Massdrop x Eddie Current ZDT Jr. (Official Thread)

Man, not wishing to noise up this thread but I was really hoping to be posting my impressions here by now, if posting anything at all. Moreso, I seriously expected my unit would be here when I got back from my trip this week, as other customers have recieved their's.

I am with you @dumbo this is getting a little redonk. Hoping Massdrop will take care of it's customers through this ordeal -- even just some more transparency in the content of the emails, would go a long way. It's been a slight downer, but I remain blindly curious if the amp will be worth the wait -- I think so.



Come on home, Jr.

 

I’m sure MD is trying figure this out. They probably don’t want to ship any more units out until they figure out what’s going on.
Yeah it’s frustrating. They are dealing with manufacturing in Russia. A chance they took. The loaner unit was a favorite of mine. My unit sounds like the loaner. I’m hopeful that MD will make things right. I can completely understand how others feel.

 

In the same boat unfortunately
Since I’ll be out of the country in September, I reached out to MD to see if they are able to hold my unit for a later ship date in late September when I return. Unfortunately they are not able to do that.
So the idea of the box sitting outside my front dor for weeks and possibly getting stolen or destroyed by the elements along with concerns about its performance forced me to cancel my order.
I really wanted this amp...
Now back to the drawing board, trying to find a similarly voiced and priced amp for my Atticus and HD800S...

 

A friend here in the Philippines got his unit the other day, so not sure how the heck y'all are getting delays (I'm excited because I'll finally get to hear this for myself now too!). Sorry to hear though, and while I'm inclined to take the announcements at face value I can understand the lack of trust.

If anyone who got a 230V Jr wants to dispose of their unit and it turns out I like the sound of the Jrs after all, shoot me a PM and I'd be happy to take it off your hands

 

Hi Everyone,
We're working on this, has been surprisingly hard to get the second shipment out of Russia on a plane.
Also- we are investigating the hum issues with 110V units and will let you know as soon as we figure out what to do...thank you for your patience!

 

Just to clarify - my unit is also suffering from the hum (right channel) and it is 230V (EU) version.

 

Out of curiosity... did the loaner units exhibit this hum issue (or any other issue)?

 

Yep, I'm in the same boat. This is starting to get pretty frustrating, especially since it seems like a lot of orders went out already and now the rest of us are in limbo without an actual set time frame. The whole World Cup delaying shipping explanation is wearing thin.

And I am also having the same issue as you about requesting a hold. I am in the middle of sorting out new job prospects and potentially making a move across the country in the next month. I also reached out to MD and asked for a hold but was told this isn't possible. Really odd for a company that relies on distant ship dates with often frequent delays and they can't accommodate customers when said delays occur. I was told the best solution was to try and intercept the package once I get tracking info to have it redirected. That just seems like a risky and poor solution to this problem.

Similarly, I literally made the exact same request to Audeze about my Mobius and they responded in the same day telling me they have placed my unit on hold and will wait for me to request the release of shipment when I am ready. That was it. @CEE TEE it would be really helpful if you guys can start working on some type of system to allow for shipment holds, especially since MD drops can't easily be cancelled and then just re-purchased at a later time.

 

Hey I_want_all_the_tacos,
I'll ask if there is any mechanism to be able to do this...keep in touch with me if you move and I will see what I can do.

Right now we are waiting for the units to get on a plane (have been sitting there since Aug 1st, can't get plane). Should have avoided all of the August vacations in Europe/RU, hoping that is not what is affecting us now.

 

I only heard the #2 loaner. Did not have a hum issue. Or any other issues I noticed.

On a side note, I have at least 100 hours on my unit now, and the left channel hum is barely audible with the HD800/600/650’s. My two low Z IEM’s I can hear a bit more. Only audible with no music playing in all cases.

 

My amp arrived today, I've had a few hours of listening (after about 30min burn-in) with my HD600. Way too early to make any real conclusions, but I'm liking what I'm hearing.

Compared to my ADI-2 DAC's amp this is a very non-fatiguing listen. The mids and lower highs shine especially with obviously less hard S-sounds and shrill guitar tones. Soundstage seems wider, but not sure. Bass punch is warmer and located more in the mid-bass. Bass' tightness was one of my main concerns, and yeah it's not as snappy. But we'll see - right now I'm liking this warm sound lots. Trying out HD800 next should be interesting, I think I'm gonna go without EQ for once for starters. I'll report back.

I often feel like cutting a db or two of treble with HD600, not so with this amp. Them highs are quite smooth, but not really lower in the mix overall.

 

- I guess the filter didn't help?

 

Did you get to hear it yet...any impressions?

 

Friend got it the other day, I've been bugging him to let me borrow it but he's rather attached to it just now. Will post impressions as soon as I can on its own merits and vs the G1217 Sunrise, which is the only other proper amp I have on hand (it's not mine either though)

I will say that he's posted impressions and seems very much smitten with the amp, which makes sense since he's pairing them with the HD800. Barring him lending me both, I'll be listening to them with some biodyna kids, which is a totally different use case, haha.

 

I was really hoping for some news on this as well. I got mine at the end of July, and there is a noticeable hum in my left channel. It's not noticeable when I'm listening music with busy passages, but on songs more sparse arrangements and between songs it is definitely noticeable.

I tried changing the tubes, swapping left/right tubes, running it plugged into the wall and my UPS (one of these), and tried an HD6xx and HD660S. I also unplugged the input cable in the back of the ZDT Jr., and tried increasing and lowering the volume. The volume of the hum stays the same through all of the above in the left channel. Switching the output cables from the Modi Multibit into a Magni 3, both channels are dead silent.

That said, the amp sounds amazing when music is running through it, with most of my listening done on stock HD6xx. The chain is Schiit Eitr > Modi Multibit > ZDT Jr. > HD6XX. It sounds super smooth on the mid and upper end. I need to dig up my AKG 7xxs from its box to see how the soundstage feels with the ZDT Jr. All in all, I'm enjoying the amp enough that I'm hoping I don't have to send it in to get it serviced.

 

My unit hums like an overfed cat wrapped up in blankets in the one good chair it's not supposed to go anywhere near on a cold winter's day -- though less charmingly. I really hope there's a fix for this soon, or a replacement program. Starting to put me in mind of the old SInglePower days, though I'm pretty confident that these ZDT Jrs aren't prone to spontaneous combustion.

 

Quick FYI: MD has posted an update on the hum issue, and directed hum-sufferers to contact support for remedies.

Hi everyone,
It has come to our attention that a few drop participants are experiencing a hum in one or both channels of the Massdrop x Eddie Current ZDT Jr. We wanted to let you know we are aware of this issue and are looking into possible solves for it.
If you are experiencing this issue with your unit, please reach out to our Community Support team for further assistance via your transactions page: https://www.massdrop.com/transactions. They will be happy to assist you in either a return and full refund or in repairing your amp as soon as we determine the cause of the issue.
We apologize for the inconvenience and are working with the manufacturer to resolve this as quickly as possible, so you can enjoy your amp as intended.

 

What bother me most it is the silence from Laconic side. I tried to email them ([email protected]) directly three weeks ago - no response at all. Not even in "please contact Massdrop" form.

 

Ha! I think they categorically ignore all English emails. I’ve never been able to get a response from Laconic. I asked a Russian friend to email them and she heard back right away.

 

Ha! Except the email was written in Russian Russian is my first language.