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ZCD-240 in general (Read 4436 times)

maddog07

Seasoned Member

seeker of truth

Posts: 590

ZCD-240 in general
01/14/16 at 22:27:11

I know there's a separate forum for specific component reviews, however, it seems to be lacking in info about the new ZCD-240.

I would like to hear from folks who own one.

And, in addition to the expected comments about its “sound” from the Decware added output stage as compared to the stock outputs, I am very interested in hearing about the units “functionality”. As in, do you use it with an attached external USB drive, USB sticks, with a NAS on your home network, for streaming, etc. Does it successfully decode FLAC, Apple lossless, DSD, etc. And how is it’s "idevice" remote interface – good, bad, adequate, lacking…. Have you experienced any operational quirks, data drop outs, spurious noises, etc.

Decware Torii MK3, Theta Digital Miles, RME ADI Dac-2 FS, Aesthetix Calypso, Martin Logan Vista, Audio Nirvana 12's & 15's, Betsy WOW/AMT's, Hawthorne Trio's, PS Audio PW P5, Goertz, Kimber, Nordost, Decware and DIY wires, PSA pwr cords, Cary SLI-80 Sig.

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maddog07 Seasoned Member seeker of truth Posts: 590	Re: ZCD-240 in general Reply #1 - 01/20/16 at 19:23:53 I can't believe I haven't got a single hit on this. I guess they're not flying off the shelf?
Back to top	Decware Torii MK3, Theta Digital Miles, RME ADI Dac-2 FS, Aesthetix Calypso, Martin Logan Vista, Audio Nirvana 12's & 15's, Betsy WOW/AMT's, Hawthorne Trio's, PS Audio PW P5, Goertz, Kimber, Nordost, Decware and DIY wires, PSA pwr cords, Cary SLI-80 Sig. IP Logged

Palomino

Seasoned Member

Posts: 2507

Re: ZCD-240 in general
Reply #2 - 01/20/16 at 23:27:09

All I can contribute is I used it a lot at Decfest and it worked well.

I had music on a SD card plugged into a a usb adapter. I played all different resolutions and formats and it seemed to handle them well. I think I mostly played flacs.

Steve had it running high output (I think) so it seemed easy to overdrive the amp, but when you found the sweet spot it was pretty meaty and sounded great.

I know they were also streaming to it but can't really comment on the sound from that.

The interface is pretty straight forward. A jog shuttle wheel if I remember correctly. Rotate it to scroll through tracks and press it to select and play. I didn't mess with much beyond that. I did not use the remote.

Mac Mini with LPSU/SSD running Audirvana Studio, Uptone Audio Regen on LPSU, Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, Ven Haus DIY Silver ICs, 25th Ann. Zen, PS Audio P5 Power Supply, PS Audio/DIY Power Cords, GR Research Speaker Wire, Lii Audio P10 based OB speakers

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dvl

Senior Member

Posts: 51

Re: ZCD-240 in general
Reply #3 - 01/21/16 at 19:09:21

i've had one since August or September of this year.

i have enjoyed playing around with everything it does. i bought it because i still wanted to play discs, wanted to listen to internet radio, wanted to listen to music through an iPhone plugged into the front USB, and have a library of songs on my computer that i wanted to be able to access. It does it all quite well. i have written elsewhere that the thing that amazes me the most is how good internet radio sounds. i listen to Radio Paradise quite a bit and it sounds wonderful.

i had a friend come over a few weeks ago to listen to all my new toys. He owns a PS Audio Directstream. He was quite impressed with how discs sounded on the ZCD 240. He commented a few times that he thought they "really got it right." We did not do a direct comparison, but i've had the ZCD 240 in his system, and it stands up pretty well to his Directstream. i think the Directstream beats it, but i don't think it's four or five times better as the price would indicate.

My two sons love the fact they can plug their iPhones into the front of this player and play music from their phones. They are both at the point where they buy vinyl or stream. My older son, who is now 23, sold all his CDs and tries very hard not to have anything to do with them. Streaming and vinyl, that's it. Any good streaming service gives you access to so much music, it's great to be able to plug my iPhone in the front and listen to almost anything i want. Then, if i like it enough, i go out and buy it.

i have had no problem with it playing any type of file that the manual says it can play. i have many high resolution files on my computer and it will play them all without a hitch. i have also put many of those high resolution files on a USB stick to see if there is any difference in sound quality. The ZCD 240 plays them all, whether streaming from my library or playing them from a USB stick.

My only nitpick is the user interface. This is a pro machine that was modified, so it is not really made for the consumer market. The user interface is a little clunky, but i've had no problems with it. The remote has been fine, it does what it is supposed to do. You can download an app to control it from your iPhone, which i do most of the time.

Hope that helps.

David

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jorgen

Seasoned Member

Posts: 224

Re: ZCD-240 in general
Reply #4 - 01/22/16 at 19:14:20

Hi all
Just to make sure i understand correctly, if you connect an IPhone/android via USB, you can tap the digital signal before converted, and this ZCD will convert it? Also, you would not be able to stream directly to the ZCD?

I have had a proper pile of CDs and got rid of them when I realized CD is on lifesupport, with Tidal I can stream lossless and with a good DAC what would the advantage be of using CDs. But a proper dac with WiFi is on my wishlist, remote controlled from iPad or my phone.

Also, maybe a stupid question, would it be possible to convert the digital signal and plug it to a ZP3? In theory, with the voltage similar to what a TT would produce, 5mV I think my 2m black is good for. If you follow my thought...

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