Zanden Audio: Launches New Reference Preamplifier - 3000 Mk 2

I look forward to reading all about that one! ;)
 
I did see a pair of 9500 MK 2 s pop up for a nice price ' surely a candidte if i ever wanna swap my cat power amp.

Ps damn those french keyboards are crap they ve got everything mixed up :p

I have heard Zanden monos but not in a system i knew well. I HAVE heard from someone on this forum whom i trust a lot who felt they were unbelievably good...hearing them on a pair of SF Aidas and thought the primary competitor would be the legendary Lamm ML3s.
 
I ve heard them( whole zanden top line ) on magico V 3 s awesome sound , magico is good but with tubes imo ,; i ve heard Q 3 on pass sounded crap imo
They also did a analogue /digital comparison ; zanden 1200 mk 2 koetsu coral stone /top of the line german table cant remember , versus the 2 box zanden digital ( which you know very well )
Actually there was not that much difference in reproduction
 
Ps When i asked the guy helping the distributor set up the system and cartridge which he did very well , the question what he had at home he replied CAT is also nice , thats what he had at home and remember without CAT advertising overhere in holland at all, lol
 
I ve heard them( whole zanden top line ) on magico V 3 s awesome sound ...
They also did a analogue /digital comparison ; zanden 1200 mk 2 koetsu coral stone /top of the line german table cant remember , versus the 2 box zanden digital ( which you know very well )
Actually there was not that much difference in reproduction

Wow...quite a statement! That said, I have heard Marc Michelson and Roy Gregory say the same many years ago, and even more recently in the last 2+ years. I have to say, i promised myself to focus my energies and resources to one source and make it as great as possible. For me, that has been the Zanden 4-box.
 
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Yeah good idea , turntables take a lot of effort knowledge to get right , buy a nice tape machine loyd , not that expensive and not so sensitive.
And swap your speakers for mine ;) then you can put your subs on ebay ? i dont think the big wilsons go virtually flat to 20 HZ
 
Yeah good idea , turntables take a lot of effort knowledge to get right , buy a nice tape machine loyd , not that expensive and not so sensitive

Yes, i have heard tape is legendary...but available tapes are relatively few and very expensive i believe. Plus, I AM trying to ensure the equipment stays hidden in the equipment rack!
 
Tape is the best, cant you get some tapes from the british broadcast agencys , tape doesnt have to be SM 900 studiotape to hear the clear difference , cheaper tape gives the tape sound too .

;) ahhh temptation...i will resist!
 
I have heard Zanden monos but not in a system i knew well. I HAVE heard from someone on this forum whom i trust a lot who felt they were unbelievably good...hearing them on a pair of SF Aidas and thought the primary competitor would be the legendary Lamm ML3s.

I doubt that the ML3 could drive the Aida's - they are really power hungry and the impedance was really low as soon as you switched the back radiating units on. A pity, because they sounded great with tubes.
 
I doubt that the ML3 could drive the Aida's - they are really power hungry and the impedance was really low as soon as you switched the back radiating units on. A pity, because they sounded great with tubes.

Did you ever get them to sound 'they way you wanted'? I do wonder whether Gryphon + Aida is a good match...or Gryphon + SF Fenice.
 
Did you ever get them to sound 'they way you wanted'? I do wonder whether Gryphon + Aida is a good match...or Gryphon + SF Fenice.

I could have stopped with the Audio Research REF750's, but it was not the kind of amplifier I wanted to depend on - I could survive with 40 power tubes, but the need for close matched octets was too much. At that time I did not want to feel guilty just because I warmed an amplifier several hours and then had no time to listen !

However considering current prices of used ARC REF750's and the prices of possible candidates of equivalent performance I sometimes think that perhaps it is the wiser decision - installing an air conditioning system and stocking tens of KT120's ...

Yes, I miss the few months I hosted them ...
 
Most interesting...i have seen the Fenice available second hand...Audiomarkt.de has a pair now in fact.
 
From a LS designer perspective , that Fenice LS looks like the real ( full range )deal to bad its not very widespread , i ve never heard them very nice design though

It needs a really large room, otherwise it would have been my choice - there are a few pairs at give away prices in Europe. One of them is just from someone who found his room was too small for them.
 
Only disadvantage would be the power required as you stated from the aida , looking through the pics they are only hooked up to large power amps or even bi amped .
Its clearly part of the LS design and filter design philosophy from sonus faber .
But things being as they are i do think low eff and low imp LS take some of the dynamics away no matter how much power you hook up , at least in my expirience up to now
 
It needs a really large room, otherwise it would have been my choice - there are a few pairs at give away prices in Europe. One of them is just from someone who found his room was too small for them.

1. How big a room minimum do you recommend?
2. All else being equally ideally set up (incl room), which would be your preference, Fenice or XLF? Somehow, I am imagining still the XLF, but i do not know the Fenice. Or are you saying 'it would have been my choice' as in it would have been my choice over XLF?
 
1. How big a room minimum do you recommend?
2. All else being equally ideally set up (incl room), which would be your preference, Fenice or XLF? Somehow, I am imagining still the XLF, but i do not know the Fenice. Or are you saying 'it would have been my choice' as in it would have been my choice over XLF?

We can not forget price - the Thesonusfaber (official name of the Fenice) costs significantly less than XLF. Four years ago I have answered the Fenice, http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?13676-If-Money-and-and-Real-Estate-weren-t-a-concern-what-Speaker-would-you-select&p=249074&viewfull=1#post249074. However having had a large experience with both along several years, IMHO the XLF is a better speaker, although the scale and dynamics of the Fenice are impressive. A good friend listened to them playing rock with six Devialet in monoblock and said it was the closest to being 30 feet from stage at a rock convert in a stadium he has experienced.

IMHO you need at less 5.5 meter room width for them and probably around 8-9 meter length.
 

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