Greetings:
I got my ZR 1600 from Eighth nerve on Monday. I've had it on continuously since, albeit with the fan running. I immediately defeated the volume controls, but i haven't tried the ground lifting switches yet. I had some initial hookup problems with the amp, the RCA to XLR adaptors induced a large amount of hum in my system. There can be problems connecting unbalanced components like my Motif MC-8 preamp to balanced ones like the ZR 1600.
As for the sound, spectacular for an $800 amplifier! I haven't had this much bang for my audio buck since the late 70's when i sold hi-fi for a living and therefore could get stuff at salesman's accomodation.
My old Synthesis LM30's have really come alive with this amp driving them. I too am hearing things in my discs i have never heard before. One of my first impressions was how voices became more intelligible than with my old Threshold 4000 power amp. It is much easier to follow background vocalists or complex musical lines, even when the recording becomes busy. There is far less of the "congestion" often talked about as a problem with digital audio reproduction. Transient response is phenomenal from the bottom to the top of the spectrum. On rock and jazz recordings, percussion has tremendous "snap". The power of the drum sets on many pop recordings is stunning.
The other plus is the remarkable midrange, a real bug-a-boo with me. Voices are very naturally renderred, neither liquid or dry, but with incredible detail and ease. strings are silky smootth and the sound of the rosin is easily heard. The sound almost has that palpable quality associated with the best tube amps.
The bass is tight, some might call it lean. It too has fabulous inner-detail and very good slam. Here I'm not sure the ZR 1600 is the equal of my Threshold, although it betters it in detail, it doesn't have the weight on synthesizers, bass drum or very deep electric bass.
The highs are a little bright, but this might be due to my current hookup, which is less than perfect. I certainly find them less fatiguing than the highs from the Threshold 4000, which although not particularly harsh, were lacking in detail as compared to the ZR. The inner-detail and better left-right imaging of the ZR than the Threshold is more than ample compensation for the slightly bright quality of the highs. This may go away as the amp breaks in, and i certainly expect the high-frequency reproduction to improve when i upgrade my interconnect from the preamp.
I bought the ZR 1600 as the initial phase of re-designing my system. I was intrigued by the digital switching technology, and believe it is definitly the future of amplification. To get this great sound and have some money left over to upgrade my speaker cables and other interconnects is a real bonus.
I highly recommend this amplifier to anyone looking for nearly top-notch performance at mid-fi prices. Speaker matching might be a problem, not because the amp won't be able to drive them, but an already bright speaker might not benefit from the somewhat forward presentation of this amp. With my speakers though, the match is marvelous. It has made listening to my music exciting and fun all over again, and isn't that why we indulge in this hobby in the first place?
