The microZOTL Preamp is a reference-level preamplifier that many consider an “end game” component. The MZ Pre was released in 2018 and has received glowing reviews in publications such as Positive Feedback, Part-time Audiophile, and Home Theater Review.
While all that is true, we are always searching for the next level of sonic improvements, and so we’re happy to announce our Level 2 upgrade program.
Preamp output cap upgrade: The headphone and the preamp outputs have been separated, and different types of output caps, optimized for each output, are installed. The preamp cap is upgraded to a premium Clarity CMR.
Power supply cap upgrade: The power supply caps and power storage caps on the audio board are changed to Mundorf Mlytic AG capacitors. The total amount of storage is increased by 22,000uF.
Power transformer upgrade: The power transformer is upgraded to a larger custom transformer with multiple windings to improve isolation, which results in lower noise.
Coupling cap upgrade: The six coupling caps on the audio board between the tube stages are upgraded to Japanese film caps with gold plated OCC leads.
Updated volume control w/ gain adjustment and “Hi-Res” setting: The new 8-bit volume control gives you 128dB of total attenuation via 100 individual steps. “Hi-Res” increases this to 199 steps for finer level control. In addition, three gain control options are available: 0dB (default), -15dB, and -30dB. This adjusts the volume level to allow for finer low-level attenuation when using sensitive speakers or headphones.
The balanced input transformer upgrade adds high-quality Lundahl input transformers to the XLR inputs on your microZOTL Preamp. If you have a source with balanced outputs, this upgrade retains all the sonic fidelity of your source and is a worthy upgrade.
