microZOTL MZ3 Headphone Amp / Preamp / Integrated Amp
microZOTL MZ3 Headphone Amp / Preamp / Integrated Amp
Small and mighty. The highest expression of the patented microZOTL technology as a headphone amplifier, a preamplifier, and integrated amplifier in a desktop-sized package.
“I can say without hyperbole that in my experience this is a headphone amplifier with few peers at this price point... Highly recommended.”
“The Linear Tube Audio microZOTL MZ3 offers some of the purest, cleanest sound of any headphone amp we’ve ever heard. It’s not overly neutral or balanced, but it presents music in breathtaking detail, to a level we don’t think we’ve heard from anything else on this list. ”
Small AND mighty.
The result of three years of refining our flagship headphone amplifier, the award-winning microZOTL MZ2. The MZ3 is the highest expression of the patented microZOTL technology as a headphone amplifier, a preamplifier, and integrated amplifier in a desktop-sized package.
The MZ3 has a beautiful new low-resonance aluminum chassis and offers reference-level sonics through upgraded internal components, premium tubes, and a digital control system with LED display.
“When I was a little kid I got my own transistor radio. I loved it. Went with me everywhere. Slept with it under my pillow at night. Wow. The joy and thrill of hearing new music for the very first time. Being transported into another world. Mind blown. That is the place where I want to be. I long for it. Listening now to Audeze LCD5 headphones through a Linear Tube Audio MZ3 amplifier brings me right back to those wonderful moments. Mind blown. I’m so lucky. Thankful. ”
“The MZ3 combines power and richness in a way that is so deeply musical and pleasurable. Listening to music through the MZ3 makes me feel like all of the acoustic and sonic information available is being focused like a beam of light, stripping away anything that might color or impede the purest signal. The MZ3 makes it feel as though I’ve been ushered into the center of the music and the musicians making it. It is utterly sublime! A dream!”
New: Updated Volume Control w/ Adjustable Gain & “Hi-Res” Settings
Now shipping in all unit is our new 8-bit volume control, which gives you 128dB of total attenuation via 100 individual steps. We use precision thin film Nichrome resistors with low thermal noise and ceramic circuit boards with low dialectric content for the highest level of clarity and transparency.
For the ultimate in control, you can activate the “Hi-Res” setting in the menu system, which offers 199 steps to dial in exactly the volume level that works best for you.
We’ve also added the ability to adjust the gain via the menu system. This adjusts the volume level to allow for finer low-level attenuation when using sensitive speakers or headphones. There are three settings: 0db (default), -15db, and -30dB.
Triple-threat
You heard us correctly. The MZ3 is an end-game headphone amp, reference-level preamplifier, and an integrated amp that will drive sensitive speakers to thundering levels in critical listening environments. All in a package that fits on your desk.
Sonic improvements at every level
New circuit board material, new volume control technology, upgrades in wire, capacitors, tubes, linear power supply. The MZ3 is the clearest, cleanest sounding microZOTL yet.
“The very best, hands down, of any amp I have ever heard and pure magic.”
Superior performance right out of the box
Through curation of premium tubes, obsessive testing, and an extended burn-in period, we ensure maximum performance right out of the box. You’ll be enjoying your new amp at its fullest immediately.
With great power comes great responsibility
The MZ3 ships with our top-of-the-line external LPS+ Linear Power Supply. With 4x the power and premium snap-lock interconnect cable, you get the cleanest, most refined power–and sound–possible.
“This amp sounded seriously good... The purity and richness of the sound was simply superb.”
Tube tone + solid state detail
Traditional tube amps are known for their liquidity and linearity, but their “warmth” masks details and can sound thick. Solid state amplifiers give you that detail, but can be “clinical.” ZOTL amplifiers give you the best of both worlds: beautiful tube tone with the clarity of solid state (while being entirely tube-based.)
Looks as good as it sounds
The low-resonance aluminum chassis of the MZ3 is designed in Richmond, Virginia, by the award-winning industrial design crew at Fern & Roby. LED display and machined aluminum front and rear panels exude quality.
Patented perfection
The MZ3 is based on David Berning’s patented ZOTL technology, the only advance in tube technology since the 1950’s. For a technology to be patented, it must be deemed “new, useful, and non-obvious.” We think that sums up our approach quite nicely.
Premium components = premium sound
If you use cheap, generic parts, guess what kind of sound you’ll get? That’s why we use only premium, name-brand components. Belleson regulators. Vishay Dale resistors. Mundorf caps. Typically, these are names you’ll only hear in amps that cost $10k or more.
“It digs up a lot of detail but doesn’t sound analytical. Quite transparent but doesn’t make bad recordings unlistenable. It’s a tone generator but doesn’t sound tubey.”
Made in the USA
Every LTA product is designed and built by hand in Takoma Park, Maryland, by a group of technicians who are also musicians, audiophiles, and music lovers. Some of whom have been with us since the company’s earliest days.
Quality assurance
The MZ3 is hand built by technicians with years of experience building the complex ZOTL circuits. All our products are backed by a 3-year warranty and a 14-day no-questions-asked return policy.
Reviews
Positive Feedback (MZ3 reviewed as a headphone amp)
The MZ3 is very quick and very transparent. The leading edges of transients are precise and finely defined. Start and stop is definitive, as in "on a dime." There is simply no hangover. Micro-dynamics (that which makes reproduced music sound live and real to me) are as finely wrought as in any gear I've listened with. And, yes, the MZ3 does macro dynamics just fine, thank you.
Positive Feedback (MZ3 reviewed as a headphone amp and preamplifier)
Headphone amp excerpt: “Everything seems immediate and effortless, in a way that I only ever experience with a solid state amplifier. However, it retains the tonal richness that I expect when I listen to tubes. In my experience solid state amplifiers, while fast, can sometimes sound thin or dry, but the MZ3 maintains the richer and weightier sound that I expect from a traditional tube amplifier without sacrificing speed.
Preamp excerpt: “The MZ3 is one of the best preamplifiers that I have ever had in my system. The reason for this is that it imparts its sound signature on the downstream equipment. Its detail retrieval, immediacy, and drive is transferred to the power amplifier, and the speakers that connect to it. Using it with my Anthony Gallo 3.1s and the Emotiva XPA-1L mono-blocks produced a smooth, detailed, and clean sound. To be clear, these speakers and amps were never lacking in these areas, but the MZ3 really brought out that last bit of detail and tonal accuracy that the system was missing.”
I can say without hyperbole that in my experience this is a headphone amplifier with few peers at this price point: it is an honest and forthright amp that does that unique job of bringing warmth to music without sacrificing resolution. It excels at balance in its frequency response, does clean, tight bass without exaggerated tube bloom and has flesh-and-blood treble and midrange reproduction capabilities that should leave both solid-state and tube-amp fans feeling satisfied that they’ve dropped their hard-earned coin on a piece of gear that has the flexibility to drive pretty much any headphone you can throw at it, thanks to its ZOTL circuit design. The fact that it can run as a preamp or even an integrated amp with proper speaker-matching only adds more to its value. Highly recommended.
Twittering Machines MZ3 Review
The Linear Tube Audio MZ3 in my system delivered the most engaging playback I have heard at home. This level of transparency to source could inspire hyperbole. My thought was that while listening to the MZ3 … in the system, I could see into the grooves.
The MZ3 delivers remarkable immediacy, convincingly real tone, dimension, speed and scale that bests every amp I have had here. It takes the talents of the MZ2 and strengths of the ZOTL circuit, and pushes them further. It is somehow quieter than the MZ2. I said in my review of the MZ2 that it was dead quiet, so this is impressive. I agree with LTA’s claims that the noise floor is lower, the image is larger, and the tonal integrity solidified.
Soundstage is precise and crisp. Every detail is there but not obtrusive or overly sharp. I believe what this amp has more than anything else is it just sounds so natural. I was starting to lose interest in headphone listening to speakers, however the MZ3 rekindled that joy so acutely that I often lose track of time playing track after track.
Bottom line, this is a phenomenal amp, truly the best headphone amp I have ever personally heard at any price. It is not the cheapest amp; however, the price is incredibly reasonable for the performance and all the detail that went into its creation.
Just received the MZ3 yesterday after a painful 3 week wait but it was well worth it. Right out of the box, this tiny integrated looked and sounded amazing. I use it mainly as a preamp combined with the Pass XA25 to drive my Susvara/Abyss TC. Compared to my other preamp, the Rogue Audio RP-7, the MZ3 sounded more refined and holographic with better dynamics and impact (this thing can hit HARD). There is also an alertness and clarity to the sound that goes really well with the darker/wetter sounding XA25. I also tried it as a headamp with my HD600 and was surprised at how much the HD600 was elevated with the MZ3.
I've heard other tube amps including the Feliks Euforia, Auris Nirvana, Manley Absolute and the Woo Audio WA5 and feel that the MZ3 sounds better. Heck, I'm reluctant to admit this but it might sound better than my long-time tube amp, the Cayin HA-300. Not as spacious but better resolution and dynamics. Anyway, the MZ3 really doesn't get enough attention on here for how good it is, hopefully more people will catch on.
“The bass slam, impact, quality on the MZ3 is Epic. And yet it does not interfere with the rest of the frequency range or seem out of place, just some of the best quality and impact I have ever heard. I was not expecting this much of a change, Dynamics is also superb. I am still burning in the MZ3 and left it running all night, which I normally don't do with tube equipment but this doesn't run the tubes hard and nothing get really hot except the tubes, which is normal.”
“My MZ3 has now really burned in well and has moved into the magical stage. You have to hear the sound to believe it. The very best, hands down, of any amp I have ever heard and pure magic. Sometimes it is so distracting I have to take the phones off to concentrate what I am doing. I find I just stop stare into space and listen and sometimes, I don't have time for that. Really. But hey, I will make the sacrifice at times. lol But it really has to be heard but does take some hours to get there but so very much worth it.”
The Audio Beatnik - Preamp Review // Integrated Amp Review
I can’t say that I’m completely shocked that the new Linear Tube Audio Mz3 is such a great preamplifier. However, even with all of the great and expensive preamps I have had in my system over the years, I was still astounded at the level of improvement the MZ3 brought.
FEATURES
LED array display with timeout and 16 levels of brightness (white, red, blue, or yellow)
External power supply and click-lock premium DC cable
Ceramic circuit boards provide same sound quality of point to point wiring
Stepped attenuator
Remote control using aluminum Apple remote – registers to amplifier
Ohno OCC wire used for the output wiring
Hand selected premium tubes
Home theater mode for fixed input level on selected input
Headphone/Preamp-speaker output select switch
Auto save last volume level separately for all three inputs
Quiet turn on – turn off – power outage protection
Power Supply
New Belleson regulator
4 times storage – over 100Kuf
Ultra low ESR poly-organic caps
Choke isolated output
DC power cable with spring loaded snap-in XLR silver contact connectors and premium shielded cabling
Oversized toridal transformer
Aluminum-brass transformer mounting
Power Outage detection
115V or 220-240V
Stepped Attenuator Volume Control
1/1000th steps selected for 100 levels
Vishay Dale 1% precision resistors
Hermetically sealed relays with silver contacts
Clicking of relays provides real time, smooth, control and haptics
Balance control built in using no additional circuitry
Electrically isolated control system for volume, input and feature control.
Details
The MZ3 is the result of three years of refining our flagship amplifier, the microZOTL MZ2. Listeners can enjoy sonic improvements at every level with significant upgrades across the board: new circuit board material, new volume control technology, upgrades in wire, capacitors, tubes, power supply, and sleek case design.
Wrapped in a new control system that is isolated from the analog signal, the amplifier adds another level of fine tuning with remote control, volume level display, and home theater mode. In a new, low-resonance aluminum chassis custom-designed by Fern & Roby, the MZ3 contains all of the elements that we found elevates your music to a higher level.
There are several integral component upgrades in the audio circuit for wider soundstage, lower noise floor, and substantially improved musicality. Utilizing ceramic circuit boards for the amplifier, we have built the clearest, cleanest sounding microZOTL yet.
Our digital control system features a display for volume level (0-100) and input selection, as well as a remote-controlled, stepped attenuator for volume control.
At 4x the storage of our original PSU, our linear power supply is more refined, with a premium snap-lock interconnect cable and the elimination of turn on-off thumps.
Additionally, through curation of premium tubes and an extended burn-in period, we ensure the amplifiers’ maximum performance right out of the box.
The microZOTL MZ3 represents the highest expression attainable of the microZOTL technology as a headphone amplifier, a preamplifier, and a 1 watt speaker amplifier in the external power supply form factor of the microZOTL MZ2.
Speaker Recommendations
LTA amplifier owners have found great enjoyment using their amps with a variety of speakers outside of the below ranges. The below are guidelines, not rules.
Critical listening environments: 105db sensitivity and above
Smaller rooms / lower volume levels / non-critical listening: 97db sensitivity and above
If you have questions about your specific speakers, chances are someone we know has tried them. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions about your specific setup. Also, don’t forget we have a 14-day no-questions-asked return policy.
Specifications
Inputs: 3 Stereo single ended RCA high quality connectors using sealed, silver contact relay control for a short signal path
Outputs: Headphone ¼” Phone jack, Dual preamp RCA outputs single ended, Stereo speaker binding posts
Amplifier class: Push-pull Class A, no feedback
Sensitivity: 0.6V RMS [full output]
Output impedance: (measured @ 0.5A, 60 Hz) 2 ohms for headphone and speaker outputs, 50 ohms for preamplifier outputs
Input impedance: 50k
Volume Control: Stepped attenuator constructed of 1025 steps of 50 ohms, with 100 positions selected to provide very fine resolution at the lowest volumes and a logarithmic control for higher volumes . Low noise, precision 1% Vishay Dale resistors and hermetically sealed silver contact relays are used for precise, isolated analog signal attenuation
Balance Control: 100% channel isolation using stored differences of volume values. Maximum balance differential is 16 steps
Power Supply: Linear supply user-switchable between 110/120 and 220/240 (100V linear supply available for Japan). Uses dual banks of organic poly ultra low ESR capacitors (4 times MZ2) for over 100KuF of output choke isolated storage. Oversize transformer secured with aluminum and brass mountings (no steel). Regulation is performed using low noise Belleson super regulators. Current transformer controls output protection circuit
Power Supply Output: 12VDC 3 amp
Power Supply Umbilical Cable: premium low noise shielded cable with silver contact, spring loaded premium XLR connectors
Hum and noise: minimum 60mV RMS or 90dB below full output (20Hz-20kHz)
Power consumption from ac power source: approx. 50W
Power output: with 4-ohm load: 1W, 1% THD, with 14-ohm load: 0.5W, 1% THD
Channel separation: (4-ohm loads) 46dB, 100Hz-10kHz, (14-ohm loads): 54 dB, 100Hz-10kHz
Frequency response full power: (4-ohm load) +0, -1dB 10Hz-20kHz, (14-ohm load): +0, -1dB 5Hz-50kHz,
Voltage gain: (4-ohm load): 10.3dB, (14-ohm load): 12.4dB
Front Panel Control: Functions include volume, input select, headphone/speaker output select, and amplifier power on-off.
Remote Control: All functions, including Mute and the configuration menu, are available from the remote, except power on-off and headphone/speaker output selection. Uses an Apple TV remote. The remote is registered to unit to limit control from unintended remotes. The Right-Left buttons can be configured as balance controls.
Auto-save Features: Volume level per input is automatically saved and the unit powers on using the stored volume levels. Balance and all other configuration menu selections are all saved as a global level across all inputs.
Display Controls: 16 levels of brightness and on-off selectable 7 second timeout
Home Theater Mode: an input can be selected from configuration menu to set one of the inputs to a high volume level fixed input to allow surround sound device control the volume level
Size:
Amplifier: 10” wide, 4.75” tall, 8.5” deep
Linear power supply: 8" wide, 7.5" deep (with connectors), 3.85" tall
Net weight: Amplifier Unit 6 lbs. 15 oz. (3.15 kg.) Power Supply 5 lbs. 3 oz. (2.45 kg.) Shipping weight: 17 lbs. (7.7 kg.)
Tube complement: 2 premium hand selected 12AT7 input tubes, and two premium hand selected 12SN7 output tubes. (6SN7s can be used with jumper settings) 12AU7s are often substituted for the 12AT7s to lower the gain if higher headphone output is not required.
For those who demand the best, but want to keep things simple. The Z10 Integrated amplifier delivers the magic, realism, and 3D soundstage of our patented ZOTL technology, all in one (gorgeous) box.