FAQs
Z&H Designs
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Z&H stands for our sonic design philosophy: Zen and Hit.
It comes from the old oriental wisdom - imagine the routine of monks. You see them sitting there and chanting sutras a lot, which is a major part of meditation that helps them achieve "Zen". In the territory of Zen, you are free from all the chaos of this world. We use plenty of high-capacity components, precisely matching transistors, and sophisticated discrete high-voltage op amps, in order to facilitate "Zen". They sound clean and clear without being tasteless. There is a sense of musical vibe which cannot be replicated by software.
In contrast, the "Hit" also comes from monks themselves. It is fascinating that they would practice martial arts, too. Although Buddha is supposed to give mercy, it is sometimes required to use force. It aligns with our idea perfectly - being faithful and clean would demonstrate our quality, but we need to spice up the track form time to time. It is relatively easier to achieve "Hit" by introducing distortion and harmonics, while the core of our design is to keep such characteristics enjoyable and controllable. We custom-made almost all transformers out there by hand, and experimented with almost all classical discrete driver circuits.
We eventually found the modern transformers to be quite consistent across the spectrum, while driver circuits turned out disruptive. Different combinations between transistors and driver circuits would cook very different results, defining the musical side of our gear. The subtleties of transients smoothify the sound - along with some intriguing distortion, many of our models are born with unique "Hit" expressions. Those manageable flavours are what we call the beauty of analog gear.
When Zen & Hit join forces, it reaches an harmony. It is about Yinyang, about the nature, and about the humanity. -
As a UK-registered brand, today, all our units are handmade and tested in Shanghai, China.
Considering the fact that this is one of the most expensive cities in the world (beats London), it is about quality instead of cost:
The city has deep roots in precision manufacturing (Tesla entrusts to build vehicles here). This is where a lot of popular high-end pro audio products above USD 2K are made, partially or in whole. Making gear in Shanghai means we are able to keep great craftsmen and access great components. In fact, we could only achieve the replication of 1178 here, for the access to discontinued parts. It also means a stable production schedule, keeping all models available in most of the time.
The city has great musical culture. This is where China's best musical school is. Within a 2-mile radius are countless studios including one of ours. There are over 100 musical stores in this city, along with companies conducting big productions (Ubisoft, miHoYo, Tencent, etc.). We will always have legit projects to test our products with. Before a model comes out, it should already have been used a lot by ourselves and many talented musicians.
Therefore, although it is not usually interpreted that way, Shanghai is arguably the best location to build pro audio gear. We find it an advantage and are proud to be able to run such an operation.
Ordering
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If a product has local reseller, you will be directed to their page to make a purchase.
For those we sell directly, we ship to wherever in the world deliverable by UPS, FedEx, and other legit carriers.
Less popular desitinations may not be listed at the checkout. Please contact us so that we can look into shipping options for you.
We ship from Shanghai, China, where your gear gets handmade and tested. -
Orders above USD 250 / GBP 208 enjoy free shipping, while smaller orders will have to pay a flat shipping fee (approx. USD 20) by default.
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It takes up to 2 business days to process your order, followed by 5-10 business days with carrier to most destinations.
Certain products may take longer to process, which will be stated on their product pages.
Shipping will be handled by UPS or FedEx in most cases. You will receive a tracking ID 2-3 business days after your order.
A phone number is required by the carrier.
Customisation and Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) requests will cause longer processing / shipping time. -
(Please do not let the carrier fill in any clearance form on behalf of you. Otherwise, they may charge you a service fee on top.)
The default shipping option requires customers to pay import charges (VAT/tax & duty) in the event when it is necessary, as the package approaches its destination. Please be aware that the prices displayed on this website are VAT/tax excluded.
To help customers avoid unexptected charges, we offer DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) shipping to many destinations, which will be available at checkout. These destinations include:
· United States
· European Union
· United Kingdom
· Canada
· Australia
· Indonesia
· Vietnam
If you need help with custom duty, we are open to discuss. Please contact us.
Sometimes, DDP shipping may not be available to a less popular destination. In such cases, we will figure out a case-by-case solution.
Meanwhile, to our knowledge, those destinations charge zero rate:
· Hong Kong SAR
· Macau SAR
· Brunei -
With all the hopes that you would be happy with our product, if you are not completely satisfied with your purchase for any reason, you may return it to us for a full refund.
You have 14 days to try out the unit after receiving your item to request a return.
To be eligible for a return, your item must be in the same condition that you received it, new or unused, with tags, and in its original packaging. You’ll also need the receipt or proof of purchase.
To start a return, you can contact us at store@zhdesigns.audio. Please note that returns will need to be sent to a reasonable designated location at your own cost.
If your return is accepted, we’ll send you a return shipping label, as well as instructions on how and where to send your package. Items sent back to us without first requesting a return will not be accepted.
You can always contact us for any return question at store@zhdesigns.audio. -
We offer a 5-year warranty to our pro audio gear (and a 2-year warranty to parts sold alone due to the difficulty to inspect the issue).
Within the warranty period, if a product suffers from a defect, you are welcomed to let us cover the cost to repair, which should be conducted by a designated service center.
In case you have to repair on your own / turn to other repair shops, please provide a quote before proceeding. We may not agree to cover the cost without approving the quote in advance.
Exchange is an option if a defect is found within 30 days of delivery. Please acknowledge it may not always be the most efficient solution. We reserve the right to instruct a repair unless your local legislation specifies your right to request an exchange. To exchange, we may instruct you to send the unit to a reasonable location and reimburse the mailing fee.
Return is an option if a major defect is found within 7 days of delivery.
All reimbursements and refunds will be initiated within 2 business days upon agreement. The transaction takes 3-10 days to reach your account. -
Although we cannot guarantee the time to respond to such requests, we do accept up to two samples each within 30 seconds for a maximum of 3 products. Please email to store@zhdesign.audio.
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We support these payment methods on this website:
· Paypal
· Visa
· Mastercard
· Maestro
· American Express
· Discover
· Diners Club
· UnionPay (银联)
· Apple Pay
· Google Pay
· Klarna (EEA, UK, and Switzerland)
If you need a payment link for business, please contact us through store@zhdesigns.audio.
Customisation
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For models with customiser:
The general rule is that knob customisation takes 7 days to process, while panel customisation takes 14 days.
The additional charges are displayed as you preview.
You could send us your own design for a mockup. We will quote along.
The customiser gives you a faithful mockup to the customisation, yet it will not be 100% the same as the final result. Upon finishing, we will send you photos / videos for approval.
We acknowledge that some locations may not have great internet connection to the customiser. You could use a VPN or go to our social media pages to find out the latest available customisations and request a mockup.
EU customers may see a very small price difference (< EUR 1.00) across different stages due to currency exchange and rounding.
For models / features without customiser:
The customisation (of any form) is available upon request.
Important notes:
The additional charge due to customisation is not refundable. You could still switch to another customisation with available parts if appearance is the concern. In case you decide to give up the unit, the maximum amount to refund is the base price of the model.
You will not be provided with the original parts that were replaced by the custom parts. We could ship them along for a discount upon request. -
The warranty will only cover functional aspects. A custom unit that was approved by you before shipping shall not accept further disputes on its appearance.