[Dr.J]

Audioraider, very nice, indeed! I have unit no#4 and did the same attenuator mode, using the goldpoint and yes, indeed, a fine upgrade!
Enjoy!

 

[AnakChan]

Nice. I had @Mr.Sneis' #3 for awhile.

Later, I had its feedback modified too.

Since then I've sold my ZDSE though (But I still have the Eddie Current Electra for my Stax).

 

[Audioraider]

I know you're into electronic music, and this should be electronic music end game, I'm sure you figured out. Redbase is the right tube for it. Enjoy the bass out of the HD800 (that's right, I said bass out of the HD800).

I have extensively compared the Sophia with the 5691 and it’s not even close. The Sophia has a soft presentation with a narrow soundstage with a Vérité closed. of all the tubes I have rolled, if you consider the 5691 an A the closest competitor would be the tung sol 6SU7 black glass and that would rate a B-. I have used the 5691 in 300B mono blocks for years and numerous other amps, there is a reason why it is the holy Grail of 6SL7. For pure sound quality there has never been a tube that can compete with it in my experience.

 

[mysticstryk]

RCA red base 5691 is hands down my favorite tube in the ZDS, regardless of what headphone I was using (Auteur, Verite, HD800S being the big ones). Even compared to much more expensive tubes like the Mullard that's often over $200 (probably more nowadays).

I no longer have the ZDS but I always remember it fondly. Still have another Eddie Current amp in the house though.

 

[Dr.J]

Anakchan, very impressive! I also rebuilt the audio section, replaced all the resistors and capacitors, including the main coupling caps with Mundorfs and bypassed them with copper V-caps. I have Pics, somewhere, will send if I find them.

I’m guessing you love your Electra?

I love my ZD, is sublime, but, sadly, I’m getting old and am developing hearing issues, had hearing damage in my youth, in an industrial setting and its worsening, now, with tinnitus, meaning, sadly, I don’t often listen any more.

 

[BlakeT]

I'm really enjoying my ZDS with HE1000se. So much so, that I sold off all my other headphones. It actually bugged me to have all these nice headphones laying around not being used. Just one headphone for me these days.

The combo is so incredibly revealing. I have been playing around with different 6922 tubes in my preamp and the ZDS/HE1000se combo make it so easy to tell the differences with different preamp tubes.

 

[gingerbeer]

Nice. I had @Mr.Sneis' #3 for awhile.



Later, I had its feedback modified too.



Since then I've sold my ZDSE though (But I still have the Eddie Current Electra for my Stax).

What was the benefit of the feedback mod?

 

[AnakChan]

What was the benefit of the feedback mod?

I wanted to lower the ZOut.

 

[Tchu1337]

The different versions of the Zana Deux is quite confusing. Can someone tell me where the Zana Deux lies in the ZD range and which versions are suited for low-impedance-high-sensitivity headphones?

 

[helljudgement]

The different versions of the Zana Deux is quite confusing. Can someone tell me where the Zana Deux lies in the ZD range and which versions are suited for low-impedance-high-sensitivity headphones?

The original zd is OTL and the later version the zds is transformer coupled and comes with a knob to toggle between h/l impedance so the later versions are better suited for your use case. Unfortunately Craig has retired so you won't be able to get one new.

 

[Tchu1337]

The original zd is OTL and the later version the zds is transformer coupled and comes with a knob to toggle between h/l impedance so the later versions are better suited for your use case. Unfortunately Craig has retired so you won't be able to get one new.

Ah, so for my purposes (low-impedance-high-sensitivity), I shouldn't consider the ZD SE right?

 

[BournePerfect]

ZDSE was fine for low impedance when I had mine. IIRC the z-out was like 3 & 8 ohm low/hi, or something near that. Was sublime with both my AD2000, HD800, others. Moved onto the Studio B now, but would still grab an ZDSE if I saw one.

 

[SilverEars]

The original zd is OTL and the later version the zds is transformer coupled and comes with a knob to toggle between h/l impedance so the later versions are better suited for your use case. Unfortunately Craig has retired so you won't be able to get one new.

Interesting, I assumed ZDS was OTL with low output impedance. I didn't know it was transformer coupled. Everywhere I read, ZDS is referred to as OTL. I have read that it has fairly low output impedance of 3 and 10 (or was it 8?)? Question is, how does OTL achieve the low output impedance?

 

[BournePerfect]

OTL, by definition, is output transformer less, lol. I believe Erik(?) here once had a great write-up on how Craig designed the O.T.L. ZD to achieve low z-out. I'll try and dig that up.

 

[helljudgement]

Ah, so for my purposes (low-impedance-high-sensitivity), I shouldn't consider the ZD SE right?

Interesting, I assumed ZDS was OTL with low output impedance. I didn't know it was transformer coupled. Everywhere I read, ZDS is referred to as OTL. I have read that it has fairly low output impedance of 3 and 10 (or was it 8?)? Question is, how does OTL achieve the low output impedance?

Get the studio b. Not sure if Craig have enough transformers for another run but that is the only option left. ZD has been discontinued for years and EC amps are hard to come by in classifieds.