Need Opinion: Comparative Sound of Pass Cap-Coupled (Zen) vs. Direct-Coupled Designs

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Don't underestimate the room. Probably close to 50% of what you get is because of the room...

Not according to the way i hear things. 4 different rooms, different countries, very different altitude, same speakers. Pretty much the same sound if using the same electronics and cables. Ok, one of my speaker pairs refuses to play nice in one of the rooms as it excites some particularly annoying modes, but for me this is the one exception. Not saying the rooms sound identical, but ime the room effect is closer to 15%.
 
Sit amps are really good in all versions but needs bigger power supply...

If OP already have a power supply for ZV9 (+50V), he can reuse it for resistor or lamp loaded SIT L’amp just adding only a few parts. And it would not be too different from SIT-1 other than max power. I think he can use either SONY or TOKIN for that.

Diogenio, I would really recommend to read this excellent article. It was a true eye opener for me, thank you, Michael!

http://blog.audiomaker.tech/pdf/lamp part one.pdf
 
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Diogenio, I would really recommend to read this excellent article. It was a true eye opener for me, thank you, Michael!
http://blog.audiomaker.tech/pdf/lamp part one.pdf

Great article, many thanks Plasnu! SITs are verrrry interesting. Being that the SIT amps put out so little power, and I already have a 2.5W, 2A3 SE amp - I'm leaning more toward the higher-powered Pass DIY designs as my "modern" amp.

I think I'll build an M2 to compliment the ZV9. Was looking at the Zen series of white papers last night and I must say...the Zen appears more highly developed than any other PASS DIY design - NINE iterations! It started out so simple, with relatively high distortion figures and low wattage. By the 9th installment, Nelson did so many things to improve the little FET amp. It was a long journey to reach ZV9, which is a relatively complex circuit compared to some of his others.

I'm getting really jazzed again - just as I was back in 2006 when I decided to get the parts and do a ZV9 build, and then life got in the way.

But as they say...better late than never, right?
 
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