lol sure! it’s actually already on its way to UPS, fastest shipping I ever had.
Well there’s only one way to find out and that’s to listen to it. I think I got a good deal, I’m sure it can be sold quickly in case it doesn’t do what I intend for it but I have high hopes and plans for it.
Well you’re getting both sets of tubes to begin with.
Just don’t know why someone would use an amp like that for 100 and then give up on it other than they didn’t know what they were looking for or how it would synergise with the rest of their gear.
Yeah the NOS EL34 aren’t worth changing. They are mullards. Unless you can source a quad of Tele EL34 for a reasonable price.
Whereas the NOS ECC82s and 83 are also mullards and they are warm and lack slam.
Here’s his answer:
“I bought the amp as a complete system that was put up (Spatial Audio/Holo May/Anticables) against my reference system (horns with Circle Labs A200) thinking it would unseat it and ultimately in my room the horns sounded better to me. The LTA amp was the best part of the setup in my opinion but I have an absolute obsession with the Circle Labs A200 and rather than just let the LTA gather dust, I wanted someone to really enjoy it.”
That sounds like an answer from a hobbyist, the best kind of answer from the best kind of folks to buy from and sell to.
The Audiophiliac reviewing the Z40, up now. Gonna go check it out.
@bmn1251
emphasized text“I’m very tempted for the MZ3 to be my downgrade path/journey lol“
The LTA MZ3 has no problem playing well with my Focal clear pro, I can’t see the Utopia not also being a synergistic match.
Having said this, I’m not a fan of Focal in general my preferences lean elsewhere and my Focal’s have a handful of hours on them tops so I’m the last person to give a recommendation on them.
What I can say though is that the pre-amp function of the MZ3 is excellent. Other than the clicky noise the volume knob makes always, it’s a solid pre and amplifier and fairly easy to add your preferred tubes to keep the signature it’s known for.
Extremely black background, useable features, and a well documented signature.
I can easily recommend the LTA MZ3 as a solid “downgrade” piece of equipment that will satisfy for use with the less picky TOTL HP’s.
If that MZ3 is similar to the Z40 with headphones I can confirm it’ll work well with a Utopia.
I’m curious - did anyone had a chance to listen to the LTA DAC prototype at CAF? Would love to hear your impressions…
Too much system going on to hear anything appreciable. The rooms are noisy and given the lack of familiarity with the chain, I wasn’t able to tell what I was hearing. I have an UL which is what they used to showcase the naked DAC, but they were using Devore Fidelity Gibbon Super Nines and I’d never head them so I can’t say what was speaker and what was DAC. The room sounded great given the challenges of showroom audio.
They mentioned that it’s influenced by the Mojo given it’s the same DAC, but obviously the implementation is different. They’re going to have a low tier and a high tier. Dual power supplies leveraging LTA’s existing power supply and price targets not confirmed but $3K and $6K respectively is ballpark.
Definitely interested to try the high end version next year. Actually both versions, might be great for a second setup.
that sounds promising - thank you! now i just need to hold my upgrade horses for a bit longer : )
David Berning discusses the ZOTL circuit.
Nice! With the Utopia right? What DAC?
Yea utopia. I also have an awkt and grado ps2000e that im checking out too. The dac is an amber4
Yeah I bet it sounds great with the Lampi. I really want to try one next year as well.
Do you really get to high 60s on your volume pot or is that random?
that was while using speakers
Very nice. Never had the opportunity to try the Utopia when I had the mz3 here but I bet it’s solid. I’d imagine the amber 4 is a nice pairing too.
