What output on the A70 are you plugging your Zeus Elites into? If it's the unbalanced, there's a chance the A70 wouldn't be optimized with it in mind (as a fully balanced design) and may change the sound. Because it's fully balanced, connecting the Element III to it via RCA (instead of XLR) may further change the sound.
I am only speculating though, so take this with a grain of salt. For all I know, as long as there's no audible distortion, the inputs and outputs may not change anything besides volume.
Dianne Reeves, Steely Dan, and Robben Ford are wonderful artists worth checking out (HD 800 or not). Slower genres like jazz, vocals, acoustic, ambient/lofi, orchestral, and big band/live performances are such a pleasure with them.