I have a Zpre3 in a fairly good system. It's not a bad preamp but it's not that spectacular. Not even close to my old PHP850. Your unit seems to be not up to specifications. Perhaps change your interconnects to isolate the problem.
Parasound Zpre3 SQ
Hi all,
I'm not sure if this is a good place for this, but it appears that I don't have many options anymore, since Parasound no longer supports their products unless you order from them direct.
I have a Zpre3 - its in a stack with a Zamp and a ZDac. I've determined that the pre is the culprit here. It is injecting a lot of overprocessing noise and totally thins out the highs and the lows. It reminds me of what a home theater receiver with one of those overprocessed DSP modes turned on sounds like. I don't see any settings that would cause this on the unit, and I'm suspecting it may be a defunct piece.
I have a NC 200 that sounds absolutely wonderful in the same setup. Does anyone have advice about this particular unit? (Zpre3) I've seen a number of different people on the forums here talk wonderful things about it, and am worried I may be missing something.