with sound differences. Fosi even encourages you to do this, including instructions on how to do it. It should be obvious that a €200 DAC cannot keep up with a €6000 DAC. I can only recommend the Fosi. It is a TOP DAC with a very powerful sound. If you want to keep your old hi-fi treasures like me, the Fosi is the perfect choice. I am amazed every day at the sound that the Fosi gets out of it.

[@marklydon435]

I think that Fozi amp is taking the shine off the T+A DAC. It would be interesting to hear the differences of both DACs using a better amplifier.

[@wegardfjeld3789]

That's against the fosi overhyping mantra because that would be realistic..

[@middleearthltd]

This is an excellent review I have enough DACs It is nice that this can be used as a preamp

[@johncallaghan3097]

This made me take pause, because in both cases I preferred the Fosi DAC. But with the KZbin compression and the inexpensive amplification, I agree with others that I'd like to hear the test again except with an amplifier priced commensurately with the T+A.

[@wegardfjeld3789]

This is what you call a rigged result. No value what so ever...

[@qualifierswedenab8767]

Great review ❤

[@JRadian]

The stock LME49720 opamps are already nice opamps. I would save the money there but replace the wall wart with 12V battery for expected large improvement.

[@kineahora8736]

I looked at this specs on these LME 49720- and indeed the electrical characteristics look very good. Not sure what the sound difference is when you try other good contenders. I bought Muses02 for the V3 monos. I don’t know if these will be better for the DAC, or the sparkos, or Greg’s own new op amps. I haven’t put the Muses in the V3 monos yet- still testing with the stock NE5532. They sound pretty good- but I’m pretty sure I preferred the muses02 on Greg’s test, or maybe it was someone else’s test I can’t remember I’m definitely interested in hearing about power supply upgrade suggestions …

[@habich5997]

@@kineahora8736 Fosi made a nice video with recommendations and sound comparison: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJ6zf4KMj7mGqq8

[@raphaelmeillat8527]

Wow, another interesting video. Funny enough, I slightly preferred the Fosi each time! I still prefer the look and feel of the T+A but given the budget difference, no doubt I'm better off spending on better speakers

[@AmenRaAket]

Greetings Greg I hope you and yours are enjoying good health and peace of mind I am a big fan of your content , normally watch on an appletv so I don’t usually comment. I appreciate your experience and incite. I am currently running 2ZA3 in mono with rca op amps (which I don’t use) removed based on your recommendation and it’s sheer sonic bliss At some point ( $6000, is nothing to sneeze at) I will get a set of your speakers before I live this mortal coil , while I found my nirvana with Klipsch RP 8000 II , I am super interested in THE QUALIO and if I can drive it as loud as the Klipsch, in my circumstance Spl is usually over 90 for serious listening ….?maybe a list of your favorite albums Thank you again for your time and efforts, funk long and prosper

[@AmenRaAket]

Ok , about this dac specifically , people looking at the T&A are normally not going to be looking at the ZD3. However many will be looking at a dac around this price , so seeing the ZD3 compared to Geshelli J2 pimped out with sparkos , or the TOPPING dacs, or similar priced SMSL DACS would be helpful to a wide audience Love what you do.

[@buckaroobonsi555]

Could you do a review of the Emotiva BasX TA1 intergrated amp? It has DAC/Tuner/Preamp/Amp. It is $499 in the USA? You have such amazing quality speakers, room, recording equipment! It would be amazing to hear you compare it togear you have already made plenty of video's on! Thanks for sharing you knowledge, experince and passion for sound!

[@MSiAventador]

"Why pay more!". Dosia. 😆

[@kineahora8736]

Pretty funny-with PCM, and stock op amps, actually preferred dac B-the Fosi! With upsampling though I preferred Dac D-more full sound better lingering on decay. Just overall it felt better… hmm… This confirms the trend I have been observing-find “giant killer” electronics and spend your budget on the speakers. And I love the sound of your qualios! Sounds to me like the LAiV is now way overpriced as well. The Fosi should be about as good…

[@amigoz3201]

And you made decision from youtube???😂😂😂 joker

[@kineahora8736]

@@amigoz3201don’t have a choice ass-hat. Nobody has bricks & mortar anymore. Obviously I would want to do the test in person. The whole point is to give your opinion here. How helpful would it be if all viewers said “You know-it’s YT so I can t draw any conclusions”. Grow up.

[@matytinman]

I agree. Maybe with other discrete opamps as Sparkos, Stacatto or "new" Chinese..

[@D1N02]

@@matytinman don't forget the power supply

[@matytinman]

@@D1N02 Fosi Audio LME49720 vs 4580D vs MUSES02 vs SS3602 vs NE5532! Find Out Which Rocks on the ZD3 DAC! kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJ6zf4KMj7mGqq8

[@markovlasic1978]

all i can say that with pcm files , both dacs sounds great, and with dsd files this expensive one sounds better, fuller with body in every frequencies.

[@vincentw9610]

Thank you very much for this honest review, I was close to get a Class A / A/B Amp.. bcs. I thought my Fosi ZA3 might be not enough to driver my floorspeakers.. but it might be only me or my pref on op-amp side.. I mean if I EQ the sound I'm happy with it.. and for the price I'm very suprised.. The Hifi market is kinda nuts in case of price tags.. stardet on the speakers over to the cable and even the amps have no limit to "waste" a lot of money.. Thanks for open my eyes and ears a bit more to what it could have sounded if I spent that much more.. :)

[@VAU_X]

over all the dac compared on the channel, which is very interesting at all, i would go with the weiss 204, which surprises me, whenever i hear it

[@D1N02]

Preferred the ZD3 in the first comparison, more immersive bold and musical. Ofcourse sound stage and micro details are lost through KZbin compression. The same goes for the second comparison, the ZD3 just sounded more concise powerful End enjoyable than the T+A

[@matytinman]

Fosi Audio Fosi Audio Flagship Fully Balanced DAC/Preamp--ZD3 Introduction and Demonstration kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWivkJ2Qrs1sZrM

[@kineahora8736]

Hi Greg-did you end up releasing your preferred op amps for the ZD3?

[@michaelsegel8758]

Its hard to do an A/B comparison when you switch sources but don't replay the same track.

[@nathanaelcole8466]

It was hard to tell the difference on my HD6XX's. One place I could and preferred the more expensive was some semblance in the higher frequency of the Fosi.

[@tomdebeck8150]

Really cool with your sound samples, in my opinion you should do 30 seconds and then switch, 15s is to fast. Curious about your opamp design. Fosi superb value.

[@hrvojekant9415]

Really fancy T shirt!

[@tjeerdkruidhof5808]

Can you please make a video where you have rolled the opamps?😊

[@rmzidann]

This is interesting but…. You should repeat the test using a far better amplifier so this eliminate any potential bottlenecks. But holy shit, the ZD3 sounds far better. I would have sworn that DAC “A” was the Fosi as it sounded less smooth and pleasurable. But “B” was the Fosi… I am surprised in a good way!

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

I prefered DAC B on vocals, to me it conveyed the emotion of the singer better, DAC A masked that emotion. I'd be selling DAC A and going on a holiday with the money i saved. If you brought the Fosi DAC to an audio show and hid it and told people it was a 2k DAC they'd believe it. D sounded better than C but not by much

[@L0st-n0found]

B sounds better but more hollow a sounds much more rich without sacrificing much clarity This without knowing how it should sound and not far enough is video to hear a c or d Without hearing in person and comparing to other reference I'd probably be happier with a and try to bring out the mid and trebel with eq miserably All the flat boosted falloff Brite fatiquing smooth is all absolutely garbage. Audio should exactly reproduce source and any variation is all that should be pointed out as failure.

[@dennis3779]

Nice test. The TA dac 200 is more real and Fosi is more artificial and plastic clinking. Now who will test the Fiio K11 dac and also the Xduoo Ta 22 and Mojo dacs together 🤔

[@deepcuttabeats356]

I think you should have used an amp that’s better than both DACs. I still enjoyed the comparison. With a budget amp, the differences are small. DAC A is a little leaner/thinner and DAC B is a tiny bit fuller. I liked both depending on the song playing. No clear winner for me. But maybe with a $2500+ amplifier that could change?

[@mitchy5994]

most $2,500+ have the same tech as a sub $500 amp. the only difference between them is name branding, and design.

[@deepcuttabeats356]

@@mitchy5994​​⁠not if they are class A or a high end class AB. Fosi is a Class D amp. Completely different architecture inside compared to Class and Class AB. And to many ears, a completely different sound. Class D amps can be load dependent which increases or decreases the upper treble range by up to 1db or more based on your speakers impedance curve.

[@mitchy5994]

@@deepcuttabeats356 To many ears? Less than 0.003% can do a blind comparison and get it right consistently.

[@deepcuttabeats356]

@@mitchy5994I don’t disagree with you. However, I own 8 class D amps and none of them sound anything like my tube amplifier or my class A amp. I would pass the blind test on my system every time because I know what to listen for in my room. I think .0003% of the population has amps of every class in their home at the same time to compare using an amp switcher. I assume this content here is for seasoned audiophiles and not anyone off the street.

[@wegardfjeld3789]

Those numbers are the biggest BS I've read to date... Too 0.00031% you sound legit though 😉😂

[@capjohnybravo]

Well, I liked more DAC B which happened to be the Fosi. It sounded a bit more warm and dark which I enjoyed listening. Dac A sounded a bit tense to me. I'm starting to think it's very subjective.

[@sanolivo6867]

Both DAC are very good, But DAC B has a better frequiency response.

[@frankssustainabilitysustai9928]

Both DACs are very close. I guess with abetter PSU the Fosi DAC could sound even better. Amazing having the low price in mind.

[@VirtualHiFi]

Thanks for sharing

[@evergreenalba]

Is it worthwhile using the sparkos op amps on both amp and dac, or just the dac?

[@supabayes3284]

How does it compare with Laiv?

[@supergwizzo]

Some one getting robbed those speakers 7 k 😮😅 And its the ess chips now are best ive ever heard and ive been in 50 yrs 😊

[@buckaroobonsi555]

I liked A better and I guessed it was the T+A $6000 DAC. That said the if I did not get my first DAC and Streamer less than 6 months ago I would give this ZD3 a go. I thought it sounded good just not as good as the T+A. That said I would never allow myself to purchase a $6000 DAC. The T+A had bit more seperation, a little more clear, focused and balanced between highs, mids and lows. The Fosi ZD3 the mids where a but heavier and the mids and highs seemed to be less clear and focused. That said at that Price point I would listen to it and maybe roll opamps and be happy!

[@Patrick-vl2gx]

In both cases I preferred the T+A but the difference is not a huge one; it is quite close.

[@VirtualHiFi]

Thanks for sharing :)

[@tjeerdkruidhof5808]

Liked A better. Especially the Bass was way more controlled

[@1Flowzy]

Can I connect the fosi za3 with my pc without duck? And what are the differences without duck?

[@balazsbukovics3569]

did you trial with Sotm sps 500 power supply????

[@kingtubbyleeperry]

The foam used in the back is bad for sound, as it only absorbs very high frequencies. You need bigger, thicker absorption panels that also absorb mid and lower frequencies to balance the sound and reduce reverberation time.

[@benoitdugas745]

Dac C is the Ta and DAC D is the fosi

[@janbuker8722]

Could you Test the Auralic Aries/Vega S1, please?

[@Exgol2005]

can it take ss2590, xlr and rca?

[@madeuce190]

i have the za3 where i can use the xlr output of the zd3 but i also want to use my SE headphone amp with it. if there is an option for switching the output between xlr and rca, that would be great. simultaneous output to both xlr and rca would work as well. but if xlr takes priority when rca and xlr both are connected, that would be a problem for my case. if anyone knows anything about it please share. Thanks a lot.

[@MrBillblake123]

Thanks for all the videos,...... but please,...... please..... change those tunes!!!

[@Pawel_1977]

Klasa D, nawet najlepsza, gra dokładnie ale niestety średnica jest wypchnięta do przodu ale sucha i uboga. To jak porównać daki DS do R2R albo opamp Opa1611 do Opa627. Słychać od razu że jedno jest dokładne ale nie ma przekazu „pomiedzy”, wszystko jest wygładzone i wyrównane. Z kolei nawet słaba klasa AB ma coś w środku, średnica jest wypełniona przekazem, pełna. Sorry ale nie kupuję obecnej klasy D.

[@Patriotic545]

Sound is not very clear from sacd to dac. Redhead cd sounds clearer to pass thru DAC.

[@williammiebach1798]

Yep, I hear the T+A re-creates more space between the musical elements and possibly reveals a touch more fine detail, but the Fozi is nearly as good sounding for a ton less. Only speakers about as good as yours would reveal even that much difference, and boy your speakers are musical jems, Greg! They soundly beat (no pun😂) every other stand mount or tower speaker youv'e demo'd with these tracks.😊

[@ccapri9357]

So, if you have a 200 U$S amp don't use a 6000 USS DAC...This is the only conclusion that can be drawn from this demo. And even so the 6000 U$S DAC is better...

[@benoitdugas745]

Wow i got fooled

[@Jil8840]

You should had compared it with the numerous dacs by SMSL and Topping........!!!!

[@Gonzinatra]

Is the ZD3 an upgrade vs the internal DAC of the DMP A6 ME with LPS?

[@joenovak6393]

I have a A6 and just received the ZD3. Using the Sparkos Labs SS3602 or Burson Audio V7 Vivid is another level up from the Treble ear full (ES9038Q2M) of the A6/ME. I have not opened the ZD3 (replace the Op Amps) to see how this compares, but I will report back to this thread. Eversole makes a very nice Transport (A8 is the Best at this time from EverSolo), and I would take a Geshelli Labs JNOG3, DAYZEE over the A6/ME in terms of Hardware and use the Eversole as a transport for the software.

[@andrews4379]

4x good opamps + 600euro 😂

[@antonioalvarez5253]

Amplifier is the bottleneck, not a fair comparison.

[@deepcuttabeats356]

+1. Still impressive how good the Fosi sounds

[@civilcitizen3586]

Call it what you want, but the little ZD3 is bangin!

[@richardsaila8073]

I don't know why he is promoting and using always these cheap amps.

[@mitchy5994]

@@richardsaila8073Why spend $4,000 dollars when you get can the same performance for $300. Even if there is a 1% difference, you're paying almost 1300% more for something 99% of people can't hear.

[@Ivy13276]

​@@richardsaila8073"spend your budget on my speakers and not on electronics!!!"

[@altopstwo3934]

ceeeeeeeee

[@ernestporee3697]

Every review or test play the worst music! There’s no reviewer that I can say that I have anything in common with? I listen to jazz ,R&B ,fusion , classic rock , reggae !if I based my decision on what I hear I would never buy any of these products! Maybe it’s race ? Age, ? But the music is absolutely not what I would judge equipment with! Incredibly lame weak music ! I should start a channel that shows equipment in a different light? Cause based on what’s available it completely….sucks ! No Earth Wind & Fire , Santana , Bob Marley, Jeff Beck ! Just the weakest stuff you can find,and call it audiophile music? John Coltrane is audiophile music ! Not this fairy music that gets played.

[@VirtualHiFi]

I totally get that the music isn't perfect and I Alsop listen to many different tracks that I can't present here due to copyright issue. I know YT is a grey area with using the music. on one hand if you use copyrighted music, the video can be blocked or demonetized. blocked is bad but the demonetized is not any better. it works for family videos and things like that. If I review for example Gryphon Amp please let me know if I can use Sting, Rolling Stones and Bob Marley music there ? Nope even though I'm not paid for my reviews they may be considered an advertisment and promotion. And do you know that a rapper P.Didiy has to pay Sting 10k$ every day for unauthorized use of his "Every breath you take"

[@ernestporee3697]

​@@VirtualHiFigotcha! No disrespect intended... talking about music or listening ? Or demonstrating a certain point , or hearing what you're talking about. You can post music but can't play it ?

[@reserva120]

This isn’t even a little bit interesting..

[@altopstwo3934]

If something has a value above the asking price please equate what price the performance might actually command, for all reviews.