What amp are you using with your Zu Essences?


Just a scored a pair of these and I was just wondering what people were pairing up with them. I've heard they work best with tubes. Has anyone tried solid state or Class D and then moved to tubes? How many or how few watts have worked for you? Thanks in advance for any stories.
tbadder

Showing 2 responses by gopher

The wealth of knowledge and experience in Phils posts never ceases to amaze me. The man knows his stuff, especially pertaining to driving Zu speakers.

I spoke with him at length about amplification choices for my Superflys and, though I resisted at first, looking for a lower voltage/less intimidating option than 845 set for a home with an infant, his enthusiasm for the set was always present and when the opportunity to try one in my price range came about, I bit and it has been one of my best moves in this hobby.

I have about 26 hours on a pair of the Psvane (Pavanes) he mentions above. Had an 845b crap out prematurely and used the opportunity/excuse to give it a whirl. It needs more time to settle, but I'm starting to see a lot of potential here.
Truth be told, its pretty hard, IMO to make Zus sound bad... I've only had one amplifier combo I actually 'hated' Ironically it was one that Zu actually had on their recommendation list (my dad had a Panasonic XR-25 gathering dust--figured I'd give it a shot).

I'm no stranger to Pass designs driving Zus and they can be pretty darn good--I liked the Alephs in particular over the Firstwatts. The Alephs were recently de-throned by a Redgum RGi120 as my favorite solid state option for my Superflys.
VERY musical combination.