I just received mine yesterday and I'm speechless - it's absolutely amazing.. Seriously, there are so many things I could say about what an outstanding job ZMF & Decware have done on this one. I haven't heard anything like it. The only change I made to it was to swap the input tube with a Mullard NOS ECC88. Absolute perfection. Very well done.
I wholeheartedly agree. I've lived with this for a while. After CanJam, I pestered Zach until he'd sell me one. With most gear you're sacrificing some aspect in favor of another. This feels like a no-compromises design that somehow gives you cleanliness, linearity, detail, dynamism - all those things we associate with a great SS amp - but also the spaciousness, plushness, and liquidity we love about tubes. There's never a question of "oh it's very musical but all the edges are blunted" or whatnot. The accuracy is such that I would trust it for production work. Paired with the Atrium the experience is one of pure comfort and romanticism. I've also really enjoyed doing listening sessions with friends. Most of us who'd buy this amp have more than one 300 ohm headphone, so that makes it a no brainer for co-op. A very joyous experience.
Thank you for the amazing breakdown on this beautiful device. Looking at the innards kinda made me get a little tickley in parts. In another reality, I'd be selecting the Purchase button RIGHT NOW! :D
Hey Zach! Have you ever tried replacing the Russian 6n6p with Amperex 7119/5687 and pinout adapters? A great option I rarely see but I’m finding it to add a bit of liquid smoothness and linearity to my Feliks amp/Eikon combo.
If any of y'all have a Focal that needs a soundstage boost and an extreme bass boost, this amp will do that for you. Maybe to a dangerous degree, but I got no driver clipping on my Radiance despite the impedence mismatch.
What decware model is to the left of the zmf reference at timestamp 9:30? It looks like the cps3 but I don't see an option for a VU meter on Decwares site. I love the look of the reference, but strongly dislike the look of the exposed caps. Otherwise it looks like a winner!
Wow, sexy! I know you've been talking about doing a collab with Decware for ages now. Grats on finally pulling it off! Hope I get to hear one at some point, unlikely as it seems these days.
