lan

I find zhaolu to be mid-fi sounding but then so are many other things so I find it appropriate to compare them. It doesn't make sense to consider prices since they are made in different economic places. I think the sound is just fine in the quality perspective. It's not garbage nor is it top end. It is different kind of sound so if you've become familiar with other forms of stock sounds, the zhaolu will not be instantly definable. The real advantage zhaolu has is tweakable sound with various DAC boards and you can change opamps. That's why it gets my recomendation as well as a modding platform. Most people don't even know what sound they like so this flexibility is important. The unit is cheap, that's why it gets popular. Many items are like this so I don't find it annoying. Maybe there's not enough competitors around the price range. I have a feeling if one didn't like the zhaolu from quality perspective, the Spitfire and MicroDAC wouldn't fare better in that regard. Maybe in a synergy or sonic character perspective but that's a different story from quality.