Hi
i was lucky to contact David when he was building the ZH230 and pick up a model (zh230 proto2) before it went into "serial" production.
it looks very nice, a lot like the zh270 design, with no scratches on the front.
the back plate is scratched (that is how i received it from David )
so it is like new but came with scratches. hard to rate but i gave it a 7/10 to reflect that.
the amp works flawlessly.
if you mind the cosmetics you will have to pay the extra $ for the production unit, but if you are after the sound this amp can give you, this might be the best deal to be found as i am sure that the zh230 will not come up for sale used soon or anywhere near the price i am asking.
and if 30w is enough power its even less expensive then most zh270 used on the market and a sonic improvement in every regard.
tubes are auto bias , no matched pairs necessary, and tube life is very long w/ Berning amps.The output tubes are 33JV6, the same as in the flagship Quadrature Z which already received rave reviews.
unfortunate circumstances force me to sell my Berning ZH230.
i just cannot justify owning an amp in this price range with my current financial situation, no matter how good it is.
if you have a SET, i might be interested in a partial trade as i am downgrading .
bought end of may 09
will include multiple quads of 33jv6
and many different tubes from the family of 12au7, 12at7, 12ax7 . for tube rolling.
the amp has different feedback settings which are regulated by your choice of Input and driver tube . no switches , no volume control . just pure sound.
Input Driver
12AX7+12AT7 normal feedback
12AX7+12AU7 a little lower feedback
12AT7+12AT7 a little lower again
12AT7+12AU7 lower again
12AU7+12AT7 lower again
12AU7+12AU7 lowest feedback
asking price is 4150$ for AC members
paypal adds 3.5% fees . i strongly suggest paypal echeck which is only $5 and takes only a few days to clear.
also on audiogon with photo.
http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ampstube&1273633949&view&1269383122