[snapple10]

ZD #11-no selector so 12ohms?
I do not have golden ears, which sometimes is a blessing

 

[AnakChan]

As far as I know, yes it is.
 
I didn't realise the chassis and knobs were different even within the original ZD models. Mine is #3, purchased from Mr. Sneis.

 

[snapple10]

I meant no ohms selector 3 or 12 as in the ZDSE

 

[m2man]

What 6SL7 are you running AnakChan?

My ZDSE is 95% as good on H gain as on L. I have plenty of sucky tubes though (at least with the TH-900), even though they are "recommended".

 

[BournePerfect]

FWIW I preferred the TH900 with my NOS Brimar, and my HD800 with a current Sophia Electric. The Brimar was the most neutral across the frequency response, which benefited the Fostex ime.  The SE had awesome bass which worked very well with the Senn, although I felt it slightly covered up some detail in the mids. Haven't tried much higher end tubes than those on the ZDSE though.
 
-Daniel

 

[m2man]

Funny I just hate the Brimar, super flabby bass on mine. I wonder what the difference is, since everyone likes them but me.

Here's my rankings with the TH-900...
Sylvania 6SL7WGT,with the metal base. Sounds amazing. Hard to find.
The 1952 Sylvania's are just about identical, maybe with a tad less prat.
GE chrome/nickel plates w/ side getter. Super full spectrum FR. These are great and can be had for $10. Craig sent me a rebranded one of these with mine (he was out of stock). Amazing bass, probably the best of all of them.
Sophia Electric. Good FR but a little soft compared to the Sylvania's listed above.
Sylvania Gold Brand. Meh.
Mullard short brown base. Tight but very little bass. If you think the TH-900 is too bass heavy try this tube.
Brimar, red lettering, black base, yuck.

As a side note I love the Telefunken EY500A rectifier's, though they are a pain to match. Just try pairs till you aren't annoyed (pick the driest sounding pair)

 

[BournePerfect]

I'm not a huge fan of the Brimar either (MUCH preferred the Sophia w/ HD800) but it's neutral character seemed to help the TH900. The dynamics, soundstaging, and most of all BASS on the Sophia were a definite step up from the Brimar, but the bass was just too much imo w/ the Fostex...
 
-Daniel

 

[dallan]

With my Brimar, there is low static in the background at all volume levels and without rca's even plugged in.  I changed to the Valvo and it works perfectly.  I have had it in now for a few weeks, one of my favorites.  I bought two NOS, just spotless a few years ago and then stupidly sold one of the two off.  Should have kept it in reserve.

 

[ValentinHogea]

A curious question... Sold off my speakers and preamp/power amp last year, so I can't try... But... The ZDSE does it have: 1) Line Out (fixed level signal that has passed through the preamp stage) or 2) Pre Out (variable level signal that has passed through the preamp stage) or 3) Loop Out (unmodified signal, hasn't passed through anything, the ZDSE can be shut down and still send the signal) Thx guys, V

 

[AnakChan]

I was just playing with it's line out just yesterday (Invicta -> Zana Deux -> Woo Audio WA7). I'm gonna admit that I have no idea what you're talking about the 3 options but in yesterday's test, the line out was variable so logically I'm going to guess (2). To me it behaves more like a normal home speaker pre-amp with a volume control into a power amp. Does this help?

 

[songmic]

After trying various headphones with the ZDSE, I've concluded that the ZDSE sounds damn good with practically all headphones except for those with low sensitivity such as orthos. It's a very versatile amp that boasts superb synergy with both low and high impedance headphones. Nowadays I always prefer L gain setting with low impedance cans while H setting with high impedance phones. It's highly transparent and neutral sounding for a tube amp, but not without some characteristic coloration of its own that adds a sweet touch of euphony magic to the sound.

 

[AnakChan]

I made a post on the Zana tube rolling thread but didn't get a response from anyone. Two questions :-
 
1) Is the Mullard ECC32 compatible or only the ECC35? A store I went to in Tokyo said that the ECC32 (and ECC33) were compatible
2) Has anyone ever seen a 2 horned 6C33C-B Soutek? I bought two and they actually seem to sound quite nice by comparison to the 3 horned ones. I know nothing about these 2 horned versions.
 

6C33C-B
Soutek
Made in Russia
93      07

 

[LED04]

Quote:

A curious question... Sold off my speakers and preamp/power amp last year, so I can't try... But... The ZDSE does it have: 1) Line Out (fixed level signal that has passed through the preamp stage) or 2) Pre Out (variable level signal that has passed through the preamp stage) or 3) Loop Out (unmodified signal, hasn't passed through anything, the ZDSE can be shut down and still send the signal) Thx guys, V

It has two "pre-outs". I am pretty much sure about that. Because Craig tells me about the ZDSE can be used as an excellent pre-amp. I connect ZDSE with my ADAM A7x and control the volume by ZDSE.
By the way, when I ordered my amp, I discussed with Craig about one of the "line out"(I don't know why he much insist calling it) change to the loop out. He said it would be a little complicated, might need to add a switch.
I decided that only loop the third input, the first and the second input remain the original "line out". He said he can accept this and charge no extra fee.

 

[ValentinHogea]

Thx for all the answers!

So in short it's actually a pre-out.... Sweet Since ECC35 Mullard's are damn expensive, but the output tubes are not...

 

[ericfarrell85]

I have never really embraced the concept of tube rolling. Generally I found when I liked the amplifier I liked the sound despite the selection of tubes. Either this or sheer laziness on my part, as I have near 200 tubes that I've acquired in packaged deals and would be surprised if I heard more than 20 of them. The Zana Deux recently has turned this whole conception of tube subtlety on its head. I took out my Mullard ECC35 and plugged in a Brimar a couple of months ago. Forgetting this fact I found myself tinkering with the Zana repeatedly in that period of time. Interconnect swaps, DAC swaps, power cord swaps, and wondering throughout where the harmonious sounds of my favorite component disappeared to. The AD2000 with the Zana, one of my favorite pairings in all hifi-dom, became unabashedly forward and fatiguing. The HD800, with Zana in the role of preamp to a Beta 22, was full of grain, lacking air and for the first time took on an upper-frequency harshness. A couple of days ago I reinserted the Mullard and the harmony returned. The unmistakeable smoothness, linear, fluid transients and wonderful, slightly accented mid-range returned. The AD2000 returned to all its former glory as a fierce, feral ruffian with a touch of refinement. The HD800 is again impeccably clean and effortless.

In the grand scheme of things I'm sure the differences are actually on the subtle side, rather than of the florid night and day descriptors used above, but in the audio world, after a point, those subtle differences can create a wall between the listener and his/her perception of synergism. The Brimar, a tube most people like, pushed aside the unity of a system that I loved and replaced it with something slightly foreign, but unmistakably dissatisfying to these ears. It is a relief that it was only the tube and not the DAC, which I suspected at one point. If the PWD didn't play well with the Zana than the PWD would be the one to go. Thankfully it's only the Brimar that needs to be shipped off.