[AnakChan]

Yes it would if the output is not volume controlled by the ZD. Else it's preamp output.
Is that so?

 
Doh!! I should know that. Obviously brain-dead on a Monday morning when I sent that. No, the ZD volume doesn't control the lineout.

 

[AppleheadMay]

   
Doh!! I should know that. Obviously brain-dead on a Monday morning when I sent that. No, the ZD volume doesn't control the lineout.

 
Hehe!  
 
Great, thanks! Broadens my options.  

 

[AppleheadMay]

Seems I was half brain-dead this morning as well.
I forgot to ask, those line-outs do pass the sound through even when the amp is turned off as well?

 

[AnakChan]

  Seems I was half brain-dead this morning as well.
I forgot to ask, those line-outs do pass the sound through even when the amp is turned off as well?

 
You know, I'm glad you asked this 'cos it's gotten me to re-test the whole thing. I'm currently feeding in from the Invicta -> ZD -> Electra and I've been lying to you the whole time.
 
The ZD does indeed act as a pre-amp, not pass through. The volume on the ZD does control to the lineout. Not only that, so does the Low/High gain in front of the ZD (mine is actually a 3rd party modded ZD -> ZDSE but under Craig's guidance...so the real ZDSE should behave the same).
 
Apologies for the earlier mis-information. 

 

[AppleheadMay]

   
You know, I'm glad you asked this 'cos it's gotten me to re-test the whole thing. I'm currently feeding in from the Invicta -> ZD -> Electra and I've been lying to you the whole time.
 
The ZD does indeed act as a pre-amp, not pass through. The volume on the ZD does control to the lineout. Not only that, so does the Low/High gain in front of the ZD (mine is actually a 3rd party modded ZD -> ZDSE but under Craig's guidance...so the real ZDSE should behave the same).
 
Apologies for the earlier mis-information. 

 

 
Kidding mate ...
 
No, that's what I have been thinking all the time, a line out, as it's described on the back of the amp is usually pre-amped, so all settings apply. In case of the ZD that would be volume and gain (the hi/lo knob).
 
When it's not pre-amped it's usually called loop-out or pass-through. That simply passes the signal through and in some amps it does that even when not powered on, in others the power needs to be on.
 
Anyway, I thank you for clearing it up for me as you gave me all the info I need. It won't be that easy to put a Zana back into my system (again) but I know what to do (and get) now.
 
Or I could always ask Craig not to connect the outputs to the amp and simply let them pass through. Another custom ZDSE as my previous one was balanced.
 
Thanks for helping me out with my silly question! 

 

 

[vc1187]

Hi guys,
 
I just joined the Zana Deux (non SE) club this week.  The amp is nothing short of sensational, even in comparison to today's top of the line SS and tube amps.  The one huge difference that has stood out with the Zana that separates it from anything else I've listened to is its ability to produce a vast and accurate soundstage.  It really makes music that much more enjoyable.  With that said, it's hard to describe any of the other technicalities since they are well balanced to the point that music just flows properly.
 
I also began to use the Zana as a preamp with my speaker amplifier, and the music out of the speakers was fantastic.  
 
I do have one issue, and I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience or is knowledgeable enough to provide suggestions on a solution.
When I hook up audio chain up like so: Macbook Pro -> NAD M51 DAC -> Zana Deux -> Parasound A23 speaker amp -> Speakers, I occasionally get audio drops due to my speaker amp not liking something about the signal coming from the Zana Deux.  If I take the Zana out of the chain, and just use the M51 DAC as the source (RCA or XLR connections), I never see the issue.
 
The A23 speaker amp has a High Temp LED in the front panel that is generally used to indicate that it’s overheating.  Along with this, the manual states that the amp is equipped with Relay Protection, Over-Current Protection, Fuse Protection, and DC protection.  I’m under the impression that my A23 is not overheating, as it’s fairly cool to the touch and the audio drop sometimes occurs shortly after turning on the A23 and playing music (So there's no way it could get hot enough to overheat), but I do see this light kick on when I observe the drop in audio.  As another side note, at the beginning when I power on the amp while the Zana is acting as a preamp, I see the High Temp LED light up for a few seconds before going off and being able to play music.  This does not happen with other preamps/DACs I have used in the audio chain paired with the A23. 
 
I purchased a powered A/V distribution amplifier (http://www.amazon.com/RadioShack-Component-Distribution-Amplifier-1500320/dp/B004Z1SO9O) to attempt to re-route the signal that was coming directly from the Zana, and it seems like a workaround solution, at the loss of some quality (subjective though).  The A23 High Temp LED no longer occasionally kicks on, and there is no longer a loss of audio.
 
I e-mailed Craig already, but just wanted to see if anyone had insight while I'm awaiting his response.

 

[longbowbbs]

  Hi guys,
 
I just joined the Zana Deux (non SE) club this week.  The amp is nothing short of sensational, even in comparison to today's top of the line SS and tube amps.  The one huge difference that has stood out with the Zana that separates it from anything else I've listened to is its ability to produce a vast and accurate soundstage.  It really makes music that much more enjoyable.  With that said, it's hard to describe any of the other technicalities since they are well balanced to the point that music just flows properly.
 
I also began to use the Zana as a preamp with my speaker amplifier, and the music out of the speakers was fantastic.  
 
I do have one issue, and I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience or is knowledgeable enough to provide suggestions on a solution.
When I hook up audio chain up like so: Macbook Pro -> NAD M51 DAC -> Zana Deux -> Parasound A23 speaker amp -> Speakers, I occasionally get audio drops due to my speaker amp not liking something about the signal coming from the Zana Deux.  If I take the Zana out of the chain, and just use the M51 DAC as the source (RCA or XLR connections), I never see the issue.
 
The A23 speaker amp has a High Temp LED in the front panel that is generally used to indicate that it’s overheating.  Along with this, the manual states that the amp is equipped with Relay Protection, Over-Current Protection, Fuse Protection, and DC protection.  I’m under the impression that my A23 is not overheating, as it’s fairly cool to the touch and the audio drop sometimes occurs shortly after turning on the A23 and playing music (So there's no way it could get hot enough to overheat), but I do see this light kick on when I observe the drop in audio.  As another side note, at the beginning when I power on the amp while the Zana is acting as a preamp, I see the High Temp LED light up for a few seconds before going off and being able to play music.  This does not happen with other preamps/DACs I have used in the audio chain paired with the A23. 
 
I purchased a powered A/V distribution amplifier (http://www.amazon.com/RadioShack-Component-Distribution-Amplifier-1500320/dp/B004Z1SO9O) to attempt to re-route the signal that was coming directly from the Zana, and it seems like a workaround solution, at the loss of some quality (subjective though).  The A23 High Temp LED no longer occasionally kicks on, and there is no longer a loss of audio.
 
I e-mailed Craig already, but just wanted to see if anyone had insight while I'm awaiting his response.

 

[Lejonkungen]

Hi vc1187

I think it is the DC protection that causes your problems. The Zana goes down almost to DC (1 Hz).

"Recommended headphone load 8 to 600 ohms! --Power Bandwidth:_Driving Sen HD 600s L mode: -.5dB 1Hz to 135kHz H mode: -.5dB 5Hz to 60kHz _Power Output: L/H 650 mW_Driving Grado RS1s L mode: -.5dB 10Hz to 110kHzH mode: -.5dB 30Hz to 60 kHz_Power Output: L: 500mW/ H 150mW--Source Resistance: L=3ohms/ H=12ohms--Gain: L=8dB/ H=18dB--Wide band noise less than 250uV--Tubes included: 2 6D22S rectifier, 1 6SL7 driver, and 2 6C33C-B power triodes. -"

 

[vc1187]

Hi vc1187

I think it is the DC protection that causes your problems. The Zana goes down almost to DC (1 Hz).

"Recommended headphone load 8 to 600 ohms! --Power Bandwidth:_Driving Sen HD 600s L mode: -.5dB 1Hz to 135kHz H mode: -.5dB 5Hz to 60kHz _Power Output: L/H 650 mW_Driving Grado RS1s L mode: -.5dB 10Hz to 110kHzH mode: -.5dB 30Hz to 60 kHz_Power Output: L: 500mW/ H 150mW--Source Resistance: L=3ohms/ H=12ohms--Gain: L=8dB/ H=18dB--Wide band noise less than 250uV--Tubes included: 2 6D22S rectifier, 1 6SL7 driver, and 2 6C33C-B power triodes. -"

Thanks, and your guess is spot on with what Craig's guess was.  Here's his reply:
 
"Best guess the A23 is DC coupled with a DC protection circuit to keep DC from passing through the amplifier. The ZD uses large AC coupling caps, and the pre outs come off the same caps as the headphones. It is possible for large caps even with bleeder resistors to have some DC leakage. If you have a digital multi-meter measure for DC on the output of the ZD. If this is a problem then we can put smaller caps on the pre outs to fully block the DC."
 
I didn't want to send my amp in for modifications since the wait would likely be a month or two, shipping would be expensive (from east coast to west), and it still sounds wonderful with the A/V distribution amplifier in the chain!
 
Aside from using it as a pre-amp, pairing the ZD with the HD800 surely is something special, as many have previously stated in this thread.  Guess I'm late to the party, but I find that it's certainly a better pairing than many of the modern amplifiers.

 

[vincentm66]

Hi all,
 
Im interested to purchase a Zana Deux, 
I currently own as headphone a PS1000 and an ultrasone edition 5
 
my DAC / amp is an audio-gd Reference 10.32 which is really good on the dac side, and Im trying to improve the amp side, so interested with Zana deux.
 
My question is simple : is the Zana very good for low impedance headphones -32 ohms each-? 
 
Thanks for your feed back,
 
Vincent

 

[dallan]

Mine is pre impedance switch and it is not optimal. I use the v200 for lower inpedance phones generally. On the other hand I have a pair of w3000anv that are 40 ohm and the Zana deu works perfectly at tha point, so go figure,

 

[AnakChan]

My pre-SE ZD was modified to be SE with directions from Craig Urthus. So it now has a the 3 ohm/12 ohm switch in the front. But even at 12 ohm,  I had further modified the NFB to improve its "synergy" with my TH-900s. Having said that, I still tend to listen at the 3 ohm setting more.
 
I'm probably going to offload the ZD (DIY) SE & TH-900 sometime in the future as I don't use it as much.

 

[rage3324]

Any Grado RS1i or PS1000 users here? Is the Zana Deux SE a good pairing?
 
Anyone thinking about selling their Zana Deux SE? If so, let me know

 

[Karo]

I think the pre-SE units can be modified.

 

[AnakChan]

I think the pre-SE units can be modified.

 
Correct. My pre-SE has been modified to be like the SE...a switch in the front for 3 ohm or 12 ohm Zout.