Massdrop x Eddie Current ZDT Jr. (Official Thread)

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Hands, Nov 15, 2017.

  1. dpump

    dpump New

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    It would be nice if one of the people here who have one of the demo units could remove the bottom cover and show us a picture of the circuit board. Would like to see what parts are being used. The original NBM had a circuit board, capacitors, resistors, wiring, and volume control that looked exactly like the low end Chinese amps I had years ago. Since this new amp is supposed to have upgraded parts would like to verify that.
     
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Will do that this evening or weekend.

    Now you do realize that the big boy EC amps also have capacitors, wiring, resistors, inductors that look like they belong in a low end Chinese amp as well? EC doesn't use any boutique parts, except in maybe one or two crucial spots in the circuit, and even then, boutique part still means affordable high value boutique part found at PartsExpress.

    The most important (and expensive) part of these kinds of amps are the transformers. Perhaps we should cut them in half and study them?
     
  3. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Not sure why it matters. I thought the NBM sounded great (way better than its price), and if the ZDT Jr. is indeed better, which I can't verify off memory alone, who cares what parts are used if it sounds this good?
     
  4. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    I decided against purchasing to try and be financially responsible. It was damn hard to cancel this after being so excited this morning but such is life.
     
  5. RAZRr1275

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    How does this sound in comparison to a Stratus?
     
  6. kida

    kida New

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    I caved - -‘
    Was gonna stay put and wait for the MCTH + SDAC I ordered last drop to pair with HD650, but with all these praise from @Hands @Marvey @zerodeefex ......
    Oh well, hope nothing better comes during the wait and for a while after. That and I need to add myself an HD800 in the meantime.


    At the rate of new better stuff coming out of Massdrop, I’ll never get out of mid-fi purgatory, lol
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2017
  7. Didactylos

    Didactylos Acquaintance

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    Joined the drop. While I would love to buy a regular production EC amp, due to price and availability, this is really not in the cards for me. The availability of a tube amp that gets close to the EC ZDT performance at this price, is too good to pass up.
     
  8. allegro

    allegro Friend

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    Ship date June 26, 2018 I'll pass.
     
  9. SteelCannon

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    nice memes
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2017
  10. Zed Bopp

    Zed Bopp Friend

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    Joined. Right when I saw that drop I knew this was the "good thing for those who wait" @Marvey replied to my HD800-related enquiry not long ago. That price is pretty good for such a product, but yeah, that wait is way long.

    This seems to have completely different strengths vs my LISST'd Lyr 2, so why the hell not go all tube for once and see what the fuss is about. Some clearly different flavors between amps would cool actually. I'm dying to hear how much worse they make my LCD-2s sound :D

    BTW.. Does Massdrop provide their amps with the correct power cords for continental EU countries usually?
     
  11. randytsuch

    randytsuch Friend

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    I thought this would sell out pretty quickly, and its not even 1/2 to sell out now.

    I guess people don't want to wait 7 months or more to get it. But that gives me plenty of time to find a good deal on some hd800's :cool:
     
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    $400 is on the higher end of the spectrum and the long wait is likely putting people off. The ship dates are conservative. It's my understanding that Russia slows down December and January. And then after this, China shuts down for Lunar New Year - there are Chinese parts dependencies I believe.
     
  13. t3hwx9

    t3hwx9 Acquaintance

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    The output transformer supplier is a small venture as well. The typical batch for NBM was about 20 units. Some effort will be needed to scale up the operations.
     
  14. AllanMarcus

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    I'm still thinking about it for my HD6xx, which I have yet to receive. I might get in on the drop, or just wait for the "testers" to resell a unit.

    Either way, I'm always confused about how an amp can be good for both the HD650 (darker presentation) and the HD800 (brighter presentation). If the amp leans one way or the other, it should really only be good for one Senn or the other. If the amp is neutral, then it should be good for any headphone (with the right impedance parameter).
     
  15. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    I will had though that for a couple of times I received my things from Massdrop a little bit earlier than expected and once (2y ago maybe?) one full month. That said if my Crack was sold I would still buy it despite the time but those 2 factors together are what put me off.

    We'll see, there are still "many" left.
     
  16. wupwise

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    I have an HD800 S, Modi Multibit, and Jotunheim. This is the first amp'd headphone setup that I've heard or owned, and it has surpassed any audio listening experience I've ever had. I do not find my setup to be too bright, but I don't have the experience to determine if I would prefer anything else. Would the ZDT Jr be a great complement to the Jot and great pairing with the HD800 S? I'm not the kind of person that wants to buy lots of different gear so my goal is to cover as many bases as possible while selecting gear that gives good bang-for-buck. Would the ZDT Jr be a great choice for this goal?
     
  17. AllanMarcus

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    The quality of the parts may indicate how consistent the device behaves, both hourly (during a session), and long term. Also, some be be interested for DIY upgrade purposes, and for repairability.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I don't think anyone runs a stock HD800 here. A stock HD800 would be unsuitable for his amp, or any amp that isn't horribly colored.

    The high-Z output could be used, but that just makes the HD800 worse IMO. Instead of bright, it's disjointed warmbutt and bright.
     
  19. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I don't see how this would be an issue unless Ahmed used 200V specified parts where there was 250V. I guess a pair of Jupiter beeswax parts could be used for the interstage caps. Add $78 to the price. Maybe special "high quality" Jensen electolytic capacitors (this Jensen has absolutely nothing to do with Jensen transformers BTW) could be used instead for an additional $128 to the price. Or a discrete Belleson regulator - only $55 more.

    Some bright red boutique PRP resistors from PCX might do the trick for an extra $4 though.

    Please, someome tell me what part in the amp needs to be of higher boutique quality so that performance or stability will be significantly improved.
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2017
  20. LSW

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    I tried the something similar with an HD800 (super dupont) and going from Jotunheim to a Vali 2 tube hybrid made no audible difference to me when level matched to 5 mV (less than .1 db at 1 V output). I wouldn't expect huge changes, but I haven't heard this zdt obviously. It's fun to look at the glowy tube. The best way to change the HD800's sound is to use a different headphone or an EQ in my opinion. If you've got the $400 to spare it might be fun to try it for yourself though.
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2017

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