I just went to the ZMF web site and discovered that they don’t have the Pendant listed there. What’s up with that? Are they going to stop offering it? Anybody here know?
Probably coming out with an updated version so they can take more of my money! Would be a shame if it’s discontinued without a replacement. It’s an excellent amp. I really enjoy my Pendant SE.
Zach is teaming up with Decware on a new OTL amp. He’s also got a solid state amp in the works with JDS Labs. I’m not sure when they are due to come out though. The Pendant is now discontinued as far as I know.
Wow, that’s definitely news! It should be really interesting to see what those collaborations produce
I wonder why Zach and Justin aren’t collaborating anymore. Maybe the Pendant was a slow seller? I always thought the Kenzie amps matched the ZMF dynamics better, but just personal preference.
The Kenzies are great amps (I have two) at a reasonable price.
I don’t think ampsandsounds is setup to mass produce amps, but on the other hand Decware also has experienced a waiting list several months long.
The Pendant when ordered from ZMF came from Justin anyway, so as far as I know you might be able to order one from him without the ZMF logo. Just speculation on my part but Justin is the one who builds them anyway. Regardless, you can’t go wrong with an amplifier from Justin. I own the pendant and it is a wonderful amplifier with the right tubes.
Stereophile kept giving the ZMF Pendant an A performance rating.
I just saw ZMF’s announcement that they’re selling Cayin amps, and I was surprised when I didn’t see the Pendant beside them.
The Leeloo which was the name of the Pendant originally is going to be available very very soon!
The Pendant and Kenzie are both great amps for sure, I have actually been using the Kenzie OG Rev II a ton lately, the 8/100 ohm version Justin made me is one of my favorite amps I’ve ever had.
There’s been a lot of logistical stresses over the last couple years since the pandemic started, and those have created small businesses like Justin’s and mine to have to make things work in varying ways because of the supply chain needed. At ZMF I have always put price stability as a an utmost priority for our owners, many times with us buying much more inventory than immediately needed to be able to do this. In the current environment as a go between from ampsandsounds manufacturing to our selling of the Pendant, the product stability wasn’t viable on our, and ampsandsounds end for ZMF to continue selling ampsandsounds products.
They are fantastic amps and I will definitely continue to love the hell out the Kenzie Justin just built me though!
Seeing a lot of Pendant SE’s for sale, and just today I finally saw an OG Pendant for sale.
Did people end up not liking the SE upgrade?
I thought the sonic quality of the Pendant was similar to the Quicksilver amp. It was challenging to hear the difference between the two units. Big plus both units are made in the USA.
I just bought a Pendant SE in the last month myself. It’s a pretty tube-dependant amp, but with the right tubes it really sounds amazing. I preferred it over my Forge, which also had killer tubes. Never heard the OG Pendant, but I would prefer the SE to it as it’s reportedly much quieter.
I have the OG Pendant and was considering a cap upgrade which that is what the SE has (plus a different volume attenuator).
That’s why I’m curious.
Todd, you probably saw mine listed on “that other site” for sale. I just bought the Cayin HA300B, debated long and hard on whether to sale the Pendant or not. Still debating, as I got a low-ball offer with little additional interest; would rather hold onto this unit if the market is saturated and/or there’s little interest. I must’ve gotten a quiet OG unit, as I never had any issues with troublesome noise.
How do the 2 amps compare in sound?
Gotcha. The OG Pendant also has difference output impedances at 32 and 300, as opposed to the 8 and 100 on the SE. I know some have commented on the differences there too.
That’s the “OG” OG Pendant. Later editions of the OG Pendant had 8 and 100.
One of the confusing thing about the Pendant is that Justin kept improving things about the amp, but the model never changed until Zach decided to rename it the SE. For instance, I have the last generation OG and it is apparently almost the same as the first generation SE.
Very different, primarily due to the tubes I suspect. I’ve had the Cayin for less than a week but what I’ve noticed is there’s a bit more “weight” to the timbre and a bit more power in sub-base. I attribute that to the 300b tubes. But the Pendant is great in its own right; definitely more neutral and speedier than the Cayin. More like a solid state amp than most tube amps I’ve spent time with.
More I talk about it, the more I’m thinking I might want to just keep the Pendant…