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Decware - any substance here?

With such a nice and extensively detailed website, I've long been curious about Decware. But with little in the way of genuine reviews, and not much in the way of discussion here, I always wonder if they are nothing more than that, a great website. They clearly have a dedicated fanbase, but my problem with the fanbase is this: most of them (not all of course) seem to have limited experience with products besides Decware, as if they stumbled upon Decware and never bothered with other brands. Maybe this is positive, 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. So does it interest anyone here? Has anyone actually heard it, or it's previous incarnations? If so how does it rate amongst the other quality tube amps, whether Blue Circle, Cary, Vac, Almarro, Atma-Sphere, etc...?
128x128jtnicolosi
gopher
499 posts
 
Jwt,

From what you've written it sounds like the Torii is hyper resolving--is it ever distractingly so? I favor musicality, tone and dynamics over uber-detail. Do you think the amp errs to the analytical side at all?

For example, I have owned and ultimately sold Atma-sphere which seemed to do most things very right and impressively, but ultimately was uninvolving for my preferences.

The Torii is a serious contender for me--especially wanting a successor that sounds as good or better than my 845 SET without being as big a safety hazard to my infant son/putting out as much heat.
abcxyz
6 posts
 
What I meant by very detailed at low levels, was that you hear all the notes of the music clearly at a very low level without needing to have it playing fairly loud to distingush all the instruments in the music. I would not call the amps i heard hyper resolving or analytical but more like a pleasantly dimensional sound of music.
mystang
74 posts
 
JWT are you useing a preamp or source direct into the Torii?

I,am also curious about the trebel and bass switches and how easy is it to set them for your speakers?

How much heat do all the tubes in this design put out minimal medium or alot?
cfluxa's avatar
cfluxa
127 posts
 
Would anybody be able to relate experiences comparing Decware amps to Almarro?
dies_irae's avatar
dies_irae
7 posts
 
I understand why a low profile designer/manufacturer, especially one a bit iconoclastic and with a dedicated fan base, might generate some of these impressions, but in my dealings with the Decware community, I believe these are inaccurate impressions. Many in the Decware user base have in fact been all over the map with product, and some might be relatively untested, but once seduced, stay seduced. ;-). I came to Decware late in life, having been a builder or owner of everything from Dynakits as a youngster to Carver to Quad (electronics and speakers), Linn, Infinity, Conrad-Johnson, Maggies, Acoustats, Transcendence, etc. So, please try not to form impressions about a product based on misinformation about its customers.
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