If you've been in this industry for a long time, you know Zed Audio came up with some pretty stout designs for more than a few popular brand names. However, I never tested anything stamped with their own name. Large, heavy and serious looking, the Zed Audio Gladius is a 2-channel amplifier. Rated at 75 watts continuous power per channel, it sells for the very reasonable price of $250. The name Gladius may remind you of another brand using the names Roman and Norse over 20 years ago - the connection is not a coincidence.
So who are these guys and what are they all about? Zed Audio began in 1983 when pro audio engineer/hobbyist Stephen Mantz decided to move from his home in South Africa to the U.S. to start an amplifier manufacturing company. Since then, Zed Audio has built some of the finest 12-volt equipment available, including the original legendary Hifonics amps (hence the connection) as well as some gear for companies that no longer exist.
Zed amplifiers for mobile use are the culmination of over 25 years of experience in the manufacture and design of audio amplifiers. The philosophies that Zed Audio uses to design and build their products are what I call "outside the box" thinking. Happily it's actually original thinking, not merely a cheaper version of someone else's work. And the results of the original thinking? Quite amazing actually. Read on and you'll find out what I learned.
The Gladius amp that was dropped off at the lab immediately caught my attention, particularly when I casually thumbed through the extremely informative and entertaining owner's manual. Here was a company that wasn't afraid to tell things as they saw them and burst a few urban myth bubbles in the process. I think the manual should almost be required reading for anyone new to the industry or anyone pursuing a career in it. Do yourself a favor, and check out the Zed Audio website. You'll find some very interesting, informative and thought provoking reading.
But I'm getting off track here. Back to the amp.
The Gladius is a rather robust, industrial-looking device, measuring about 12.375" x 12" x 3". Weighing in at an attention-grabbing 16 pounds, you get the impression it's no garden variety 75-watts-per-channel amp.
The heatsink is a relatively average-looking finned extrusion, finished in a matte brushed aluminum color, with gold-plated hex head bolts as contrast. On each corner of the amp, bolt-on "pillars" internally conceal the amp's mounting feet. To be honest, while the fit and finish is very good, I don't care much for the cosmetics of the Gladius, but in this instance I feel good paraphrasing Plato: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
DesignThe Gladius amp uses a highly regulated and thoughtfully designed power supply. The innovative design results in low noise, reasonable efficiency and provides an unfaltering voltage supply and current to the output section. Inside the amplifier I found more evidence that it's a "thinking man's" amp. There's a high-quality, symmetrically laid-out double-sided pcb, using parts appropriate to that part of the amplifier, rather than "whatever we had a bucket of." For example, when a polystyrene cap is the best part to use, like in a crossover for example, that's what you'll find. But when a ceramic capacitor is the most appropriate type of cap to use, it's there instead. This tells me that the engineer gave a damn about the way the amp would sound and that attention to detail is part of what makes the amp unique. Sad to say, but there aren't many brands out there that take the time to care, since the end result is admittedly only a small difference. But for those of you who do care about such things, here is one amp that will make you happy.