Anyone listen to Zu Audio's Definition Mk3?


Comparisons with the 1.5s and the others that came before? Getting the itch; again......
128x128warrenh
So I have had a week of experience with the latest chassis Sophia 845 monoblocks. They are beautiful to look at and seem well built at 50+lbs each.

Impressed thus far. Big, big sound and probably the most dynamic tube amp I've had in my system (please scroll up to find a long list of them). Have not tube-rolled as of yet, but that will be coming once broken in. Historically, I have not liked the B tube that so many recommend (sounds closed-in to me). The amps are lively and extended- and not the warmest out there. Compared to the Audions, I'd say the Audions have probably a bit more tone, but less drive/dynamics. Noise on the amps is very low for SET and I feel will be even better once burned-in/optimized.

The amps are the only ones I've heard that do strings as well as Shindo--which says something. SET spooky midrange of course is there. Only negative thus far is a bit of midrange glare, which I believe is Chinese tube related. Have a pair of RCA NOS 6ns7s that I will drop in soon.

Bass is quite good, but not Mac 601 SS depth. This is to be expected.

Paid $500.00 for my BPT LPS. I bet you made your unit for $175.00. Running a MM for a MS is OK but one can do much better.
Spirit,

I've replaced a $6000 audiophile power conditioner with a $600 standard industrial balanced power transformer. Night and day difference.

What 6K PC did you get rid of?
Keithr wrote:
The amps are the only ones I've heard that do strings as well as Shindo--which says something. SET spooky midrange of course is there. Only negative thus far is a bit of midrange glare, which I believe is Chinese tube related. Have a pair of RCA NOS 6ns7s that I will drop in soon
When you say they do strings well, are you referring to bowed, or plucked, solo or massed? I'm curious if the langauge you used is meant to convey excellence in timbre, harmonic richness, transient capability, inner detail or possibly all of the above and more I didn't list?

How bad is the midrange glare? Definitely curious if this is wholly a tube issue or just mostly mitigated by changing tubes.

In an earlier post you made, you mentioned you had tried the Audion Black Shadows, but they were very noisy. Phil then replied stating the problem was found to be a failed bridged rectifier (or something similar?) and stated another audition would be undertaken along with the Sophia? Do you still plan to compare the Sophia and the Audion? Thanks!
plucked strings- there is a rightness that is tough to describe.

the midrange glare is pretty muted. i'm being very picky here. 213Cobra feels the A tube is the reason behind this. i think the cheap input tubes are the reason. we shall see.

I've heard the Black Shadows 20+ times over the years. well aware of their sound. comparing the two head to head may happen, but it's not a priority. in fact, it's not particularly of significance to me as I chose Sophias over Audions and others.

KeithR