ZOTL Ultra Linear Integrated Amplifier

$7,650.00

Customer Reviews

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We can only sell these products to customers in the USA.
All Linear Tube Audio products are hand made to order. Please contact us for lead time.

14 Day In-home audition/ return. Period begins when you receive the product. The return must be requested by the 14th day and must be in perfect - like new condition.

Before we get into the details of this product, we need to cover two things...

Time for orders: The LTA products are hand made to order. Please allow 3 to 4 weeks for production.

ZOTL ULTRALINEAR INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER OVERVIEW

For those who demand the best, but want to keep things simple. The ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated amplifier delivers the magic, realism, and 3D soundstage of our patented ZOTL technology, all in one (gorgeous) package.

A single-component solution, the ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated amplifier incorporates the acclaimed ZOTL Ultralinear power amplifier, a Berning-designed preamplifier, and LTA’s digital control system–beautifully packaged in a Fern & Roby-designed case.

The ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated generates 20 watts per channel. This means it can easily drive speakers with sensitivity ratings at or above 88db for critical listening. For smaller rooms or non-critical listening, it can drive speakers rated down to 85db. In any configuration, listeners enjoy startling realism, plentiful bass, low noise, plus gorgeous mids and highs.

Note: The ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated is a new product as of Q4 2019. All reviews and testimonials below are from the ZOTL Ultralinear Power Amplifier, the amp on which the ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated is based. Reviews and testimonials for the Ultralinear Integrated will be posted as they are published.

“The quietest amp I have ever heard; not the quietest tube amp, but the quietest amp.”

— The Audio Beatnik

LISTENING ROOM SOUND. LIVING ROOM SIMPLICITY.

Integrated with your life

We get it. You want the best sound you can get, but you don’t have the space, or desire, for separate components. With five inputs, LED display, brass touch buttons, home theater mode, and remote control, the ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated amplifier gives you world-class sound that fits into your life.

Plays nicely with others

The ZOTL Ultralinear was specifically designed with high-efficiency speakers in mind. Yet a super-wide frequency response and less than 2 ohm output impedance means it plays nicely with all speakers.

“I was completely blown away by the spacious soundstage this amp produced.”

— Audiogon user dodgealum

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).

Patented perfection

The Z40 Integrated amplifier is based on David Berning’s patented ZOTL technology. For a technology to be patented, it must be deemed “new, useful, and non-obvious.” We think that sums up our approach quite nicely.

Looks as good as it sounds

The low-resonance aluminum chassis of the ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated is designed and manufactured in Richmond, Virginia, by the award-winning industrial design crew atFern & Roby. Brass touch buttons, LED display, and machined aluminum front and rear panels exude quality.

Premium components = premium sound

We use only premium, name-brand components. Belleson regulators. Ohno OCC wiring. Vishay Dale resistors. Mundorf caps. Typically, these are names you’ll only hear in amps that cost $10k or more.

Unique tubes, unique amp

The ZOTL Ultralinear uses 17JN6 power tubes, a Compactron-style TV sweep tube that can't be easily used in traditional transformer-coupled amplifier designs. The ZOTL circuit is able to take advantage of these great-sounding, under-utilized, inexpensive, and widely available tubes.

Never buy another set of tubes

Most tube amplifiers run through tubes every 1,000-2,000 hours. That sounds like a lot until you consider that we estimate tube life for our amps to be in the 10,000-20,000 hour range. Why? Because we use ⅓ the current through the tubes, which results in lower heat and dramatically longer tube life.

“The Linear Tube Audio ZOTL Ultralinear is quite remarkable.”

— 6moons

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 ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated amplifier is hand built by technicians with years of experience building the complex ZOTL circuits. All our products are backed by a 2-year warranty and a 14-day no-questions-asked return policy.

REVIEWS & TESTIMONIALS

Note: The ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated is a new product as of Q4 2019. All reviews and testimonials below are from the ZOTL Ultralinear Power Amplifier, the amp on which the ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated is based. Reviews and testimonials for the ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated will be posted as they are published.

6moons Review

The Linear Tube Audio ZOTL Ultralinear is quite remarkable. It fools you into thinking that it's a reference SET for its ability with tonality and color. It provides rich, vibrant and gorgeous timbres along with an overall silky smoothness that just floats the music into the room in relaxed fashion. However because of its overall speed, dynamics, lower bass extension and control you know it couldn't be a flea-power SET.

Think of the ZOTL Ultralinear amplifier as a world-class SET for its inner glow of gorgeous color/timbres plus the sense of aliveness and dynamics of a more powerful push/pull. This amplifier would be welcome in any system with standard speakers and listeners who prioritize beautiful tonality and timbres, first-rate imaging and the aliveness and 'speed' of live music.

The Audio Beatnik Review

I’ll start by sayingthis is the best Class AB amplifier I have ever heard. The first thing I noticed was that the LTA Ultralinear was the quietest amp I have ever heard; not the quietest tube amp, but the quietest amp. I think this enabled me to hear some of its most captivating qualities; its incredible sense of pace and rhythm, explosive dynamics, and micro-dynamics. I found myself tapping my foot almost as often as I do when listening to live music.The amp is so unbelievably natural that it was hard to think about anything but the music, the glorious music.

If you have high-efficiency speakers and you don’t want to spend five figures on an amp that weighs a ton and heats up your room, then you need to hear this amp. There are very few SET amps that can stay in the game with the Ultralinear.It has the ability to magically take recorded music and almost convince you that it’s live! Yes, there are some SET amps that can do this, but the ones I know of start in the five figures and work their way up.

Audiogon Forum Post (LTA Customer with Daedalus Speakers)

I am saving perhaps the best for last here,I was completely blown away by the spacious soundstage this amp produced. It transformed the soundscape, adding multiple layers of depth and copious cushions of air around the performers. Everything became completely three dimensional in a way I have only heard in rooms that allowed for a much better setup than mine.It is this type of spatial realism, when combined with such vivid, realistic tonal color and transient fidelity, that makes the Ultralinear so intoxicating--so NECESSARY.

ZOTL INTEGRATED INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER DETAILS

The ZOTL Ultralinear is the latest ZOTL amplifier design by David Berning, utilizing his Zero-hysteresis output transformerless audio design and his unique power supply.

The ZOTL Ultralinear amplifier outputs 20 watts per channel using 17JN6 tubes, a Compactron-style TV sweep tube that can't be easily used in traditional transformer-coupled amplifier designs. The ZOTL circuit is able to take advantage of these great-sounding, under-utilized tubes, and in this case, does so in what can be considered the only ultralinear amp without traditional output transformers.

David designed the amplifier specifically for high efficiency speakers. A balance between triode and pentode mode, the ultralinear topology delivers a less forward presentation which is "more pleasing to listen to.” The ZOTL Ultralinear delivers accuracy, detail and realism. Pianos sound like pianos. The bass is controlled but fluid. Very transparent, no hum and very dynamic.

The power supply is an advanced switching supply optimized for audio that only David Berning deploys.

All the benefits of ZOTL technology, including 3 times the tube life, 1/3 the heat, a super wide frequency response of 8hz -60Khz, and a under 2 ohm output impedance to play nicely with all speakers, are all included. There is also a sophisticated speaker protection system to prevent damage to the amplifier and speakers if there ever was a tube issue.

Fern and Roby Audio designed the casework featuring front and rear panels milled from slabs of aluminum, Cardas RCAs, WBT copper binding posts, with all markings laser engraved.

David Berning designed, hand-built by Linear Tube Audio, with casework by Fern and Roby.

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: 88db sensitivity and above

Smaller rooms / lower volume levels / non-critical listening: 85db 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: 4 single-ended Cardas RCA stereo, 1 balanced input using two 3-pin XLRs

Speaker Output: 4 WBT copper speaker binding posts

Tape Monitor: 1 stereo tape monitor out, 1 stereo tape monitor in - both Cardas RCA

Front Panel Controls: 7 brass touch switches (power, input, tape monitor, up, down, menu/select, back), volume control, and headphone speaker switch

Remote Control: All front panel functions using paired Apple TV Remote

Volume Control: 100 stepped attenuator (smallest step 1/1000th of total value) using Vishay Dale 1% precision resistors

Output impedance:1.2 ohms

Input impedance:47k

100V / 120V / 240V operation: Auto-switching

Hum and noise: 94dB below full output (measured at 20Hz-20kHz)

Power output with 8-ohm load:20W, 0.5% THD

Frequency response (8-ohm load): 6Hz to 60kHz, +0, -.5dB

Amplifier class: Push-pull Class AB

Voltage gain (8-ohm load):21dB

Size: 16 inches wide, 5 1/8 inches tall, 16 inches deep (including connectors)

Net weight: Amplifier: 18 lbs./8.2 kg

Finish: Aluminum case

Tube complement: Preamp section: 2x 12AU7, Power section: 2x 12AU7s, 2x 12AT7s, 4x 17JN6s

Home Theater Function can select any input for fixed volume

Display:16 Levels of brightness and programmable 7-second time out