I have had the DZ for a fews day now and I guess I'm ready to write about its effect on my system. First off:
My current system:
- Rega Planar 3, Origin Live modified Rega RB-250 arm, Dynavector 10X4 mkII cartridge
- Philips SACD1000 CD/SACD/DVD player
- Conrad Johnson PV10B and Audible Illusions M3A preamps
- Odyssey Stratos dual mono amplifier
- Chapman T-7 speakers (full range, 3-way, 90db, 4 ohm)
- Bolder M-80 and Zu Varial interconnects, and Zu Wax speaker wire
- BPT Balanced power conditioner on the source components (BPT)
- PS Audio Ultimate Outlet (20amp, high current) on amp (UO)
- JohnR brought over his DIY John Risch line conditioner (JR)
Music
Peter Gabriel - So - Mercy Street
Holly Cole that JohnR brought
Choral music that JohnR brought
JohnR and I actually listened together. We tried assorted combos of the BPT DZ, UO, and JR conditioners. We knew which conditioners were being used (no blind testing). Hopefully, JohnR will contribute his impressions.
Let's start off by saying the JR did not work in my system. We hooked it up on the front end with the UO on the amp, and it just sounded awful. the overall presentation was very flat (flatlined?) - rolled off highs, weak bass, limited dynamics, too much congestion on the choral track. It was so bad that John thought there might be something wrong with it. Enough said.
We then tried the DZ and BPT on the front end with the UO on the amp. Here the BPT was the clear winner. While the DZ might have been a wee bit tighter on the low end, the BPT had a much more relaxed and natural presentation with a deeper sound stage and better instrument seperation. Mercy Street has a great assortment of different sounds, both forceful and delicate. With the BPT, each were easily discernible and came together nicely as a whole. The DZ sounded slightly congested in comparison. Piano and voice on the Holly Cole track were more natural and realistic sounding with the BPT. Not a lot, mind you, but certainly enough to notice. The choral piece gets pretty busy at some points with voices soaring and the symphony cranking, and it was just easier to keep track of itall with the BPT. One factor that may have contributed here is the lack of individual filters and outlets on the DZ for digital and analog sources. It only has one outlet and so there may have been some digital hashish leaking into the analog source.
We then compared the DZ and UO with the amp. Here the differences were much more subtle and ultimately preference is more dependent on individual taste and system. The DZ was a bit more "reserved" than the UO with better instrument seperation and a mcuh cleaner sound. I felt like the bass on the Holly Cole track was more substantial and solid with the DZ. However, the UO seemed to provide better pace to the music - the toe tapping factor was higher, the music more engaging. Hoewever, the overall presentation was not as clean as the DZ. The differences here were very subtle. John and I switched back and forth multiple times to confirm our observations and at the end of the day I can't really say which one I preferred. John felt a bit differently, but I'll let him post his observations.
We then hooked up the BPT and UO to the DZ. We were spent in terms of critical listening, but initial observations were pretty positive. We seemed to be getting the natural, engaging presentation of the BPT/UO combo with the clearer delineation of the DZ. This is actually what led us to think that perhaps the lack of seperation between the digital and analog inputs on the DZ may have been an issue.
I held onto the unit for another couple days to audition it with my new AI M3A preamp and only listened with the BPT and UO plugged into the DZ, or else the DZ out entirely. I came to the "conclusion" that the DZ wasn't really beneficial in this set up. The AI is quite a bit more transparent than the CJ preamp, so I think any added image specificity and delineation the DZ offered with the CJ is largely lost with the AI. With the BPT and UO, the DZ seemes to take just a little bit of excitement out of the music. Perhaps, the power is being "overfiltered" at this point and I'm hearing the effects. Unfortunately, without a multiple brick DZ, I can't really make the final comparisons I'd like to make, which would be to compare the BPT and UO versus the DZ.
As it is, I will not be purchasing the unit I auditioned. Maybe at some point in the future, I will get a chance to audition its big brother and my conclusions will be different.
Many thanks to Audiojerry, DVV, and Miki for arranging everything. I'll be sending the DZ to Randytsuch today.
Beez
