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I can't say I have a total handle on this as the ZRock2 is new to me, but will give it a go. Hopefully those who have explored it more will comment.
I think your thought about the ZRock2 compensating for bass deficient tubes is true, but since it is the quality of the bass that matters as much as the how much is there, there are clearly wildcards in complex systems. And experiences I had preferring the B over A at first, and 12AT7s over 12AU7s are no doubt in part reflections of my particular system/room.
I was heading toward needing more articulation here in my setup in order to get natural and impactful sounding bass as well as the complex and complete tonal qualities and speed I need mids up.
So I am thinking the bass increase from the ZRock2, set higher, increases the bass tendencies of the tube you are using, but also imparts the ZRock's particular sonic signature. And the ZRock2 or ZBox are only part of the much greater whole, with everything effecting overall tonal qualities, including bass.... Our rooms, speakers, other components, cables, etc, each and all effect each and all....
So I figure each tube we try is effected by the signature qualities of the ZROCK2 or ZBox, but also by the rest of the particular system room.
Looked at more finitely, my observations while trying the (more difficult here) 12AU7s with the A setting, led me to doing modifications on the ZRock2 in order to balance its traits with the rest of my system that is fast and resolving, and already has good complex bass. I wanted to try to speed the ZRock up, while also expanding on its complex and refined musicality, including more complete, complex, and clarified extension.
And as it turned out, from initial modifications, the ZRock fits notably better with my system, and it is steadily getting better as the modification caps settle into their new life. Faster and more resolving itself, and better matching the system, 12AU7s, with the milder A setting, are becoming quite good to me. Earlier, I got, not the same, but similar qualities from using 12AT7s....more powerful, spacious, and articulate, so faster and clearer bottom to top. But now, with modifications in place, the ZRock2 is doing all it does more completely, the milder A setting, and milder 12AU7 types feeling closer to the 12AT7s before, but pleasantly mellower.
If we think about "bass," what do we get when it is delivered more completely, with more resolution and speed? More subtleties, more articulate edges that are also more complex, so clear, but not necessarily hard.... And speed can contribute to more "hit," with greater resolution/less smearing, there is more sense of space between sounds, increasing the sense of pace and definition, impact, etc.... and less smeared, less resolution masking, we hear more accurate representation of all that is there right down to the finest detail. Especially with the bass being harder to get right in most systems and rooms, these optimized musical qualities seem pretty critical to me.
So with all working well together, hopefully we get more depth and more of all the subtle things that make a bass note/sound....from finger hit, to wood sounds, to tonal complexities, depth and hit, decays.... With greater resolution and speed, and with the right settings, and synergistic tubes, we can just hear more!
Before I was able to get plenty of bass with the more stock ZRock2. It was just that using the milder A setting and 12AU7s, when I cranked it to pull more deep bass, it tended toward soft/thick bass and fuller mids. I could get good bass qualities and overall balance, but needed lower potentiometer settings to get that, and those settings tended not to increase my bass as much as I wanted. B was notably better at enhanced bass power, but now it is even better.
With these modifications, using 12AU7 tube types and A, the bass and all the rest, are more resolved, complex, and articulate with nice complete bass extension possible with higher settings.
I imagine this will continue to get better for some days as the caps settle. But now the qualities of the bass with 12AU7s are closer to what I got before with 12AT7s, not as intense, but nicely clean, big, and articulate ....more complete and natural sounding.
Out on a limb some, not having fully investigated all this, but I wanted to give you my observations and theories so far.
Leading to a possible bottom line for me.... I have not heard Steve's modifications, but I would expect similar results. And based on my experiences, I think the overall improvements from complimentary modifications takes these components to new levels. So I am thinking I might try to get the mods right off if possible, resulting in what I would expect to be a more refined and more flexible, and perhaps more end-game components.
Hopefully others with more experience will comment!
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