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Parasound Ztuner, Part 2

162.205.183.92

Posted on May 10, 2020 at 11:47:34
Luminator
Audiophile

Posts: 7289
Location: Bay Area
Joined: December 11, 2000
I originally bought a Parasound T/DQ-1600 tuner in May 1995. During that first month. Bay Area radio stations kept playing Sophie B. Hawkins' "As I Lay Me Down." I still had some friends at UC Santa Cruz, my alma mater, who were about to graduate. So I paid them a visit. On my way down from San Francisco, I heard "As I Lay Me Down" in the car. And as we enjoyed the Santa Cruz beach, "As I Lay Me Down" could be heard via boombox.



After hearing "As I Lay Me Down" on several radios, we got a better feel and understanding of the Parasound T/DQ-1600. It itself was lean, transparent, focused, extended up top. These qualities did reveal some hash, so you'd never mistake the T/DQ-1600 for a vintage tubed tuner. But overall, when it brought in a radio station cleanly, it compelled you to pay attention and listen.



Which brings us to the T/DQ-1600's younger sister, the Ztuner. The half-width Ztuner has ventilation slots on top. It runs warm, so provide a few inches of clearance above the unit. However, the Ztuner does not produce any mechanical hum or buzz. Since it consumes very little power, you can leave the Ztuner on all the time. The Ztuner sports a yellowish-green dot-matrix display. Alas, the downside to such a small unit is that its display can only be read when your eyes are close by. From across the room, not even an eagle, falcon, hawk, or owl can read the Ztuner's tiny display.



What sets the Ztuner apart from the competition is that it comes with an infrared remote control. The remote is very lightweight, and uses two AAA batteries.



Do not lose or break the remote! Without the remote, you will not be able to program the Ztuner's presets. Interestingly, the Ztuner has two "banks" of presets. You can do 30 at-large (here in the Bay Area, are there even 30 receivable stations?). Or, by selecting "P8," you can set the eight stations you use the most.



When we were in college in the early-90s, we used products such as the Adcom GTP-500II. Its tuner section and the Ztuner sound completely different from each other. The Adcom has bulbous imaging, is kind of jiggly, and has a ragged enthusiasm fit for a college girl. With "As I Lay Me Down," the Adcom makes you all romantic, and even gets you to jump into the bone-cold Pacific Ocean.

The Ztuner is flattened, focused, unified, and stable. It's kind of what happens, when the college girl graduates, and takes five years, to become a stable professional. With "As I Lay Me Down," the Ztuner makes you think, "While working, this song takes my mind of the drudgery, and gets me to the next good or stress-free moment." With the Ztuner, you shrug, and let your kids jump in the ocean. Too wise and learned for that, you lean back on the beach, soak up the sun, and take a much-needed nap.

More to come,
-Lummy The Loch Monster

 

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