Icarium Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 ZDT <- This is very similar to the Nautilus amp that he had prototyped but better (Partial Silver Electraprint transformers last time I heard). I think it's a steal at this price versus the price of a new Zana Deux.... anyone on board or considering?
penger Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 Can someone explain the differences and what they entail? I can see that it's got transformers and now has the capability to drive speakers. But what makes it better? Sorry for my ignorance.
Icarium Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Posted March 19, 2009 It's transformer coupled rather than OTL which is a different sound. It's a pretty different topology I believe. It's not really balanced.. I believe it's balanced with transformers.. and it only offers single ended input -> "balanced" output. It doesn't let you do balanced input. I dunno the Nautilus sounded pretty different from the Zana.. wider soundstage... more engaging sound.
penger Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 Ahh. I think the balanced output is mainly for K1000's. Fully balanced is Balancing Act territory, isn't it?
Guest sacd lover Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 I wish he had used something besides a 12AX7 for gain. I like the ZDs 6SL7 better. But, with the transformers eating up some of the gain he probably needed too.
Icarium Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Posted March 19, 2009 Craig Uthus to me show details 5:51 PM (13 minutes ago) Reply The ZDT sounds better than the Nautilus. I will need to A/B it with the HD2.
n_maher Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 I wish that he'd a) remove the locking mechanism from the 4-pin jack, it's 100% unnecessary and detracts form the look of the amp and while he's at it rear mount the 4-pin jack, it would clean up and otherwise very aesthetically pleasing design. 2 pretty minor quibbles, hope to hear one some day.
luvdunhill Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 I wish that he'd a) remove the locking mechanism from the 4-pin jack, it's 100% unnecessary and detracts form the look of the amp and while he's at it rear mount the 4-pin jack, it would clean up and otherwise very aesthetically pleasing design. 2 pretty minor quibbles, hope to hear one some day. I think the reason the locking mechanism is left in is that XLR jacks don't have the same contact force that RCA jacks do. I know amb has said this a few times, as have a few people on other boards who seem to give a knee-jerk disapproval when they see pics of jacks with the mechanisms removed.
morphsci Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 WTF??? There are a few people waiting for BAs. And now he's introducing a new amp?
Icarium Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Posted March 19, 2009 Nah.. this was designed/prototyped in parallel with the BA as the Nautilus. His plan was always to have it assembled alongside the current run of ZDs and BAs. This shouldn't influence delivery time on the BA at all.
jp11801 Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 He's been working on both concurrently the ZDT has been in the works for months. The BA delays are a function of parts delivery not build time as they all pretty much go to the build house he uses. (not sure if the build house is doing the BA or not) I am pretty sure the ZDT is being assembled by the build folks he uses.
morphsci Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 Oh, I figured that. I simply don't bitch enough on HC, so I wanted to rectify that.
Icarium Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Posted March 19, 2009 He's been working on both concurrently the ZDT has been in the works for months. The BA delays are a function of parts delivery not build time as they all pretty much go to the build house he uses. (not sure if the build house is doing the BA or not) I am pretty sure the ZDT is being assembled by the build folks he uses. Yeah the build house is.. not sure if its in that stage. He might still need to take some solid photos of the completed BA before giving his reference to them (I have preliminary photos and it looks pretty sweet, but I think he wants to do some ones with better lighting before posting them on his site). He also might need to do some tweaking with the AD1 tubes (He ended up putting those in his reference because he couldn't find his 307A sockets). After it enters that stage though they should be finished in ~2 weeks... then its probably testing/packing.
penger Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 I'd go for the ZDT if my Extreme ever came back and I could sell it.
n_maher Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 I think the reason the locking mechanism is left in is that XLR jacks don't have the same contact force that RCA jacks do. I know amb has said this a few times, as have a few people on other boards who seem to give a knee-jerk disapproval when they see pics of jacks with the mechanisms removed.Doesn't Neutrik make the jacks (maybe not the 4-pin) with the locks removed?
penger Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 I'm pretty sure... Ray uses some of the 3-pin type on his Apache.
recstar24 Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 Can someone explain the differences and what they entail? I can see that it's got transformers and now has the capability to drive speakers. But what makes it better? Sorry for my ignorance. For one look at the power output into lower impedance. Waaaaay more power output, so the benefits of better drive capability into the low impedance grados and such theoretically should be apparent. Consider you are getting about 3watts of power into 32 ohms and I am sure the tube itself is run very lightly due to the transformer coupling, the sound could be a step up from the zana with the low impedances. 8 watts into 8 ohms is ideal for my speaker tastes - in fact if craig fracking let me know that something like this was on the horizon or if the moth didn't come through, I would get this in a heartbeat due to the versatility. The transformer coupling in general will allow the tube to run a bit easier (which in my opinion is usually a benefit in operation and sound). The tube itself has a very low plate impedance so the transformer itself can be wound much better, making it more ideal in this application. Cannot beat the higher power output though that stems from all those things mentioned above.
penger Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 Nice. Based on what you said, tube life should also increase because they're not being run as hard, yes?
recstar24 Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 Nice. Based on what you said, tube life should also increase because they're not being run as hard, yes? Correct - the biggest problem with transformer coupling is the transformer itself:D
kelvinz Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 so many high end amps I want to hear!!! Maybe I should be satisfied with my B22
Aura Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 I dunno dudes... I really fucking want one... Pretty much my end-all, be-all SE solution with a whole lot more power than the Moth. As I was listening to Mike's (Absorbine's) ZD at the IL meet this past weekend, I was thinking to myself "fark, I really wish this amp had speaker posts". I'll be damned, Craig decided to give me/us just that, with plenty of iron to boot .
Jon L Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 Almost makes me regret selling both my K1000's. Speaker outputs for my speakers, too, though 8 watts into 8 Ohms is about half of other 6C33C-B amps like Almarro A318B... $2500. How much was the now sold-out Balancing Act again?
morphsci Posted March 19, 2009 Report Posted March 19, 2009 Craig told me $3200 back in August. You are correct sir.
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