[atomicbob]

  I bought Valentins ZDSE so it stays in Sweden and looking forward to compare it with listening to loudspeakers.

   Congratulations! I consider the ZDSE one of the best additions to my personal sound system. - AB

 

[Lejonkungen]

They are up against tough competotion.

 

[Lejonkungen]

Competition, damn phone.

 

[CEE TEE]

^Congratulotions!  

 

[Lejonkungen]

  ^Congratulotions!  

 

[Lejonkungen]

Waiting for test drive.

 

[snejk]

Nice!

 

[Pustik]

Since I sold my PWD MK2, I decided to give my Claro Halo XT a try. I am very surprised  how good this dac is. I am stunned in a way, it sounds so close to pwd mk2 which is thousands of dollars pricier. Sometimes I hear something that I haven't heard before. Perhaps it's a good match? Only makes me wish I didn't have to sell my gear

 

[witness]

To my ears, L and H mode sound different.
With L gain mode, Hd800 sounds thinner. The advantage is if treble response disturbes you, L mode makes you feel
more comfortable. But it takes body and color from the sound. 
 
If you feel that L mode is better, then there must be smt wrong with your source or cables.
When i was using hegel hd20 and computer based set up, resonance on violin sound always disturbed me. So i used zana with
low gain mode which makes sound cold and thinner. 
 
But after i upgraded  Lector Digicode 2.24 dac and Digidrive TL3 transport now i am enjoying with zana and hd 800 very much
And exhausting side of high gain mode is gone for me. I believe that, all zana deux need is clean and analoge source. And many of computer based 
set up fails on that. 
 
Also i strongly recommend Sophia Electronic 6SL7. Its not best for all headpohnes, but its got good synergy with hd800 over tung sol or brimars.
(i've never heard 6sugty or mullards)

 

[dallan]

Well, I have been so busy since our vacation at the beginning of January that i just haven't had time to do anything but a quick song or two on the Violectric V200.  A very good, warm and detailed SS amp that is just easy.  Finally, after finishing my taxes, I had time to breath and thought i should dust off the Zana Deux and fire it up.  OMG! I forgot. It was like i stepped into the studio.  I feel like i don't want to turn the tubes on just for ten minutes usually but boy what i was missing.

 

[atomicbob]

Well, I have been so busy since our vacation at the beginning of January that i just haven't had time to do anything but a quick song or two on the Violectric V200.  A very good, warm and detailed SS amp that is just easy.  Finally, after finishing my taxes, I had time to breath and thought i should dust off the Zana Deux and fire it up.  OMG! I forgot. It was like i stepped into the studio.  I feel like i don't want to turn the tubes on just for ten minutes usually but boy what i was missing.

The ZDSE is SO involving. I have to plan listening sessions as once I start I don't wish to stop.

 

[AnakChan]

The ZD modified SE is the only OTL amp I've ever owned. However how "OTL" does it sound compared to other OTL amps? I guess what I mean is at least with headphones like the TH-900, the ZD seems to be one of the odd OTL amps that sound good. But at least from what I've read with other OTL amps (one post quoted the WA2) didn't sound good with the TH-900.
 
Has anyone compared the ZD with other OTL amps?

 

[atomicbob]

  The ZD modified SE is the only OTL amp I've ever owned. However how "OTL" does it sound compared to other OTL amps? I guess what I mean is at least with headphones like the TH-900, the ZD seems to be one of the odd OTL amps that sound good. But at least from what I've read with other OTL amps (one post quoted the WA2) didn't sound good with the TH-900.
 
Has anyone compared the ZD with other OTL amps?

The ZDSE is the only OTL that has a low output impedance to properly drive a 25 ohm TH-900. ZDSE is 12 and 3 ohm output on H/L respectively. My Woo WA3+ and Bottlehead Crack, both 6AS7g / 6080 OTL amps are approximately 120 ohms output impedance. All three drive high impedance headphones such as HD800 / HD700 and T1 / T90 to produce excellent auditory experiences. But only the ZDSE will allow the best performance to be experienced from low impedance headphones. I use the Crack and WA3+ as my casual listening session amps. Listening sessions with the ZDSE are planned for reasons stated in my earlier post or when I want OTL + HE-500 listening, for example.

 

[AnakChan]

`

  The ZDSE is the only OTL that has a low output impedance to properly drive a 25 ohm TH-900. ZDSE is 12 and 3 ohm output on H/L respectively. My Woo WA3+ and Bottlehead Crack, both 6AS7g / 6080 OTL amps are approximately 120 ohms output impedance. All three drive high impedance headphones such as HD800 / HD700 and T1 / T90 to produce excellent auditory experiences. But only the ZDSE will allow the best performance to be experienced from low impedance headphones. I use the Crack and WA3+ as my casual listening session amps. Listening sessions with the ZDSE are planned for reasons stated in my earlier post or when I want OTL + HE-500 listening, for example.

 
Thank you for your response. That is excellent as you've provided a point of reference of the average ZOut of OTL amps. I knew they were high but I didn't expect -that- high.
 
One of the reasons for my questions is that whilst my TH-900 sound beautiful off my ZDSE, my Alpha Dogs doesn't. For the ADs, my small transportable Analog Squared Paper TUR-06 hybrid is able able to make the most out of that headphone than the ZDSE. It was suggested to me that the reason was due to the ZDSE being a OTL amp. However I'm not certain if that was a generalisation of OTL amps or a comment specific to the ZDSE. And this is what I'm trying to find out and understand more but I lack knowledge in tube amps in general and the part that the ZDSE plays in the tube amp world.
 
Probably to describe it a little more, the ADs sound somewhat slower and less energetic on the ZDSE in comparison to the TUR-06. This is in both at 3 ohm and 12 ohm setting of the ZDSE. The AD's should be around 50 ohm (based on the the T50RP drivers).
 
If someone is able to assist in educating me on why I'm hearing what I'm hearing in the difference between the TH-900 & ADs on the ZDSE vs some other hybrid tube amp, that's greatly appreciated.

 

[Canadian411]

Anyone knows what will be the shipping cost to Canada Toronto ?