Update 3/7/17  web page is now completed:  https://www.decware.com/newsite/ZROCK.html


STEVE IS ACCEPTING PRE-ORDERS FOR THIS NOW!

I was given the privilege to be the first to receive one of these.
I have been talking with Steve for several months now expressing some issues I was having and he had told me of something he had wanted to build that was probably a perfect fit for me.
Well after receiving it yesterday I would have to say, as usual, he was correct.
I have played a few dozen records so far from things that already sounded quite excellent to things that did not and the improvements are quite exceptional.

I will start with the effects on recordings that I "thought" already sounded as good as I would ever want them to.
The ZROCK made a very noticeable improvement in density throughout the frequency range everything sounded richer, fuller with more detail and with an unexpected increase in the soundstage which surprised me. I am also now able to reduce the toe in of the speakers quite a bit since the density is so much better. I am really surprised by how much more information I am hearing now and how much wider and deeper the soundstage seems to be. I was worried that it would be the opposite since I was adding another device into the signal path. Just a note I did have this built with the Jupiter caps as with my other gear.
I was also concerned that I would have too much bass, you know the non musical fill in type bass, not the case at all, everything is very balanced tight and full.

Now with things that were harder to listen to on a reveling system such as mine.
First there are two settings on this that give two distinctly different EQ signatures, one is very clear and dynamic and the other while increasing the lower end also rolls off the highs and should do an excellent job at allowing us to listen to some very poor recordings making them listenable again, thank you for this.
So far everything I have listened to has sounded excellent with the more dynamic setting.

With the increase in the lower register it really makes everything sound better in that it is fuller richer and deeper I also don't have the urge to turn it up to try and gain some density and impact anymore.
Before I would get up and turn it up and then get up and turn it down because it was just louder not better, and the real litmus test is my wife hasn't asked me to turn it down for two days meaning first, it isn't too loud anymore and second it sounds really good.
This is not just a low frequency boost on my system but a density boost all the way through.

I have to say this again because it is such a surprise to me, the part that floors me the most is how much more depth and width I seem to have now and it even seems clearer and more detailed probably because all of the information is better balanced now.
I am anxious to see how it will sound after some hours are put on it.

I want to say thank you to Steve for working with me all these months and helping me get to where I wanted to be, above and beyond what we expect in today's world. Great business man but more importantly Steve is a stand up guy.

Awesome! Looks like I need to get an order in...... .
Nice first impressions SSeeker. Yeah, a pic or two from SS or Steve would be great. Input and Output back, etc...front view close up...... .


Yes, very "stand up".....Steve just fixed my ZMA ASAP and Sarah did a stand up job of getting it on the road back to me. No complaints here.

Pic

Iam sorry.... what exactly is this?  Did i miss the press release?

ah got it!  it has a name now.  that's the part i missed.

Stone
The horror..

The switch in the front is the bypass, on off, switch.
The one in the back is the two different EQ's.
The tube is a 5963 12au7 type.
Just vinyl

I just finished a little experimentation with a couple 12au7's I had, an RCA clear top and a Psvane and the 5963 he sent actually sounds best, so I guess I will leave it alone for now and let it burn in for quite a while before I try anything else.

My ZMA has been out of service with my livingroom torn up for home theater upgrades. I've been so busy with work, no time to listen, and I was craving it last night. So I feel you brother.

Here is the link for anyone wanting to pre-order the ZROCK.

http://secure.ultracart.com/cgi-bin/UCEditor?merchantId=DIY&ADD=ZROCK

Steve

Have started the web page for the ZROCK, should be ready soon : )



Covert testing facility

Steve

Here's some pics of the Z-Rock

SS

Any further updates on your experience with the Zrock?  I am considering  purchasing one to add to between my TT (Rega P3-24) and my ZP3. Seems like you are using the Zrock between your TT and ZP3, as well. So I am especially interested in your feedback after spending more hours with Zrock. Worth the $$?

Tal

Tal

I couldn't live without it now.

DougK

That should work just fine the way you describe.

Last century it was all "if the first watt. . ." and a purist signal path. . . this century it's CPU and power supplies and preamps and ZStages and now a ZRock too!

I'm sure the ZRock is really cool, but I have spent years getting my system so that it does both the mediocre and the great recordings justice and I'm not adding another box in the chain! (The passive ZBit was the last item I needed. . . I'm in awe every day now of the music in my room, and the best sound comes from a direct source into the amp, no other gain stage or eq in the path).

Pretty much the gear listed in the "signature" is in use in two systems.

Main system: Rega turntable and PS Audio DMP and DSD, Cambridge Audio CXU, Time Warner DVR as sources; Torii Mk III and ZP3 as amplification (Taboo Mk III as headphone amp connected to CXU and DVR)*; Decware/Turning Point Audio HR-1 as speakers. PS Audio P10 as electrical foundation.  All components are on PS Audio PowerBases-- but at the moment only one PowerBase is "powered"--the one that powers the DVR and Sony TV.

The PS Audio DMP feeds the DSD via HDMI (I2S), as does the DVR via optical and the CXU via coaxial digital. The PS Audio balanced audio out is connected to the ZBIT, which feeds one input of the Torii Mk III; the ZP3 feeds the other Torii input. The Taboo Mk III powers a pair of Audeeze headphones.

In a second system upstairs I have a Denon DVD-AUD1 universal player feeding a Decware CSP2+ and also feeding a Sony TV. I use Oppo PM-1 headphones there,* and all components are plugged into a PS Audio Power Plant Premier.

Cabling in all systems is PS Audio for power cords (AC-12), VooDoo Cable for analog interconnect (two original Stradivarius, three Stradivarius Cremona Edition) except for a Take Five Audio "Deluxe" for balanced to ZBIT; Take Five Audio "Deluxe" coaxial digital, Lifatec optical cable. HDMI cables are PS Audio AC-12 and AC-10.

I could put together two more systems with the Toriis and Decware speakers I have in storage. . . but there's no room here and my wife informs me "there never will be."

*Edit to add: This week I moved my headphone amplifiers around. I found I was not really using the CSP2+ as a preamp in my system, just really as a headphone amp. I prefer the ZP3 straight into the Torii by a hair compared to through the CSP2+ so I decided to bring the Taboo Mk III into the main system to power headphones allowing me a nice change. . .sounds great with these sources and connected to the PS Audio P10.

Wouldn't it seem more appropriate to run it between the phono stage and amplifier, or between preamp and amplifier? I would only see the need to run it between turntable and phono stage if the phono stage were in a receiver or integrated amplifier. . . . Not sure how well that would work in that situation to be honest.

I was trying to PM SonicSeeker to ask exactly how he hooked it up but days that I need 5 posts to PM. Guess I should just call Steve at Decware and ask?

I am running it between the Phono stage and the amp.
Listening to Eric Clapton right now and it sounds most excellent.

Lon,

I thought you used the decware power cables?  What is the advantage of the ps-audio ones?

It's been about seven years or so since the last of the Decware power cords migrated out of my main system.

I think the Decware are really good bang for the buck power cords. But to be honest the best analogy I can come up with, insufficient as it is, between the Decware cords and the PS Audio PerfectWave AC-12s that I have in use throughout my system is. . .well the Decware is like a faucet turned two-thirds of the way up and the PS Audio is like the faucet wide open as far as it can be turned. Everything is better, everything flows. They work so well on all my components (even my guitar and  bass amps), They were expensive, but it's a one time investment really and I am so glad I was able to make the investments at one time.

Ha! Not likely to be traveling that side of the country for a few years at the least, but I'll keep that in mind.

That's true. Just not going to happen.

I haven't been to California since the second half of the 'seventies. Not somewhere I plan to visit soon. . . and if I did I probably wouldn't be bringing power cables along.

I do encourage finding a way to audition them though, possibly a local dealer . . .?

Yes, they don't overcrowd socket space much on a wall fixture.

http://www.psaudio.com/products/ac12-power-cable/#tab-features

Here's photos and a drawing (not mine):