Quality over Quantity watts. Decware tube amp Super Zen TriodeSE84UFO2 

Hii Thomas!!!

What's up man

Done!

Make one to buy him CSS 1TDX and 3 Way Bass module.

Hey Thomas I am curious to know what in the world is your favorite kind of sound coming out of a DAC AMP what do you like out of a DAC

Appreciate that Brian.

If you are the one who posted the video with this system playing, I will say that I was frigg'n *BLOWN AWAY* by the amazing quality of the vocals! ... and, I don't even usually care for vocals : ) I mean, in 40+ years of doing this, I have NEVER heard such astounding vocals! I know the video showcased this amp with DIY speakers, I THINK they were open baffle (which I prefer since my entire system with 2 tall multi-driver line arrays is a completely open baffle dipole system)

@@latheofheaven I didn’t post that, but the midrange and especially vocals are totally amazing with this Zen Amp. I’m using 12in. Single open Baffles in a 22 x 24 barrel shape. If you go on Decware’s website Steve has a few really good sound videos using his different amps and mostly open Baffle speakers that they build. You need headphones to appreciate the sound quality, because he uses a binaural mic.

@@ronniecramer1252 Good to know, thank you! I've always like the open dipole sound. I think your 12" drivers are full range too, right? I also am a big fan of that since in my line arrays with 13 smaller drivers a side, they are all full range with the exception of one ribbon tweeter on each channel about midway which has one capacitor for each, that's it : ) Even though Mr. Decware suggested that the Zen MIGHT drive my towers, I'm thinking that the Torii @20/side would probably be more practical (thus my being anxious for Thomas to stop messing around and review it! :D )

Yeah, been there once, really nice.

All with stock tubes..............then try out some nos tubes.........7320 Siemens.......6P14 EB.................5U4G RCA...........E88CC Telefunken..........E188CC Siemens halske.......CCA siemens /TFK....................

How good it sounds? You keep it?

It sounds great, I would say for the price is very hard to beat. Mine is on the forward and warm side, vocals are fantastic, soundstage is decent. It’s a bit like most reviewers describe it. I was hoping for a tiny bit more airiness and details, but don’t get me wrong I am just knit picking here. I fell in the tube rolling rabbit hole. I had to go back to the originals just to give me a baseline again lol I run it with 107db efficient speakers and it performs fantastic. I also ran it with 97 DB speakers and it’s still went very well. All in all I would say it’s an amp that I use more for relaxing and getting into the music then being analytical. I love it.

I've been waiting 8 months so far.

@@paulmorris1225 seems like a good time to hire an assembler ☺ decware is literally a year behind, not cool for us, and could ruin his business

@@jamesrobinson9176 they're working 2 shifts apparently. He sent amps out for review for the first time in Decware's history to boost sales in order to secure his employees jobs through the pandemic. I guess demand was somewhat higher than anticipated!

I got my torii Jr from decware in 19 and it still took 6 months

Nice, I had some Omega before and yeah those speakers would pair well with this amp.

do you stream from an IOS device? I tried connecting my ipad to my Sprout 100 with an apple camera adapter, but the Sprout did not “read” the connection. wondering if you have been able to do this.

@@garyroman3196 No I don't use any IOS device. Sorry.

What speakers would you recommend?

@@gryphongryph Most Decware speakers will fill the bill.I use the HDT and it is special even without the new silver 8 Lii Audio driver that Decware will offer shortly.

Yeah, who would have known this unknown brand is so good.

@@ThomasAndStereo Me. I’ve been following DECware since they started around 1997.

😫😫😫😫

Me too! Kicking myself. Could have resold it for full price right now if you didn't like it. ....

Nice, maybe I should also reach out to Kevin. Thanks.

Well l am learning everyday.

@@ThomasAndStereo Everyone of us does and each of us at his own pace....I told you sometimes ago (years?) to built your own because it is an excellent way to learn things, it seems you finally decide to do it, good ....and read a little bit of Nelson Pass literature also.

Glad to help!

Just to add, I made a pair of ProAc Response 2.5 clone speakers 4 years ago. I power them with two bi-amped vintage classic 45watt Quad 303’s. The ProAc clones are made with top class components, Miflex Copper, Jantzen silver, Russian PIO capacitors. The amps have been refurbished with Audio Note Kaisei capacitors and everything silver interconnects... Anyway everything has been voiced to get a holographic, lush and warm transparent and focused mid range. The ProAc clones are 86dB and can dip to 83dB on some material but the Quad 303 amplifiers driven by a 6922 and 6J1 line stage is a blissful experience. That is why I’m starting with the Decware CSP3 preamp hopefully to give me supreme control and then perhaps something Decware that will drive my 86dB ProAc clones... We will see...

Yeah, probably a year wait.

Thanks for sharing

I would love to, hope they reach out to me one day or maybe when I have time, I will ask them.

@@ThomasAndStereo Victor Kung at VK Music in Vancouver is very approachable.

It’s really enthralling to hear.

Depends on the speaker but I doubt I will use 300w frequently.

🤔 so you have used most of the power … how loud and often…what speakers AND WHERE WAS YOUR WIFE WHEN YOU DID THIS 😂😉😍😍😍

Agree with your post - but with the right speaker pairing, Forte for me, the Zen plays louder than anyone will ever play music in their home in normal circumstances. It can play house party thumping loud easily with the Klipsch Forte.

Nice, thanks for sharing.

Be careful using an 80 rectifier on an amplifier that was designed to use a 5v-3a rectifier (5u4g)... If you listen to jazz and ,blues And want a little more lag or sag, try using a RCA 5r4gy.it will drop the B+ voltage lower than the 40-48 volts that the 5U4g does. And you won't burn the tube or transformer up in the long run.The voltage drop is about the same for for the 80 which is the four pin predecessor of the eight pin 5y3..

@@dannyalvens5418 Thanks for the tip. I think the adapter I use compensates. I haven’t noticed any problems, only an improvement over the 274s that I have used. Two out of 3 failed early, including the original that shipped with the amplifier - it was DOA, probably due to damage in shipping.

Much appreciated!

Thanks, that project sadly has been put on hold.

I own an original SE34I It is quite different than the later versions, It uses 4 EL34's & each tube has it's own speaker output. 2 of the tubes are wired in Triode & the other 2 are wired in Pseudo Triode. SO it can be operated in 2 tube Pseudo, 2 tube Triode, 4 tube Series, or 4 Tube Parallel. depending on how the speaker wires are hooked up. I bought it about 20 years ago, & Steve did a mod on it called the "Christmas Mod" & It really improved the sound. I think the later SE34I models may have the Mod as standard. & I think the newer versions have a rectifier tube, mine does not. I never get tired of the amp, It sounds great paired with single driver Hornshoppe horns. The little zen amps are great, but if You have a mediocre recording, It will sound horrible, It will reveal everything including the warts.

​@@toxsickdogI remember when "Christmas came early". Which Steve abbreviated as "the CCE mod". Every other audio power pentode can only be run in what you accurately referred to as "Pseudo-Triode" mode. Only the EL34 (& not even the 6CA7!) has a separate pin out for the Suppressor Grid (g3), allowing you to disconnect it (he floats it with a 100nF capacitor to Earth, as I recall🤔). On all the other Power Pentodes, g3 is hard-wired internally to the Cathode. So sure, you can tie g2, the Screen Grid, to the Anode ("Plate") & then pretend that you have achieved a real triode connection, but you actually haven't. All you did was turn a Pentode into a weird sort of Tetrode, & the result is quite disappointing if you've ever heard REAL Power Triodes! Sure, it still (should) sounds better than when it was connected as originally intended as a Pentode, but the improvement is very slight & the sonic "Pentode" character of the Valve remains with almost no perceptible change. I dismissed this "CCE" connection when I first saw it on the Decware site all those years ago as a "gimmick" being overhyped by a guy who probably doesn't know the difference between a transistor and a resistor... I was inclined to try it anyway; maybe in some other form like either just omitting the capacitor & leaving the Suppressor Grid completely disconnected to anything, or to try a "true" triode connection where both the g2 & g3 are connected to the Anode. But g3 is usually rated at a maximum of 0V(!), & no higher than 28V on any other Power Pentodes, & even those aren't Audio Valve types! So I basically never got around to trying it because I considered the risk of damage to both the EL34 & the output transformer to be too risky. Well, the CCE mod faded out of audio memory, but Decware itself didn't; despite my smug prediction that it would.🤓🤔 Now, there's ONE other Audio Power Pentode besides the EL34 that actually can allow you to make the CCE connection, if you dare: the 6GK6. It's the EL84/6BQ5 your mother never told you about (& probably Steve, too...🤫), the improved & more reliable version made for Television Sets! You'd have to rewire the EL84 sockets, since the pin assignments are very different. But on top of being able to try the "CCE mod" on a 6BQ5 (because the 6GK6 IS electrically the exact same Valve!), you also gain access to an otherwise unused & unwanted Valve that as a result sells for alot less money than a 6BQ5/EL84 does (never mind that Russian 6П15П-ЕВ piece of 💩)...AND you'll be buying NOS from a Western Tube Company, likely Amperex, Mullard, Valvo, RCA, Sylvania, or GE! Reason alone to switch over to the 6GK6, even if you never want to try to blow up your amp running the CCE mod...😘

Yeah, I might review that SQ-N150, I bought it and usually I don't have time to review my own gear.

Yes, got the same speakers and considering both. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Welcome aboard! Sorry I don't know what does GAS mean.

Yeah, that works as long as the speakers are not too far away.

What amp?😁😁😁

@@ThomasAndStereo can’t have mine either!

Mark, Appreciate your insights into the Zen. I see in the video that you have a Freya / Freya+. How does the Freya pair with the Decware? Does the active Tube gain stage of the Freya synergize with the Zen to increase dynamics? Sound density? Is it a good pairing?

@@derekf7772 - the Freya was lent to me from Thomas with the onyx mono blocks. I use the zen as an integrated / no pre amp connected

If you can adjust your phono stage then you might be able to improve that. I am currently using a moving magnet cartridge through the Tavish Design Classic phono stage. I’m going to go back to the user guide and see what options I have to increase the gain.

You get about 75% out of this Zen with the Rp600m. Still sounds good.

@@ThomasAndStereo makes sense, $600 speaker.

Not yet, hopefully one day

Thanks, look at my latest video on break in and I show the Torii MK5 amp Decware sent me!

@@ThomasAndStereo Oh, I did watch that, it was excellent! Ah, but I didn't see the Torii, awesome! *THAT's* the one I'll likely have my eye on because it is 20/side and should drive my high-end towers. That's the nice thing about tri-amping, you can adjust the low/high-end balance but WITHOUT having tone controls in the signal path! 😊 A recording is a little dark, bring up the dual-mono Sherwoods (or eventually maybe the Torii!) If a pressing is a little bright, bring up the Crown driving the 2-15" dipole woofers a little. Perfect!

Yup, just have to patiently wait for 8 months.

@@ThomasAndStereo i just bought a drum set so i can't afford it any time aoon anyways hopefully the wait will get better

Please do.

Hi Richard If you don't mind letting me know how how it pair's up with the khorns, I thinking I will get this amp for my khorns. Thank you you and hope they sound great. Rudy

Rudy its working great...sounds wonderful...I put a couple videos on utube but can't really tell how good it sounds. That's if they even let you listen to em...dam copyright laws.

Thank you Richard for the feed back. I'm currently running mc275 monoblocks and was wondering if these may be a better match than the 275s for the khorns. I will check out you video. Thanks again. And enjoy

Oh they have online stores for that and usually it is no problem shipping at all.

Try valvesandmore (the stores name) , he’s genuine and Canadian with explanation and NOS tubes or newer that he has tested and reviewing that you can get quality by knowing your seller . Fun informative

It is the most recent base UFO2 model with no extra upgrades. Wood base and volume knob are walnut - and look amazing.

When I ordered my amp… I live 15 minutes away so I went there an talked to Steve… he encouraged me to order it bone stock. “Live with it and figure it out. Then feel free to send it in for mods, if you want.” I have a 20W Torii Jr… but still. Steve’s a really straight shooter. Why would a business owner tell you to NOT buy upgrades at first? He just wanted me to have a great experience… a journey.

@Winston Smith - I don't use a preamp.

Thanks Marc-Andre. Yes, you are first!

Nah I did not review the Totem sky yet, maybe I should one day. PEI looks amazing.

My friend already had the EVO 400 integrated and it is good but I wish it was more tuby sounding.

@@ThomasAndStereo Many thanks for the input. Appreciate it!

Primaluna can’t not be heard as is with factory tubes. To me, any tube amp from the factory is just a starting point, a platform for exploring a wide variety of NOS tubes out there. Primaluna can sound a lot more “tubey” without the old fashion bloom, as long as the right blend of NOS tubes are rolled in. In triode mode with Siemens EL34 and RCA/Tungsram/Radiotechniques/Brimar input tubes it is warm, lush and holographic for 60s Jazz/Sinatra/JulieLondon style of music. In Ultralinear mode with KT-120s, and Mazda/Amperex-Philips/Telefunkens input tubes, it can satisfy the imaging, wide soundstage and dynamic range required by classical solos and orchestras, rock and any contemporary music. Best of all is the auto-biasing for a wide range of tubes, even non perfectly matching tubes.

@@cjpriustt Thanks for your inputs too.

The mids on the Zen is better than the R8. Have not tried enough of the R800i yet to know.

There’s a reason Steve chose tube rectification and point-to-point wiring - just saying, but sincerely, good luck!

I’m just about to get my ZKIT2 monoblocks assembled. While it’s circuit board based and solid state rectified, I’m going to be able to build them for about ⅓ the cost of the assembled amps. That works out to about $600 versus $2,000 for the assembled amps. Plus, there’s no roughly eight month wait to contend with. I have high hopes. If I’m not happy with them, I can always rewire them point to point if so inclined.