I recently had a few opportunities to test a few Zapco amplifiers and decided to post a review of my findings.
I have been a Zapco fan since the 90s but on a high school budget, I was never in the right position to own any. But things changed soon after and there was a time when all I looked for were old school Zapco amps.
I have owned and collected many Zapco amplifiers and was always impressed with Zapco beautiful aesthetics, fit and finish, build quality, power, and sound.
Fast forward to this year. I have not had the chance to play with any of the Z –LX Series until a buddy of mine purchased a Z-150.6LX and discovered that the caps were not the Elnas and Nichichons that was advertised. It caused a bit of commotion. We found out that Zapco has been developing their own propriety capacitors and decided to use them in the new production runs of the LX series and in the new SP Series.
"Old style LX (Elna and Nichicon Capacitors) vs New Style (Zapco Propriety Capacitos)"
A few months ago, I had the chance to compare a Z-150.4 LX (which had the Elnas and Nichicon capacitors) and a Z-150.6 LX (which had the new Zapco propriety). The setup was an Oppo BDP-95 player (known to be great sounding) running analog (Esoteric A7 RCA wires) straight into the Zapco Amplifiers. The Zapco amplifiers were powered off a Cascade power supply. The speakers I used for the test were a set of from Meniscus Audio that used Satori Speakers. Listening was conducted in my living room. Switching between the two amps did take about 3 minutes to shut down the power supply and to move the rca and speaker wires.
[/url]Zapco test 1 by tam.rmc, on Flickr[/IMG]
Song choices were “The Best has yet to come” – Michael Buble, “Frim Fram Sauce” – by Diana Krall, “A Little Girl, a Little Boy, a Little Moon” by Diana Panton, and “Nothing Else Matters” – by Scala & Kolacny Brothers. After careful listening with a few songs I know well, the new amps with Zapco propriety caps did not sound bad it all. The sound is somewhat similar between the two style of amps. The difference that I noted was that new amp style had more “air”, emotion, and the ambience was really nice. For these reasons, I do prefer the new style over the old but I feel that you can’t go wrong with either choice.
Zapco SP (Super Power)
Zapco recently introduced the SP (Super Power) series amplifiers. The SP series was designed to maintain a SQ sound and built to play loud all day. Looking at the specifications, the SP series has a little more power per channel and achieve a better Signal to Noise ratio compared to the LX Series. The addition of thermal regulated fans (6 on the Z-150.6 SP) helps with any heat issues that may arise. The Size of the SP amplifier is a little bigger than the LX series due to the fact of the shroud where the fans are located. The SP series do have crossovers built in to the circuitry of the amp and the does not have individual gain knobs per channel as seen in the LX series. The fit and finish is very nice. The two toned chassis do add a very nice touch.
I am in the process of a build I will work on later in the year and originally wanted to have 2 the Z-150.6 LX for it. Upon searching, Atrend notified me that the Z-150.6 LX is out of stock and they do have a hard time keeping them on the shelves. After learning a bit more of the SP series from Atrend, I decided to give it a try. The SP arrived the other day. After quickly going thru the manual, I was surprised to see that Zapco limited the frequencies in which channels 5 and 6 can play. It’s capped at 1000 hz and is meant for mid bass drivers and subwoofers. To me, it’s quite silly and limits the amplifiers flexibility. A good plus of the SP amplifier is the Signal to Noise rating is much higher than the LX.
[/url]Zapco amp comparison by tam.rmc, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url]Zapco amp comparison by tam.rmc, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url]Zapco amp comparison by tam.rmc, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url]Zapco amp comparison by tam.rmc, on Flickr[/IMG]
I had some time on Saturday and decided to do a sound comparison between the Z-150.6 LX and the Z-150.6 SP. I do not have fancy testing equipment so sound is the only thing I am able to test. For this test, I decided to use my trusty Sound Monitor DTA-500X and ICD-500X combo as the source. The analog outputs are connected to the Zapco amplifiers with a set of interconnects which uses the Cardas Crosslink wires and Eichmann bullet connectors. The power supply was the Cascade unit that I have. The bookshelves speakers that I utilized for the test is a design by a gentleman name Dennis Murphy and incorporates the Hiquphon OW-1 and a Seas CA15RLY woofers. These are my trusty pairs of speakers. They have a warm natural tone with a very nice open airy top end. I have used these for many years. For this test, I decided to setup up in my “tinker room” at our CNC shop. The main reason for the change was because of the look my wife gave me when she came home and found me testing the “old style vs new style LX.” The other reason is that the “tinker” room is well damped. Carpet on the floors and the ceiling tiles are special types that are somewhat studio grade and it does a great job with helping reflections and blocking out the noise of our manufacturing area. Testing on a Saturday was a great choice. We only had a fraction of people working and the bay where the room is located was inactive.
[/url]Zapco amp comparison by tam.rmc, on Flickr[/IMG]
Song choices were the same as the “new vs old style LX” test. I started listening with the LX series. Similar sounds from what I remembered from the last test. The LX had a nice warm, smooth tone with very good ambience. The lower midrange was a little forward but was not overpowering. Switching between the amps, I improved the timing by a method with the use of alligator clips to switch between the speaker leads. Switching between the amps took about a minute. After a brief listen to the Z-150.6 SP, I believe these are fantastic sounding amplifiers! The forwardness that I heard in the LX was not present. The stage is deeper and the separation was better. The layers in the stage were well defined and I loved the quiet delicate passages to the songs.
In conclusion, I must say I am happy with the new SP series amplifier. It’s a great sounding amplifier. Built like a tank. My only gripe is is that Channel 5 & 6 is limited in the frequency range. If I stay with the SP series, I might buy a 2nd one to run my system.
Please take my review on the amplifiers with a grain of salt. Sound quality is preference. I also do believe in synergy of a system where you match speakers to amplifiers to enhance there strengths.
I have been a Zapco fan since the 90s but on a high school budget, I was never in the right position to own any. But things changed soon after and there was a time when all I looked for were old school Zapco amps.
I have owned and collected many Zapco amplifiers and was always impressed with Zapco beautiful aesthetics, fit and finish, build quality, power, and sound.
Fast forward to this year. I have not had the chance to play with any of the Z –LX Series until a buddy of mine purchased a Z-150.6LX and discovered that the caps were not the Elnas and Nichichons that was advertised. It caused a bit of commotion. We found out that Zapco has been developing their own propriety capacitors and decided to use them in the new production runs of the LX series and in the new SP Series.
"Old style LX (Elna and Nichicon Capacitors) vs New Style (Zapco Propriety Capacitos)"
A few months ago, I had the chance to compare a Z-150.4 LX (which had the Elnas and Nichicon capacitors) and a Z-150.6 LX (which had the new Zapco propriety). The setup was an Oppo BDP-95 player (known to be great sounding) running analog (Esoteric A7 RCA wires) straight into the Zapco Amplifiers. The Zapco amplifiers were powered off a Cascade power supply. The speakers I used for the test were a set of from Meniscus Audio that used Satori Speakers. Listening was conducted in my living room. Switching between the two amps did take about 3 minutes to shut down the power supply and to move the rca and speaker wires.
Song choices were “The Best has yet to come” – Michael Buble, “Frim Fram Sauce” – by Diana Krall, “A Little Girl, a Little Boy, a Little Moon” by Diana Panton, and “Nothing Else Matters” – by Scala & Kolacny Brothers. After careful listening with a few songs I know well, the new amps with Zapco propriety caps did not sound bad it all. The sound is somewhat similar between the two style of amps. The difference that I noted was that new amp style had more “air”, emotion, and the ambience was really nice. For these reasons, I do prefer the new style over the old but I feel that you can’t go wrong with either choice.
Zapco SP (Super Power)
Zapco recently introduced the SP (Super Power) series amplifiers. The SP series was designed to maintain a SQ sound and built to play loud all day. Looking at the specifications, the SP series has a little more power per channel and achieve a better Signal to Noise ratio compared to the LX Series. The addition of thermal regulated fans (6 on the Z-150.6 SP) helps with any heat issues that may arise. The Size of the SP amplifier is a little bigger than the LX series due to the fact of the shroud where the fans are located. The SP series do have crossovers built in to the circuitry of the amp and the does not have individual gain knobs per channel as seen in the LX series. The fit and finish is very nice. The two toned chassis do add a very nice touch.
I am in the process of a build I will work on later in the year and originally wanted to have 2 the Z-150.6 LX for it. Upon searching, Atrend notified me that the Z-150.6 LX is out of stock and they do have a hard time keeping them on the shelves. After learning a bit more of the SP series from Atrend, I decided to give it a try. The SP arrived the other day. After quickly going thru the manual, I was surprised to see that Zapco limited the frequencies in which channels 5 and 6 can play. It’s capped at 1000 hz and is meant for mid bass drivers and subwoofers. To me, it’s quite silly and limits the amplifiers flexibility. A good plus of the SP amplifier is the Signal to Noise rating is much higher than the LX.
I had some time on Saturday and decided to do a sound comparison between the Z-150.6 LX and the Z-150.6 SP. I do not have fancy testing equipment so sound is the only thing I am able to test. For this test, I decided to use my trusty Sound Monitor DTA-500X and ICD-500X combo as the source. The analog outputs are connected to the Zapco amplifiers with a set of interconnects which uses the Cardas Crosslink wires and Eichmann bullet connectors. The power supply was the Cascade unit that I have. The bookshelves speakers that I utilized for the test is a design by a gentleman name Dennis Murphy and incorporates the Hiquphon OW-1 and a Seas CA15RLY woofers. These are my trusty pairs of speakers. They have a warm natural tone with a very nice open airy top end. I have used these for many years. For this test, I decided to setup up in my “tinker room” at our CNC shop. The main reason for the change was because of the look my wife gave me when she came home and found me testing the “old style vs new style LX.” The other reason is that the “tinker” room is well damped. Carpet on the floors and the ceiling tiles are special types that are somewhat studio grade and it does a great job with helping reflections and blocking out the noise of our manufacturing area. Testing on a Saturday was a great choice. We only had a fraction of people working and the bay where the room is located was inactive.
Song choices were the same as the “new vs old style LX” test. I started listening with the LX series. Similar sounds from what I remembered from the last test. The LX had a nice warm, smooth tone with very good ambience. The lower midrange was a little forward but was not overpowering. Switching between the amps, I improved the timing by a method with the use of alligator clips to switch between the speaker leads. Switching between the amps took about a minute. After a brief listen to the Z-150.6 SP, I believe these are fantastic sounding amplifiers! The forwardness that I heard in the LX was not present. The stage is deeper and the separation was better. The layers in the stage were well defined and I loved the quiet delicate passages to the songs.
In conclusion, I must say I am happy with the new SP series amplifier. It’s a great sounding amplifier. Built like a tank. My only gripe is is that Channel 5 & 6 is limited in the frequency range. If I stay with the SP series, I might buy a 2nd one to run my system.
Please take my review on the amplifiers with a grain of salt. Sound quality is preference. I also do believe in synergy of a system where you match speakers to amplifiers to enhance there strengths.