Zanden Audio: 3000 Mk2 Preamp Review

[LL21]

From Alan Sircom's Review of the Zanden 3000Mk2 Preamp:

(Note: He wrote of his time with the Zanden 9600 Mk2 Monos, it was "one of those career defining moments for me, like the brief time I had an Audio Note Ongaku at home when it was the most expensive thing on the planet. Or when I got to experience the Wilson WAMM Master Chronosonic in the late Dave Wilson’s own home. It’s both a humbling experience and a level resetting experience."):

Zanden 3000 Mk2 quotations:
"The solid excellence of the power amplifiers is echoed in the preamp. The build quality is truly from another world; we sometimes talk about ‘Rolls-Royce’ quality in the best of audio, but this is so sublime Rolls-Royce should be talking about Zanden levels of fit and finish inside its cars....
Those willing to go past the first toe of the learning curve...will quickly find that they are listening to a preamplifier of rare talent and elegance. It has quicksilver reactions and the kind of dynamic range that few solid-state preamps can match, and has the ability to just get out of the way of the music. That will improve the performance of almost any power amplifier, but when that power amplifier is Zanden’s Model 9600mk2, suddenly your audio system gets moved up into a new league."

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/zanden-model-3000mk2-line-preamplifier/

 

[microstrip]

IMHO unfortunately one of worst reviews I have ever read. An extremely verbose review, very superficial and inaccurate - saying that a 7.5 kohm input impedance in a tube amplifier is "high" is wrong. As always, YMMV.

Fortunately people I can trust told me great things about the Zanden 3000 mk2.

 

[bazelio]

Also the article says 6CA4 as line driver.... But that's a twin-diode rectifier tube. I'm confused.

It certainly isn't intuitive at all to me why you'd want a tube preamp driving a 7.5Kohm load, either.

 

[Marcus]

IMHO unfortunately one of worst reviews I have ever read. An extremely verbose review, very superficial and inaccurate - saying that a 7.5 kohm input impedance in a tube amplifier is "high" is wrong. As always, YMMV.

Fortunately people I can trust told me great things about the Zanden 3000 mk2.

While I understand this review is not to your liking, it has enough accurate descriptions of this preamp’s capabilities to judge it as useful and worthwhile. I agree this preamp is extremely quiet, lighting quick, has great dynamics and it just lets music to flow and breathe or to use Alan Sircom’s phrase, “has the ability to just get out of the way of the music.“ It’s naturalness is something very special and rare, so is it’s refinement. Supreme resolution, articulation and transparency is always in line with music without unnecessary hi-fi spectacle. This preamp is so balanced and without emphasis. For instance it clearly showed my previous preamp has a little overemphasized upper midrange and it also showed me how much cleaner and clearer reproduction can be. Differences between recordings are better exposed as a consequence and it is also easier to follow different lines and patterns in music and to go deeper into it’s tissue.

I had conrad-johnson GAT/GAT S2 for years and loved it. I still think it’s one of the best preamps you can buy but Zanden 3000 Mk2 is simply better, mainly because it sounds more real with less character and closer to the absolute sound IME. I would say this line stage has quite some qualities of it’s bigger brother Chukoh that was made for Audioexotics a few years ago and which I still remember fondly. FWIW, as cj GAT it can drive long interconnects, has dedicated grounding posts on the main unit and PS and is a great match with conrad-johnson ART power amp.

 

[LL21]

Hi Marcus,

I was waiting for you to comment! Fantastic...as a big Zanden fan myself, I could believe what you say...and that is despite also being (like you) a big CJ fan who absolutely loves his CJ GAT 2.

I have heard remarkably good things about the latest generation of Zanden 3000 Mk2/9600 Mk2 equipment. And that is after hearing remarkably good things about the original 3000/9600 from experienced audiophiles who are also familiar with big Kondo, Lamm reference pieces.

 

[microstrip]

While I understand this review is not to your liking, it has enough accurate descriptions of this preamp’s capabilities to make it useful and worthwhile. I agree this preamp is extremely quiet, lighting quick, has great dynamics and it just lets music to flow and breathe or to use Alan Sircom’s phrase, “has the ability to just get out of the way of the music.“ It’s naturalness is something very special and rare, so is it’s refinement. Supreme resolution, articulation and transparency is always in line with music without unnecessary hi-fi spectacle. This preamp is so balanced and without emphasis. For instance it clearly showed my previous preamp has a little overemphasized upper midrange and it also showed me how much cleaner and clearer reproduction can be. Differences between recordings are better exposed as a consequence and it is also easier to follow different lines and patterns in music and to go deeper into it’s tissue.

I had conrad-johnson GAT/GAT S2 for years and loved it. I still think it’s one of the best preamps you can buy but Zanden 3000 Mk2 is simply better, mainly because it sounds more real with less character and closer to the absolute sound IME. I would say this line stage has quite some qualities of it’s bigger brother Chukoh that was made for Audioexotics a few years ago and which I still remember fondly. FWIW, as cj GAT it can drive long interconnects, has dedicated grounding posts on the main unit and PS and is a great match with conrad-johnson ART power amp.


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Marcus,

I can understand some one who owns a Zanden 3000 mk2 can get anything from the review, but if I had as many 500 euro bills as the times a reviewer wrote “has the ability to just get out of the way of the music“ about equipment I would have WAMM's ...

No component has this "magic" ability - we can build systems where a particular component helps to get music to us in a special way that we enjoy. However it does it mainly with some types of music and in a particular way . IMHO this useless review does not address any of these aspects.

For example, I see you have Cardas cabling - I also tried it with the GAT2 and could see it creates a "little overemphasized upper midrange". Recently a local owner tried Odin2 cables in his GAT2/ART300 and it was love at first sight - he ordered them, feeling that he had finally reached "magic" and got rid of the midrange emphasis.

Anyway I hope that in time you will be able to post more concise information concerning sound quality of this surely great preamplifier and some more technical details about it - I am very curious about its topology, not just the tube types! And yes, I would love to listen to a complete Zanden system in the XLF's ...

 

[analogsa]

The topology is as straightforward as possible: a single common cathode triode gain stage, active ccs load, the simplest possible shunt regulator. The mk1 used the cheapest Tamura transformers for bal in/out, the mk2 apparently uses much better iron. Not counting the valves in the PS, here is the schematic of mk1. A yes, the signature batteries for fixed bias too.

 

[bazelio]

£25000 for simple parafeed circuit with cheap output transformers. Whew!

 

[analogsa]

As mentioned the Mk2 no longer uses cheap transformers. Have a vague memory the current ones have amorphous cores.

 

[bazelio]

For example, high quality Lundahl line level amorph core transformers will be in the 200-250 USD range. Even with pure silver windings, you'll still be under $1k. Line level cores are smaller and not cost prohibitive.

 

[analogsa]

I wonder if you have listened to any of these Lundahls. Have an entire drawer full of them: cut core amorhous, uncut core amorhous, mu metal... perhaps the cheapest silicon iron core Tamura is indeed preferable.

 

[bazelio]

Preference for Tamura, Monoloth, Cinemag, Tango, Tribute, Audio Note, Name your tranny... Wasn't the point. Pricing is ballpark. Line level transformers don't break the bank. £25000 for a text book circuit and a couple transformers is eye popping. No offense. But Geez Louise.

Yes I like Lundahl. They make great products. Intact Audio (Dave Slagle) as well. Everyone will have their own preference and threshold for distortion, etc.

 

[Marcus]

The mk1 used the cheapest Tamura transformers for bal in/out, the mk2 apparently uses much better iron. Not counting the valves in the PS...

From the Zanden website: “Amorphous Cobalt core transformer is employed at the input an mu- metal core transformers are employed at the outputs.”

A single 5687 is used in the main unit and two 6CA4 in the PS.

Here’s photos of the inside from the manual:

 

[analogsa]

Thanks for posting the pics. It is interesting the PS transformer is no longer an R-core. The form factors of the i/p and output transformers reminds me suspiciously of Lundahl

 

[uber2]

Very complicated/over-engineered way of solving the motorized function of the Alps RK501.

They start with an entry level motorized alps RK168 (Only used as motor!)
Then over to another DC-motor.
Then finally to the RK501.

 

[microstrip]

Very complicated/over-engineered way of solving the motorized function of the Alps RK501.

They start with an entry level motorized alps RK168 (Only used as motor!)
Then over to another DC-motor.
Then finally to the RK501.

The middle section is perhaps an encoder to supply a reference signal to the DC motor controller. I am however astonished with the complexity of the digital circuit used to drive the ALPs potentiometer - most people do it with a couple of ICs and a step motor. Looking at the picture we could think they include a DAC in the board!

 

[Folsom]

Perhaps the pot was too hard to turn with their knobs?

 

[analogsa]

I am however astonished with the complexity of the digital circuit used to drive the ALPs potentiometer

So am i. Even though it also includes the control for the input relays. A lot more effort went into that than into the signal circuitry.

 

[Marcus]

Yamada San obviously thinks volume management is of great importance for sound quality. In his cost-no-object line stage Chukoh this alone costs him $10.000.

 

[microstrip]

Yamada San obviously thinks volume management is of great importance for sound quality. In his cost-no-object line stage Chukoh this alone costs him $10.000.

Volume management is this case are just nice words for what seems to me to be the top of the range ALPs RK50 potentiometer, surely an excellent choice ...

Can you see from the original image what is the type of battery used for polarizing the tube grids?