I was ready to buy in pairs, so recently I got a TORII V and an UFO2. I’d say the difference in the case of these 2 is the power, 20 W vs 2 (I think). But the sounds are very close, and excellent in both cases. The UFO2 will work perfectly in a small - medium room with the right speakers, while the TORII V (and I assume the SE34I.5) could be used in a more spacious room. I also ordered both amps with the idea of sellingl one of them, but I think I may keep both. I switch between both and I enjoy the experience immensely, 2 masterpieces.
Any direct comparisons between Decware SE34I.5 and SE84UFO2?
I’ve been unsuccessful finding many listening notes contrasting the character and tone of the 2 models. With the current long lead times I guess I could just order both and then easily sell one, but I’m not ready to start buying amps 2 at a time yet. (And if they’re any where near as good as the individual reviews claim, I’d probably end up keeping both.)
For my personal set up I’m not overly concerned about the power output difference. Either should be fine with Zu Soul Supremes. I have a Primaluna now so I have a few EL34 compatible tubes I could use, but I don’t have a benchmark on how different the same tube in a different amp would be. I realize both amps are using a pentode tube as a triode, but I’m not sure how different that is from a true triode SET.
There’s an element of ongoing exploration here. The easy answer is to try everything, but time and money are limiting factors. Is triode mode on the Primaluna giving me an idea of what to expect from a SET amp? Seems like having at least one of these is worthwhile even if some fancy boutique 300B monoblocks might be in my eventual future (the exception to the rule against buying 2 amps at once).
Please chime in with firsthand (or even secondhand) anecdotes, links to reviews I’ve missed, better search terms, cat pictures, or knock-knock jokes. Thanks.