David Berning inducted into The Absolute Sound's High-end Audio Hall of Fame

We are thrilled to announce that David Berning has been inducted into The Absolute Sound’s High-End Audio Hall of Fame for his five decades of innovations in audio technology.

David’s invention of the ZOTL architecture revolutionized tube amplifier performance. His contributions continue to inspire audiophiles and professionals alike, solidifying David’s legacy as one of the foremost amplifier designers in the world.

It is an honor and a privilege to get to work with such a great audio mind, and we are pleased to congratulate David on this honor.

Aero is now Roon Tested

LTA is excited to announce that the Aero DAC has received Roon Tested Certification from Roon.

Being Roon Tested means that LTA and Roon have collaborated to ensure you have the best experience using Roon software and LTA equipment together, so you can just enjoy the music.

In practical terms, this means that when you enable the Aero in Roon, all the settings will be properly configured automatically for easy plug-n-play use.

On the fun side, when using the Aero in Roon, a custom image of the Aero will be displayed in the Signal path and other areas of the Roon interface.

More about Roon

Roon is a revolutionary music player that transforms the way you explore and expand your music collection, as you listen on all your gear. 

Roon combines your files and streamed music into one vast, interconnected digital library, inviting you on new and immersive journeys of musical discovery - every time you jump in. 

It works flawlessly on thousands of Roon Ready, AirPlay, Chromecast, and USB devices - and Roon ARC gives you the freedom to listen absolutely anywhere.

More about the Roon Tested Program

Roon’s fundamental goal is to provide a consistently stellar user experience. This goal doesn’t stop at the software... the experience extends all the way down to the audio playback hardware, regardless of manufacturer.

As a Roon Tested partner, LTA has provided equipment to Roon for testing with a variety of different operating systems and computers, and shared information about its design and capabilities.

We have a direct relationship with Roon, and the Roon support team has our devices on hand, so you can confidently choose to use LTA hardware with Roon.

The story behind the names of LTA's newest products

David Berning's Cycling Passion

David on ride-marshal duty at Lymphoma charity ride

You may know David Berning as an innovative hifi amplifier designer who developed the technology behind all of Linear Tube Audio’s products, but David is just as passionate about cycling. He has ridden over 375,000 miles - a distance that could take him to the moon and back, with just 65,000 miles remaining. For long periods, David has gone without owning a car, relying solely on his bicycle.

Among many other long-distance endurance cycling feats over the years, David has qualified for and completed multiple Paris-Brest-Paris rides, the oldest continuously run cycling event in the world and the grandfather of randonneuring. In 1987, he completed the grueling 750-mile ride in an impressive 77.5 hours, stopping only to sleep after 38 hours and for fog at mile 650.

Combining Passions: Cycling and Electronics

David has also found ingenious ways to combine his two passions of electronics and cycling. On a visit to David’s house in 2022, he showed off a DIY build of a human-powered TV, DVD player and headphone amp. He designed and built the gearing setup and all the electronics - even the bicycle stand is custom made. The setup thoughtfully includes a fan, also powered by the rider. The faster you go, the more cooling wind you get!

Cycling-Inspired Product Names

All that to say, David loves cycling very much. So, when we were developing our latest products and kicking around name ideas, honoring David’s passion for cycling was an idea that quickly gained traction. We compiled a list of cycling-related terms and chose two we thought were appropriate for our new headphone amp / preamp (Velo) and DAC (Aero):

- Velo: French for "bicycle"

- Aero: Short for "aerodynamic," denoting design or form optimized to reduce air resistance and drag

We are proud to use cycling-inspired product names to pay homage to David Berning's remarkable achievements and lifelong devotion to the sport of cycling.

LTA Listens - May 2024

A playlist of some of our favorite tracks released in May 2024.

Access the playlist at the following sites:

We strongly encourage everyone to support their favorite musicians. Follow them on social, buy their music and merch, see them live.

Enjoy!

LTA Listens - April 2024

A playlist of some of our favorite tracks released in April 2024.

Access the playlist at the following sites:

We strongly encourage everyone to support their favorite musicians. Follow them on social, buy their music and merch, see them live.

Enjoy!

LTA Listens - March 2024

A playlist of some of our favorite tracks released in March 2024.

Access the playlist at the following sites:

We strongly encourage everyone to support their favorite musicians. Follow them on social, buy their music and merch, see them live.

Enjoy!

LTA Listens - February 2024

A playlist of some of our favorite tracks released in February 2024.

Access the playlist at the following sites:

Today is Bandcamp Friday, which is the day Bandcamp waives their revenue share and 100% of your purchase goes to the artists, so this is a great day to support your favorite musicians.

Buy their music and merch, see them live, follow them on social, tell your friends.

Enjoy!

LTA Listens - January 2024

A playlist of some of our favorite tracks released in January 2024.

Access the playlist at the following sites:

We strongly encourage everyone to actively support their favorite musicians. Buy their music and merch, see them live, follow them on social, tell your friends.

Enjoy!

Z10e makes Sterephile Magazine's 2023 Recommended Component List

For the fourth consecutive year, Linear Tube Audio’s Z10e headphone amp + integrated amp has been selected for Stereophile Magazine’s Recommended Components list.

The Z10e landed in two separate categories: Integrated Amplifiers and Headphone Amplifiers.

It’s only one of two amplifiers to be honored in two categories.

The Z10e is the only amp in the world that can power electrostatic headphones, traditional dynamic headphones, and speakers. If only there was an “electrostatic headphone amp” category…

Here are some excerpts from the listing:

The Z10e got the best from Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC, Focal Clear, and ZMF Vérité Closed dynamic headphones and excelled with STAX SR-009S and Dan Clark Voce electrostatics.

“The LTA Z10e/Susvara combo missed no beats, showed no weaknesses, and kept my head bopping...The Z10e amp displayed no hesitations, dullness, or clipping; no smoke from the tires, no engine stalling—only full-traction, high-torque engagement.”

With the Audeze CRBN headphones, the Z10e's "overall, timbre and tone were just right and satisfyingly color-saturated."

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Z10e Electrostatic Headphone Amp / Integrated Amp
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Z10e Electrostatic Headphone Amp + Audeze CRBN2 Electrostatic Headphones
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Z10e Electrostatic Headphone Amp + STAX SR-X9000 Electrostatic Earspeakers
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Z10e Electrostatic Headphone Amp + STAX SR-009s Electrostatic Headphones

Twittering Machines Reviews the LTA Z40+ Integrated Amplifier & Phono Stage

Michael Lavorgna, of Twittering Machines, takes one of the most complete looks at the Z40+ Integrated Amplifier to-date. He tries the amp out with multiple pairs of speakers over a wide-range of price points, from Credo to Q Acoustics to Devore Fidelity.

Photo: Michael Lavorgna

This review also marks the first official review of the internal phono stage, so if you’ve been interested in that, definitely check this review out.

Photo: Michael Lavorgna

If for nothing else, you’ll want to check out the review for Lavorgna’s beautiful photos. Here’s one more as an example…

Photo: Michael Lavorgna

AXPONA 2022: Worth the Wait!

The last time the hifi audio world converged on the suburbs of Chicago for AXPONA, the largest audio show in North America, was 2019. The ensuing three years was the longest decade any of us had ever experienced, so we were excited (and a bit wary, admittedly) to see old friends and meet new ones at AXPONA 2022 last month.

Friends, I’m here to tell you, it was worth the wait. Smiles and good cheer - and good music - were plentiful.

LTA featured in two rooms:

Room 606

Room 696

We were also in the headphone and personal-audio focused EarGear Expo, featuring:

Response was off the charts! Here’s what the audiophile press had to say:

Thanks to everyone who came to our rooms and our EarGear booth!

Thanks to our wonderful partners!

Thanks to the staff at the hotel (tip your housekeeping staff), the shipping company, and the Axpona event team.

Thanks to literally everyone at LTA who contributed to making this show a success.

See you next year! (Hopefully!)

Jazz Guitarists Bill Frisell & Julian Lage Love the LTA MZ3

We first met jazz greats Bill Frisell and Julian Lage in NYC at a private preview of the Audeze CRBN and LCD-5 headphones in the summer of 2021. Audeze had chosen LTA amps - the Z10e and MZ3 - to showcase their latest flagship headphones to the invited group of luminaries from the world of music, audio production, and hifi. This group included Frisell and Lage as well as Ron St. Germain, Nate Wood, Chris Lightcap, Herb Reichert, Steve Guttenberg, and many others.

So, in a strange and wonderful twist, we were in the room with some of the greatest musicians alive, but instead of us listening to what they make (music), they were listening to what we make (amps)! It was quite a thrill, to put it mildly.

After the Mutual Admiration Society meeting had ended, it was decided that both Frisell and Lage needed to own an MZ3 to go with their Audeze headphones. A couple months later, after spending time with their new LTA-powered hifi setups, Bill and Julian were kind enough to share their thoughts on how the MZ3 changed their relationship with recorded music…

“When I was a little kid I got my own transistor radio. I loved it. Went with me everywhere. Slept with it under my pillow at night. Wow. The joy and thrill of hearing new music for the very first time. Being transported into another world. Mind blown. That is the place where I want to be. I long for it. Listening now to Audeze LCD5 headphones through a Linear Tube Audio MZ3 amplifier brings me right back to those wonderful moments. Mind blown. I’m so lucky. Thankful.”
— Bill Frisell
“The MZ3 combines power and richness in a way that is so deeply musical and pleasurable. Listening to music through the MZ3 makes me feel like all of the acoustic and sonic information available is being focused like a beam of light, stripping away anything that might color or impeded the purest signal. The MZ3 makes it feeel as though I’ve been ushered into the center of the music and the musicians making it. It is utterly sublime! A dream!”
— Julain Lage

New Music @ LTA : June 26, 2020

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You don’t have to work hard to find good new music every week. We’re just making it that much easier on you by highlighting a couple handfuls of new releases that we’re excited about. #newmusicfriday

We’ve made a New Music @ LTA Playlist on Tidal and Qobuz to make it even easier.

We strongly encourage you to seek out these artists’ websites, Bandcamp pages, etc. and support them directly by purchasing their music and merch.

  • Khruangbin : Mordechai

  • Kamasi Washington + Throttle Elevetor Music : Emergency Exit

  • Derrick Hodge : COLOR OF NOIZE

  • Free Nationals : Free Nationals (Instrumentals)

  • Nadine Shah : Kitchen Sink

  • Free Nationals : Free Nationals (Instrumentals)

  • Dirty Projectors : Flight Tower

  • Art Feynman : Half Price at 3:30

  • James Krivchenia : A New Found Relaxation

  • Ezra Feinberg : Recumbent Speech

h/t to @neddyo for Art and Ezra


Where to find LTA @ Capital Audio Fest

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We'll be hard to miss at Capital Audio Fest. We're in four rooms and will also be running an "LTA Headphone Lounge" featuring our headphone amps and a curated selection of the best headphones on the planet.

It's a lot to keep track of, so here's a cheat sheet to what you'll find in each room.

Room 526

Room 323

Randolph

Room 312

Room 538

LTA Headphone Lounge

Amps & Sources

Headphones

We love meeting our customers and fans in person, so if you'll also be at CAF, we invite and encourage you to stop by and introduce yourselves.