My zpa 0.3 and 0.5

[trickyricky]

Show a close up of that LPL44 I made you....looks better than factory, ooops sorry PG.

[Alfaholic]

Show a close up of that LPL44 I made you....looks better than factory, ooops sorry PG.

The ones you make look much better then the old ones its just as better design, the knob looks and feel really good and you have great price on them i cant wait until i get my bass cube remote.
Here are some Pictures off the one you made and the PG original side by side.

I have just changed the caps on the zpa the feet of the old caps got sucked out very easy i think it took 5min to remove all the feets from the vias, i think the vias are a litle bigger on the zpa compared to the zx board but i can also be that i got more experience removing them now.
The Pictures are after i have soldered the new caps on it, im starting to get satisfied with my soldering i use a thin tip and i fill up the vias and a litle around the hole with solder and then i cut of the feets so i can fill up the whole feets with solder.

[vwdude]

Nice soldering job. Looks like mine.

You like those caps? Very similar to OEM.

Nice LPL44 Ricky.

[Alfaholic]

Nice soldering job. Looks like mine.

You like those caps? Very similar to OEM.

Nice LPL44 Ricky.

Yes i like those caps i want it to look original, im putting the heatsink back on tonight i have to Paint the heatshields in the middle because there is some surface rust on them but i think it will look good when im done.
I were thinking on putting a litle spot of glue on the caps but im not sure because you can see it and there was not any on the original ones.

[vwdude]

Hot glue was not used on the ZPAs. I don't use it.

Don't paint the heat sinks. If anything they should be anodized black. If you paint them you can effect their ability to cool.

Funny thing, I just looked at my most recently bought ZPA0.3 and it needs to be recapped but it has the updates power terminals but the v1 11 blade fans. I need to see if the other v2 updates were done. Kind of a mish mosh.

[trickyricky]

If caps are fully seated on the board then no need for the silicone between them (that was for extra support, added in those were the boards are not seen such as sapphires, some M series and such).

I wouldn't do it on a beautiful ZPA, mainly because of the guts being in plain view.

[oilworker]

Hot glue was not used on the ZPAs. I don't use it.

Don't paint the heat sinks. If anything they should be anodized black. If you paint them you can effect their ability to cool.

Funny thing, I just looked at my most recently bought ZPA0.3 and it needs to be recapped but it has the updates power terminals but the v1 11 blade fans. I need to see if the other v2 updates were done. Kind of a mish mosh.

I have a 0.5 like that. It is a v1 but has the newer terminals. I got it from the original owner and it has never been serviced.

[Alfaholic]

Mine shows damage by someone trying to fix it but missing the skill to do so, one of the pots are not in its house and one transistor has deep scuffs.

[Alfaholic]

Im thinking about using the zpa0.3 instead of my zx600ti its going to run my Focal 10" dual coil subwoofer, i tested the zpa yesterday im going to change pots and the transistor with scuff in it but i just had to check if it works.
It works fine now but there is different strenght in the output on the channels i think its because the sensetivity pot is very loose on the right channel.

[vwdude]

Well don't forget that each channel has it's own gain adjuster.

Are you saying that with both set to the same level they are not equal? It could be the phase is not set properly.

[Alfaholic]

Well don't forget that each channel has it's own gain adjuster.

Are you saying that with both set to the same level they are not equal? It could be the phase is not set properly.

Yup thats right with both set to max it shows 0,78 on left and 0,42 on the right the right pot is very loose and easy to turn but im changing both, is there a guide on adjusting phase this is the yellow small pots that are adjustable is it not?

[Alfaholic]

Im playing with the ide of using the zpa instead of the zx600ti for my focal dual coil subwoofer, how much amp does the zx600ti use compared to the zx600ti?

[vwdude]

Not sure what this last question is...

But as for the first, there are 2 sets of yellow pots that can be adjusted. One set does the phase, the other does DC offset. I've heard a couple of way to do the phase but I do t want to give you bad advise on how to do it so I'll leave that off. Once you set the phase you want to set the DC offset. With the gain all he way down and no signal in to the amp, power it up. Let it get to operating temperature and then connect a dmm to the speaker outputs (one at a time) and measure the DC voltage. It needs to be as close to 0 as possible, so adjust the yellow pots (the ones on the small verticle boards IIRC) until you hit 0. Wait for it to stabilize. Encore moving on as it might move around a bit if the amp isn't fully warmed up.


As for using the ZPA rather than the zx600ti, I'd say go for it. I think I'd rather run components off a 0.3 (actually I will be) as they are regarded as one of the best SQ amps you can get, but it'll handle a sub just as well.

[Alfaholic]

Not sure what this last question is...

But as for the first, there are 2 sets of yellow pots that can be adjusted. One set does the phase, the other does DC offset. I've heard a couple of way to do the phase but I do t want to give you bad advise on how to do it so I'll leave that off. Once you set the phase you want to set the DC offset. With the gain all he way down and no signal in to the amp, power it up. Let it get to operating temperature and then connect a dmm to the speaker outputs (one at a time) and measure the DC voltage. It needs to be as close to 0 as possible, so adjust the yellow pots (the ones on the small verticle boards IIRC) until you hit 0. Wait for it to stabilize. Encore moving on as it might move around a bit if the amp isn't fully warmed up.


As for using the ZPA rather than the zx600ti, I'd say go for it. I think I'd rather run components off a 0.3 (actually I will be) as they are regarded as one of the best SQ amps you can get, but it'll handle a sub just as well.

I will try and adjust them, my question on the zx600ti compared to the zpa 0.3 is does the zpa use more power or ampere then the zx600ti and how much more do it use i see on idle the zpa draws 8ampere but in the manual it says bot 0.3 and 0.5 draw 8 ampere on idle (only on without playing music)

[vwdude]

Not 100% sure but I'd bet 35-40 amps if it's cranked. I'm willing to bet that a 25-30 amp fuse could work.

[Alfaholic]

Not 100% sure but I'd bet 35-40 amps if it's cranked. I'm willing to bet that a 25-30 amp fuse could work.

Hi thanks for answer, it is not the fuze size im worried about its more that im scared im going to use more ampere then my alternator is putting out.
Im thinking of going with the zx400ti on my front component speakers and zpa 0,3 or zx600ti on my subwoofer, that is 1000watt on a 105amp alternator.
I bough myself 3 xsc5 capacitors and xmk30 buss bar for three capacitors not that i think it will make any difference, i bought it because i got some noize and it looked good.

[vwdude]

How hard are you planning to play the system? I'd run the zpa0.3 on the front components and the zx600ti on e sub, personally.

I don't think you'll have a problem with your charging system.

[Alfaholic]

Sounds good, how is the sound in the zpa compared to the zx600ti?.
Maybe i will try and run the zpa on my components speakers they are 250watt rms in 4 ohm so i think it will sound good, my focal P25DB is 250watt rms but its dual coil is it 250wrms per coil or are they 250wrms together?
The zx400ti should be able to run the subwoofer, im not playing that hard its only when im alone on my way to or from work im playing high music so most of the time im playing at low volume because my 5year old son is in the car.

[zeropoint0.5]

Well don't forget that each channel has it's own gain adjuster.

Are you saying that with both set to the same level they are not equal? It could be the phase is not set properly.

Yup thats right with both set to max it shows 0,78 on left and 0,42 on the right the right pot is very loose and easy to turn but im changing both, is there a guide on adjusting phase this is the yellow small pots that are adjustable is it not?

and this is where it goes wrong.....if you don't know what you are doing, don't touch the yellow trimmers.....

those on the main board are for bias , those on the daughter boards for dc offset.......

from the last year i got zpa's in my hands were the bias was set 6 to even 15 times the value it should have....

and this is how people destroy there amps.......

[trickyricky]

Agree with zero point, the one on the main board is for bias and the one on the daughter board is dc offset.

[Alfaholic]

Well don't forget that each channel has it's own gain adjuster.

Are you saying that with both set to the same level they are not equal? It could be the phase is not set properly.

Yup thats right with both set to max it shows 0,78 on left and 0,42 on the right the right pot is very loose and easy to turn but im changing both, is there a guide on adjusting phase this is the yellow small pots that are adjustable is it not?

and this is where it goes wrong.....if you don't know what you are doing, don't touch the yellow trimmers.....

those on the main board are for bias , those on the daughter boards for dc offset.......

from the last year i got zpa's in my hands were the bias was set 6 to even 15 times the value it should have....

and this is how people destroy there amps.......

But how do you adjust them?, the case with my amps is that it shows sign of someone trying to repair it but they have just made it worse.
I have not adjusted the bias yet because i wanted to find some info on how you do it, i see one of the bias on the daughter card that
is in a totally different position then the other.
I also see that someone has tried to tread a screw into the transistor also one of the pots looks like someone has tried to repair it but gave up, i have orderd new transistors and sense pots but dont you have to adjust the bias when changing transistors?.

[demosta]

i also got my first phoenix gold project today! it is ZPA 0.3.
amp is very ugly and need to be re-painted, new capacitors etc. sadly that plexi-glass is broken. it is the hardest part in this project..



But, it only costs 50 euro (57 USD) so i don't think it is waste of my money

What is the best way to clean circuit board under capacitors? those crappy capacitors are leaking

-sorry for my bad english. i'm from finland

[Alfaholic]

i also got my first phoenix gold project today! it is ZPA 0.3.
amp is very ugly and need to be re-painted, maybe new capacitors etc.
sadly that plexi-glass is broken. it is the hardest part in this project..



but, it only costs 50 euro (57 USD) so i don't think it is waste of my money



-sorry for my bad english. i'm from finland

You can paint it and i would change the caps mine were leaking and there were leftover wire pieces under the caps i would never power it up before the caps are changed.
Its been abused hard the person who done this to the amplifier does not deserve to own any PG gear at all, makes me somewhat sad to see how people treat there stuff.

[demosta]

i edit my earlier post and i will replace capacitors. i dont even power it up before.

[Alfaholic]

Take a picture of the caps with the plexi cover of if the caps are dark blue with a gold line down the side they are original, also the serial nr is inside on the motherboard i would love to know what it is?.
Welcome to the phorum im from Norway, i changed the caps with ones that looks very much like the original ones but they got much higher Uf