Notes on a LTA Z10 with phono stage

Thought I’d weigh in with another LTA Z10 review to go along with this one here. I’ve been using it for a only a week now but am truly impressed. 

Normally I don’t do reviews in forums, just because most of the time I buy equipment used and by the time it winds up in my hands there’s already tons of reviews out there. But this amp is still new enough that I thought it might be useful to note some impressions, especially given that I’d found nothing written on the optional phono stage.

Background: I’d been using Decware amps for years, including a Mini Torii and a Zen SE84 clone that I built myself. About two-thirds of my listening is vinyl, mostly acoustic jazz, but also rock (Stooges, Kinks, etc), classical, pop...basically a bit of everything. My turntable is a Well Tempered Versalex. Before trying the Z10’s phono stage, the Versalex had been plugged into a Tavish Vintage (6SL7 tubes). When I do listen to digital music, it’s streaming Tidal into a MicroRendu that’s then plugged into a Kitsune HiFi Spring KTE DAC. My speakers are Zu Omen DW ii.

Earlier this year I decided to try a LTA amplifier. I bought a used MicroZOTL2 and hooked it up to the Zu’s and pretty much fell in love. It was quieter than the Mini Torii, more liquid yet revealing more detail. The Mini Torii I felt had great top end, but it’s mid-bass and bass was lacking. The MZ2 did not have that issue - in fact, it’s bass response was pretty f’ing good, nice and punchy - so the Mini Torii got sold.

Still, an amp rated at 1.5 wpc still left me wondering if maybe just a little more oomph was possible. A 5wpc amp would be perfect for the Zu’s in the listening space I have now. For years I’ve fantasized about buying an integrated amp with a good - not just “good enough” - phono cartridge so I could remove the ever-growing clutter of boxes from my gear shelf. I tried the Yamaha AS-801, the Rogue Sphinx v3, and vintage Luxman I bought in Japan and brought back to me to the States. None of them got me there. The phono stage was always lacking compared to the rest of the amp and phono separates I’ve used. And if I couldn’t get rid of the phono box, what was the point of an integrated?

LTA had a sale that allowed me to buy the Z10 and get a nice discount on a MHDT Orchid DAC. With that, if I liked the Z10 and wanted to keep it past the two-week grace period, I could sell the MZ2, Holo DAC, phono amp and a dozen or so top-shelf records to bring the cost to something I could (kinda sorta) afford. So I decided to go for it. It’s by far the most expensive piece of audio great that I’ve shelled out for.

Ok, so after all that throat-clearing here’s the gist of the review: I’m selling that all stuff. I’m keeping the Z10. Even though selling HiFi can be a PIA, the decision wasn’t even close.  

Like the MZ2, the Z10 background is inky black. As others have mentioned, just listening to it without music playing, you wouldn’t know it’s on even with the volume knob cranked up. The lack of background noise means details are that much clearer and apparent and imaging is dead on. Listening to the Bill Evan’s Some Other Time LP on vinyl, one could almost see Eddie Gomez’s fingers snapping the bass strings.

The top end is solid, and again as others have mentioned, detailed without being etchy. The one word that always comes to mind with the LTA gear I’ve tried is “liquid,” and that definitely applies here. I feel the top end on the on the MZ2 was a tiny bit more airy/clear/neutral than on the Z10. It’s still great. Frankly it could also be the source material - I was listening to some old Prestige albums when I noted that aspect of the top end.

Mids: Full and flow nicely. Delineation and placement are absolutely solid. I listened to a bunch of Moondog on this - self-titled Columbia album and Story Of Moondog on vinyl, Sax Pax for a Sax via Tidal- and even with the repeated rounds, intricate lines and plethora of instruments, the Z10 kept things not only clear but separate. Sax Pax has nine saxophones playing in some parts (baritone, tenor, alto, etc), and with the Z10 you could easily keep them separate even when some were doubling melodies in the background. But again, it wasn’t etchy-sketchy whatsoever. It all sounded lucid yet driven.

Bass: This is where the Z10 clearly outshines the MZ2 and Mini Torii. As other reviews have noted, the LTA sound is basically the mids and imaging of tubes with the deep,controlled bass of solid state. That’s definitely the case in both the Z10 and MZ2, but the Z10 is able to reach deeper and pound the bass notes harder when called for without giving up detail or timber- I guess that’s what an extra 8 watts over the MZ2 will do. This is rhythmically one of the best amps I’ve ever heard. It’s dynamics are top-notch.

Phono amp: This is what I was most worried about. Was I going to have to make the drive back to LTA to bring this back if I didn’t like the phono amp? The Tavish seemed hard to beat - I preferred it to a PS Audio NuWave and others separates I’ve tried.

The good news is that the phono pre on the Z10 sounds as good as the rest of the amp. It’s MM only on this amp and I’m using a high output Grado wooden cart that someone upgraded with a titanium cantilever. The Z10 phono board is not as “tubey” sounding as the Tavish, but has the same musical muscle with better dynamics and detail retrieval. It’s neutral but not analytic, which was my problem with the PS Audio NuWave - that one left me cold. I don’t know what LTA is using for its phono board - I see a pair of tubes installed - but whatever it is, it’s easily the one of best, if not the best phono stage I’ve heard, either separates or integrated. It’s a $500 upgrade so it’s a no-brainer at least compared to anything I’ve heard. The Tavish Vintage costs ~$800 when it’s available, and I can’t compare the Z10 board with anything considered better than the Tavish, but it’s definitely more than “good enough” for me. Whew.

Misc: I know some folks get upset that the Z10 and other LTA amps come with a repurposed Apple remote. I’m fine with it. It gets the job done and costs $20 to replace if you lose it (hello, those of us with kids). I figure hacking an Apple remote gives them more time to concentrate on the amps and keeps the costs down for those of us who are stretching to get to this price point. Also, remotes are just as easy, if not more so, to mess up as they are to do competently. For anyone who’s used a Rogue Audio remote (and I love Rogue Audio), you know what I mean.

Also, the chassis is nice. Quite handsome. Part of me misses the MZ2 chassis - compact but with personality. My son and I liked being able to peer through the transparent plastic top and see the guts. But we’ll live somehow with the Z10 :).

So yeah. If anyone needs a Holo DAC, let me know.