Decware - any substance here?

They ARE dead quiet. No spitting, sparks, smoke or humming. No glue or cheap Chinese parts inside and no gaudy exteriors. Their value far exceeds their price, which galls some audio consumers who buy in part based upon a large price tag.

The designer will make himself available for personal one-on-one conversations about the equipment and its use. They make products for the love of good sound, not just to achieve a pre-determined profit margin.

"Genuine" reviews? There are plenty of them; some are linked or posted on the DECWARE site. A 6Moons review of the original TABOO comes to mind. In addition to that, there are a plethora of detailed posts regarding use and enjoyment of DECWARE equipment.

I have owned several pieces of DECWARE equipment and have been happy and satisfied with each one. The products go through updating and revisions in the quest for continual improvement.

Not going to RMAF? So what. The don't need to. They are quiet company that maintains a low key profile; they do not engage in specious self promotion either.

" . . .that once experienced they don't have the typical audiophile itch to try other amps. I'm specifically struck by the new Torii MKIII push-pull amp, which in description and looks is just beautiful. . . ."

Duh. If somebody likes the DECWARE equipment it is logical not to look elsewhere.

I used to own a Decware phono stage. Never had any problem with it. In fact it was better than a certain solid state phono stage at the time that was garnering rave reviews and cost 3 times as much as the Decware unit.

I'd love to try a set of their speakers some day. Steve knows what he is doing and his business model is quite refreshing. Great sound does not have to cost a lot. Looks and price seldom equate to better sound. A well designed circuit using good parts with outstanding build quality and thorough testing should be good enough enough for anyone.

I had to learn that the hard ($$$$) way.

I own the CSP2 Pre-amp, and it is a workhorse in my system

CSP2-->20ft DH Labs BL-1 RCA--->Wyred4sound SX-500 mono amps
into Magnepan MMG's

I have to put my ears to the MMG's to hear any noise,hiss, or hum

and the headphone output (Sennheiser HD-650) gets a lot of use

and they are nice looking pieces of equipment, well made

great product, at a fair price

I have a Zen Select. I love it. I wish I had more Decware gear. I wish I bought Decware first. I would have saved thousands of dollars.

The four Decware amps I metioned in my first post are not the only Decware products I have purchased. I also have the phono stage, ZT preamp, HDT's and the RL3 speakers.

All of Decware's offerings are bargins in todays audiophile pricing structure. I still own all of them except the "blue torii".

My "not dead quiet" comment needs more description. I am using the Torri mkII to amplify the mid range (560hz-3350hz) into a 118 db efficient compression driver.Any tube amp will hiss a little when used this way. Power from the Decware amps is low. What do you expect from SET amps. Even the push pull Torrii can not be considered hi power.

Having owned many powerful amps, which were not really musical, I have become fond of the saying " if the first watt s*uks why continue?". So if you have an exciting musical amp and it happens to be lo power- go get some more efficient speakers if it won't play loud enough.

I have voted with my pocket book, DECWARE is a winner!