What amp are you using with your Zu Essences?

Sounds like there is definately something in the air this week. We have dealers whining and manufacturers spitting their dummies (pacifiers) out over here in the UK at the moment.

It sounds like Audiofiel and Atma-Sphere need to meet on common ground, kiss and make up.

Sorry for creating a bit of a storm in a teapot, but thanks for the suggestions. Currently I'm using a Sharp SM-SX1 digital integrated. And I'm kinda stunned how good it is. It puts out 52 watts per side which is plenty. And they're good watts, crystal clear without sibilance, nice tight bass. I can only imagine how much better tubes are going to be. I'm definitely going to check out the Decware and First Watt suggestions--any more?

Cayin A-50T. EL34 based amp. It sounds great, and is very reasonable on the used market, usually under 1K. I have upgraded the tubes in my to the Genelex Gold Lion KT-77, and it really performs.

Charles1dad, What you say is true but about a different post- so in that we regard we are writing about two differnt things, but perhaps I take things much more literally than you.

What should be pointed out here is that a speaker that is 6 ohms is not going to match a transformer-coupled amp *ideally* either, unless that amplifier has a 6 ohm tap.

In the case of a small OTL, you only have to use a set of ZEROs. In the case of the ZERO, if you look that the website-

http://www.zeroimpedance.com

-you will see that the autoformer is treated more as a set of ratios than a specific impedance like 4 or 8 ohms. What this means is that if you have something like an S-30, and using the 2:1 ratio, that the amplifier will be driving a 36 ohm load. As far as the S-30 is concerned, this is ideal. The speaker does not need a *lot* of power, and the 45 watts that the S-30 will make in this example will really wake the speaker right up, better than most transformer-coupled amps.

Now you may not realize this but we used to make a product like the ZERO about 20 years ago, we stopped when the ZERO came out because it was a lot easier to explain the ZERO than it was our own product!

People were always asking 'Don't you obviate the OTL thing when you do that?' and the answer is no. Its funny how people had this story that an OTL had to be a certain way, and were equating the ZERO and its predecessor with regular output transformers, and there is a huge gulf between the two. The bottom line though is that it is just a way to make music, and I've never seen it as anything else.

That is why I always recommend to our dealers that they have a set of ZEROs on hand.

Bill is somewhat of a jerk. If you don't agree with him, well, you're just wrong. No room for any possibility that he might be the one who's wrong. Oh, and if you don't agree with him, you're almost certainly mis-informed.

Talked to Bill about a First Watt amplifier more than a year ago now. I said I would be happy to buy from him if I could have an in-home audition with return privileges, same as what Reno was offering. He suggested I should take Reno up on an in-home audition, return the amplifier, and purchase from him instead. I declined the offer.

Bill will likely say there's more to this story than that, but I'm happy to share the complete email exchange with anyone who wants to see it.