You keeping the preamp with it? Or do you think there’s potential better synergy there too? You’re one step away from a full solid state system!
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The preamp is a good fit actually and yeah… down to two tubes. lol At least I don’t have to photophop my 69 volume setting though. @Souldriver
The amp sold within a couple of hour on USAM. I posted it on Saturday night, went out to dinner, came back and had an I’ll take it message in my inbox.
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Does anyone have any impressions of the new Velo unit? How it compares to the MZ2 and MZ3?
The older/OG version of the MZ3 continues to provide me enjoyment well beyond its cost, especially since it was purchased used 
i do NOT recommend going out of your way to use it as a pre-amp or power amplifier, there are “better” units available at the $3k-ish market point that should be used in those individual roles BUT if you have one sitting around and happen to own speakers of extremely high sensitivity and don’t mind low power/volume listening sessions in a quiet room…
It’s an extremely quiet and hiss free amplifier w/ a very nice black background which makes for quality separation of instruments and vocals in the spatial dimension. The amplifier itself really is impressively hiss free, 
It images well for its price bracket without being overly sharp and especially NOT sloppy or muddled with a variety of DAC’s and streamers that i have had the good fortune of being able to use it with.
It has excellent control and grip of the bottom end, bass is tight, well defined and has top quality texture.
It’s overall sound character has a fairly neutral tone w/ the small variety of tubes i have used on it and in comparison to other various and completely different styles of amplifiers i have personal experience with. It comes off to me as simply middle of the road, clean overall sound character w/ little to no coloration in either direction allowing the speakers to just be themselves and the other pieces of equipment around it to bring out their own nuances in one direction or another. This is the interpretation I’ve best been able to place on this amp in my own experience, YMMV, my own experiences are of a lazy untrained amateur your own experiences may vary 
(and i have plenty of biases and personal preferences)
I find it particularly boring for use w/ HP’s, my own pleasures lay in a much more colored and expansive sound character, sometimes well beyond what an average person may find acceptable.
On speakers though, @ 1 tiny watt or less depending on impedance , i would not recommend it BUT if the situation presents itself….yeah try it out 
, you may be surprised how much fun it can be if your space is quiet enough and your speakers up to the task. I’ve been using fairly soft and simple music and the neutral tone, clean tight bass and ever slightly rolled top end are all simply inoffensive, easy listening.
I’m pretty sure I’m not even pushing a full watt considering my speakers are both 8 ohm, but at 100 & 104db respectively, i’m enjoying low 60 to mid 70-ish db levels of music that should easily allow you to nap and relax peacefully.
This is the lowest wattage power amplifier i own, i have very few hours on it as either a HP or speaker amp. i’ve always considered it “boring” but genuinely competent in its abilities and overall a solid value if it fits your use scenario. It’s pretty much dead silent, it has a useful remote, just enough inputs and outputs to be useful in a variety of scenarios, it’s never caused me a single issue, it’s of moderate size and weight despite being a 2 piece component and lastly nothing it does is offensive, over-the-top, or anything i can complain about. It’s been an easy amplifier to own and use in a variety of scenarios, never in any extraordinary fashion but always w/ straight forward very acceptable results that have been consistent. 
That’s plenty enough to make me feel comfortable saying all this. I’m happy i kept mine long enough to finally get a chance to play w/ it in my main system and get some various A/B comparisons w/ speakers capable enough to actually use it with. Speakers used while commenting today are old Klipsch K-horns and old Charney/Lowther single drivers.
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I’ve still to use my Microzotl preamp as a HP amp because I don’t want to plug just any ol’ can into it. They’re supposed to pair very well with the Utopia, eventually I’ll get around to it but given that the main board of the MZ3 and the Microzotl pre are identical (in their various iterations over the years) the only difference with the pre is the enhanced power section and one other thing. The balanced input chokes. The same type of chokes Ben uses in the the big zonking Evo Pro power supply.
Anyway, the moral of the story is that it scales very well.
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I very much agree with this.
It has a very high level of transparency to source equipment (in a very high quality SS sort of way).
It can change quite a bit depending upon the tubes used (another testament to the ZOTL circuit’s transparency), but always maintaining a touch of ‘sweetness’ and holography, in my experience.
The power output is very low, too low for planars in my opinion. With efficient dynamic drivers such a Focal, it’s pretty fantastic.
As a preamp it’s more of the same, neutral, transparent, and holographic. It’s my favorite and least tube-sounding tube amp that I’ve heard.
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I just can’t believe what the little MZ3 can do and it just does it well, no high honors, no impressive excess in any form or fashion, the design and build are just so solid. I’m using the single watt out of the amplifier to drive my new-to-me single driver speakers from Charney Audio. It’s not the first time but i have been away for 3 weeks so my ears are fresh and my soul has been craving my systems. I started listening very early, 4am, i’ve been up and listening at low volume. The quality of the sound character is just so very easy to listen to, details abound, and the quality of the bass is just so very good. What’s most impressive is that for a home system there is still plenty of volume for the amp to provide, if i lived in an apartment, in all honesty this amplifier could be the heart of a high quality system w/ the right pair of speakers 
I love excess volume and especially powerful bass but quality sound in the appropriate environment, ie my living room is such a sweet joy too. The MZ3 does all it does well, you can squeeze allot out of it w/ some very wise choices if you so choose, every time i get a few hours using it and enjoying myself so much I appreciate the fact that it’s still in my possession and providing solid value for my money, and this ladies and gentlemen is so very worthwhile a quality in this hobby
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What tubes you got currently in that little engine that could that is the MZ3?
This would require i pull the cover to check and verify and at the moment the desire to do so is less than lacking…I owe you one tube verification check though Mr @dB_Cooper
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If it hasn’t changed since I borrowed it, the tubes should be: Brimar 12at7 and RCA 12SX-GT7
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Interesting, the Brimar is what I’ve got on the input. The RCA is relatively cheap. I’m enamored by the Ken Rad 6SN7 but that dammed tube chase for perfection and wanting it all.
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Still recommend these for MZ3 or the Preamp, if anyone wants to try a set like this let me know I probably still have access to those tubes
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Have you considered changing out the fuses? There are two in the PSU, and one in the actual amp.
I’ve been contemplating this myself. I’m guessing the one in the amp would be the first to try.
The included fuses do appear to be quality fuses. Not sure of the make, but they have the cardboard sleeves that most “audiophile” fuses have.
It’s worth the upgrade, not cheap since there are three. I settled on an SR Orange on the board and Hi-Fi Tuning Supreme 3 copper on the mains inlet.
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No, never bothered with fuse mods or upgrades. I’m curious to know how this goes if you happen to try it though 
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Sweet.
What were the improvements that you noticed? I’m guessing more of what it does well.
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I put some thoughts on it and an update down here. Importance of power supplies, cables and fuses in an audio chain - #58
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Good read.
I’ll have to hit you up for the direction to place them when I dip my toes into the fuse game.
Thanks for linking the post. 
I would be careful with 3 fuses from Hifi Tuning.
Firstly, they are not stackable.
And can have the opposite effect: the bass can sound muddy and wobbly and the overall sound can be too thick.
I had these in the complete system Dac, amplifier, DDC when I threw them out and replaced them with Refine Audio, the veil was also gone.
The other thing is the tip Chris from VH Audio gave me that you should rather use the Silver Hifi Tuning in amplifiers.
I listened to him and he was right, the Silver sounded much better in the Feliks Euforia amplifier at the time.
I don’t want to say that the Hifi tuning isn’t bad per se, but there are better fuses out there.
The important thing is to make sure it is stackable.
So that in the end it harmonises together, unless you strive for it and it is tuned by the amplifier in such a way that you need it, then there are no major objections.
And that’s why I say fuses a maybe.
Tubes, signal cables, power cables, conditioners, vibration; fuses are yet ANOTHER thing in the chase to wonder/worry about. I dove into fuse only after addressing my power and realizing how much of an effect it had, so fuses were a natural next step.
In the end there is only what sounds right for the listener in their chain cause the internet is full of anecdotes and unfortunately not much is going to be gained in the fuse game particularly if you haven’t addressed other more impactful things first.
There’s always going to be someone who didn’t hear anything and someone who heard the planets align. I didn’t know about “stacking” being an issue but thanks for that note @Deleeh thankfully no many components out there are impacted by staking. I went with the Supreme 3 copper because I didn’t want to change too much and they’re Cardas copper throughout. It’s funny because I’d read on people saying how Hi-Fi tuning silver had a harsh effect.
SR has their Master series fuses now which from what I gather are supposed to be doing some type of “active” tuning based on SR’s recommendation. Not something I want to get into because at some point I’m better off just saving my money and buying a better component.
I’ve gotten improvement but then again, not more than what can come from changing to the right tube, or the right cable.
Thankfully only my amp and pre use fuses now. 
everything else doesn’t.