Review: Zeta Zero Venus Picolla

 The Sound

With ASL Twin-Head and Croft

   I have beagun the research from my own system. TheTwin-Head preamplifier and the Croft Polestar1 strength end bit powered by the Cairn. I used the original cable for if it is sold, it should technically fit. I am not sure whether we can call it optimal but it should definitely be very appropriate.

As per usual I started with the sliding and there is not much to say in this matter. It is good if you can place Zetas at least one meter away from the wall behind them but if there is no such possibility it will not be the end of the world. It is important, however, that the listener be positioned precisely at the point where the loudspeakers’ facing lines cross, because, unlike other speakers, Zetas do not like facing straight ahead, they defenitely prefer to look straight at the listener. They also like a carpet to be spread in front of them, and the Piccola model tested here had not objections against its front legs being gently elevated, provided that we do not listen from a far distance away.

As for the distance, the loudspeakers (at least in my case) were not prone to filling the whole room with sound, which can be concluded from the fact that they wanted to face the listener directly. They created a certain sound area spreading far to the back and more less the same distance in the front, and my belief is that it is very conveninet to be able to stand within that area, which can be called the area of an active influence. In that position contact with music becomes somehow very direct. Saying it in other words, in the household listening conditions, in a room of about 20 meters square size it is good to sit about 1,5-2,5 meters away from th speakers because if we sit further away it will make us more of a viewer that a direct participant.

After taking a comfortable seat and making sure that the back of an armachair is above the level of your ears (which provides good reflecting, also in case of AKG K1000 headphones), I began to indulge myself in sound. At first it was a bit difficult because I still carried last year’s Audio Show Zetas in my head (this year I did not listen so eagerly) and my memory told me that back then there was a better sound. Nevertheless I did not make any changes and continued allowing music to flow and patiently awaiting changes. For I have my own theory, completely undocumented but proving true in practice, that the equipment has to get to know themselves in a way, by being played for a while. Sometimes it takes a few days, sometimes less. In case of Zetas it took about four hours. Maybe is is simply the result of the listener’s ear accomodation and not the loudspeakers’ membranes communicating with the signal, however I have not got the slightest doubt that after a few hours (during which I did not listen constantly), the scene clearly gained its debth and became organized, and the sounds became more beautiful. When that happened, I could experience wonderful musical encounters because the way Zetas play is a real masterpiece and there is no doubt about it. Apart from that, they own that very particular and worth paying attention feature, mainly their high volume levels are fantastic. I usually do not listen to music very loudly. At the Audio Show I often ask for music to be turned down and when I take part in an audiophile meeting it proves, that others listen to much louder sounds. But here I let myself go for it and turned it up. Zetas can manage the decibel tunami in an excellent way while allowing you to enjoy the power of either a symphonic orchestra, or a rock concert. They do not demonstrate even a trace of control loss, not mentioning harmonic distortions, and maintain an excellent scenic order throughout the whole time.

As for the stage, as I have mentioned, the sound travels a few good meters back behind the louspeakers and similarly it comes towards the listener. Within that area no sounds escape upwards, everything is kept in hand at the proper level and there is a perfect museum-like order.