Been having a good play this morning. As I only upgraded my stylus to Blue (from the Red) earlier this week I’d been wondering whether the Zen has actually had as big a difference as I thought it was.
I’ve got an original press of Paul Simon’s Graceland which is probably the trickiest lp I have to play in terms of the sound has never matched up to a CD.
So, went back to the Red and my Cambridge Audio Solo stage and stuck it on. Sounded ok.
Swapped the CA for the Zen and it sounded a lot better - cleaner is the best way I can describe it.
Then swapped the Red for the Blue and tried again - same cleaner sound but definitely with more detail.
Swapped the stages again, so now Blue stylus and CA stage - sounded a little dirty. Same increased detail as before (down to the stylus) but didn’t sound as clean.
So the Zen has definitely made a difference - I also don’t have to turn my amp up as much as when using the CA (which surprised me given it’s also a CA), which is good as it means I don’t need to turn it down before switching sources, and getting a hell of a fright when I forget.
As for the subsonic filter, I’ve tried both settings and can’t hear a difference. I’ll have to try and find something with a bit of a warp or wobble