Forums - ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps

mark58

Seasoned Member

Posts: 5647

ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps
02/11/15 at 14:19:11

A heads up for anyone who wants one of these beauties. Last month an ebay seller auctioned one and the high bid was $810 but the reserve was not met...he had a Buy it now price of $1195. At the time I emailed him, asking what he wanted for it out of curiosity. He said $1000. I didn't make an offer since I already have one that I bought new for $1395.

The seller has relisted with a buy it now of $995...a fair price, I think. Let me know if you buy it. I would if I needed a second ZP3. Mark.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Decware-ZP3-single-end-triode-reference-phono-pre-amp-MM...

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"The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with the concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, deceptions, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night and his affections dark as Hell. Let no such man be trusted." William Shakespeare

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mark58 Seasoned Member Posts: 5647	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #1 - 02/11/15 at 21:33:27 Well, several hours after posting the ZP3 auction here, someone bought it for the $995 ask. So did anyone here buy it? Mark.
Back to top	"The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with the concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, deceptions, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night and his affections dark as Hell. Let no such man be trusted." William Shakespeare IP Logged

Greg12 Seasoned Member Posts: 205	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #2 - 02/12/15 at 06:23:45 Um, well, you know,, maybe.,,
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mark58 Seasoned Member Posts: 5647	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #3 - 02/12/15 at 11:36:45 Greg, it's not like I'm asking if you're running for President. I guess we'll know for sure when you change your profile...hehe Nice score. Mark.
Back to top	"The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with the concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, deceptions, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night and his affections dark as Hell. Let no such man be trusted." William Shakespeare IP Logged

Greg12

Seasoned Member

Posts: 205

Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps
Reply #4 - 02/13/15 at 00:22:11

Hi Mark, I wasn't trying to be secretive, just makin' a funny is all

I can't wait til it arrives. Been wanting one of these for a long time. Thanks for posting the link to it here. Wouldn't have seen it otherwise. Hopefully it plays nice with my Sumiko Blue Point mc. I started a thread on this combo here last year and folks seem to think I may not need a step up transformer. Hope not!

Greg

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Torii MkIII with Jupiter caps, ZP3 with Jupiter caps, DM947 Monoliths, Oppo 105, Pro-ject Rm-5.1 Se TT. Hana SH Shibata MC Cartridge 2.0mV

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mark58 Seasoned Member Posts: 5647	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #5 - 02/13/15 at 00:40:57 I was really hoping someone here would get it. This is the first time I've ever seen a new one with the Jupiter Cap upgrade for sale. I know you'll love it. I use a Rega Exact MM so I don't need step up. I hope you don't need a SUT...Steve's got them for $629 currently, otherwise. Mark.
Back to top	"The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with the concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, deceptions, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night and his affections dark as Hell. Let no such man be trusted." William Shakespeare IP Logged

Greg12 Seasoned Member Posts: 205	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #6 - 02/13/15 at 01:28:33 Yeah, the Jupiter caps are what made me get it, along with the low hours and no wait. Nice price for a basically new one.
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hdrider

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On the path with
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Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps
Reply #7 - 02/16/15 at 16:08:41

Greg- You are going to love the ZP3. You will not need s SUT for the Sumiko. Caution on the placement of the ZP3, I had to play musical chairs with mine to get the motor boating reduced due to the proximity to my Rachael amp. Other than that is drips magic every time I listen. An awesome score, let us know when you get it up and singing. Happy listening, Chris.

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CSP3, Rachael, ZP3, ZMC 1, Sony ES Bluray, Schitt Bitfrost DAC,Sota Star TT w/ FR-64, Hana SL Low Output Moving coil, Omega 7XRS Mk 2 walnut, DeepOmega 8 sub, Morrow Audio PH3 and MA3 IC's, Gamma Electrostatic phones.

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Greg12

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Posts: 205

Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps
Reply #8 - 02/17/15 at 04:28:02

Thanks Chris. I will definitely post on it. Should be here tomorrow. I'm all fired up to hear it. Was planning on a full evening with it until my wife told me yesterday that she bought tickets for us to see David Sanborn tomorrow night. Normally I'd have been happy to hear that news but I have to admit that inwardly I was a little bummed. Of course outwardly I had my best smile on. Wink

Oh well, I'll have many evenings in the future with the ZP3 and it should be a great performance. I'm off work tomorrow so I can only hope its delivered early.

Greg

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Torii MkIII with Jupiter caps, ZP3 with Jupiter caps, DM947 Monoliths, Oppo 105, Pro-ject Rm-5.1 Se TT. Hana SH Shibata MC Cartridge 2.0mV

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hdrider Seasoned Member On the path with Decware. Posts: 699	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #9 - 02/17/15 at 16:21:46 Greg- Can't beat live music! Enjoy. It shouldn't take too long for the ZP3 to come back from hibernation…..happy listening, Chris
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Ace-Tone Seasoned Member 8+ years with Decware gear and Loving it!!! Posts: 775	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #10 - 02/17/15 at 16:26:23 Greg, your going to love it. I've had mine for 2 months now and it's just beautiful. Give it a good TT and Cart and it will shine! I am having many Wow! moments these days.
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Greg12 Seasoned Member Posts: 205	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #11 - 02/17/15 at 22:19:43 Thanks for the good words guys, I appreciate it. Of course mine must be the last drop off of the day, still no UPS van....... oh well. I'm taking tomorrow off work so will have plenty of hrs to play with it then. @Acetone I have a nice TT. Pro-Ject RM 5.1SE w/ a Blue Point Sumiko #2 MC. Come on UPS dude!
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Ace-Tone Seasoned Member 8+ years with Decware gear and Loving it!!! Posts: 775	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #12 - 02/17/15 at 23:02:15 NICE!! Your all set....Don't know how many hours your ZP3 has on it, but it does take time to break in...I'm at 100+ hours at the moment. Enjoy and give us your impressions once you've had time to settle in.
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Ace-Tone Seasoned Member 8+ years with Decware gear and Loving it!!! Posts: 775	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #13 - 02/17/15 at 23:05:42 Greg...the ZP3 is set up for MM carts 47Kohm. Your may need a Step up for the MC blue point to get the output you need to your amp.
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Greg12 Seasoned Member Posts: 205	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #14 - 02/17/15 at 23:26:50 It only has 3 hours on it. I've had a couple people tell me the ZP3 does well with the Blue point and no SUT so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Back to top	Torii MkIII with Jupiter caps, ZP3 with Jupiter caps, DM947 Monoliths, Oppo 105, Pro-ject Rm-5.1 Se TT. Hana SH Shibata MC Cartridge 2.0mV IP Logged

Greg12 Seasoned Member Posts: 205	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #15 - 02/18/15 at 05:59:00 Holy cow! I just plugged it in 10 mins ago. Put on Yes Fragile. Foouck me! Wow! Wowy!
Back to top	Torii MkIII with Jupiter caps, ZP3 with Jupiter caps, DM947 Monoliths, Oppo 105, Pro-ject Rm-5.1 Se TT. Hana SH Shibata MC Cartridge 2.0mV IP Logged

Greg12 Seasoned Member Posts: 205	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #16 - 02/18/15 at 06:39:21 Steve Deckert, if you were younger, better looking, and female, I'd f'ing marry you man!
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Lon Seasoned Member "Love without guts is worthless!" Philip K. Dick Posts: 24671	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #17 - 02/18/15 at 11:27:24 Greg12 wrote on 02/18/15 at 05:59:00: Holy cow! I just plugged it in 10 mins ago. Put on Yes Fragile. Foouck me! Wow! Wowy! We told you, didn't we?
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mark58 Seasoned Member Posts: 5647	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #18 - 02/18/15 at 12:30:08 So Greg, you don't like it?...hehe. I feel like I should get a commission for being the matchmaker. Mark.
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Greg12

Seasoned Member

Posts: 205

Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps
Reply #19 - 02/18/15 at 13:13:17

I do owe you Marky Mark. I don't scout out EBay ever so I'd have never known about this sale had I not seen your post here. Thanks bro. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Layers of texture I call it. I had the biggest shit eating grin on!

I put Fleetwood Mac S/T 1A CSM pressing on at one point. Christie Mcvie was a singular presence right above my TT, not just a voice between the speakers on a 2 dimensional plane. 3D. Mind you that was 1 hour after turning the pre on after it had been on a UPS van all day here in tropical Minneapolis.

Thanks to all you folks here for your great posts which got me started on Decware gear. I must have read the forum twice prior to my first purchase which was the Torii III. Which, by the way, after hearing it being fed by the ZP3 last night I remember thinking to myself, why spend more money upgrading it when it sounds so perfect now. At least that's how I feel now anyways. We'll see.

Well, now I gotta go turn it back on, been around 5 hours. I took today off, I doubt I'll shut it off 5 hours from now. I think I'll shut it off at midnight, or whenever is that I just about pass out from sheer exhaustion!

Greg

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Torii MkIII with Jupiter caps, ZP3 with Jupiter caps, DM947 Monoliths, Oppo 105, Pro-ject Rm-5.1 Se TT. Hana SH Shibata MC Cartridge 2.0mV

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mark58

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Posts: 5647

Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps
Reply #20 - 02/18/15 at 14:24:55

Greg, you're welcome. Next we need to get you a pair of Zygi's creations, the HR-1s. I agree about your thoughts on upgrading. I know many here want the latest and greatest and get there either by upgrading their existing gear or buying new but I'm with you...I don't plan on an upgrade of the core of my systems. But I will play around the edges with tube rolling, resistors for the HR-1s, cables, isolation, etc, etc....not because it's needed but to feed my need to fiddle. To that end, I just popped in the 1946 RCA double getter 5R4GYs into my Monoblocks...I'll fire them up later today. Mark.

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"The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with the concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, deceptions, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night and his affections dark as Hell. Let no such man be trusted." William Shakespeare

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Greg12

Seasoned Member

Posts: 205

Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps
Reply #21 - 02/18/15 at 15:10:38

You know, I'm all set w/ my Decware Monolith's. I had trouble w/ tubby bass but I have just realized it wasn't the speakers that produced tubby bass. It was the $230 Musical Fidelity phono amp. Everything I'm putting on now is perfect in the bass department, along w/ all the other freq's. I am so pleased right now it's hard to describe.

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Torii MkIII with Jupiter caps, ZP3 with Jupiter caps, DM947 Monoliths, Oppo 105, Pro-ject Rm-5.1 Se TT. Hana SH Shibata MC Cartridge 2.0mV

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hdrider Seasoned Member On the path with Decware. Posts: 699	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #22 - 02/18/15 at 15:18:46 Congrats Greg!.I bet you will find the need to ''upgrade'' gear will now diminish as mine has. Yes, I need a better match speaker but my TT source is really good, CD could use a DAC, but Miss Rachael and Mr. ZP3 are just fine. Happy listening. P.S. good selection on your first album to listen to.
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Ace-Tone Seasoned Member 8+ years with Decware gear and Loving it!!! Posts: 775	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #23 - 02/18/15 at 15:59:05 Greg, all ZP3 owners know what you are experiencing. Believe me it will get sweeter as it breaks in. Fragile a nice choice to start. LPs by Alan Parsons are excellent...great recordings/engineering.
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Greg12 Seasoned Member Posts: 205	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #24 - 02/18/15 at 16:22:46 Man, oh man!
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attym Verified Member Posts: 29	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #25 - 03/04/15 at 16:31:49 Has anyone done a direct comparison to a ZP3 with Jupiter/bees wax caps and with the stock? I know the Jupiter/bees wax caps are highly regarded, but Ive also heard the stock caps have their own special magic (Which, I agree with, but haven't heard the Jupiter/bees wax cap upgrade)
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hdrider

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Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps
Reply #26 - 03/04/15 at 16:52:46

I ordered my ZP3 with the Jupiter/beeswax caps and cannot comment on the stock caps. I am sure a stock ZP3 still kicks A over some really expensive phonostages, but when I re-installed my Shinon Red LMC a few weeks ago, I just realized how much better it was than my Alpha Genesis, I just kept falling in love more and more. My phono playback is so dam good now, I can't wait until I get the proper speakers. I am done changing electronics, new speakers next and then new cartridge and then a DAC to replace my Krell. I could see adding a CPS3 pre-amp...maybe...happy listening, Chris.

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CSP3, Rachael, ZP3, ZMC 1, Sony ES Bluray, Schitt Bitfrost DAC,Sota Star TT w/ FR-64, Hana SL Low Output Moving coil, Omega 7XRS Mk 2 walnut, DeepOmega 8 sub, Morrow Audio PH3 and MA3 IC's, Gamma Electrostatic phones.

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Syd

Seasoned Member

Posts: 1534

Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps
Reply #27 - 03/04/15 at 19:05:31

I sent my ZP3 and CSP2+ in for jupitor beeswax caps and the change was noticable, of course. The sound went from great to great+. I must say I missed the old sound at first, it was everything I wanted. Steve wouldn`t endorse the jupitors unless he was confident the overall result was better than ok. Now I love this sound. Funny, because I dont want to say the stock ZP3 isn`t as good. It is, but the jupitors add more air with a naturalness that captivates....even more. Thats what you pay the extra for.

Gregg, wtg tis a mighty soag

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Decware: Rachaels x 2 bridged, C. SP2+, ZP3, ZMC1, DHC-1 pw/cbl`s Michell Orbe + SME V + M.Benz LP s, Arcam CD33, Nakamichi LX5, Lowther acoustas DX2`s, WE 16g sp/cbl`s, Isotek mains substation, M & K subwoofer, Belden 8402 interconnects.

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attym Verified Member Posts: 29	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #28 - 03/06/15 at 22:43:01 Sorry to turn this classified into a discussion, but it's relevant to upgrades I'm consisting. Did anyone who made this upgrade stick with the same tube compliment or did it force you to tube roll to get things right again?
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Lon

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"Love without
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Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps
Reply #29 - 03/06/15 at 22:55:16

I haven't done an upgrade to Jupiters on my ZP3 but did do this on a Torii Mk III and a CSP2+ and in each case though I have tube-rolled since the new caps made the existing tube complements sound better. . . was no immediate need to roll. (But then. . . that's not how we roll, we roll because it's fun to experiment for the most part, right?)

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mark58

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Posts: 5647

Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps
Reply #30 - 03/06/15 at 23:09:12

Here's the deal. I have owned the ZP3 with Jupiter Caps and can't give you a comparison to the stock but I have heard from several who had their ZP3 upgraded to the Bees Wax caps. Everyone of them had no regrets. It was one of these upgraders who recommended I order mine with the Jupiter caps...this was before it was a listed option on the order sheet.

In regards to tube rolling. For me this is the one piece of Decware gear that I have gone a bit overboard with rolling. More than a dozen tube types in the 12AU7 position and about half a dozen in the 12AX7 positions. I don't care if you leave it stock or roll your nuts off...it's impossible to make the ZP3 sound bad. First I replaced the stock rectifier and OA3 with NOS 50's RCA OA3 and RCA 5Y3G...then I began to roll. Now I've slowed down a bit but still make a change about every couple months to keep it fresh.

So get the upgrade and I dare you not to do some more rolling. Mark.

PS...Here's a thread on tube rolling the ZP3. Should give you some good ideas.

PSS...Lon, is correct. There is no need to use different tubes than before the upgrade. Your old tube compliment will probably sound better with the Bees Wax/Jupiter upgrade once break in has occurred. I honestly don't think there was much of a brake in...it sounded good from the start.

https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1402147415

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"The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with the concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, deceptions, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night and his affections dark as Hell. Let no such man be trusted." William Shakespeare

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attym Verified Member Posts: 29	Re: ZP3 Black Top with Jupiter/bees wax caps Reply #31 - 03/07/15 at 19:15:01 I've gone down the tube rolling rabbit hole and found, what I think are the perfect tubes. Where this is only two caps, I might dig in. Doesn't seem like a hard diy. And also, I could always reverse it. Thanks all, you're a good group.
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