I sent mine in a couple of weeks ago. Heard they were working on it several days after. LTA is doing a one week or so bench burn in after they do the actual upgrades. I don’t have a ship date yet on the return, but hoping it is soon. Happy to let them go through their QA.
Linear Tube Audio - Micro ZOTL - version -3 Update on upgrades
Having just received the Micro-Z OTL version 2 in Feb and seeing a much better upgrade was available . I had to do it to help complete my quest to get everything in my audio system as good as possible, and for 6 months the 30% off the upgrade stands . Where the older model had 4 circuit boards ,now just one very high quality Ceramic board ,with a small sister board , Gold over thick Copper traces. To start with an additional 80k uf in filter capacitance over 200k in total ,more then most amplifiers,pretty much Everything is name brand parts . I have the Top of the line Lundahl input transformers from Sweden .
having many years in Audio and having had many audio pieces modded , this preamp is Loaded with top of the line in parts quality using worlds best Belleson low noise regulators , Nichicon GOLD capacitors ,from Japan ,AMTRAN BEST - Golden SQ also Japan .EPCOS from Germany.Clarity-CMR -U.k all top notch capacitors
With balanced inputs , and the David Berning design Micro -Z-OTL output stage and Mark and engineering team . The interior is vastly upgraded, now a. Nice large toggle switch to choose between the 6 v - 6sn7 tubes and 12v. 12sn7 , the whole tube socket area is a nice thick platform no flexing and having just 1 Big main board not only more robust but much lower noise floor is Very apparent. Sonically the New version -3 is a major step up. To start I used just the stock tubes in the Version 3 to test vs an audio friends with the version 2 with much better Rays select 6sn7 tubes and same Telefunken 12au7 tubes that I bought . TheNew Version is better with ease ! Image depth is better and a deeper larger soundstage , Bass-MidBass has even better dynamics and slam, even quieter blacker back grounds, With excellent control ,and is just more tuneful, fast, and articulate. When I decided Now it’s time to. Put in my top Rays select 6sn7 tubes And 12AU7 Telefunken Red tip medical grade tubes . It was at minimum another 5 % Better still !! This was a substantial upgrade even with stock tubes .I go to several audio gatherings, the ones who have heard this all have $50k+ audio systems and stated you would have to spend well over $12k to just to come close to this preamplifier performance music just is seamless and coherent which I totally agree !! It has the best of what tubes do best in a Big open soundstage stage , with lots of Air and separation around the instruments ,with excellent Solid state like imaging Big dynamics and ultra fast Tight Bass, much more so now in the version 3 . Listening ,to classic Beatles to Pink Floyd interactions in the micro details that before we’re barely audible now come out of the shadows and are clear and defined , this alone to me is special .I have not found a preamp even close in the $10k+ range that can better this SS or vacuum Tubes, Great Job 👏 To all at LTA Audio 👍🎶👍.
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The upgraded level 3 preamp arrived yesterday just in time for my wife’s Mother’s Day present. |
I’ve had my level 3 upgrade for the past 9 days and I continue to be impressed with the sound quality improvement. The improvement in speed and detail while remaining musical isn’t subtle. Before the upgrade, I couldn’t use the LTA preamp with my First Watt F7 because the sound was slow and somewhat soft. By contrast, it seemed fine with my Pass Labs XA-25. After the level 3 upgrade, the speed and detail improvements with the F7 are startling. I’m also very much into headphones (see my headphone system in my profile). I think this preamp was very good with ZMF dynamic headphones (300 ohm impedance) before the upgrade. After the upgrade, driving the ZMF Verite Open headphones, it’s even better. I have a lot of high end headphones but the ZMF VO with the LTA level 3 preamp/headphone amp is about as good as it gets imo. The Verite Open can be had on the used market for $1500-1700 which is still expensive but a bargain in comparison to some $4K-8K headphones. This preamp is excellent with efficient headphones but don’t expect it to drive a power hungry Susvara or DCA Expanse well. |
Thanks for the feedback @smatsui . Seems like both you and audioman58 think it is a worthwhile upgrade. Just curious if you think it also sounded better with the XA25 or only the F7. Looking forward to any additional feedback from cbrez and thriftyaudio, Happy listening. |
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