AudioCircle
Audio/Video Gear and Systems => Low Wattage Systems => Topic started by: chgolatin2 on 2 Apr 2019, 12:08 pm
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I came across Decware, an Illinois tube amp audio maker and looking at their Zen Torii MK2 and also the Glow amp 2. One cost 3k the other on sale for $888 since I’ve never tried a SET amp before I’m not sure if I should spend 4K on an amp even though the Decware amp looks freakishly amazing.
If you were in my shoes what route would you take in order to dive into low wattage tube systems?
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If your speakers are high sensitivity, why not look at Decware's Super Zen Triode? It's way closer to the Glow Amp 2 price.
I have heard Decware gear and it's impressive. Many Omega owners love the mating.
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Just to add another option for low power SET amplifiers - Bottlehead. It is a DIY kit and as such very rewarding in my opinion. I built the Stereomour a 2A3 integrated amplifier 5 years ago and it's still in daily use.
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Your choice should be highly based on the speakers you plan to use it with. The second consideration is if you tend to swap gear a lot : Do you plan to keep it a long time (so depreciation is less of an issue) or is this more of an experimental step? I also consider the availability of service and product support an important factor too.
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Your post is a bit confusing; the Torii MK IV is the current model and it is a p/p pentode amp.
The SE84 and SE34I are set amps, the Mini Torii is a sep amp, and the Torii JR is a p/p UL? amp.
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What speakers are you running?
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chgolatin2 may be referring to the Decware Mini Torii (4 wpc SET). Note that they offer a Mini Torii, Torii Junior, and Zen Torii. The Mini and Zen have been released in 4 different versions that I'm aware of. Their model number abbreviations add to the confusion. The current Mini can price out at $2995 with options.
I home auditioned the original Torii (now known as Zen Torii) roughly 15 years ago. It had loads of tube palpability - too much of a good thing, and tons of bass bloat at least with my speakers. It was conservatively rated at 12 wpc (but deemed to not be enough in my case - at the time it was Decware's highest output amp). It came to me thanks to a kind customer who had sent it back for some sort of repairs and I got it direct from the factory, yet it had a very nasty intermittent distortion, so back to Decware it went again, and I wrote off Decware. But that palpability haunted me and a few years ago I considered one of their bigger amps, but never pulled the trigger. Note that Steve Deckert offered a nice discount up front on that amp.
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My experience with the original Blue Torii driving hot rod Legacy Classics was very favorable with loads of great bass.
If interested in how different the original Torii is from the MKII (III and IV are just refinements of the MKII design) read the link below starting with part II.
http://www.decware.com/paper68.htm
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I came across Decware, an Illinois tube amp audio maker and looking at their Zen Torii MK2 and also the Glow amp 2. One cost 3k the other on sale for $888 since I’ve never tried a SET amp before I’m not sure if I should spend 4K on an amp even though the Decware amp looks freakishly amazing.
If you were in my shoes what route would you take in order to dive into low wattage tube systems?
(http://www.hostpic.org/images/1904052028140101.jpg) (http://www.hostpic.org/view.php?filename=1904052028140101.jpg)
http://www.musicalparadise.ca/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=54
It's auto biasing and responds well to tube rolling.