And I should add this is the level 2 preamp with input transformers. So definitely some nicer parts over the stock preamp
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I had to send that preamp back to LTA due to some shipping damage or at least that was the guess on what was causing a loud amount of hum and hiss from it. I shipped it out Friday the 27th, they received it on the 30th, fixed it by the 3rd, and I had it back in my hands today, the 5th so a pretty quick turnaround. I’m attaching an internal picture of what it looks like now and the only visual difference I’m seeing is of the power supply board which has different color capacitors. I didn’t bother to read what they are rated for but I assume they are basically the same as what was there previously. In communicating with LTA, I worked with Jacob who runs their QC department and he said there was some grounding issue and that the main amplification board was replaced.
The preamp works great now without the loud noise I got from it the first time. There is a small amount of tube noise and the Schiit Tyrs introduce some hum but I tested with a different speaker amp and the hum was gone. I’ll definitely be hoping to try some other power amplifiers this year and perhaps try a LTA power amp.
Am finally having a chance to enjoy the preamp and will listen to it for a bit then go back to the Schiit Freya + I was using before and work on writing a comparison to that. But am happy with the sound so far.
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To turn it around for you as quick as they did, they probably just diagnosed it as a PS issue and changed that. If you look closely they also replaced the transformer.
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Yeah could be, it doesn’t look like main amp board with the tubes was replaced but it’s possible. Jacob said they hadn’t experienced an issue like that before but regardless I’m glad that it is back and working now.
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There are some things different in the components of the main power board so they did very likely change that, it’s not as obvious though, just the aligned angles of components.
To be honest, in electronics, if things are going to fail, they tend to fail quickly after a few months of use, things tend to last their expected lifetimes unless there’s some type of electrical power damage.
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Some brief early impressions of this preamp. I really like what it’s doing to the mid range, specifically female vocals. They are sweeter sounding and more lifelike I suppose. It just feels like the vocalist is actually here vs listening to a recording if that makes sense. The imaging and presentation of the music in space feels more 3d and reminds me a bit of how the WA33 imaged. I am finding the stage to be a touch less wide then with the freya however I definitely value a 3d soundstage vs a wide one. It also seems like the bass is softer then the freya especially with electronic music that has strong sub bass. Not a deal breaker but something I may look to tweak a bit with some tube rolling.
The buttons and controls are all miles ahead of the freya. I didn’t think I would like the buttons that don’t click but just activate when you touch them but they are a pleasure to use. The volume control is smooth and the clicks are satisfying while not being too loud. The screen is nice too and the menus are fairly easy to navigate as long as you are a bit patient while the screen reads out the options. The unit gets warm but not too hot and has plenty of ventilation on the top to keep it cool. There’s also no mechanical noise from the transformer or anything. And the apple remote to control everything works well. The button labels don’t always translate to what the preamp is doing but it’s not hard to get used to.
So in short I am happy with the sound and functionality but may look at rolling the tubes a bit to improve the low end or maybe it just needs more time on it.
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I found the bass improving with the MZ3 by upgrading the power cable. It filled in quite nicely, not only adding more weight, but also increasing the sense of impact. It might be worth looking into before tube rolling.
Glad you’re enjoying it. The holographic presentation is one of ZOTL’s best aspects, IMO.
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This is hands down one of the things I love about my Z10i.
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To be honest I haven’t heard huge changes in cables before so I just use whatever I have lying around but am up for trying something if there’s a cable you really like.
At the moment I’m using this one Ocean-Elite 3p - Audio Envy to a puritan 156 conditioner.
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And the ZMF Atrium out of the headphone jack on the preamp is pretty magical with acoustic and vocal recordings
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I know there are more expensive cables, but the Audio Envy is a highly regarded cable (I haven’t used one myself but have seen rave reviews on Audiogon and other forums), especially for something that’s just lying around.
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Yeah I said lying around like I was just grabbing another generic power cord from a box but I have actually spent a good bit on cables and have some options. For power I have a mix of audio envy and puritan cables and try to use one of those before I reach for a generic one.
I just haven’t found a power cable that blew me away or made a change significant enough for me to only buy that kind I guess.
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What are the thoughts on burn-in / break-in with LTA amps? I usually try and give a new piece of equipment 50+ hours before making any decisions about it.
Also I rolled in some Phillips 7062 tubes in place of the National 12AT7WA tubes and am not finding the bass to be as lacking as it was before. So I’m glad about that.
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I’d personally leave it on for a few days straight so I guess around 100 ish hours or somewhere in that ballpark, pretty sure LTA actually burns in their stuff at factory but don’t know for how long, I didn’t notice an extreme amount of burn in was needed for lta stuff personally but it did improve after leaving it on for a few days for me personally
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Didn’t realize they burned-in their products that much. Thanks for linking!
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Just a quick note as I listen tonight. I am still finding the headphone output of the preamp pleasing for simple vocal / acoustic tracks on atrium. But compared to the output of the Tyrs it sounds quite congested. Kind of feels like the music can breathe more once I’m listening to the speaker amps vs the headphone out on the preamp.
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Susvara?
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I’m confused. What are you wondering about Susvara
Sorry, is the Susvara the headphone that you’re powering from the the front output of the LTA and the Tyrs?
Edit: I just reread your post. ZMF Atrium. You can disregard my comment.
I had asked because I know that the front outputs of LTA amps are typically less than their speaker taps (other than the MZ3).
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