Is all the hype warranted


I've been seeing alot of glowing reviews of Decware amps over the last couple days. Particularly their Zen Torii and ZMA amps.  Andrew Robinson, Steve Gutenburg, Harley Longrove and Jay are all gushing about Decware.  For those tube guys out there, is Decware that good? Is the hype warranted?

sandrodg73

Read the Decware forums.  These amps have a cult following for a reason.  I've owned a SE84UFO for years it is a very special piece of equipment.  I've learned so much from this amp for minimal amounts of money.  Tube rolling of NOS tubes for several dollars a tube.  The amp provides switches to change the presentation and has been rock solid with a LIFETIME warranty.  It is the best 2 watts out there for the money.  I finally just purchased a new amp but paid 7 times what I paid for the Decware new, to improve on the sound the Decware provided.  The wait for a new one is insane which is the only reason I went for different brand.

I have an older Taboo which I love.  It's rated at 6wpc and I use it in my home office system paired with my Vienna Acoustics speakers, (90db).  I really love it, especially with the Lucid mode engaged.  That's how I always run it.  The stock tubes that it comes with are good, but I have a number of vintage Telefunken, Valvo, Siemens etc. tubes I have run in it which really brought it to life.  My current combo is a vintage Telefunken ECC83 and a set of vintage Valvo EL84's.  It sounds fantastic even though it can't get very loud due to only 6wpc, but that's OK with me.  

 

Give it 6 months and they’ll be a ton on the used market. All hype and marketing. I’m sure it sounds good but all these adhd guys in this hobby will soon tire of them.