Visiting one of Tokyo’s oldest jazz kissas with filmmaker Nick Dwyer… Last November, I spent an evening visiting listening bars with my friend Nick Dwyer, a New Zealand-born, […]
Decware Super Zen Triode Tube Amplifier: The Audiophile System Builder
An affordable handmade 2.3 watt tube amplifier that hits much harder than its power rating would suggest.
Over the past 23 years, I have had the opportunity to listen to more products than I can possibly remember; the truly superb ones that left such an impression that I contemplated selling an organ or getting a third job — I would say that number is under 20. The Decware SuperZen Triode makes that list without too much effort.
None of them were weird looking or so outlandish that I lay in bed at night sweating next to my spouse knowing that she would divorce me (again) if I made the decision to acquire one. Nothing looks sexier than a restored pair of Quad ESLs or MartinLogan CLZ IIz in a post-modern living room. Having owned a Wavelength Audio Duetto, Fi X, and Emotive Audio Sira, it is fair to say that I am someone who enjoys a good light show.
I have just never had a lot of luck with tube gear that has proven very reliable; the truth is that the tubes were almost always the culprit and that includes some Western Electric 300Bs that detonated for no apparent reason and I balked at spending over $800 (more than 20 years ago) to replace them. Cheap Russian 300B replacements lasted two years before I sold the amplifier.
The Unison Research Triode 25 Integrated Amplifier currently under review sounds absolutely stellar and I’m rather smitten. One of the tubes already put on a strange glow and the crackle through my Q Acoustics 3050i proved to be nothing.
Maybe.
Reliability is huge and that’s what you get when you buy from Decware.
When you order a SuperZen Triode amplifier you get durability, tubes that don’t get driven so hard that they die within months, and superb sound quality.
The Decware SuperZen Triode is a handmade 2.3 watts/channel tube amplifier that hits much harder than its power rating would suggest in a smaller room or home office. There are two pairs of RCA inputs, and it is available with several different bases for additional cost.
It’s built incredibly well by a company that has such a cult following that the waiting list is getting longer and longer with each passing day.
Just how long? Possibly 8 months before your order gets built. Or even longer after taking a recent look at the waiting list.
The amplifier has a rather non-conventional look (12”D x 6”W x 8”H) and absolutely becomes the focal point of any system; both aesthetically and sonically.
This article originally appeared at ecoustics.com and an intro has been published here with permission.
Read the full article: https://www.ecoustics.com/articles/decware-superzen-triode-amplifier/
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