sacd lover
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2002
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909, I would say your desrciption of musical is a close approximation of how I would define musical .....
Musical to me means it sounds wholly organic, seamless and moves air and conveys emotion without sacrificing the nuances of detail, harmonics, timing, and microdynamics -- essential for lifelike reproduction of sound. The ZD is the only amp out of the three that gets all of this right at the same time, which is a rare feat.
However, I dont hear the ZD as offering more of these qualities than the Extreme. I thought the ZD could sound rough at times with Grados or the 701 .... where the Extreme can sound to dull with Senn 600/650s with the wrong gain tube. Moreover, the ZD, to my ears, has never displayed the wide open soundstaging of the Extreme.
I could live with any of the three amps in question but I would rather take the Extreme and $1000 price difference and put that towards a better source.
Musical to me means it sounds wholly organic, seamless and moves air and conveys emotion without sacrificing the nuances of detail, harmonics, timing, and microdynamics -- essential for lifelike reproduction of sound. The ZD is the only amp out of the three that gets all of this right at the same time, which is a rare feat.
However, I dont hear the ZD as offering more of these qualities than the Extreme. I thought the ZD could sound rough at times with Grados or the 701 .... where the Extreme can sound to dull with Senn 600/650s with the wrong gain tube. Moreover, the ZD, to my ears, has never displayed the wide open soundstaging of the Extreme.
I could live with any of the three amps in question but I would rather take the Extreme and $1000 price difference and put that towards a better source.