The package sent by Fosi Audio took 10 days to leave Shenzen and arrive at home in France. This time, Fosi has evolved in the packaging and offers us a nice packaging, worthy of the big electronics brands. When opening, the feeling is the same: we feel a quality product, well packaged with the accessories provided. The presence of a minijack/minijack cable to turn on the ZA3 is a plus (Trigger 12v input and output).
The power supply provided is a traditional 12v, ensuring a stable current for the ZD3. The remote control is light and seems low-end but sufficient for its use (be careful, the two batteries are not provided).
The ZD3 is built with the same quality as the ZA3: black anodized aluminum chassis, orange aluminum volume button, rubber feet, impeccable printed circuit and exemplary assembly, we feel that the assembly line is not at its first attempt.
Disassembly for a possible change of the OPAmps chips is easy with the two screws on the back and the volume button to remove, as on the ZA3. Be careful not to tear off the "bypass" connector during this operation!
The connection to the ZA3 amp is made by choice in XLR (5v) or RCA (2.5v) even if this has little impact on listening on short cable lengths. A discreet but present Bluetooth antenna ensures compatibility with the APTX HD codec on my Samsung A52s.
On this side, the sound is powerful, clear and I can't hear any difference to the ear with the same song played from my Android box on the Optical input of the ZD3, it's a good point. The Bluetooth range is respectable, at 5m through light walls of my apartment, the sound plays without interruption.
Listening
I spent two years with my Topping e30 Pro II DAC which remains a quality reference in DACs around €150 and I was very happy with the clear musical result of the two AK4493S chips. The ZD3 tempted me for three main things: Bluetooth (for evenings with friends or to quickly take music to someone's house), XLR outputs (to theoretically optimize the connection to the ZA3) and of course the design, perfectly adapted to the ZA3 for a homogeneous ensemble in my living room.
Once connected to my source in Optical or HDMI Arc to my TV (practical to manage the volume of the DAC with the remote control of your TV), I turned the volume of the ZA3 up to full, and then it was off for a listening experience totally comparable to my Topping E30 Pro II, clean, clinical, detailed, without coloration. Note that the maximum volume of the ZD3 is 80 and not 100.
Using the ZD3 as a preamp and DAC, I have therefore not tested the "bypass" function located under the device.