Calling Dave Berning ZH-270 owners

From my experiences with the ZH270, it does sound best with an active preamp. I think solid state or tubes comes down to personal preference, as long as its high quality and musical it should sound great. Without a preamp the ZH270 sounds very open and detailed but lacks some of the weight and musicality that only a good preamp can add.

Some preamps that I have personally used with great results are: Berning P-1 (tube), Berning MicroZotl (tube, modified for use as a linestage), Blue Circle BC 21 (tube), Adcom GFP 750 (solid state) and Threshold FET 10 (solid state). My favorites would be the Micro Zotl and the BC 21.
Both of those preamps added all the weight, dimension, and musicality that was missing. I do love the characteristics of the 6SN7 tubes and they mated very well with the ZH270.

I own a ZH270 and I love it! I agree with Chris74. It does sound best with a preamp. I ran it straight into a cd player and the sound was missing dynamics and weight to the music. I use a Supratek Cortese preamp, and it is a fantastic match. The sound is lightning fast with great dynamic contrast. Low mid range has nice weight and body to the music. By the way, the Cortese uses 6sn7 tubes in the line stage.

I don't have the 270s anymore, but when I did have them I used the Tron Comet preamp.

Agree w/comments that preamp adds weight, fullness to the sound, and improves dynamics. I used a Joule Electra LA150, LA100mkIII, CAT SL1mk3, and tried a friends' Supratek Chenin. They all sounded far better than the Berning alone. Cheers,

Spencer

Another preamp convert here also.Used it with a Counterpoint[modded] pre and it was superb,cheers,Bob