Sounddomain was down earlier today...that's why the link may be dead.
That link is to the Titanium colored head...take the ti off of the url and you go to the all aluminum head. IMO this is one of the best looking heads on the market. No frills...just brushed aluminum. Gives it an air of seriousness and robustness that is lost in today's units that look like they are designed by 5 year olds with some crayola crayons.
This is not a R or Z1 - it is in fact a rebadged Denon A1N - the predecessor to the Z1 (the other denons can be found at
www.redmountainaudio.com). The history of these units goes as follows (forgive me if there is a mistake in the story, this is off memory and is from a very reliable second hand source). These units were actually for sale in Japan. They didn't sell well b/c you can pay a few bucks more and get the real deal (Denon). If you understand the difference between the Japanese market and the US market, the posts here (while disturbing IMO, make total sense).
The Japanese market realizes high quality and is willing to pay for it. A good example is the Alpine lineup - In Japan, the 98XX series come with a Toslink optical output on them....the only heads in the US with that distinction...the 7996, D900 and 7990!!! In addition, even Pioneers SQ setup in the states (DEQ-P9 and DEX-P9) are not the cream of the crop in Japan where the Carrozoria (sp?) lineup, as it's called, features enhanced components, with an enhanced price tag of course.
The Japanese recognize a quality product, and are willing to pay for it. In north america, we want a huge list of features (that can often degrade sound quality), we want it to be shiny and "pretty", light up like Times Square, and we don't care if it breaks in two years. This is why you get all the requests for on board amplifiers (yuck), MP3 (double yuck) and the like.
The bottom line is that the units never sold (even Phoenix Gold had a few rebadged but scrapped the idea) and they were offered to US distributors at a reduced price. Most of RF doesn't even know that this head unit existed - or at least didn't until just recently. Until this deal, you had to get someone from Japan to import it for you. The tuner was reworked for US frequencies, and basically Sounddomain bought up a ton of these units and are clearing them out at crack head prices.
I'll be the first to say, this unit is not for everyone. I wouldn't recommend it to most general consumers because they can't/won't appreciate the quality of this unit. But to the discerning ear, and to those who just want a transport with a built in DAC, this is one of the buys of the century!!!
From an audiophile standpoint, it's a true competition piece...
One thing to consider is that this unit comes with no "cage" so it will only work in a custom installation (or if you have a Nissan or Toyota) an ISO installation.
As far as sounddomain is concerned...I've had good and bad experiences. First off...they are an Authorized dealer for most everything they sell. Call the MANUFACTURER and ask about warranties before you buy elsewhere. For example, SD is the only autorized Image Dynamics dealer on the net. They sell Xtant authroized as well. These are high end brands that you can't find else where at great prices. If you are happy with the crutchfield brands (I'm not real happy that they sold out and started stocking auto accessories) then stick with them. Crutchfield is a great company who provides good service as well.
Saving a few $$ on an item, then it breaks and you find out you have no warranty coverage....well, this is something I've never understood!! Because of the internet, people have become so price concious that they have failed to realize that when you buy an item, you are paying more for then what comes in the box!!
I would not call sounddomain expensive by any stretch if you consider the value added by their warranty service. They will also price match other dealers and they are not a fly by night operation.
Hope that clears things up, sorry for the long post. I'm in no way affiliated with any of these companies. Just trying to spread some truths about the unit from an audiophile's standpoint.