Decware The ZEN HEAD User manual

O W N E R S M A N U A L
www.decware.com
Personal Battery Operated Headphone Amplifier
MANUAL NO. 02 REV. DATE: 1/2011

O W N E R S M A N U A L
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DESCRIPTION
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TheZenHeadModelZH-1isaworld-classbatterypoweredheadphoneamplifier.Itwasdesignedto
workwithandexploitthevirtuesofhighqualityheadphonesandearbuds.Runfromasingle9volt
battery,thisunitisfreeofthegrainandnoisefoundinACpoweredequipment,nottomentionapower
cordmakingitportable.Youcanget24hoursofcontinuouslistening(alongplaneflightperhaps)orup
to50hoursofintermittentlisteningafewhoursatatime.Asimplehighqualityon/offswitchand
volumecontrolareallyouhavetorememberhowtousebecausethatʼsallthereisontheexteriorofthe
ZH-1.Ofcourseforaudiophileswehaveseveralinternalsetupswitchesthatcanbeusedtovoicethe
unittoyourliking.
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Outfittedwithstandard3.5mmstereojacksandapowerONLEDlighttheZenHeadcouldnʼtbeeasierto
operate.Withworld-classdesign,audiophileparts,BurrBrownOperationalAmplifiersandafullyanti-
resonantmachinedaluminumchassisyoucanexpectalifetimeofsatisfactionfromthis100%hand
solderedheadphoneamplifier.
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O W N E R S M A N U A L
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SETUP
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TheZH-1ispre-configuredatthefactorywiththemostpopularinternalswitchsettingssonothingneeds
tobedonetotryoutyournewZenHead.Evenanewhighqualitybatteryispre-installedsoallyouhave
todoispluginyoursourceandafavoritesetofheadphonesandenjoy.
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Justusetheincluded3.5mmstereocable
betweenyourIPODorportabledeviceandthe
inputjackontheZH-1labeled“SOURCE”
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Plugyourheadphonesintothejacklabeled
“PHONES”
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TurntheVOLUMEcontrolallthewaydown
(counter-clockwise)beforeyouturnontheZH-1.
OnceyouseethegreenLEDlightcomeon,you
canslowlyraisetheVOLUMEcontroltothe
desiredlisteninglevel.
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BATTERY
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Asingle9voltbatteryisusedandeasilyaccessiblefromtherearbyasimplepressofthethumb.Youcan
useeitherAlkalineorRechargeablebatteries.Ifyourusingthiswithahi-endsourceyoumayfind
Alkalinetosoundbetterthanrechargeablebatteries.IfselectingbetweendifferenttypesofAlkaline
batteries,alwaysgowiththehighestcurrentrating.Batterylifeisdependentonhowloudyouplaythe
ZH-1andthequalityofthebattery,butatanormallisteninglevelyoucanexpectaround50hours.
THEBATTERYSHOULDBEREPLACEDIFthesoundeasilydistortswhenyouraisethevolumeorifthe
greenLEDlightisdim.
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O W N E R S M A N U A L
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Thebatteryisaccessedbyslidingtherear
paneloveruntilitstopswithyourthumb.
Thenjustliftitoffandoutoftheway.
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Toremovethebattery,gentlyworkitout
ofthecontainerwithasmallflatobjector
yourfingernail.Itʼsasnugfitasthebattery
compartmentisfeltlinedtoeliminate
vibrations.
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DESKTOPUSE
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IfyouneedtouseyourZenHead
continuouslyanddonʼtwanttoreplaceor
rechargebatterieswehavefound
productslikethe“9VBatteryEliminator”to
workratherwellwiththeZH-1.This
particularproductandotherslikeitare
fullyregulated9VDCsuppliesand
availableontheInternet.
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INTERNALADJUSTMENTS
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TheZH-1has4redswitchesinsidethatcanbeusedtochangehow
yourZenHeadsounds.Toaccesstheseswitchesyouwillhavetofirst
removethe9Vbatteryandthenremovethetwoscrewsinthe
faceplate.Onceremoved,youcanslidethefaceplateandcircuit
boardawayfromthechassisexposingtheswitchesinside.NOTE:If
youwanttocompletelyremovetheboardfromthechassis,you
willalsohavetoremovethetwoscrewsfromthebatteryholderand
thenremovethebatteryholdercompletely.
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YourZH-1willlooksimilartothepicturebelow,exceptthatonyoursthefaceplatewillremainconnected
totheboard.Yourswillalsohavetwobatterywiresconnectedtoitjustbehindthepowerswitch.
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SWITCHSETTINGS
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Thefirstswitchtoexperimentwithislocatedjustbehindthevolumecontrol.CalledtheImpedance
switch.
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Thisswitchislabeled10Kand32K.ThesenumbersrepresenttheinputimpedanceoftheZH-1.Inthe
10KpositiontheZH-1willgettwiceasloudsobesuretohavethevolumeadjustedverylowifyouhave
theheadphonesonandarelisteningtomusicwhenyouflipthisswitch.The32Kpositionisidealfor2
voltsourcessuchastheCDplayerorDACthatyoumightfindinyourlisteningroom.Asyou
experimentwiththisswitchyouʼllnodoubtfindthateitherpositioncanbeusedinmostcases,the10K
positionsimplyhavingmuchmoredynamics.
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O W N E R S M A N U A L
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ThenextswitchtoexperimentwithistheInterstageGainswitch.
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Itislocatedhere andisbestadjustedduringaseriouslisteningsessionbecausewhatitdoesissubtle.
TheZH-1hastwostagesofgain,hencetoBurrBrownOperationalamplifiers.Thisswitchadjuststhe
amountofdynamicsthatareallowedfromthefirststagetothesecond.Usuallythebestapproachisto
setthisswitchto“HIGH”iftheImpedanceswitchissetto32Korto“LOW”ifsetto10K.
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WhileyourdoingyourseriouslisteningtotryandhearwhattheInterstagegainswitchdoes,onceyou
settleonthebestsettingforit,youmayaswellcheckouttheCROSSFEEDswitchlocatedrightnexttoit.
Ifyoudonʼtknoworcarewhatcrossfeedis,leavetheswitchsetto“ON”.Infactwecanʼtthinkoftoo
manyreasonsnottohavethisswitchsetto“ON”atalltimes,becausethecrossfeediswhatmakes
headphonesimageproperly.Withoutit,youhaveabrightersoundthatisbothtoowideandcoming
fromthecenterofyourhead.Notallcrossfeedcircuitsarealike.Ifyouthinkyoudonʼtlikecrossfeed,
pleasetakethisopportunitytohearitdoneright.
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O W N E R S M A N U A L
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TheremainingswitchiscalledtheOutputImpedanceswitch.Thisisusuallythelastswitchyoushould
adjust,becausethealreadyhugedifferenceinsounditmakeswillbeevenlargerafteryouhavethe
previousswitchessettoyourliking.
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Thisswitch,locatedhere,islabeled“HiZ”and“LoZ”,shortforHighImpedanceandLowImpedancewith
regardtothetypeofheadphonesyouhaveconnectedtoit.Typicallyphonesthatareratedat50ohms
orlessareconsideredLowImpedance,whileeverythingelseallthewayupto600ohmsisconsidered
HighImpedance.TheZH-1willdriverheadphonesfrom30ohmsto600ohmsintheHiZsettingand
headphonesfrom10ohmsto600ohmsintheLoZsetting.Becauseofthishighoverlapbetweenthe
twosettingsitislikelyyouʼllbeabletouseboth.Choosetheonethatsoundsbesttoyourears.
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NOTE:In“HiZ”modetheoutputstageoftheZH-1isdirectcoupledtotheheadphonesandwillsound
moreaccurateanddry.In“LoZ”mode,theoutputstageiscapacitorcoupledtotheheadphonesandwill
soundmorejuicyandspacious.
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O W N E R S M A N U A L
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SOUNDCHARACTER
Sometimesithelpstoknowthegeneralsoundcharacterofacomponentsothatyoucanspottroublesif
thecreepup.Forexample,theZH-1hasjetblack,noiselessbackgroundssoifyouhearanynoiseyou
knowitʼscomingfromyourcable,yoursource,orisintherecordingitself.TheZH-1isgrainfreeand
musicallyinvolving.Ithasbeenspecificallydesignedtobecompletelyfatiguefreeevenafteralldayuse.
Soifyoursoundisdry,grainyorfatiguinginanyway,againyouʼllknowitʼsnottheZH-1.
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ThevoicingthatwentintotheZH-1tookoverayeartoperfectandtheresultisanearlyperfectbalance
wherenothingisfeaturedthatshouldnʼtbe,yourattentionisdrawntowhereitshouldbe,notto
frequencyordynamicbasedanomalies.Youcantrustitʼsfrequencybalance,timbreandsenseoftiming.
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BONUS-ALINELEVELPREAMPTOO!
Unlikemostheadphoneamplifiers,theZH-1hastheabilityandgaintobeusedasalinelevelpreamplifier
intoimpedancesallthewayupto100KOhms.ThisunusualabilitymakestheZH-1asleeperofapreamp
forpuristswantingtohookittotheirfavoritetubeorsolidstateamplifier.InfrontofagreatSETamplifier
knownfortransparency,theZH-1isfarfromdisappointing.Theinternalswitchesletyouvoiceyour
amplifierwiththesameexcellentoptionsthatyouusedwithyourheadphones!
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IPODUSE
Manypeoplewillinsistthatthelineleveloutputcomingoffthe20pinconnectorofyourIpodhasbetter
soundthantheheadphonejack.ThisrequiresanIPODdockofsomekindtoconvertthejacktoRCA
outputsviaaribboncable.Forthatreasonalone,thesoundisusuallyworse.WedesignedtheZH-1to
soundbestcomingofftheheadphonejackofyourIPOD.Ofcourseallportableplayersandphoneswill
alsoworkfinewithaZH-1viatheirheadphonejack.
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WHATNOTTODO
Keepitoutofthewater.Whileyoucanrunoveritwithacarandexpectittostillworkfine,itdoesnot
likewater.Ifitgetswetincleanwater,justremovethebatteryandplacetheZH-1somewherewarmand
dry(likeinthesun)foracoupledaysanitwillbefine.
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Donotdropitonitʼsvolumeknobasaperfectlyalignedhitcancausethevolumecontroltocrackand
youwillhavetosenditinforaquickrepair.
!
Donotunderestimateitspower.ThisdevicewillgetLOUDandthensome.Makesureyoualwayshave
thevolumecontrolmostofthewaydownwhenyoustartlistening.
!
Donotleavethebatteryintheunitforextendedperiodsoftimeorinthesun.Putanotherway,takethe
batteryoutifyouʼrenotgoingtousetheZH-1forseveralmonths.
!
Donothookthebatteryupbackwards.YouZH-1willfailinstantlysmokingbothchips.Thisrepairisnot
coveredunderwarrantyandisnotcheap.
!
DonotuseyourtoetobreakthefalloftheZH-1ifyoudropit.Theunitisheavyandyourtoewillhurtlike
hell.
!
DonotusecheapbatteriesastheywillnothaveenoughpowertokeeptheZH-1fromhavingpoor
performance.Sticktonamebrandalkalinebatteries.Rechargeable'sareOKasisLithium.
!
!
www.decware.com

O W N E R S M A N U A L
!
!
WARRANTY
!
TheZH-1isbuilttolastfromthefinestAmericanPartsavailable.Mostportableunitsusesurfacemount
technologybecauseitʼssmallerandcostsless.Evenasimpleon/offswitchcancostamere30cents.In
theZH-1,ourC&Kpowerswitchhasawholesalecostof$8.75andaretailof$21.00.Thisthemerunsall
thewaythroughaZenHeadfromstarttofinish.Discretehandsolderedpartsofthehighestquality
makeitpossibletoextendDecwareʼsfamous“LIFETIME”warrantytothisproduct.Simplyunheardofin
theworldofsolidstateaudiogear!
!
IfyourZH-1failsdotodefectivepartsorworkmanship,senditbacktousandweʼllrepairitatnocharge.
Thiswarrantyappliestotheoriginalownerandisnon-transferrable.
!
SENDTO:
!
DECWARE/HighFidelityEngineeringCo.
75S.RiverviewDr.EastPeoriaIL61611
(309) 8225255
!
BesuretoincludetheR.A.Formfromourwebsite(www.decware.com)orhandwriteyourcontact
informationandwhatʼswrongwithitonapieceofpaperandincludeitwiththeZH-1soweʼllknow
whoʼsitis,whyitʼshereandwhatʼswrongwithit.NOTE:Packagesreceivedwithoutthiscontact
informationanddescriptionoftheproblemwillnotbeprocessed.
!
FEATURES
Featurescanbefoundonthenextpage.!
www.decware.com

O W N E R S M A N U A L
!
!
!
!
www.decware.com
HiQualityALPS
VolumeControl
Indestructible
GoldPlatedON/OFF
Switch
HighQuality
3.5mmJacks
PremiumLoZ
CouplingCaps
MassiveDC
storagecap
Oversize
Railcaps
Polypropylene
bypasscaps
Precisionmetal
filmresistors
Polyesterfilm
crossfeedcaps
BurrBrown
OpAmps
FourGoldDPDT
voicingswitches
Polypropylene
CouplingCaps