So, Grant,

Just for fun, what tubes have you rolled? My zbox is still workin for me, incidentally...

Karl

Hi Grant,

Well, currently I get the best results with 12BH7's. They have a tendency to sound slightly grainy right at first, but that goes away after they are burning for a while. They have the most spacious sound to my ear.

I have some pretty cool; well, better than pretty cool 12au7's (BB's), which beat out all the higher gain 12..'s I tried.

When comparing a good 12AU7 to a good 12BH7, the 12AU7 sounds kind of one dimensional by comparison.

Karl

Grant,

There is definitely something to what you say about the ZBox affecting the tonal balance of the system.

I rerouted my ZCD to go directly into the CSP2 this morning and have been listening.  There is a slight increase in dynamics (I guess the signal not having to go through another set of cables may be the reason?) and the presentation is a bit more vivid and a bit less 'warm' across the board.  This is all possible for me because the ZCD now has a variable output and I don't need the ZBox to "buffer" that output (impedance?) the way I did before.  I am going to listen for a while this way and see if I will let it remain.  This allows me to use my ZBox for my ES Series Blu-Ray player, and my TV stereo output (thanks to the extra input and switch that Steve added) and the TV is going to sound much better with the ZBox.

I've used cryo'd RCAs from www.tubeman.com  He has three or four options, NOS, new production, cryo'd, non-cryo'd. . . . I  have never had anything but wonderful transactions from this site.

An update. . . my ZBox is still in my system but it's a different system!

I swapped out the amplification between my main and bedroom system.  I put the ZBox, CSP2 and SE34 Monoblocks into my bedroom system (with a Wadia iTransport, a Sony Blu-Ray player and tv as sources) and put the Peachtree Audio Decco integrated amp that I had bought for the bedroom into the living room system, driving the RL2s.

I wanted a change.  I'm using the Scott Nixon designed DAC in the Decco to decode the signal from my Sony ES Blu-Ray player.  The sound is not quite up to the Decware amplification, but not far from it. I've ordered a Decware SE34I.2 integrated amp to be the real heart of this system. Needed, wanted a change.

I'm very happy with the Sony Blu-Ray player, and ultimately decided that it works better for me than the ZCD even with all the options, so I'll probably be selling that soon.  And I decided to order the new Sony SACD player, the SCD-XA5400ES, which is purported to be a really topnotch redbook cd player for the dollars.  That should be here Friday.  I'll also sell my NAD T585 SACD/DVD player, thinning the ranks. When I have the SE34I.2 in place then it will be a shootout between the Decware amplfication in the bedroom and the Peachtree Audio. . . if I were to do the shootout today, I think the Peachtree would win, because the DAC really upgrades the sound of those sources.  

I'm enjoying the change right now.  The hybrid tube/solid state Decco is sounding nice with the RL2s.

Yes, doing my part.

Cool Grant.  There are lots of options now for using a computer as a transport. . . .I just don't want to do that. . . .

I definitely see the advantages, and they range from convenience to fewer problems with space. (Try housing 15000 cds! I'm trying to!)

In my case it's more that. . . computers represent a large enough portion of my life, and they represent work and joy.  I like to be free of them for many of my strengthening and pleasure pursuits, and not centering my music listening on them achieves that.  If I were younger, I'd probably be less inclined to make that distinction; computers entered my life slowly twenty years ago, more intensely about fifteen years ago, were totally stangers to me before that (and I'm 53).

OK, well, my zbox was offline for around a week, and it sucked. Truly awful to be without.

I thought the issue was more complicated, but it turned out to be a simple problem with a short in the power strip.

Yes, love the 12BH7's.

I still can't believe anyone can listen to a cd player without it.

Karl

Yeah, I found myself tiring of the sound too and my current source sounds great great great without the ZBox; I'm currently using the ZBox to warm up the signal coming out of my TV in the bedroom and going into the Peachtree Audio Decco hybrid integrated.