Linear Tube Audio and David Berning, the ZOTL40 Mk. II ...

joeinid

joeinid

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Anyone have this amp? I always wanted a David Berning design amp :blush:


http://www.lineartubeaudio.com/products/zotl40


[h=3]SPECIFICATIONS[/h]• Sensitivity: 1.2V RMS for 40 watts output
• Output impedance 1.6 ohms
• Input impedance: 50k
• 100V / 120V / 240V operation: Auto-switching
• Hum and noise: 94dB below full output (measured between 20Hz-20kHz)
• Power output with 4-ohm load: up to 51W, 0.5% THD
• Power output with 8-ohm load: up to 46W, 0.5% THD
• Frequency response (8-ohm load): 8Hz to 50kHz, +0, -.5dB
• Amplifier class: Push-pull Class AB
• Net weight: 9.7 lbs. or 4.4 kg
• Finish: Aluminum case
• Tube complement: two 12AX7s, two 12AU7s, and four KT77s

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Yes, I heard them under show conditions driving Silverline boleros. I went back to the room a few times to reconfirm my initial impressions and they are special. sonically speaking for an OTL they have balls, are quite transparent to the source and life-like. I was stalking Mark Schneider to find out more, says he asked David Berning to design this amp around EL34 outputs to keep it serviceable well into the future - they def succeeded on all fronts, its on my short list of amps to try out at home.
 
puroagave said:
Yes, I heard them under show conditions driving Silverline boleros. I went back to the room a few times to reconfirm my initial impressions and they are special. sonically speaking for an OTL they have balls, are quite transparent to the source and life-like. I was stalking Mark Schneider to find out more, says he asked David Berning to design this amp around EL34 outputs to keep it serviceable well into the future - they def succeeded on all fronts, its on my short list of amps to try out at home.
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I heard this amp at RMAF last year and I too was impressed.
 
Joe

I like the simple look and it appears that all three pieces together are no wider than one normal width component. So if the sound is as good as reported a bonus is they are not as bulky or heavy as most gear. The only thing with the preamp is that it doesn't appear to have a remote of any kind.
 
I heard the zotl 40 and the zotl preamp with a pair of Vapor Nimbus at the 2015 RMAF. It ended up being probabaly my favorite room, or the room I wanted to take home with me. The 3D soundstage was phenomenal along with the separation of instruments. Listened to all types of music and it didn't dissappoint. Needless to say that room made the biggest impression on me over everything I heard that weekend in Denver. Someone told me last week Linear Tube is developing a remote for the preamp.

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Joe, I have the preamp and it incredible driving my First Watt J2 Andre other power amps. At $1,800 or so it's a steal. I do miss having a remote but the dimensionality in the music it makes is worry the tradeoff.
 
Hey RDSChicago,

Any chance you could name the other power amps you've used the microZOTL preamp with? I haven't seen anybody report using it with a solid state amp but I imagine it can be a good fit. The Linear Tube Audio site recommends it with tube amps but I'm interested to hear how it works with other amps.
 
tomy2 said:
Hey RDSChicago,

Any chance you could name the other power amps you've used the microZOTL preamp with? I haven't seen anybody report using it with a solid state amp but I imagine it can be a good fit. The Linear Tube Audio site recommends it with tube amps but I'm interested to hear how it works with other amps.
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I've used it with a First Watt J2 and Quicksilver Silver 88's with KT-150's. It sounded stellar with both amps.
 
joeinid said:
Anyone have this amp? I always wanted a David Berning design amp :blush:
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Joe, as a recent Spatial M3 owner, I asked Clayton what amps would work and he suggested few but at the end said

"The best amp so far is the Linear Tube Audio ZOTL 40 - direct drive with no output transformer. If I was stuck on an island, this would be the amp."

Now this is with Spatial speakers. I have not read or heard how it performs with speakers with difficult load.
 
The more I see the Linear Tube Audio gear, the more I want it. It could be outstanding on my JBLs too.
 
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