Laconic Zana Deux Micro

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by The Life, Nov 7, 2016.

  1. The Life

    The Life Facebook Friend

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    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Thanks to @t3hwx9, our local combination of Han Solo and Indiana Jones, I finally got my hands on one of these. I have never heard the Zana Deux proper but, on first listen, these are certainly the "ballsiest" amps I have ever heard. For now it is just pics but I will post more detailed impressions over the next week or so. These will definitely be in attendance at the upcoming NYC Meet.
     
  2. t3hwx9

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    Some observations, I've got when your unit was already in transit.
    According to google images, stock ZDM looks like
    [​IMG]

    Either there were several hw-revisions (note the different font), or that huge capacitors are result of modification.
     
  3. The Life

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  4. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Oh man, I'm looking forward to hearing this! Out of the three NYers who made it to the meet last weekend, @SteelCannon probably spent the most time with the ZDS. He should have a pretty good idea of what it sounds like, and can compare it with the ZD Micro based off of memory. I only listened to the ZDS briefly, but it was with one of my reference tracks at least.

    I know you said you wouldn't be able to make it on Saturday, but are you going to drop the amp off or come by later during the day?
     
  5. t3hwx9

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    I've managed to source an used unit. This one features 4 Soviet capacitors instead of oversized-audiophile-ones:
    [​IMG]
    (strangely enough, capacitors of this type should've been visible on the photo above as well)

    I'm unable to comment on the sonic differences, though. LCD-X (20 Ohms) is a horrible match for ZDM (output impedance is 15 Ohms)
     
  6. HappyMonkey

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    how can i get this amp, by reading here on sbaf there is han solo who can get them to EU or USA
     
  7. perkele

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    You might wanna contact t3hwx9 and ask for his help.
     
  8. IceUul

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    According to my info, ZDM is not in production anymore. You can buy one used if you are lucky.
     
  9. IceUul

    IceUul Friend

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    Just got one of these units for myself.
    Unpacked it - looks like an any bad quality soviet audio equipment.
    Plugged in the tubes - hard to get the case open, i don't get why the tubes needs whose springs there.
    Connected Yggdrasil and HD800 into it and turned it on - i expected it to sound like an ass, if i consider the build quality
    and the look, but i have never been so wrong... more to come later...

    Anybody have compared it to the real Zana Deux?
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2017
  10. MrButchi

    MrButchi Gear Master Europe

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    I think Marv did quickly and there is a reference to a changstar post where he was saying that it was pretty similar sounding.
    Care to correct me @Marvey?
     
  11. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

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    I thought it sounded pretty bad, muddy and overly warmed over. Neither dynamic nor resolving, losing out to even Jimmy's Sonnett 2 in those regards.
     
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Has the same kind of sound, more similar to the ZD SE than ZDS (which is more neutral). Also hard to say as the sound will depend upon customizations or modifications (caps). The output Z could be significantly higher. It doesn't slam like the ZD SE or ZDS. There power supply is much simpler. The ZDS has two sets of chokes.
     
  13. IceUul

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    It is not what i hear... what's so special about Jimmy's Sonett 2? Is it some kind of special Sonett?
     
  14. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

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    I didn't like the Sonnett either, so losing out to that says a lot. Might have been the "audiophile" caps. Its a totally different sound from the contemporary ZDS.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2017
  15. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    I was curious to see if this thing would make the rounds but after this, not so much. Too bad.
     
  16. IceUul

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    Had some tech problems today, did not have much time to listen it, but so far i can say it is the best amp by far i have heard in this price range (under 500$).
    It does not have any problems that the Laconic NBM has, like small soundstage, muddy bass, overly warm and so on or Schiit Jotunheim has, like small soundstage and lifeless music.
     
  17. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

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    Well for 500 $ it slams pretty hard, different league than, say Jotunheim at slam.
    It's warm and hazy, kind of like tubed version of too little biased class AB speaker amp, but bloomier and without hiss.
    It's a fun listen with simple music, like some electronica and synth pop.

    To my ears the Blues Mini is higher tier amp. It does subtleties and is much smoother. Really, for any acoustic performance this is no contest.
    NBM has proper stage, relations to sounds and physical feel of the sounds. The ZDM seriously sucks at any stage projection precision and placement. It's stage is one large foggy mess. Yes it is large, but that's all. Something like K701's stage. Large, but nothing in it.
    Tonally NBM is darker and ZDM is bassier with 300ohm Senns to my ears.
    The ZD-Micro wins at slam and overall clarity, but that is basically it. In a sense sound is clearer, yet I don't want to say cleaner, as it has that haze/bloom, that NBM almost doesn't have.
    Although slam doesn't equal macrodynamics. It has this sort of loudness effect. Actual relations in intensity scale are not better defined than the NBM, rather the opposite.

    Honestly I'm surprised it sounds any good at all, as I saw no foil caps anywhere in the signal bath after output tubes.
    It looks like signal goes through electrolytics with 35V doing neg duty and 200V cap holding mostly the bias, that's how it looks from above at least without ripping off the underside cover.
     
  18. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

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    I did not know it was originally that cheap, which raises its value in my estimation. I still wouldn't describe it as satisfactory for the money, given my tonal preferences, but the unobtanium status makes all that moot.
     
  19. MarcusV123

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    Seems the ZD micro has gone through another revision or is the ZD mini some sort of different beast altogether?[​IMG]
     
  20. t3hwx9

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    HA-09/ZD Mini is designed with the same Zana Deux base schematics, but features a different set of components.
    The tubes are 6N9S (6Н9С) and 6N5S (6Н5С) which are equivalent to 6SL7 and 6AS7.
    I had an opportunity to play around with a pre-production prototype. It was slightly better than HA-08 in terms of detail retrieval and microdynamics, but much more sensitive to external EMI conditions.
     

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