Me and my Zana Deux (+ pics)...

[mulveling]

Received her Wednesday afternoon and we've been getting along just fine so far!

Like a lot of my favorite gear, its sonic presentation was unexpected at first and took some getting used to. This happened with the L3000, Qualia, and my vinyl rig - often it takes several listens to really get a handle of whether something so new is truly going to be wonderful in the long run. The one exception would be my SDS, which was pretty much love at first listen. I'm still in that evaluation period with the Zana Deux, but it's already bestowed some truly magical listening sessions and several spine-chilling instances.

What got me about the Zana was how it's unlike other tube amps - where's the coloration? I've heard tube amps that are quite warm, lush, tubey - the SDS being the perfect example here. And then I've heard tubes that run the opposite end of the spectrum and are even somewhat aggressive in the upper mids/lower treble area. The Zana sounds neutral, just totally unbiased towards any part of the spectrum. Grain-less like good tubes. Great slam & dynamics like powerful tubes. Tonally natural like great tubes, not at all tonally sterile like most SS. Not tonally soft, not hard. Fast & resolving like any great amp, tube or SS.

I must admit I'd become used to the warm organic sound of the SDS and the extra "kick" it adds to the bass. The result is totally unfatiguing and a good match, to my tastes, for really hard rock and metal. It also happens to sound excellent with really good recordings of slower stuff. The Zana, however, seems to be optimized for the good recordings. Of course it can still really rock down with heavy stuff like Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, and Judas Priest (I was listening to Judas Priest "Sin After Sin" tonight and damn did it sound sweet on the Zana!) - but the Zana seems voiced more so for the best recordings. I reserve the right to tweak my opinion on this matter in the future Stuff that seemed just right for the Zana included my LP's of: Steely Dan - Aja, Michael Jackson - Thriller, Dire Straits - Love Over Gold, Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat, and Madonna - Madonna. It's amazing the cleanness and separation with which the Zana can render these albums. When I listened to Aja for the first time, it was completely mind-blowing how distinctly reproduced each layer of music was, totally unaffected and uncolored by any other layer, and how as a result they all summed to form a much greater whole. It's like when the brain doesn't have to spend the processing effort to separate things that have been blurred together along the audio chain, the analytical side of the brain can shut down and the creative side of the brain is left to observe in awe. The Zana excels at this kind of stuff.

Anyways, I'm really enjoying the Zana Deux so far. The SDS is currently unplugged (ran out of rack space), so I'll need to do some more formal comparisons with the Zana later on. The Zana Deux also seems to be excellent as a preamp. Really, really excellent. With prices from all the major manufacturers' top amps seemingly on the rise, is the Zana Deux the last "bargain" in high end headphone amplifiers? Recently, $1900 doesn't seem the overly generous budget it used to be...

Pics:

[mulveling]

Some pics of the current setup:

The overall view:

Some Judas Priest spinnin', more "devil music" in the queue

A Tannoy Dimension TD10 with its funky grill on:

Closeup of one of the VAC Auricle Musicblocs:

[mulveling]

Also, I forgot to mention in the opening post - I've used the HD650, L3000, and Qualia 010 with the Zana (stock cables all around). The amp gets excellent marks on all 3 thus far. I've only listened to it with vinyl on my SOTA TT, because well - I only listen to vinyl at home anymore

[Iron_Dreamer]

Dammit, stop making me want those speakers!

[tkam]

Congrats Mike the ZD is a really nice amp. It'll be interesting to see how it compares to your SDS over time.

[ojnihs]

congratz! nice setup...makes me jealous

[granodemostasa]

congrats on joining the club! it's a great amp. um... what input is that?

please take more pictures...

WOw, that's a great speaker set up.

and.... I really want that faceplate... i guess I'll have to wait (Asr has my faceplate from the Saturday meet).

[postjack]

I like your Sota!

[grawk]

Just like Greg House!

[Nanoha]

Awesome acquisition there Mike.

But yes, in my opinion, the best tube amps are supposed to be "neutral" and uncolored.

[hungrych]

That is the sexiest rig ever.

[Dusty Chalk]

That is the sexiest rig ever.

I have to agree, of all the rigs I've seen, yours is the best combination of: , , and , I've ever seen. Very nice.

[Dusty Chalk]

Oh, and: really nice pics.

[deepak]

Nice pics and impressions

[KenW]

Thought you had the Tannoy Eyris DC3's? I see you've upgraded. Was that due to some dissatisfaction on your part? Reason I ask is that the DC3 is on my list as possible purchase candidates...actually, they're pretty high on my list to be honest.

[mulveling]

I have to agree, of all the rigs I've seen, yours is the best combination of: , , and , I've ever seen. Very nice.

Wow, thanks for the overwhelmingly positive feedback guys

I gotta admit, gear aesthetics are pretty important when the money's been flying out of my wallet this fast. All my previous rigs, I had some grandiose image in my head of how cool all the gear would look together once it arrived, and it always fell well short of the ideal until now. Sonics are always #1 of course, but both are serious considerations. This is definitely the best rig I've owned, aesthetics-wise. Almost certainly sound-wise, too, but I need to decide which I prefer between the SDS and Zana Deux - ony time will tell. The SOTA TT continues to bowl me over and bring things to the table that none of my digital sources could. Finally, I've been spending money on music (vinyl) at least as fast as gear The VAC musicblocs add that extra bit of midrange sweetness and natural tube tone that I was missing a bit of with the JC-1's (I no longer require the JC-1's iron grip over hard-to-drive speakers). The Tannoys just sound so natural and cohesive, especially with tubes & vinyl. I just wish I had a solid floor under my feet and a slightly bigger room - I know that would improve things significantly

[postjack]

sorry for the tangent, but is that a sapphire? what phono/cart you got there?

[mulveling]

Thought you had the Tannoy Eyris DC3's? I see you've upgraded. Was that due to some dissatisfaction on your part? Reason I ask is that the DC3 is on my list as possible purchase candidates...actually, they're pretty high on my list to be honest.

Yes, I had them a while back, but I had a mighty itch to try new speakers that had to be scratched.

In retrospect, they are probably my favorite of what I'd owned before these TD10's. Here's a rundown of what I went through:

Tannoy Eyris DC3 - Like the Dimension, TD10, they're very natural and cohesive with superb imaging. Less bass impact than the TD10, but still more than a monitor will give you (well, maybe similar to a gigantic monitor like the Tyler Linbrooks). Fairly forgiving of various rooms. An excellent looking and sounding speaker; I can highly recommend them in their price bracket. Fabulous for hifi 2ch and HT.

Tyler Taylo Reference monitors - Excellent, excellent value for the money when purchased used. The factory direct prices have recently gone up though. These were my favorite for a while. The midrange is extremely clean & detailed, perhaps a bit cleaner and more neutral than the DC3 (the DC3 is just a hair on the warm side of things). Excellent bass for a monitor, though they fall a little short of the DC3 in that area; in extension and impact. Very, very forgiving of rooms. Set it and forget it.

Tyler Linbrook Signature monitors - I didn't really like these. They have much more bass impact than the Tylers, but the Tyler midrange was much cleaner, and much more to my liking. The Linbrooks sounded a bit dark and dull by comparison. Perhaps they're just very unforgiving of the room, and that was my problem at the time?

Legacy Audio Signature III - These sounded amazing in Tom's rig. Never got them fully dialed in at my place, though They are excruciatingly unforgiving of room and sub-optimal positioning. They ALSO need a special kind of powerful amp to control the woofers. The Parasound Halo A21 and JC1 did that - the PS Audio HCA2 and Sunfire Signature failed. Capable of a lot in the right room, but not at my residence.

So yeah, if I were you - I'd seriously, seriously consider buying the DC3. They look stunning in the dark walnut

[CD44hi]

Very nice set-up. That's what I'd call a visually appealing and I am sure sonic satisfaction is not far behind.

The pics are so crisp. May I ask what camera did you use?

Thanks for sharing and enjoy. I'd also interested in your impressions once your amp matures, and how it compares to the SDS.

Are you keeping both for a while?

[mulveling]

sorry for the tangent, but is that a sapphire? what phono/cart you got there?

It's a Star Sapphire Series III in Koa wood, built in the late 80's

The cart is a low-output Benz Glider L2

The arm is a Fidelity Research FR-64fx

The phono stage is a Benz Lukaschek PP-1

The clamp is the newest addition; a SOTA Reflex clamp

Table/arm/cart were setup by Peter Marshall, the owner of Audio Atlanta in Marietta GA.

It's all I could have every asked for in my first foray into vinyl and more. It's like I asked for a pony for Christmas and I got a pony farm

[mulveling]

Very nice set-up. That's what I'd call a visually appealing and I am sure sonic satisfaction is not far behind.

The pics are so crisp. May I ask what camera did you use?

Thanks for sharing and enjoy. I'd also interested in your impressions once your amp matures, and how it compares to the SDS.

Are you keeping both for a while?

Thanks

The camera is a Nikon D40. I have two lenses, the D40 kit lens and an older 100-300 ED lens - I can only use manual focus with this lens, but I like manual focus for still pics. The key is a sturdy tripod, and taking the pics with a 2-second timer delay, so that my ham-fisted camera hand doesn't jitter the image. Also, a little help from Google's Picasa can do wonders to make up for the poor quality lighting.

Yep, I hope to keep both the Zana Deux and SDS for a while

[KenW]

Yes, I had them a while back, but I had a mighty itch to try new speakers that had to be scratched.

In retrospect, they are probably my favorite of what I'd owned before these TD10's. Here's a rundown of what I went through:

Tannoy Eyris DC3 - Like the Dimension, TD10, they're very natural and cohesive with superb imaging. Less bass impact than the TD10, but still more than a monitor will give you (well, maybe similar to a gigantic monitor like the Tyler Linbrooks). Fairly forgiving of various rooms. An excellent looking and sounding speaker; I can highly recommend them in their price bracket. Fabulous for hifi 2ch and HT.

Tyler Taylo Reference monitors - Excellent, excellent value for the money when purchased used. The factory direct prices have recently gone up though. These were my favorite for a while. The midrange is extremely clean & detailed, perhaps a bit cleaner and more neutral than the DC3 (the DC3 is just a hair on the warm side of things). Excellent bass for a monitor, though they fall a little short of the DC3 in that area; in extension and impact. Very, very forgiving of rooms. Set it and forget it.

Tyler Linbrook Signature monitors - I didn't really like these. They have much more bass impact than the Tylers, but the Tyler midrange was much cleaner, and much more to my liking. The Linbrooks sounded a bit dark and dull by comparison. Perhaps they're just very unforgiving of the room, and that was my problem at the time?

Legacy Audio Signature III - These sounded amazing in Tom's rig. Never got them fully dialed in at my place, though They are excruciatingly unforgiving of room and sub-optimal positioning. They ALSO need a special kind of powerful amp to control the woofers. The Parasound Halo A21 and JC1 did that - the PS Audio HCA2 and Sunfire Signature failed. Capable of a lot in the right room, but not at my residence.

So yeah, if I were you - I'd seriously, seriously consider buying the DC3. They look stunning in the dark walnut

I'm so glad I stumbled onto this thread. You've had extensive listening with 2 other speakers on my list. Very helpful! Thank you. I'd really like to buy used if I can find a good pair. Any idea on what a "jump out of your socks and buy it" price would be for the DC3 on the used market?

[mulveling]

I'm so glad I stumbled onto this thread. You've had extensive listening with 2 other speakers on my list. Very helpful! Thank you. I'd really like to buy used if I can find a good pair. Any idea on what a "jump out of your socks and buy it" price would be for the DC3 on the used market?

I got mine a while back for $1800 + ship a while back, which is fair for a pair in excellent condition, but not a great deal. I've seen one 8/10 pair advertised on agon as low as $1000, but that was an outlier and the seller didn't respond for like 5 weeks, so his reliability was suspect. I see the one on agon now is for $1895 + ship - that's a bit on the high side. Fortunately for you, Amercian interest in Tannoys is VERY sparse (they don't market nor advertise much here, and there are few dealers), so he probably won't have any interested buyers yet, and you should be able to negotiate. I'd think $1500 is a fair price, though he may not think so immediately...

[philodox]

Nice pictures, and I love the look of your rig. I can only imagine how good it sounds.

[Icarium]

Yeah the Zana Deux is an amazing value. Imo, though you think the SDS sounds warm/lush compared.. you can plug in some diff tubes and right now mine sounds amazingly clear and analytical. I'd say more so than the Zana Deux which when I had them side by side Zana Deux sounded warmer.

I ended up giving the adapter i was going to send to you back to Mikhail, but i'd really urge you to get or check out a 2C51 adapter for the driver position. Also if you throw in some 6BL7 Sylvania or other GTs... then you get the kind of sound I'm talking about.