Leben integrated amps and Merlin VSM

Egidius,
Seriously, the guy sold you his ZH-270 and then wanted to buy it back?! I wonder what flipped him. I would never sell my ZH-270 unless I was absolutely sure I preferred the new amp. I'm the one who generated this thread and I've since bought a sold two more amps, but I still have the ZH-270. I'm afraid my next move is to compare the ZH-270 to the new Berning ZH-230. And with regards to Leben CS-600, skip the integrated Lebens and listen to the CS-660P. I haven't heard the ZH-230 yet, but at this time I've narrowed my upgrade path to one of these two.

As for Usblues's comment, ones tastes can become more refine over time. I think it sort of depends on what you listen to and what you listen for. My musical tastes go in cycles depending on the season, but my love is mainly for acoustic guitar and jazz piano, and the piano is a difficult sound to reproduce very accurately IMO.

I recommend listening to a Leben before you buy -- I would guess that they will sound quite different. I used to own a Leben CS-300x and have had OTL amps in my system at the same time. The Leben sound is quite a bit different than the OTL sound (I know arguments that the ZH is not a true OTL amp). The Leben is warm and I believe a little wooly, while OTLs generally have a clean and open sound.

Bobby from Merlin is always show his speakers with Joule-Electra amplifier (usually VZN-100 or 160) and last two seasons with LA-300ME line stage.... FWIW, that is match made in heaven

All The Best
Rafael

Well partly because the VZN-100 and 160 are monoblock which don't always fit in everyone's decor. I love the VZN-100s, but I think my wife would leave me. They, as well as the VZN-80, also generate a lot of heat. That's probably great in Maine, but not so good in California.

Also Bobby's other formula is the Merlin/Ars-Sonum Filarmonia/Cardas...would you mess with this formula?