[genjamon]

Well, I have a pretty fun experiment coming soon.  My LTA MZ2 (short for microZOTL 2.0) is expected to ship later next week.  And I'll be comparing it to the iTube2 that I was wowed by on the recent AC tour offered by iFi. 

The kicker is that I also have a Vinnie Rossi Mini supercapacitor power supply on the way that will be able to power both units via a 12V output.  So, I'll be comparing these two preamps using the same high quality power supply 

With the 15 day trial period on the LTA unit, I figure I can't go wrong!

Will look forward to posting my impressions here after I've had time to put them through their paces.

[JDUBS]

Lol - this thing is $1200...

-Jim

[genjamon]

Yup, and what's your point?

[Russell Dawkins]

This should be a fascinating comparison and I eagerly look forward to your impressions.

The LTA pre and power amps have only recently come to my attention (I never could afford David Berning's own creations, so didn't follow his activities) and the iFi iTube2 should provide a very interesting contrast. The pedigrees of both could scarcely be better!

Also, I hadn't realized the LTA pre was 12VDC powerable. That's a bonus I hadn't realized existed and makes the MZ2 even more of a realistic option for me.

I find the option of an ultra low powered high quality desk top  second system (perhaps Eikona drivers?) intriguing, not to speak of the headphone driving potential. I am thinking it might adequately power my old, immaculate, AKG K1000s, too.

[Thirsty]

I took delivery of an LTA ZOTL 40 two days ago, and with only a few hours on it, it's  sounding very promising already.

[JDUBS]

Yup, and what's your point?

That no one's trying to make their mind up between these two. 

A useless comparison, imo.

-Jim

[OzarkTom]

My buddy Rex  and I are interested. Keep us posted on the results.

[genjamon]

That no one's trying to make their mind up between these two. 

A useless comparison, imo.

-Jim

Dammit!!  I knew I missed something!  Thanks for helping me realize I'm an idiot.   

[rodge827]

Very interested in your findings since I found the iTube 2 not to be as game changing as others on the tour have.

Chris

[Pez]

Hey guys, just a heads up. The iTube2 is rated for 15 volt power supply. I would not suggest using something less than the rated spec 15V.

[genjamon]

Pez, the user manual actually suggests using it in mobile vehicle applications powered from 12V battery. So I contacted iFi technical support about using outboard 12V power suppplies in the home, and they provided the expected max current demand at 12V and said my plan should work fine.

[jsm71]

I don't have experience with the iFi iTube product, but in its price range it looks pretty effective.  I really doubt it competes with the LTA preamp however.

I do own both the MZ2-S with linear power supply as well as the LTA ZOTL40 amp.  The two LTA products together are a game changing combination.

The MZ2-S on its own is pretty amazing and clearly the most competition killing piece in LTA's lineup.  I am aware of others that compared the MZ2-S with other amplification and are now using it as I am and have put much more expensive preamps on the sideline.  I have sidelined my Cary SLP98 in favor of this.  It was a complete no-brainer mated to the LTA amp.

The MZ2-S' ability to be used as a flea-powered amp for HE speakers and as a (originally designed) super headphone amp adds to its usability.   

Don't take my word for it.  See Terry London's review.  http://hometheaterreview.com/linear-tube-audio-microzotl20-preamplifierheadphone-amplifier-reviewed/

[MttBsh]

Wow, what an impressive review!

I've been thoroughly enjoying a Tortuga LDR passive, which I consider to be one of the finest (and best bang for the buck) preamps available, but after reading Terry London's review of the LTA MicroZOTL2.0 I'm thinking I need to audition one...

[genjamon]

Yeah, I've been reading up for a while on the LTA MZ2 and have read that, as well as Terry's review of the 40 watt amps, and of the new Tekton speakers which also sound really interesting. 

As for the comparison with the iFi - it's true they're in different cost departments.  But the iFi is an overachiever for sure, and with a high quality power supply could potentially improve quite significantly as well.  After further experimentation while owning it, I have found it to perform best as purely a buffer with 0dB of gain (as opposed to my initial assessment on the tour that 9dB was better).  Allowing my Lampizator's passive VC to handle attenuation in a superior manner to what the iFi's volume pot is capable of.  And in between the Lampi and the Line Magnetic, it clearly cleans up the signal.  Probably the impedance matching is mostly the cause, but who knows.

I never purchased the iFi expecting it to outperform much more expensive preamps.  And the MZ2 also sounds like it's a massive overachiever itself.  However, others have found the iFi to be quite the overachiever, and I'm open to giving it the chance to prove itself.  Of course, if it doesn't, it's not a massive loss to me, as it will find a happy home in my second system or move on to another happy listener.  It's well well worth the asking price IMO.

To give some context as to my preamp history, I sold a TRL Dude preamp I had for a couple years after hearing the Lampi integrated volume control in my system.  Before that, I had used an Ed Schilling "The Truth" buffer/pre using LDR's for VC.  And concurrent with the Dude, and for about a year afterward, I had an Aum Acoustics LDR pre based on the Tortuga V2 boards. 

With the LTA pre, I'm looking forward to being back in the world of octal tubes, but very curious about the character given the semi OTL approach of the design. 

The Vinnie Rossi power supply is supposed to arrive today, so I should get a chance later tonight to hear the iFi with an improved power supply.

[Pez]

Pez, the user manual actually suggests using it in mobile vehicle applications powered from 12V battery. So I contacted iFi technical support about using outboard 12V power suppplies in the home, and they provided the expected max current demand at 12V and said my plan should work fine.

Spec wise that might be the case, but sonics might become an issue. I have tried just that using the iCan SE which is rated for 15v I used a linear 12V. While it sounded better in some ways, it also killed dynamics and bass control. Your call, but it's a bit like putting a mule in place of a racehorse.

Perhaps try both ways and report back. I'm curious to see what you' find.

[genjamon]

Spec wise that might be the case, but sonics might become an issue. I have tried just that using the iCan SE which is rated for 15v I used a linear 12V. While it sounded better in some ways, it also killed dynamics and bass control. Your call, but it's a bit like putting a mule in place of a racehorse.

Perhaps try both ways and report back. I'm curious to see what you' find.

Hmm, OK, good to know.  Will report back.

[genjamon]

The Vinnie Rossi power supply arrived Monday, but by the time I got home and was able to mess with constructing a DC cable for the iFi from the VR Mini, it was pretty much bedtime.  The system was working, but no critical listening.  Last night I had enough time to fire up the system for a while in the background so it was nice and warm before a short bit of critical listening right before bed. 

Throughout the evening, I wasn't all that engaged with the music in the background - it sounded fine in the background as I was making dinner, eating, talking with my wife, but just not drawing me in or distracting from all that in any way.  This was with the VR Mini powering the iFi. 

Then I listened to a couple songs critically, still with the VR Mini.  Then I powered down the iFi and switched back to its supplied 15V power supply, and powered back up.  Listened to a few more songs, but it was pretty obvious.  The VR Mini at 12V was constricting dynamics compared with the 15V supply.  The sound opened up and became dynamic again with the 15V. 

So, I'm disappointed that the VR Mini 12V will not be an apples to apples comparison tool as I had hoped between the two preamps.  We'll be left wondering how much better the iFi could sound if I had a 15V VR Mini to power it.  So, yes, now I'd agree with JDUBS about it being a relatively silly comparison between a ~$400 component, and a ~$2200 component (the MZ2 will have the $1K VR Mini power supply on top of the $1200 original cost).  My original thinking was that an overachieving $350 circuit design might possibly compete with a ~$1100-1200 circuit design - if both are powered from a state of the art low noise power supply to begin with.  Too bad I don't think I'm in a position to make this comparison anymore.

But I'll certainly still comment on the comparison overall.

[OzarkTom]

I bought a variable 12-15v Astron power supply last month off of Ebay for 50 bucks but have not had time to try it with my Itubbe2.

[Russell Dawkins]

Pez, the user manual actually suggests using it in mobile vehicle applications powered from 12V battery. So I contacted iFi technical support about using outboard 12V power supplies in the home, and they provided the expected max current demand at 12V and said my plan should work fine.

It is not an insignificant consideration, I guess, that a '12 V' car battery typically outputs 13.6 V.

I contacted Mark Schneider to find out whether the MZ2 was car battery power-able and, no, it requires a tightly regulated 12 V; 13.6 is too much.

[genjamon]

It is not an insignificant consideration, I guess, that a '12 V' car battery typically outputs 13.6 V.

Yeah, that's a good point