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EQUIPMENT FORUMS >> ZEN SARAH 300B >> My current thoughts on the Zen 300B Sarah amp
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Message started by Jak Benardete on 08/21/24 at 22:13:45

Title: My current thoughts on the Zen 300B Sarah amp
Post by Jak Benardete on 08/21/24 at 22:13:45

Hi Everyone!

I have had this amazing amp for close to 3 months now, of which a month of it I was traveling so this is more like a 2 months of use review.

Where to start?

As all of you know the build quality is excellent and the amp with the walnut frame and the polished copper transformer is gorgeous.

My system is

Project X2B Balanced turntable
Audio Technica AT-OC9XSL Dual MC Phono Cartridge
Project Balanced Phone preamp
Project power supply for the Turntable and the Phono amp
Node streamer, with Teddy Pardo power supply
Denafrips Ares 12th DAC
KLH Model 5 Speakers
REL T7X subwoofer
Pine Tree Audio Balanced to RCA transformer (Thank you Lon)
Pine Tree Audio and AudioQuest cables

So the amp was put into the middle of this system and for the first month or so the mids and the highs sounded wonderful but the bass just did not have the control that I was looking for.
By the beginning of month two the amplifier started to get much much more controlled in the bass, along with that I adjusted the REL to take over the bass duties a little earlier and boom, and I mean boom. It all fell into place.

Now I had the sweetest most detailed highs and mids (not any easy feat with the KLH tweeter)
but also tight and articulate bass.

I find myself listening to a lot of Jazz these days as the sound just envelops me, I try to do Steve's out of body experience from time to time, when I pull the speakers way out into the room late at night and with the lights off, it really becomes a chill inducing phenomenon.

From reading a lot of the reviews here, I know that there's a lot more to come from the amp, I also know that my speakers are not ideal for a 7 Watt amp and I have been looking around trying to find the right one that fits my budget, tastes and requirements. But I really am not in a hurry.

For the time being the music is playing 4 to 8 hours a day here at home and I couldn't be happier. ;D

Title: Re: My current thoughts on the Zen 300B Sarah amp
Post by Lon on 08/21/24 at 22:17:40

Awesome! Thanks for reporting your experience!