I think it’s really good but only really if you have balanced headphones, otherwise I think the k5 pro is the better choice imo. I thought the zen dac was a bit lacking single ended and really only for very easy to drive headphones, and even then balanced just sounded a decent bit better on there. As a standalone dac it’s pretty sweet too, getting a well implemented burr brown at this price is pretty nice
Interesting. Not to hijack a thread (sorry op) but I can still return the Zen. I mostly use non balanced tbh, I have balanced sets but rotate Philips SHP9500, CALs, B8s mostly. Should I at least try the K5 pro? Just looking for a decent usb dac/amp. I got the Topping MX3 but I use that for my NFM and sub, but it’s headphone out is so so to me.
Yeah the mx3 headphone out is very meh imo.
I think if you already have the zen dac I wouldn’t worry about it tbh, if you wanted to later on you could just buy something like a magni heresy, jds labs atom, or monolith liquid spark and use the zen as a dac, as I think it has a better dac than the k5 pro imo. I would just stick with your zen dac for now as its still a sweet device
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For $50 more, you could get a 5v power adapter for the Zen DAC. It will help power things as it will feed the device power rather that it come solely from the USB cable.
Though I love it as a DAC, as an amp, I’ve tried a ton of headphones on it and really only the easy to drive headphones work well on it no matter it be SE or Balanced.
Yeah a better power supply helps for sure, I used one with a power supply. It’s amp is clean but as you say hard to drive headphones just don’t really happen
Jesus, so many options, this 1k won’t last for long LOL
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Well, I mean there are more options as well lol. You can easily just get pulled in quickly and end up with a decent amount of things in various price ranges. I will just say I wouldn’t recommend spending over 250 on a dac for your case unless it’s a combo unit headphone amp as well, to maximize your budget
I would focus you money on these things, from most important to not as important in your case
Headphones > Amp > Dac
You already have a solid dac and I would consider getting better headphones and a higher end amp first
It wont… lmao 
IMO… the best option is to buy used as much of possible (Or carefully take advantage of good return policies) so you can resell things without taking a hit financially. Will let you get more of a feel for different things. It’s kind of impossible to know what you’ll really like without trying stuff first-hand… even if you have a ‘preference’ you think you might lean towards in the beginning…
If you have a place to ‘demo’ stuff at a dealer, that would be great too… but IMO, demoing something in a store and actually living and getting accustomed to something are a bit different.
Let’s just say I got some money burning a hole in my pocket. I’ve eyeballed the Liquid Spark and Magni Heresy. Out of those three which would you say fits your #1.
(again op sorry for hijacking lol)
It’s not murder mate, so it isn’t a big deal at all lol
Hmmm, it depends on the headphones you have and also what sound signature you were after
My advice would be to start modest as there are plenty of excellent transparent DACs for modest cost from manufacturers like SMSL and Topping. And good headphone amps with enough power to drive anything this side of Raal cleanly aren’t expensive, models like the JDS Atom and Schiit Magni Heresy. That would probably leave you with 700 odd quid change. If you do want a premium product my advice would be the RME ADI-2 or look for a used Benchmark DAC. However unless you really just want something nice then I would put the lions share of my budget into headphones as that is where the biggest gains are. Although in all honesty I think you are already into the area of diminishing returns with the K712.
I have a lot of headphones, I mostly use CAL, B8, SHP9500, superlux hd668b on my PC setup. People accuse me of liking a V-shaped sound… which I do… sometimes. It depends on the mood I’m in. Last year or so I just like a good balanced sound signature.
Hmmm. I think the schiit 3+ would be up your alley then imo. The heresy and atom lean a bit analytical but very clean and transparent, and the liquid spark leans a bit more warm, smooth, and spacious. The 3+ is a balanced sound that isn’t warm but also not analytical
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Actually the archel 2.5 pro would be a super solid pick and I might recommend that over the 3+ (but then you might want to get an enog 2 pro, so more money lol)
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@M0N Thanks my dude! I look into the Schitt 3+ most likely. I’ve also been looking at that one. Hell there hasn’t been a lot I haven’t been looking at… and buying as of recent. 
That’s the way she goes!!!
The hobby never stops lol 
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What do you guys think about Denon headphones? I’m looking for other pairs and these two got my attention: Denon AH-D7200 Headphone and Denon AHD5200EM
The d7200 is pretty nice, very enjoyable balanced sound, great bass impact and organic sound, pretty great detail with an intimate sound with good imaging. It isn’t really closed though it does leak a bit. The 5200 is also pretty good but I think depending on the price the 7200 is worthwhile over that
After the akg 712 pro, I’m mainly a guy who wants open back phones, it’s way more comfortable lol