The 2002 New York HiFi Expo and The Joule-Electra VZN-100 "Music Wood" Chassis OTL Power Amps

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It was good to be back in New York City this past May for the Primedia 2002 HiFi Expo show, or, as some still call it, the Stereophile Show. I was there doing my usual consulting gig for my good friends at Merlin Music Systems to help set-up and run the two rooms at the show that featured the VSM-Millennium speaker system. Just like last year, we had one room set-up with an all tube system featuring the Audio Aero Capitole 24/912 CD player, Joule Electra LA-150 preamp, Joule Electra VZN-100MKIII monoblock OTL power amplifiers, and all JPS Labs cabling & power cords. Next door, I helped out my good friends from Simaudio who where using the VSM Millennium speakers with their Moon W-5 power amp, Moon P-5 preamp, the new Moon Nova CD player, and all Cardas Golden Reference cabling. The pictures here give a look at the Merlin/Joule-Electra/JPS Labs room and the cool new optional chassis that are available for the Joule OTL power amps.

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Shown above is a Joule-Electra VZ-100 MKIII OTL monoblock power amplifier (100W). The VZN-100 (also called the Marquis mono block) utilizes six 6C33 dual triode power tubes to generate 100W of OTL (output transformer less, i.e. the power tubes directly power the speaker) power. The buttons and knobs on the lower left top of the amplifier chassis allow for easy adjustment of the power tubes bias settings read out out on the LCD display to their right. The larger knob above the LCD display is a continuously adjustable feedback control for the amplifier. The optional Music Wood chassis shown above is made from a soft wood which is painted (in this case) with a beautiful piano black finish. The chassis comes with Merlin Z-feet to couple the amplifier to the floor while maintaining ample clearance above the floor for proper cooling (hence, no amplifier stand is needed). This Music Wood Chassis is a $2,500 option.