Zishan Z2 Review

Zishan Z2 Review

After running behind expensive brands i thought of trying cheap audio gears. First one was not that cheap, one push-pull amplifier board from aliexpress, that experience enlightened me to try more Chinese stuffs like KZ ZS6(one chinese brand iem with 10 drivers)   

About the DAP

When i received DAP in my hand i felt like i am holding a cheap electronic cigar lighter ,fancy printing(or engraving ;still i don't know 😛)with three simple buttons along with a blue LED at the front portion. case mad with two metal plates sandwich the circuit board with two face plats made of mica at top and bottom.An analog volume controller aliened parallel with 3.5mm headphone and line-out jack on top, one/off switch ,hold slider switch , micro usb port and micro sd card slot at the bottom.

                                                         Zishan Z2 caught my eyes because of the DAC and op-amp rolling facility they provide. One of the cheapest DAP with AK4490 DAC(i read lots of reviews about the bit resolution and musicality of AKM DAC's with their proprietary velvet audio technology). 

DAP installed with LM4562NA( people believe fake one; can be swapped )amp at headphone out circuit and OP275 at LPF circuit(line out), which is solder on to the board.analog volume control provided with average quality pot ,during the initial use at low volume left channel got muted.one of the irritating thing is while turning on with headphones engaged results in a huge "blip" sound ,may equally cause damage to ears and transducers. "no display no hassles" this is what i experienced from zishan Z2 when compare with my favorite DAP Xunsound XS-01. Zishan Z2 released without display, we have to memorize a set of key pattern for operating DAP. from very basic track controls to preset equalizer selection can be done with three button puzzle game. In my case i like to keep songs in simple folders so skipping tracks from one to other is not a complex task with Zishan. Poor DAP has one single blue LED which it use to communicate with owner😜 ."sometimes gestures convey more information than speaking" like that three button with one LED is enough for DAP/DAC control.
 This small metal box can also work as USB DAC but limited to 16bit/48KHz. Battery life is average.

Audio quality 

Music streaming out from Zishan Z2 is beyond expectation, a cheap player which can knockout Hi-fi DAP's(claiming them self's) like Hifiman HM603s. with stock op-amp zishan Z2 is outstanding, wider sound stage than HM603s,Fiio X3 1st gen and top range mobile phones (eg: Samsung S8 ,iPhone etc). This small monster can drive high impedance headphones.

Describing sound signature of DAP like Zishan is not simple coz it really depends on op-amp which is installed. with LM4562NA(stock one) op-amp  DAP shown frequency response some what like 'V' signature, lows are good enough so that we can feel the sub bass without any roll-off like HM603s, mid frequency is laid-back . highs are also detailed than HM603s overall zishan Z2 is matured than HM603s, not like fiio X3 1st gen  spitting lifeless flat frequency Z2 has some juice in music ,more rounded and enjoyable.

Op-amp Rolling 

1)LM4562NA :- Good sound stage , low frequency is present with enough details ,vocals are present with slight inferior tonality highs are bright  with details.

2)OPA2604AP :- V shaped sound signature with shallow mid ,enhanced bass and highs are less detailed over all more round shaped with less bright signature.

3)LM61721N :- Good sound signature with better tonality than stock op-amp. 

from my experience it is a never ending realization with op-amp rolling .

Conclusion  

Zishan Z2 is not just a DAP its a realization both in the case of music and marketing gimmicks of costly products(not generalizing ). i was fully satisfied with Zishan Z2 until i met Xunsound -XS-01 which open another world of music .