Sean
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I received a new to me 20th Anniversary ZP3 about 4 weeks ago. I'd love to say that from the time I plugged it in that it was pure bliss...however...it's been a bit of a battle.
First, here's my setup. Mofi Studiodeck with AT OC9 III into a AT630 SUT > ZP3 > UFO 25th > Tekton Pendragons. I'm using Mogami 2497 diy cables for interconnects.
While waiting for the ZP3 to be delivered I tore apart one AT630 (I've got two of them) and soldered 2497 cables to it. I really like the 2497 cables so my thinking was it would be an improvement over the 30year old RCA's on the 630. I put this in a second system (NAD 7100) and had no issues with it. When I got the ZP3, this SUT didn't work so well. The soundstage was a disaster, it was about 3' wide and 3' tall. WTF??? Sounded like the speakers were behind a wall that had a big 3' square hole in it. Yanked it out and put the other SUT in, all better. I do consider the AT630 the weak spot in my system, but for now it's what I have and until the audio funds recoup a bit it's what I'll be using.
At this point things were OK, not great but I heard the potential. Compared to the Jolida JD9 I had been using, the ZP3 was quieter and very smooth. So much less grain on the edge of instruments and vocals.
For a couple days I didn't change a thing, just tried to get a baseline and listen. Then the tube rolling started. I felt the low end was lacking a bit, so let the madness begin! Swapping out rectifiers, 12AX7's, 5751's, 5184a's, etc. Something still wasn't quite right no matter what combo I tried. As smooth as the ZP3 is I was still getting slightly edgy sounds and sibilance on sudden volume bursts. I decided it was time to start at the beginning and reset everything.
I checked the level of the Mofi and made sure the platter was dead level, it wasn't. Got that leveled out. Checked and rechecked and adjusted the cart. Geo Disc can suck it. Seriously, you can realign everything 100 times and get 120 different results depending where you decide the "pivot point" is. You may think you're pointing to the right spot, but if not you compounded the wrong angle. Perhaps I'm overly anal about this, but getting sibilance and weird balance is NOT what I enjoy hearing. Due to the uncommon length of the Mofi arm they really should include a protractor specific to the table. I like the table, I don't love it. Regardless, it took longer than I thought it should, but it's sounding great now.
For the past week I've been running Raytheon windmill 5751's in the first two spots, a Gold Lion 12AU7, RCA 5U4G and the original Sylvania OA3. The windmill in the 2nd spot does affect output level a bit, but the trade off is a winner for me. My room isn't huge, I listen mainly at night after the kids go to bed. If I'm at 85db in the basement, it's 80db in the living room right above it thanks mostly to the all solid surface staircase and HVAC vents in the basement ceiling that also end in the living room. So taming the output slightly then compensating with more volume on the UFO works out nicely.
Overall, I love the ZP3. It's there, but it's not...very transparent and very black background. Tube rolling can have very distinct impacts on the overall sound. Like I said earlier, the AT SUT is likely the weak spot currently, however it's livable. I've been reading up on SUT's and I'm basically undecided on what direction to take...ZMC?...cinemag?...the possibilities are endless!
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