Quote:Dear Mr. Deckert,
After getting second-hand Z box last Oct., I've been having huge steps. It ( Z box ) tells me the steps to take.
3 months later, I got 40-50 tubes in my drawer. ( AX, AT, AU, AZ and BH7s ) Initial setting was Mac Pro - Z box - Crown D-75A( or PS-200 ) - Dynaudio BM5P.
All line cables are Belden88760 with Neutrik and Belden SP cable.
It required DAC. So I got quite good one from Taiwan. And got optical cable from Taiwan too. Then it requested to check cables. First I A/B tested SP cable with Belden 88760 ( line cable ).
88760 worked better. So changed the cable inside SP too.
Final step was solder......Japanese solder - silver and a little copper - had the best result so far.
Changed every soldering points. Then no needs for BH7s.
At the same time, it's changed whole music which I've been listening.
I used to love Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani and so on. Now I can listen to only Jesse Cook, some Latin rock and classical guitars.
That's OK and I can enjoy music better than ever. I will enjoy music rest of my life.... getting closer to the end. I enjoy playing music too.
I sold Acoustic G ( steel strings ) and got nylon electric G with RMC pick-up and pre-amp inside.
I have G SP ( open back, EV 12 inches ). Just plug into your G amp?
I've tried cheap Chinese mic pre/DI ( US design ) - Crown - EV....
didn't work. because of piezo pick-up??? Or complicated mic pre????
I think I need only reverb sometime.
Another way of thinking.........I love Z box....I feel it naturally compresses very very gently and creates 3D images. 1U rack = Z box with Neutrik combo input ( XLR + 1/4 inch unbalanced ) and XLR output....plus your G amp's pre section with (XLR + 1/4 )output.
I don't play with DAW at this moment...........but very interesting for me.
Thank you very much for your help. Hoping to visit your place and listen ( if possible ) on the way to my son's graduation in Chicago.
Best Regards,
Yoshihisa Masui
Glad you're enjoying your ZBOX! I like your attention to detail, ie., with tube rolling etc. I'd love you have you visit. Just call a week before your planning on coming down so I can be sure to schedule myself here when you arrive!
Also, when things slow down a bit, I could build you a ZBOX in a commercial rack mount chassis with the options you need. Probably be a good Fall or Winter project.
Steve