Fosi Audio ZD3 - my perspective (review)

Brad’s Audio Review (1/7 through 1/11/2025)

Fosi Audio ZD3

This is my first real review of a home audio product, the Fosi Audio ZD3 DAC (digital to analog converter).  The review is an unbiased and no influence overview of my experience and what I heard, while fitting various amps to the ZD3.  I also used the same amps connected to other DACs to compare against the ZD3.  All the of the equipment used has been purchased by me.  They were all purchased for my own use with no plans to ever be used in a review.

What is the Fosi Audio ZD3 DAC?

The ZD3 from Fosi Audio is a new DAC, with a price tag around $179.  This DAC is a high performing unit aimed at the budget or price conscience consumer.  The ZD3 boasts various inputs, from SPDIF tousling and coaxial, USB, Blue Tooth, and even includes HDMI-ARC at this price, Outstanding!  The outputs are RCA and even includes XLR.  There is also input and output 12v triggers, a remote control and a 1.5” OLED display.  Plus yo u can roll the OP-AMPS, which I didn’t do.

Review preparations

I used my media room, which still had all of my home theater equipment placed and hooked up.  The room is roughly 15W x 17L x 8H.  Everything was measured and nothing was moved until after the review was completed.  Speakers were 8ft and I sat 8ft back, in an equilateral triangle.  The back of the speakers were 2 ft from the front wall.  All of the same cables were used and output via RCA.  No room correction or EQ was used on any of the products.

One leading note is that prior to starting the review I used the ZD3 with various connections and listened to all kinds of music.  I can say that I prefer the XLR to the RCA on the ZD3 when listening.  It just had a wider soundstage and openness to it.  Nothing was wrong with the RCA, I just took a liking to the XLR more so.  For the review I had to use RCA the whole time as the other DACs and some other AMPs do NOT have XLR options.

Listening to the ZD3

As I was putting together my plan for the review and what was going to be used for comparisons.  I listened to numerous songs and various genres, both great recordings and some that were not.  Along with known recordings that envelope you in sound and even Quadraphonic recordings, the ZD3 was able to handle and reproduce all of it with no issue.  It was a very pleasant experience.  The following picture is after the review, as I placed all of the equipment together, along with the speakers, and not show all the other home theater equipment that also sat in the room.  I will list the names and models at the bottom of the review.  This is the same room that I conducted the review in.

The songs that I selected were ones that I like very much and listen to often and have throughout the  years.  They aren’t the best recordings or any typical audiophile type names or recordings.  I like music and enjoy what I hear, I want to listen and be entertained.

• All songs were balanced to 80db with my Radio Shark SPL meter.  I used the same time span of each song to set the volume to 80db with each pairing of DACs and AMPs.  This is the best that I could do, since I don’t have measuring equipment.
• There was no order in which I played the songs against the equipment.  I connected the selected DAC to the selected AMP, balanced everything per SPL meter and then listened and took notes.  The results below are from the notes that I wrote down.
• All music was from my personal purchased files that were streamed from my NAS drive, via the Wiim Pro Plus (via optical to the S.M.S.L SU-1 and Fosi Audio ZD3).

Finally, onto the music and review!

Fuel “Sunburn” from “Sunburn”

ZD3 paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - clear presentation, the drum and cymbal textures were more noticeable.

Paradigm PW Amp - the sound was clean and clear with drums and vocals centered.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - produced a clear and wider wall of sound.  In some sections of the song, I was enveloped in the sound.

_____

SMSL SU-1 DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Clean, clear, and separated.

Paradigm PW Amp - Noticed more cymbal hits than before.  Clean and clear.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Clear, more of a wall of sound.

_____

Wiim Pro Plus DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Clean and detailed.

Paradigm PW Amp - Seems like a wider soundstage and clear.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Clear and drums seem more textured.

_____

Paradigm PW Amp DAC via DTS Play-Fi

Clean and clear, detailed.

 

The Smashing Pumpkins “Mayonaise” from “Siamese Dream [remastered]”

ZD3 paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Clean presentation.  It just blends together so well.

Paradigm PW Amp - Wall of sound.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Clean and clear through the beginning.  More of the same with full band, layered with center vocal locked.

_____

SMSL SU-1 DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Clean and balanced through all the layers.

Paradigm PW Amp - Clean and separated sounds.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Clear, enveloping sound, not 3D.

_____

Wiim Pro Plus DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Seems that the music shines through.  Great sound.

Paradigm PW Amp - Balanced and clear wall of sound.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Clear throughout the song.

_____

Paradigm PW Amp DAC via DTS Play-Fi

Center image clarity pops.

 

Alter Bridge “Before Tomorrow Comes” from “Blackbird”

ZD3 paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Smooth wall of sound.

Paradigm PW Amp - Wall of sound.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Seems like a wider wall of sound.

_____

SMSL SU-1 DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Clean wall of sound.

Paradigm PW Amp - More instrument separation.  Not as much of a wall of sound.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Mix of enveloping and wall of sound.  Not the best recording.

_____

Wiim Pro Plus DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Cleaner wall of sound.

Paradigm PW Amp - Balanced and clear wall of sound.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Vocal centered and music from the speakers.

_____

Paradigm PW Amp DAC via DTS Play-Fi

Fuller wall of sound.

 

Tremonti “Proof” from “All I Was”

ZD3 paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Smooth wall of sound.

Paradigm PW Amp - Wall of sound.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Wider with center vocal locked.

_____

SMSL SU-1 DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Clean wall of sound.

Paradigm PW Amp - Smooth, not as much of a wall of sound.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - More of a sound from two speakers.

_____

Wiim Pro Plus DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Clean and noticed more cymbal strikes.

Paradigm PW Amp - Clean and clear.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Vocal centered and music from speakers.  Wall of sound.

_____

Paradigm PW Amp DAC via DTS Play-Fi

Wall of sound.

 

Alainis Morissette “Head over Feet” from “Jagged Little Pill”

ZD3 paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Highs and bass seem to be more present.  Some more detail retrieval.

Paradigm PW Amp - Vocal center locked.  Vocal seems detailed more than instruments.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Wider with center vocal lock.  Clean and clear.

_____

SMSL SU-1 DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Clean and clear.  Vocals are center locked.

Paradigm PW Amp - Noticed more cymbals.  A good balance of vocals and instruments, with separation.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Center vocal locked, clear.

_____

Wiim Pro Plus DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Clean and balanced sound.

Paradigm PW Amp - Locked center image, nice and clean sound.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Sounds in the background are more noticeable.

_____

Paradigm PW Amp DAC via DTS Play-Fi

Seems to have a little more bass.  Everything seems balanced and clear.

 

Hooverphonic “Anger Never Dies” from “With Orchestra Live (Koningin Elisabethzaal 2012)”

ZD3 paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Audience really pronounced.  Clean and clear.

Paradigm PW Amp - Vocal centered.  Detailed music and vocals.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Live audience more pronounced.  Clear and wider.

_____

SMSL SU-1 DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Great separation.  Clear and smooth.

Paradigm PW Amp - Can hear more of the rhythm and pace of the drums playing.  Clean and separated.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Center vocal locked, clear.  Slightly enveloping.

_____

Wiim Pro Plus DAC paired with…

Fosi Audio V3 Stereo amp - Audience is really pronounced.  Clean and seems a bit more separated with instruments.

Paradigm PW Amp - Clean and balanced sound.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono amps - Clear, wall of sound.

_____

Paradigm PW Amp DAC via DTS Play-Fi

Good separation and clarity.

 

Summary

Well two things that I learned from this review is that AMPs and DACs do sound different and mixing and matching equipment does have a big impact.  Not everything has synergy when paired together.

It was a pleasure to use the Fosi Audio ZD3.  This is a standout product at any price and can easily fit into any 2 channel audio setup, regardless of price.  The offerings that the ZD3 has and the detailed presentation that it provides at this ridiculously low price is just amazing.  The ZD3 seemed to have just gotten out of the way of the music and produced a well detailed presentation through the full listening spectrum.  As I mentioned before, these songs were not the best recordings and I knew that going in, nor do they have all kinds of hidden or barely audible sounds within or have hard hitting bass.  I have played songs on the ZD3 (outside of this review) that do have those characteristics and the ZD3 allowed of all it to happen, and in the correct presentation.  Well done Fosi Audio.

I might have used more of the lesser priced AMPs and DACs in my review.  But, I am happy with all of them.  They all have a place in my house, some of those duties might change after this review though.  These areas that I speak of are all 2 channel, Outdoor on the patio, Personal computer desk, Work computer desk, garage setup, bar setup, and workout room.

PROS:

• Sound quality, what is on the recording, the ZD3 allows it to pass through without any adjustment.
• Build quality and presentation are well done.
• Smallish form factor is a big plus, especially for the purpose of it being a desktop DAC.
• Price

CONS:

• Optical and USB input, not showing a change in the sampling rate of different music connected to my desktop Mac.  They are stuck at 44.1k.  But, prior to my review as I mentioned that I streamed various songs.  I noticed that through the Wiim App from the Wiim Pro Plus via optical out to the ZD3. It would change to the various sample rates on the different hi-res FLAC songs I have.  Those same FLAC files are not displaying correctly via USB from my Mac or Optical from my hub.  Maybe it is just my unit.
• A sub out would have been nice
• Maybe some high pass filtering, just in case some folks don’t want the full range sounds going to smaller speakers.

Final thoughts, the ZD3 is a well designed, attractive desktop DAC.  If you currently don’t have an external DAC, the ZD3 will more than likely best the internal DAC you are currently using.  At the lowly price of around $179, it should be an easy choice to add to a list of potential purchases.  Easily recommended, this is an ace in the hole for sure!

TEST EQUIPMENT

Source:

Wiim Pro Plus, Wiim App

• Self contained when testing Wiim DAC, RCA out to the AMPs.
• Bypassing Wiim DAC, Optical out to SU-1 and ZD3, then from those DACs - RCA to AMPs.

Amplifiers:

• Paradigm PW Amp
• Fosi Audio Stereo V3 (used supplied Fosi 32v/5a Power Supply)
• Fosi Audio V3 Monos (used same Fosi 32v/5a Power Supply as above with Fosi DC power splitter)

Note - I have Fosi 48v/5a and Fosi 48v/10a Power Supplies, but based on the amount of heat that the V3 Monos put out with those PS, I chose to run the 32v/5a PS.  As I am not sure if the Stereo V3 or the V3 Monos will be going outside with my Outdoor setup.

Speakers:

PSB Synchrony Two B

on Pangea LS300 28” stands

Cables:

Speaker - Micca 14g 12ft, banana clips on both ends.

Optical - none branded

RCAs - none branded

Power Conditioner - cheap GE 6 outlet power strip