# Zed audio



## Kevinshields12 (Sep 20, 2016)

Zed audio must have closed down. Does anyone know anything about zed. I just bought a draconia iii for 500 and it has a popping noise in it


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

He probably got out of the game after so many issues with his amps. Many, many, many problems with quality, and many, many more with service.


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## Kevinshields12 (Sep 20, 2016)

Not good for me


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

I hope I'm wrong and he can help. When his products work, they are great, unfortunately, a lot of them had issues, and getting them resolved was not easy.


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## brumledb (Feb 2, 2015)

I noticed it was down a couple months ago. We have forum members that do amp repairs if you want to go that route.


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## Kevinshields12 (Sep 20, 2016)

Would it be worth fixing or trying to get my money back from seller


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## brumledb (Feb 2, 2015)

Getting your money back would probably be the easiest and fastest solution, especially if you paid via Paypal. There are plenty of other quality amps available. 

That's what I would do.


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## AyOne (Sep 24, 2016)

I would get your money back if you can. Beautiful amps but not worth the hassle. Between shipping back and forth and parts and labor to fix it, you could be in a couple more hundred bucks before all is said and done. There are other great options for amps in that price range too.


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## Kevinshields12 (Sep 20, 2016)

Thanks for the info guys


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## Barnaby (Aug 25, 2009)

I found this on the Zed FB page - (805) 499-5559. I didn't know if you already had this. Might be worth a try if the refund doesn't work out.


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## Kevinshields12 (Sep 20, 2016)

The number is disconnected


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## Barnaby (Aug 25, 2009)

Bummer


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

Zeds dead?


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## GEM592 (Jun 19, 2015)

dcfis said:


> Zeds dead?


Step aside, Butch.


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## foreman (Apr 18, 2007)

If you decide to repair...very reputable and reasonable
Home | United Radio


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## brumledb (Feb 2, 2015)

GEM592 said:


> Step aside, Butch.



What?













I know these were two different scenes but that Samuel L quote is one of my all time favorites. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

A buddy of mine spoke with Steve last week and sent him his Leviathan for repairs. He seemed to be pretty willing to assist and said the zed site had been hacked or something and should be up and running soon.

They are very nice amps, when working, but seemed
To have plenty QC issues.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## DC/Hertz (Nov 27, 2011)

It would all depend on repair cost. For $500 I'd probably get my monies back.


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## knifedag007 (Mar 14, 2011)

I would get your money back, the hassle of getting it fixed with the company out of business is too much hassle IMO.


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## Truthunter (Jun 15, 2015)

ZED is not dead... Well at least not ZED's design services which are used by PG & Focal to name a few of the consumer level products he's contracted for.


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## lv_v (Aug 24, 2005)

I sent Steve an email weeks ago asking if the site was down for good and asking for pdf's of manuals for my Leviathan III and Minotaur III - no response yet..

Anyone have links to these pdf's?


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## SPAZ (Jan 7, 2009)

Truthunter said:


> ZED is not dead... Well at least not ZED's design services which are used by PG & Focal to name a few of the consumer level products he's contracted for.


Did Focal discontinue the Zed made class D amps?


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## deadrx7conv (Aug 25, 2010)

(805) 526-5315 Zed phone number from chamber of commerce

Website was down the last time I checked. Anyone know if ZedAudioCorp is out of business? bankrupt? or just reorganizing? 

Too many good companies have disappeared over the years.


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## tiny3669 (Feb 6, 2014)

I talked to Stephen yesterday. He's still in the industry. I'm not going to throw his business out there but I bought a couple of amps off him. Seems like a real nice guy and went out of his way to get me some other equipment.


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## lv_v (Aug 24, 2005)

tiny3669 said:


> I talked to Stephen yesterday. He's still in the industry. I'm not going to throw his business out there but I bought a couple of amps off him. Seems like a real nice guy and went out of his way to get me some other equipment.


I still haven't received a response from Stephen on an email I sent several months back. His website is down and nobody can get in touch with him.

Is it safe to say that Zed Audio is closed for business?


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## donotattempt (Dec 30, 2009)

Spoke to him today. I have 2 leviathan 3 (latest version, 3.5), and 2 minotaur (latest version). He is quite a cool guy. I have not had any bad experiences with him. Only wished these amps were smaller.

I knew nothing about Mosconi dsp, Steve was the one that told me about it. Then I started to read a lot on here about it.


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## Astro (Jul 17, 2012)

Steve has always been a great guy to me. I bought 4 Minotaurs, 3 Leviathans, 1 RA, and he hooked me up with the Mosconi 6to8 with bluetooth and a few other things at cost. He's also really helped me with basic knowledge and theory. I have spent hours on the phone and through email with him, the guy is insanely smart! My RA popped almost instantly. I sent it back, he fixed the bad power supply which was a factory issue he had with several of them, and sent it back. I popped a Leviathan under very little stress. I haven't sent it back yet, but he said to send it and he would fix it no problem. I have had a few issues with a loud wine from time to time like a jacked up ground that I've heard several people had, but I haven't had time to troubleshoot it, so not sure if it's the amp or what. Steve has always been awesome, and since I bought so much stuff from him, he has always remembered and hooked me up with stuff. for the longest time. PM me if you need his email. It won't let me post it on here.

OH... As for the work, he's still heavily involved in audio. He's been selling a ton of his stuff overseas. I think he just had a few bad guys on his assembly line a while back, but now, just like every other amp, his are now all produced in China. He was the last of the American made amps that I know of, but there's Zero way to compete with the Chinese on this platform. All the parts are made there anyway, so might as well just have them all assembled there. Plus now his quality control is better. I can't wait to do business with him again. I told him he needs to make a Minotaur V that will support 2000 watts at 4 ohm


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## Astro (Jul 17, 2012)

bump


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## Astro (Jul 17, 2012)

bump so I can post web page


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## T3mpest (Dec 25, 2005)

I too bought a used Leviathan II that has a moderate squeal at turn off. Glad someone else made this thread for me  For real though, that's a lot of broken amps.


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## Astro (Jul 17, 2012)

FYI Manuals

https://www.manualslib.com/brand/zed-audio/


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

Lot's of broken amps! Mine cost me several weeks of headache, and in the end I had to pay him to return a broken amp.


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## DC/Hertz (Nov 27, 2011)

Astro said:


> Steve has always been a great guy to me. I bought 4 Minotaurs, 3 Leviathans, 1 RA, and he hooked me up with the Mosconi 6to8 with bluetooth and a few other things at cost. He's also really helped me with basic knowledge and theory. I have spent hours on the phone and through email with him, the guy is insanely smart! My RA popped almost instantly. I sent it back, he fixed the bad power supply which was a factory issue he had with several of them, and sent it back. I popped a Leviathan under very little stress. I haven't sent it back yet, but he said to send it and he would fix it no problem. I have had a few issues with a loud wine from time to time like a jacked up ground that I've heard several people had, but I haven't had time to troubleshoot it, so not sure if it's the amp or what. Steve has always been awesome, and since I bought so much stuff from him, he has always remembered and hooked me up with stuff. for the longest time. PM me if you need his email. It won't let me post it on here.
> 
> OH... As for the work, he's still heavily involved in audio. He's been selling a ton of his stuff overseas. I think he just had a few bad guys on his assembly line a while back, but now, just like every other amp, his are now all produced in China. He was the last of the American made amps that I know of, but there's Zero way to compete with the Chinese on this platform. All the parts are made there anyway, so might as well just have them all assembled there. Plus now his quality control is better. I can't wait to do business with him again. I told him he needs to make a Minotaur V that will support 2000 watts at 4 ohm


MMATS is still US assembled. Linear power also


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## Astro (Jul 17, 2012)

gijoe said:


> Lot's of broken amps! Mine cost me several weeks of headache, and in the end I had to pay him to return a broken amp.


I've definitely heard more than 1 horror story about his amps. He is a good example of what can happen from running a small consumer based business in America. You can have a 1000 happy people, but you always hear from the 2 that were not. It's extremely hard to do what he was trying to accomplish with Zed Audio and be successful. There's several things that went wrong for him, but I think that's ultimately why he has outsourced his amps to China now. The quality control was not where he would have liked it, but he had a bad shipment of components from China a couple times, had not so great guys on his assembly lines, and the list goes on. I give him credit for doing so well in a very demanding industry. He has told me several stories of nightmare customers, and how he was fixing so many amps that were customer related issues. I think he got just too beat down from all the BS, and that's when the horror stories started to come out. 

If I can help someone, let me know, and I'll do my best to reach out to him. He's a good guy, he just got such a bad taste in his mouth from all this that I think he's not making himself as accessible as he used to be. Let me know if I can help anyone out.


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

Astro said:


> I've definitely heard more than 1 horror story about his amps. He is a good example of what can happen from running a small consumer based business in America. You can have a 1000 happy people, but you always hear from the 2 that were not. It's extremely hard to do what he was trying to accomplish with Zed Audio and be successful. There's several things that went wrong for him, but I think that's ultimately why he has outsourced his amps to China now. The quality control was not where he would have liked it, but he had a bad shipment of components from China a couple times, had not so great guys on his assembly lines, and the list goes on. I give him credit for doing so well in a very demanding industry. He has told me several stories of nightmare customers, and how he was fixing so many amps that were customer related issues. I think he got just too beat down from all the BS, and that's when the horror stories started to come out.
> 
> If I can help someone, let me know, and I'll do my best to reach out to him. He's a good guy, he just got such a bad taste in his mouth from all this that I think he's not making himself as accessible as he used to be. Let me know if I can help anyone out.


I'm sure all of that is true, but he really set himself up for it, unfortunately. My amp was broken from day one, and it was a huge hassle to get it taken care of. Even after the "repair" the problem persisted, and the amp was reassembled with the screws for the board just rattling around inside. 

Regardless of why his attitude was so bad, there's no way in hell I would promote a company after my experience. In the end I literally paid him to go through this hassle. My amp went in for the same noise issue that so many others have had, yet he was very clear in his opinion that I must have broken it myself. Based on my personal experience I cannot call him a "good guy." It's a shame because of his reputation, and the potential for these amps.


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## Astro (Jul 17, 2012)

DC/Hertz said:


> MMATS is still US assembled. Linear power also


This I was not aware of... I thought Linear was gone and MMATS I guess I've never researched. Pretty insane amps on paper. I will say that all the power ratings on the Zed Audio amps were rated at 4 ohms, which I thought was awesome. I have a complete 4 ohm system in my boat, minus the sub which I kind of screwed up the numbers, not Steve, and the quality is insane! Not to go off on a rant or anything, but that's another thing Steve taught me. Having 1000 watts at 4 ohm or 3000 at .5 ohm is a night and day SQL difference. At 1 or .5 ohm the amp is so inefficient and the sound quality really declines. I'm really not doing the theory any justice. Long story short, I loved Zed's amps.


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## Astro (Jul 17, 2012)

gijoe said:


> I'm sure all of that is true, but he really set himself up for it, unfortunately. My amp was broken from day one, and it was a huge hassle to get it taken care of. Even after the "repair" the problem persisted, and the amp was reassembled with the screws for the board just rattling around inside.
> 
> Regardless of why his attitude was so bad, there's no way in hell I would promote a company after my experience. In the end I literally paid him to go through this hassle. My amp went in for the same noise issue that so many others have had, yet he was very clear in his opinion that I must have broken it myself. Based on my personal experience I cannot call him a "good guy." It's a shame because of his reputation, and the potential for these amps.


I totally understand. I have had some terrible experiences at stores, with contractors, or at restaurants that friends highly recommended. The sad reality is that you had an issue as a customer that he should have fixed, but didn't. I won't argue that any other way. If I was in your situation, I would have been livid. And who knows, maybe the reason why I had such a good experience overall was because I spent over $7K with him when nobody was buying his amps.


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## Astro (Jul 17, 2012)

pic of amp rack in the boat


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## Astro (Jul 17, 2012)

FYI,

I spoke with Steve today. He still has some of his Draconia's and Minotaur's available, as well as a few other amps that he designed for other people. If you have a need for an amp, I know he's got all kinds of amps available.


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## ADS928 (Jun 29, 2016)

By any chance do you know if he is still doing amp repair work for other company's amps?

I have two ADS PH15.2 that need to be gone through and recapped (25 year old electrolytic caps aren't that great). 

Taking them to him would be perfect as he is literally 8 minutes from where I live.


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## ADS928 (Jun 29, 2016)

bump


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## lv_v (Aug 24, 2005)

It would be nice if Steve would simply update his website with a statement that he has closed up shop, but leave up the info on his past products so he doesn't completely F over all of his past customers... Especially considering his Zed amps were a "premium" product with a premium price.


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## GEM592 (Jun 19, 2015)

... I ain't through with you by a damn sight ...


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## Raobrien (Apr 24, 2017)

Have Leviathan III that I put in the boat last year and somehow lost 2 channels. Anyone know of someone who is repairing the amps?


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## jbeez (Aug 20, 2013)

lv_v said:


> I sent Steve an email weeks ago asking if the site was down for good and asking for pdf's of manuals for my Leviathan III and Minotaur III - no response yet..
> 
> Anyone have links to these pdf's?


I have one, its all in one pdf. I asked Mantz for the latest copy and he sent me this last yr, I believe​ its newer than what he had on his website
View attachment ZedManual-2013.pdf

If the
Is attachment doesn't work i can probably share a gdrive or dropbox url or even email it, but for some reason gdrive was being cranky trying to share the file via link
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


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## sheltonlp (Dec 7, 2011)

If anyone does have his contact information I would love for you to share it (even PM if needed). I have a Leviathan I'd love for him to fix for me.

Thanks for any help...


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## tiny3669 (Feb 6, 2014)

Here you go bro. I just sent him a mosconi zero 3 to repair. He's doing all the repairs for them. 


Stephen
Zed Audio Corp.,
2624 Lavery Court,
Suite 203,
Newbury Park,
CA 91320

(805) 499-5559 PST


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