[Hifi01170]

it seems it has to be powered off and left for a couple of hours before any such test... 
 
any idea on how long it should be left before touching the tubes, swapping, etc.
 
Anyway I'm not gonna touch anything for the time being.

 

[donlin]

I know what I would do, but I don't want to advise you to do anything you're uncomfortable with.

 

[yukihasi]

  What was the source for the micro? I mean, it will only put out what you feed it. Headphones, source etc. I have a number of headphones and power is not a limiting factor with the micro, IMO but source is. If not using the same source then any comparison has no meaning. 

Agreed, based on the later post I suppose it was a ?->Yggy->mzotl vs ?->chord dave->cavalli (model?).
 
BTW, my friend who also have mzotl just received his EC the studio, gonna go by listen for sometime.

 

[yukihasi]

  it seems it has to be powered off and left for a couple of hours before any such test... 
 
any idea on how long it should be left before touching the tubes, swapping, etc.
 
Anyway I'm not gonna touch anything for the time being.

If you want to be super careful about it then let it cool down for about 15 minutes after turned off. 

 

[bazelio]

Tubes are fun and finicky sometimes.  I think there's probably no substitute for at least moderate burn in and listening tests, unfortunately.  I've had many a "NOS" (such a bogus term nowadays) tube degrade with low hours in years past.... and I swore off tubes for a while.  But eventually, they drew me back in.  

 

[willsw]

Just heard from bazelio about his replacement amp, which I tested and was perfect on shipment - only to arrive with left-channel noise. It's possible that when air travel is involved in shipment, tubes can become loose and only need to be adjusted. If that's the case, we'll have to figure out a solution. If the problem isn't that simple, Linear Tube Audio may have to put shipments of new units on a short hold until the problem is found and if traced to a single source in the manufacturing team, that person replaced. It should not be a gamble when you order any equipment, especially not a $1100 amplifier, and we refuse to be a company with a reputation for poor quality control. When you order a MicroZOTL2 you should expect to get an amp that functions and sounds just as a MicroZOTL2 should. And so we will do everything we can to make that happen, though it may interrupt our record of shipping orders almost immediately. 
 
Now lets talk about tubes or something. Have I already asked what people's experiences with other, non-Tung-Sol new production tubes have been with the MicroZOTL2? 

 

[doctorjazz]

WEll, I've tried 3 different sets of tubes, not the most expensive, but not inexpensive either, usually on a recommendation. These were the Hytron 6SN7GT, the RCA 6SN7GT, and the SiemensE81cc (12AT7). Without going into a ton of detail now, I found they generally did some things better, say, increase tonal richness or bass richness, but there was a trade off. I felt the open wide soundstage and the naturual open space between instruments was decreased. I actually went back to the stock for now (I did all this one at a time, one of these days I'll try the Hytron and the Siemens, which I both did find made improvements in some ways. Didn't love the RCAs).
My $0.02, ymmv, and all the usual disclaimers.

 

[donlin]

  Just heard from bazelio about his replacement amp, which I tested and was perfect on shipment - only to arrive with left-channel noise. It's possible that when air travel is involved in shipment, tubes can become loose and only need to be adjusted. If that's the case, we'll have to figure out a solution. If the problem isn't that simple, Linear Tube Audio may have to put shipments of new units on a short hold until the problem is found and if traced to a single source in the manufacturing team, that person replaced. It should not be a gamble when you order any equipment, especially not a $1100 amplifier, and we refuse to be a company with a reputation for poor quality control. When you order a MicroZOTL2 you should expect to get an amp that functions and sounds just as a MicroZOTL2 should. And so we will do everything we can to make that happen, though it may interrupt our record of shipping orders almost immediately. 
 
Now lets talk about tubes or something. Have I already asked what people's experiences with other, non-Tung-Sol new production tubes have been with the MicroZOTL2? 

A couple thoughts:
 
Of all the tube equipment I've bought over the years, I think this is the only piece that has the tubes installed when shipped.  With all others, the tubes are in boxes and the user installs them.
 
If some of these issues are due simply to loose or faulty tubes, it might be helpful if you would let people know that it's ok to push them in, switch the tubes etc.  It seems like there are some buyers here that are completely new to tube gear and afraid to even touch the tubes.

 

[bazelio]

 

  Just heard from bazelio about his replacement amp, which I tested and was perfect on shipment - only to arrive with left-channel noise. It's possible that when air travel is involved in shipment, tubes can become loose and only need to be adjusted. If that's the case, we'll have to figure out a solution. If the problem isn't that simple, Linear Tube Audio may have to put shipments of new units on a short hold until the problem is found and if traced to a single source in the manufacturing team, that person replaced. It should not be a gamble when you order any equipment, especially not a $1100 amplifier, and we refuse to be a company with a reputation for poor quality control. When you order a MicroZOTL2 you should expect to get an amp that functions and sounds just as a MicroZOTL2 should. And so we will do everything we can to make that happen, though it may interrupt our record of shipping orders almost immediately. 
 
Now lets talk about tubes or something. Have I already asked what people's experiences with other, non-Tung-Sol new production tubes have been with the MicroZOTL2? 

A couple thoughts:
 
Of all the tube equipment I've bought over the years, I think this is the only piece that has the tubes installed when shipped.  With all others, the tubes are in boxes and the user installs them.
 
If some of these issues are due simply to loose or faulty tubes, it might be helpful if you would let people know that it's ok to push them in, switch the tubes etc.  It seems like there are some buyers here that are completely new to tube gear and afraid to even touch the tubes.

 
Yep, I was going to mention the same thing regarding the tubes being shipped pre-installed.
 
In any event, I'm going to remove and reseat all 4 tubes tonight to see if it makes a difference.  Fingers crossed.

 

[Angaria]

If anyone in Chicago has a zotl2, curious how it sounds compared to my transcendent minibeast otl on my he1k.  They're about the same price.  Happy to host.

 

[willsw]

  If anyone in Chicago has a zotl2, curious how it sounds compared to my transcendent minibeast otl on my he1k.  They're about the same price.  Happy to host.

 
I've been looking at those. If anyone in the DC area has a minibeast, I'd love to compare. It doesn't look like I'll be running into Transcendent Sound at any audio shows. 

 

[Angaria]

FWIW, I've been on a long audio quest, through dozens of amps, and for the first time I'd say I'm quite content with this setup. That of course doesn't prevent me from trying to be happier

 

[Hifi01170]

It seems quite a few people here have had a chance to compare the microZOTL 2 vs the Cavalli Liquid Carbon. Any feedbacks?

 

[sheldaze]

  It seems quite a few people here have had a chance to compare the microZOTL 2 vs the Cavalli Liquid Carbon. Any feedbacks?

I think you'll find a few impressions as well in the Liquid Carbon threads.
 
::
 
I am about to do precisely that comparison, between MicroZOTL2 and Liquid Carbon. However I ask you, which headphones are you most interested in using? For me personally, I need to try at least four different styles of headphones:
 

1. high current planar (i.e. HE1K)
2. high voltage dynamic (i.e. HD800)
3. darkish (i.e. HD650)
4. inexpensive (i.e K7XX, Grado)

 
So it will be a while for me to personally evaluate. But I could certainly direct my efforts, if possible, towards listening first to a comparable headphone for what you are planning to use - if I have it, and know what your specific category of headphone would be.

 

[zachawry]

For me, the Carbon was more vibrant, but also more coarse. It was more fatiguing to listen to. 
 
The MZ2 has more air, more detail, more clarity. I find myself listening to more complete albums on the MZ2. 
 
In the end, to me the LC, while great (especially for the price), lacked a certain cohesiveness. All the individual sounds sounded good, but they were fragmented, at least to my ear. The MZ2 brings everything back together into one cohesive whole. 
 
I used the Ethers, Alpha Primes, and Sennheiser IE800 IEMs.