Zen vs. GainKlone

MikeW · 18th June 2003, 01:31 PM

I built a Gainklone to take the place of a Zen V4. It was for the summer to keep it cool in the house. I built it to peters specs. It is used every day. It switches from the CD, VCR, and TV. Afer a week my wife tells me "I like the one with the wood (Zen) better. I changed a few cap values to get a smoother sound, still not good enough. The Zen is back. It's going to be a hot summer.

jam · 18th June 2003, 02:02 PM

I guess first impressions are not always correct.

Peter Daniel · 18th June 2003, 02:15 PM

Did you use at least 400VA Plitron transformer with 2 separate MUR860 (OnSemi) bridges bypassed by 4.7 BG N caps with Cardas wire from PS to the amp, using 250k Caddock MK132 resistor for feedback and 10k, 1W Riken for input, Nobel pot and no coupling cap, as well as 1000u/50V BG per rail mounted directly at the LM3875 pins, using 18ga solid copper wire for p2p connections, Cardas binding posts, aluminum oxide insulating pad and at least 1/2" aluminum bar stock as chassis?

If not, your amp was not to my specs

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...581#post193581

MikeW · 18th June 2003, 02:26 PM

Well as close as I could get to peter's specs.

Peter Daniel · 18th June 2003, 02:35 PM

Well, so I wonder how close you got with a sound?

Now imagine, if you applied similar specs to Zen4, what killer amp you might be geting?

I didn't try Zen 4, only the original version and both amps ( Zen and GC) offered sightly different sonic presentation. I couldn't say which one was better, as both have appeal to certain tastes and listeners. The subject was also discussed in a previous thread, if you use search.

MikeW · 18th June 2003, 03:03 PM

I didn't try Zen 4, only the original version and both amps ( Zen and GC) offered sightly different sonic presentation.

Well, so I wonder how close you got with a sound?

I couldn't say which one was better, as both have appeal to certain tastes and listeners.

I am just saying the wife likes it better. I like the Aleph 30. It's O.K. if you like gainklones.

Peter Daniel · 18th June 2003, 03:11 PM

I like GC and I still didn't tweak Aleph as I tweaked GC. I'm thinking about building "no hold" version of both SOZ and Aleph X and see how far I can get with those designs.

Because I still cannot imagine that GC can be better than Aleph X. (by no means I'm implying that it is)

Bricolo · 18th June 2003, 03:18 PM

Did your wife prefer the Zen because of its sound, or because it's made of wood?

MikeW · 18th June 2003, 03:27 PM

Because of the sound. The Zen is Bubinga. The gainklone is black walnut with oak inlays.

Cradle22 · 18th June 2003, 03:31 PM

Hi!

Quote:

Originally posted by Bricolo
Did your wife prefer the Zen because of its sound, or because it's made of wood?

Now, that would be a challenging test... Take any high end amp (monoblock, commercial or DIY) which uses a HEAVY duty style case (like original Alephs, XA200, and so on), better, take two of them, disconnect one of the amps internally and smuggle a GC inside (maybe even mount it on those ridiciously big heatsinks), and let people do a comparison... (maybe you would have to imitate class A heat via peltier elements or something else)...

The optics often have a lot of influence on our opinion on something...
I have just reconnected my GC instead of my P3A, since I want to overhaul my P3A design (actually no clue what's wrong with it), since it produces a slight hum in the mid-range woofers, and I cannot say that my GC sounds bad at all...

It will simply not be able to handle those speakers I am planning to build this years fall... Otherwise it's an excellent amp...

Bye,

Arndt

18th June 2003, 01:31 PM	#1
MikeW diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: North of Boston	Zen vs. GainKlone I built a Gainklone to take the place of a Zen V4. It was for the summer to keep it cool in the house. I built it to peters specs. It is used every day. It switches from the CD, VCR, and TV. Afer a week my wife tells me "I like the one with the wood (Zen) better. I changed a few cap values to get a smoother sound, still not good enough. The Zen is back. It's going to be a hot summer. __________________ MikeW

18th June 2003, 02:15 PM	#3
Peter Daniel diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada	Did you use at least 400VA Plitron transformer with 2 separate MUR860 (OnSemi) bridges bypassed by 4.7 BG N caps with Cardas wire from PS to the amp, using 250k Caddock MK132 resistor for feedback and 10k, 1W Riken for input, Nobel pot and no coupling cap, as well as 1000u/50V BG per rail mounted directly at the LM3875 pins, using 18ga solid copper wire for p2p connections, Cardas binding posts, aluminum oxide insulating pad and at least 1/2" aluminum bar stock as chassis? If not, your amp was not to my specs http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...581#post193581 __________________ www.audiosector.com “Do something really well. See how much time it takes. It might be a product, a work of art, who knows? Then give it away cheaply, just because you feel that it should not cost so much, even if it took a lot of time and expensive materials to make it.” - JC

18th June 2003, 02:26 PM	#4
MikeW diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: North of Boston	Well as close as I could get to peter's specs. __________________ MikeW

18th June 2003, 02:35 PM	#5
Peter Daniel diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada	Well, so I wonder how close you got with a sound? Now imagine, if you applied similar specs to Zen4, what killer amp you might be geting? I didn't try Zen 4, only the original version and both amps ( Zen and GC) offered sightly different sonic presentation. I couldn't say which one was better, as both have appeal to certain tastes and listeners. The subject was also discussed in a previous thread, if you use search. __________________ www.audiosector.com “Do something really well. See how much time it takes. It might be a product, a work of art, who knows? Then give it away cheaply, just because you feel that it should not cost so much, even if it took a lot of time and expensive materials to make it.” - JC

18th June 2003, 03:03 PM	#6
MikeW diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: North of Boston	I didn't try Zen 4, only the original version and both amps ( Zen and GC) offered sightly different sonic presentation. Well, so I wonder how close you got with a sound? I couldn't say which one was better, as both have appeal to certain tastes and listeners. I am just saying the wife likes it better. I like the Aleph 30. It's O.K. if you like gainklones. __________________ MikeW


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18th June 2003, 02:02 PM	#2
jam diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Charlotte,NC,USA	I guess first impressions are not always correct.

18th June 2003, 03:11 PM	#7
Peter Daniel diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada	I like GC and I still didn't tweak Aleph as I tweaked GC. I'm thinking about building "no hold" version of both SOZ and Aleph X and see how far I can get with those designs. Because I still cannot imagine that GC can be better than Aleph X. (by no means I'm implying that it is) __________________ www.audiosector.com “Do something really well. See how much time it takes. It might be a product, a work of art, who knows? Then give it away cheaply, just because you feel that it should not cost so much, even if it took a lot of time and expensive materials to make it.” - JC

18th June 2003, 03:18 PM	#8
Bricolo diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Grenoble, FR	Did your wife prefer the Zen because of its sound, or because it's made of wood?

18th June 2003, 03:27 PM	#9
MikeW diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: North of Boston	Because of the sound. The Zen is Bubinga. The gainklone is black walnut with oak inlays. __________________ MikeW

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