[michaelhigh]

No pics (it didn't happen, right?)...I now own, thanks to daves, a 9-year-old (1-03) Decware SE84C-S Zen Triode Select integrated amp. I am finally in tall cotton as a SET fleapower amp owner, and Klipsch Fortes beg for this kind of amp. I and my Fortes are truly blessed. Steely Dan is singing in the system at the moment, and we're anxiously anticipating the imminent release of Fagan's next, soon I'm told! I've never heard the pianos of Doctor Wu sound this good...

[Mr. Oczka]

Poultrygeist, a couple of quick questions....  Are you driving the Zu omni's with the miniwatt in the picture?  If so, how do they sound?  Another question:  What are the speakers in the background?  Are they a set of Tekton's?

I just acquired a MiniWatt S1 from Roscoiii and am considering speakers to pair with it.

Thanks, Tom

[JLM]

Don't forget the tiny and affordable NuForce Dia, Icon-2, and Icon Amp.  Each is tiny and rated at 18 wpc at 8 ohms.

[JackD201]

I no longer have my 2a3 and 300B SETs. I still have 300B Parallel Single Endeds but at ~16 watts perhaps not exacly low wattage.

In use is the Valvet E1r, 10 wpc Single Ended Class A Solid State, single output device per channel w/ overkill capacitance storage and zero NFB. Sounds similar to 2a3s to these ears.

[aragon63]

Fleawatt TPA3116D2 with built-in, directly wired to the amp, JDS Labs ODAC. (12watts )

[mlundy57]

My low wattage amp is an Oddwatt Poddwatt, 5wpc







Mike

[happyrabbit]

Electra Fidelity 45 Cu.   

[Folsom]

TDA7297; the one I'm using is a rather distant relative to the ones some of you have heard.

[j gale]

How distant? Any details as to what brings it to a higher level than the ones we have heard? Playing with a 5-6 dollar one and find it pretty good.

[nature boy]

Decware SE84C-S EX & Hazen Mods w/ Mullard GZ32 rectifier, Cyro'd SV83 & EH Gold 6922 tubes.   Works well with my EE minimax preamp.

NB

[Folsom]

How distant? Any details as to what brings it to a higher level than the ones we have heard? Playing with a 5-6 dollar one and find it pretty good.

The by far absolute most crucial thing is shielded cables that are connected to ground at the amplifier end only. It's because of the balanced outputs on the amplifier. The + and - do not connect to ground anywhere on the amp board. Then there's the use of OSCON caps, Mcap input caps, resonance dampening here and there, AC filtration, dual bobbin transformer, etc. However the Mundorf Mcap input caps I can't imagine being replaced by anything that isn't very expensive. I don't think the old Blackgates Bipolars even come close.

Without the shielded cables a Zobel helps, but ultimately you get clipping that's friendly, but turns it into a party device and not an audiophile device. With shielded cables I'm able to have somewhat loud listening on 87db X-LS Encore speakers while remaining clear.

The original chinese version sounds "busy" because you're just using standard speaker cables, no zobel, nada. It starts to clip early. You can't get low inductance caps near the chip because of the single file tracings, there's only one power cap. The biggest help you can do is a decent power supply. Also, due to the nature of balanced outputs and some other things about the unit a lot of radiation control is important. The heatsink needs to be grounded for sure, and you're best off trying to get some separation between shielded cables for input and output. The caps are best not being on the same side as the speaker wires, etc.  On and on and on... it's been a long process.

[j gale]

Thanks for the info. I'm very interested in what can be done with this little amp. Any other suggestions for improving it are welcome. It seems to me that it has the potential to be a giant killer. Looking forward to the results for what you mentioned already.   

[Guy 13]

Hi all.
My best (Read: Excellent) and only low amp in my system is my Decware SE84C+
I paid 795 USD in 2008 and up to now I don’t regret my purchase.
It’s only 2wpc but with my Omega 7F – 93db (Open Baffle Dipole) it’s enough for my 13’ W X 16’ L X 10’ H listening room.
I’ve tried several different brands of tubes and end up with the following:
Sovtek 5AR4 + Electro Harmonix 6922 + Electro Harmonix EL84.
In the past 49 years, it’s the best combo I’ve owned.
Of course no system is perfect; therefore I will say that the following points are a little weak or could be improved:
Run a little too hot for my taste.
(Solve the problem with a nearly dead silent floor fan)
The sound stage could be a little more deep and wide.
A Decware preamp could be beneficial with some CD recordings that are recorded below average.
Under the hood/chassis it’s a little crowded to be comfortable doing some repairs, but repairs are rare and it comes with a lifetime warranty, very few manufacturers offer that these days.
Below is a picture on my Decware/Audio 13 beloved SET amplifier.
The Audio 13 front plate is just for fun, to remind me that maybe one day, I will be the owner of a company called Audio 13 selling tube stuff and Open Baffle speakers, but for now, it’s just a dream.



Guy 13

[borism]

My Bottlehead Stereomour (4 W) with JJ 2A3-40s and a Brimar 12AT7 sounds sweet with AK JazzModules and the Crack headphone amplifier with a Chatham 5998 and a Mullard CV4003.

[Docere]

Electra Fidelity 45 Cu.   

Hey Rabbit, those Electra Fidelity amps look real nice. How does it compare to your previous amp? Are you running the 2A3 solids in there or did you purchase 45s?

Cheers,
Ray

[Poultrygeist]

This 9 watt Sure TPA3110 from PE cost $9. Once a 12v lap top PS is connected it's plug and play. The wood case is from Michael's.

If you don't have a TPA 3110/3116 you need to give one a try. Far better than the t-amps I've owned and paired with a YuanJing 6N3 preamp you get near SET performance on a shoe string.

The thread on these at DIYaudio is the longest yet. Same for the one at AK modern.

[ljbrandt]

Fleawatt TPA3116D2 with built-in, directly wired to the amp, JDS Labs ODAC. (12watts )

I see you have both regulated (Astron) and battery power supplies with your fleawatt amp.  Which do you prefer?!