[Dr. T]

I am sorry to hear about that. This has been my first experience ordering such a boutique product, and I have learned to be patient with the delays. Judging from some of the other threads here, it seems that customers of other brands have had to wait even longer in many cases. But I think that for most of us, owning a rare, high quality product will outweigh the headaches in the end. Probably many of us spent more months researching amps to arrive at a final choice than we have spent waiting after the order.

 

[jeffreyj900]

I am #14 on the list. I have not had to wait as long as everyone else so my patience has not run out. The Zana in the FS forum sure went FAST

I just traded the last amp I had.... Soooo.... I am ampless until my Zana arrives

I haven't been without an amp in a long time. This is going to be painful!

 

[David Pritchard]

Hopefully Foo's used Zana Deux will be up and running at my house in a matter of days. I had the pleasure of listening to Ironbutt's standard ZD and JP's HD-ZD at the Vancouver, Wa. conference. I just could not wait any longer for the next generation amplifier. This amplifier made the Edition 9, the modded Denon 5000, and the Sen. 650 all sing. Plus with the tubes in and components burned in it should be instant bliss.
David Pritchard

 

[Absorbine_Sr]

Congrats on your purchase. You've heard it, so you know. But wait until you live with this little beauty for a while. The grinning rarely stops.

 

[ironbut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Pritchard /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hopefully Foo's used Zana Deux will be up and running at my house in a matter of days. I had the pleasure of listening to Ironbutt's standard ZD and JP's HD-ZD at the Vancouver, Wa. conference. I just could not wait any longer for the next generation amplifier. This amplifier made the Edition 9, the modded Denon 5000, and the Sen. 650 all sing. Plus with the tubes in and components burned in it should be instant bliss. David Pritchard

Atta boy David! I know Min and he's as honest as they come and takes great care of his gear. I know how much you like acoustic guitar and the Zana really shines with any acoustic music. Of course there are better amps out there, but the point of diminishing returns really comes on with a vengeance just behind Craig's back door. I know you'll love it.

 

[JohanK]

Well I think the waiting and delays on a product like this is to be expected. After all, it is not as if Craig can just walk in to any random electronics store and get the spare parts, as many of the parts in this amp are not exactly standard parts. If he is out of some, then so be it. Hopefully it is just my amp that is affected by the shortage of these transfomers, no need for the rest of you to wait. In a way, this doesn't really matter much as if my amp would be delivered now in mid/lateJuly, I wouldn't get a chance to use it much as I won't be home during much of July and early August.

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohanK /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I think the waiting and delays on a product like this is to be expected. After all, it is not as if Craig can just walk in to any random electronics store and get the spare parts, as many of the parts in this amp are not exactly standard parts. If he is out of some, then so be it. Hopefully it is just my amp that is affected by the shortage of these transfomers, no need for the rest of you to wait. In a way, this doesn't really matter much as if my amp would be delivered now in mid/lateJuly, I wouldn't get a chance to use it much as I won't be home during much of July and early August.

Good attitude! Nice perspective you have there. You are totally correct, a lot of the parts are customized and made specifically for the ZD, like the power transformer, the output caps, the 4 inductors, etc. The wait times for the ZD IMO have been pretty reasonable for such a quality customized amp.

 

[khbaur330162]

With all these custom components what happens when one of them goes defunct and your ZD needs service? Do you think Craig will ever run out of these customized parts to warranty his product?

 

[ironbut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by khbaur330162 /img/forum/go_quote.gif With all these custom components what happens when one of them goes defunct and your ZD needs service? Do you think Craig will ever run out of these customized parts to warranty his product?

Actually, those custom components will most likely not become unavailable anytime soon. They're custom items which means that they can be made one at a time. These won't go the way of items like BlackGates. I sometimes wonder what some of these builders are thinking when they continue to install a bunch of them in their upgrades or even stock builds. They've been out of production for over a year now and all that's left is what's on retailers shelves.
I can't say how long or how much a new pair of soybean oil caps (Craig told me that they cost more than a transformer now)or xformer would be, but his designs are simple and well built.

 

[khbaur330162]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ironbut /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually, those custom components will most likely not become unavailable anytime soon. They're custom items which means that they can be made one at a time. These won't go the way of items like BlackGates. I sometimes wonder what some of these builders are thinking when they continue to install a bunch of them in their upgrades or even stock builds. They've been out of production for over a year now and all that's left is what's on retailers shelves. I can't say how long or how much a new pair of soybean oil caps (Craig told me that they cost more than a transformer now)or xformer would be, but his designs are simple and well built.

Thanks for the info. I was most concerned about a capacitor going shot and Craig having no replacement because I heard he's been slowly depleting his reserve of those Moth Audio soybean oil caps through the production of ZD's.

Now, when you say, "I can't say how long or how much a new pair of soybean oil caps (Craig told me that they cost more than a transformer now)or xformer would be, but his designs are simple and well built." what exactly do you mean? You don't know how long (or how much) a replacement cap could take to be made/acquired? The caps won't wear quickly due to the amp's simple topology/rugged build? Craig will have replacements, however, it'll cost an arm and a leg?

Thanks again.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by khbaur330162 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the info. I was most concerned about a capacitor going shot and Craig having no replacement because I heard he's been slowly depleting his reserve of those Moth Audio soybean oil caps through the production of ZD's. Now, when you say, "I can't say how long or how much a new pair of soybean oil caps (Craig told me that they cost more than a transformer now)or xformer would be, but his designs are simple and well built." what exactly do you mean? You don't know how long (or how much) a replacement cap could take to be made/acquired? The caps won't wear quickly due to the amp's simple topology/rugged build? Craig will have replacements, however, it'll cost an arm and a leg? Thanks again.

When I picked up my Zana, Craig told me that his stock of the soybean oil caps was running low and that the manufacturer needed a large minimum order (e.g. >100 pieces). It is my understanding that Craig ordered another batch of these to keep making Zanas.

Unlike Blackgates, these caps are still in production and available. They are not cheap. Also, you can make a Zana run with different output caps. Even if these go out of production, there are decent replacements. The sound might change a little, but you would still have a functioning, great-sounding amp.

These are the output caps, too. The signal passes through them on teh way from the tubes to the headphone jack. Those usually hold up alright for years and years since they're not handling that big of a load. It's the electrolytic caps in a power supply that take a beating.

Build quality is excellent. I build my own amps, point-to-point with vacuum tubes. The Zana is the only commercial offering I considered - liked the 6C33C and the topology and realized the price wasn't that far off from what it would cost me to build. It's built like the old-school Tektronix 'scopes and old Hammarlund and Hallicrafters communications receivers I enjoy restoring. There are very few products with this build quality.

 

[khbaur330162]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif When I picked up my Zana, Craig told me that his stock of the soybean oil caps was running low and that the manufacturer needed a large minimum order (e.g. >100 pieces). It is my understanding that Craig ordered another batch of these to keep making Zanas. Unlike Blackgates, these caps are still in production and available. They are not cheap. Also, you can make a Zana run with different output caps. Even if these go out of production, there are decent replacements. The sound might change a little, but you would still have a functioning, great-sounding amp. These are the output caps, too. The signal passes through them on teh way from the tubes to the headphone jack. Those usually hold up alright for years and years since they're not handling that big of a load. It's the electrolytic caps in a power supply that take a beating. Build quality is excellent. I build my own amps, point-to-point with vacuum tubes. The Zana is the only commercial offering I considered - liked the 6C33C and the topology and realized the price wasn't that far off from what it would cost me to build. It's built like the old-school Tektronix 'scopes and old Hammarlund and Hallicrafters communications receivers I enjoy restoring. There are very few products with this build quality.

Thanks for the clarification and perspective. The more I read about the Zana Duex the more I realize I don't have to.

 

[ironbut]

There's no reason to believe that (after Craig tests the unit) the output caps should have any problems in our lifetime. I believe (unless I've lost count of the ZDs that have been produced) that his stock that carried over from the Moth days has already run out. I thought that he would've raised the price on this run but I wouldn't doubt it if he has to on the next. If he's using new production caps in this run, you can consider that you've got at about a $100 discount on yours.
With the point to point wiring, very high parts quality, and mil-specs assembly, I don't think that there's anything else you could do to ensure trouble free use. Well, the only thing else that could be done would be to test each one for months (vibration etc.). These are really built to aerospace spec's.

 

[Dr. T]

I finally got my Zana Deux #55 yesterday and it looks great. I fired it up according to Craig's instructions and popped a CD in. Strange, right channel out. I fiddled with the connections, wiggled the tubes, tested my cans with another receiver. Definitely something wrong in the amp. I turned her over and opened the lid. Didn't take an expert to figure the problem: the lead of the right power resistor where it is soldered to the wire at the 6c33c socket is broken. Must have happened in shipping.
This seems like an easy fix, just needs to be resoldered. I consulted with Craig, and we both think this is something I can do. So that's the fun I have planned for tonight! Craig said this is the first time anything has broken in shipping. This evidently was the amp he showed at a recent Marin meet where it was sounding great and has about 40 hrs on it already.
Here's hoping all will be well after the fix.

 

[Blackmore]

Ah, sorry to hear that man, but when you fix it, all your worries will be just a past and only enjoyement in the future will remains.

Congrats! Just report back, after you done with some surgery

And you have to upgrade your sig

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. T /img/forum/go_quote.gif I finally got my Zana Deux #55 yesterday and it looks great. I fired it up according to Craig's instructions and popped a CD in. Strange, right channel out. I fiddled with the connections, wiggled the tubes, tested my cans with another receiver. Definitely something wrong in the amp. I turned her over and opened the lid. Didn't take an expert to figure the problem: the lead of the right power resistor where it is soldered to the wire at the 6c33c socket is broken. Must have happened in shipping. This seems like an easy fix, just needs to be resoldered. I consulted with Craig, and we both think this is something I can do. So that's the fun I have planned for tonight! Craig said this is the first time anything has broken in shipping. This evidently was the amp he showed at a recent Marin meet where it was sounding great and has about 40 hrs on it already. Here's hoping all will be well after the fix.