Pro audio experience at home
In 2021 Zoom Audio Labs started its operations with a goal to provide pro audio like performance at home. This means that our products must be professionally designed internally in order to achieve highest performance. But we don’t stop there – we also listen to our products, and tune them to excel in home environment, to have a balance between performance and musicality. So it’s a professional equipment tailored for home audio applications.
Integrated amplifiers
Current lineup consists of two integrated hybrid Class A audio amplifiers, meaning that preamp is based on vacuum tubes and output stage is based on power MOSFET. This design allows us to have full and rich, slightly warm tube amp sound, while maintaining high drive capability of MOSFET output stage.
One of the feature of these amplifiers is that they doesn’t use any negative feedback. Negative feedback is simple way to improve performance, however, without negative feedback amplifiers are more musical, and everything sounds more as a one, not just as a different sounds placed in space. In order to achieve high performance without negative feedback we had to use high current circuits.
These amplifiers are designed in a way that they have no inductors or capacitors in direct sound path. This means, that audio signal goes only through resistors, vacuum tube, and transistors. We came to this design, as each capacitor and inductor has its distinctive sound character, and when using them it is always a compromise. Also these components usually creates high impedance circuits, which reduces damping factor, and increases noise. These effects could be mitigated with negative feedback, but as we are not using it, it was very important for design to have this solution, and in that way achieve highly dynamic sound, yet maintaining that full bodied and warm sound signature.
A20 is our smallest amplifier. It has very similar design and sound to upper level amplifier, and the main difference is that with more demanding acoustics it would not have as much dynamics and punch as a more powerful model. A20 is very well suited for higher sensitivity loudspeakers, and we also recommend to use it with speakers impedance of 6 or 8 ohms.
Technical specifications:
Inputs: 5x RCA unbalanced
Output power:
2 x 17 Wrms (1kHz, THD 1 %, 8Ω);
2 x 22.5 Wrms (1kHz, THD 1 %, 4Ω).
Distortion: 0.05% @ 1 W / 8 Ω / 1 kHz
Damping factor:
60 (Stage 1);
65 (Stage 2);
95 (Stage 3).
Output impedance: 0.085 Ω (Stage 3)
Freq. resp. (-3 dB): 1Hz – 600 kHz
Power supply: 600VA, 96,000 uF capacitors
Dimensions incl. feet: 19.7 cm x 45 cm x 41.5 cm (HxWxD), 24 kg unit weight
Note: Stage 1 is when output power is below 0.8W, Stage 2 when power is in between 0.8W and 4W, Stage 3 is when output power is above 4W. Amplifier automatically controls which stage should be enabled.
A35 is our reference amplifier. It has higher class components in preamp section, meaning that it can produce even deeper and darker soundstage, with better instruments separation and provide punchier, more dynamic sound. This model was designed especially thinking about 4 ohms loudspeakers, and can easily work with impedance down to 3 ohms.
Technical specifications:
Inputs: 5x RCA unbalanced
Output power:
2 x 19 Wrms (1kHz, THD 1 %, 8Ω);
2 x 37 Wrms (1kHz, THD 1 %, 4Ω).
Distortion: 0.05% @ 1 W / 8 Ω / 1 kHz
Damping factor:
65 (Stage 1);
75 (Stage 2);
110 (Stage 3).
Output impedance: 0.07 Ω (Stage 3)
Freq. resp. (-3 dB): 1Hz – 600 kHz
Power supply: 800VA, 192,000 uF capacitors
Dimensions incl. feet: 24 cm x 45 cm x 41.5 cm (HxWxD), 28 kg unit weight
Note: Stage 1 is when output power is below 0.8W, Stage 2 when power is in between 0.8W and 4W, Stage 3 is when output power is above 4W. Amplifier automatically controls which stage should be enabled.
Phono preamps
Current lineup consists of two phono preamplifiers. One is for MM input cartages, and other one is for MC cartages. Both of them internally are quite similar, and top quality components are used to get lowest possible noise and highest RIAA curve accuracy. But as always we don’t stop at performance part, we also listen to the product. So both of these phono preamps are tuned to vacuum tube sound signature, meaning that as power amplifiers they have that warm, but yet highly dynamic and precise sound.
L1 is fixed input load MM phono preamp with JFET discrete input stage. JFET is most similar semiconductor to the vacuum tube, and as we have small signals – they can provide even higher performance compare to vacuum tubes, which are mainly designed for larger signals amplification. By applying specially developed schematic we were able to get tube like full and rich sound, yet maintaining highly dynamic, detailed, low noise performance typical to semiconductors.
Technical specifications:
Input: RCA unbalanced
Input loading: 47kΩ/180pF (fixed)
Gain: 47dB (fixed)
RIAA accuracy: +- 0.1dB (20Hz – 20kHz)
Output: RCA unbalanced
Output impedance: 2.5 Ohms
Output level to clipping: 30 Vpp
Distortion: 0.05% THD @ 10mV input / 1 kHz
Dimensions incl. feet: 6 cm x 24 cm x 21 cm (HxWxD), 1.7 kg unit weight
L2 is variable input resistance MC phono preamp with JFET discrete input stage. Internally it is quite similar to MM phono preamp, however as MC cartage signal is so low, we had to improve power supply filtering, by adding additional voltage regulators stage. MC version is also tuned to get tube like warm and rich sound, yet maintaining finest details and high dynamics typical to semiconductors.
Technical specifications:
Input: RCA unbalanced
Input loading: 0 to 1kΩ (variable)/1000pF (fixed)
Gain: 71dB (fixed)
RIAA accuracy: +- 0.1dB (20Hz – 20kHz)
Output: RCA unbalanced
Output impedance: 2.5 Ohms
Output level to clipping: 30 Vpp
Distortion: 0.05% THD @ 0.7mV input / 1 kHz
Dimensions incl. feet: 6 cm x 34 cm x 21 cm (HxWxD), 2.2 kg unit weight
Contact info:
Phone: +370 6985 5422
e-mail: info@zoomaudiolabs.com
FB page: Facebook
Proudly designed and manufactured in Lithuania