I’ve owned the 341.5 for about a year. I upgraded with all the options and I think the price was near $2500. I chose it because it has a few more watts. I’ve used it with Decware 945 speakers and a pair of custom made Lii Audio Silver 10 s. My system also includes two REL subwoofers. From the deepest bass to the highs, a real smooth performer. Mid range is superb. I prefer the Lii Audio speakers. Not being a professional reviewers, I can only say that everything we throw at it it handles. Best of luck choosing
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.
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Perfect examples of the amp I have is outstanding, but I haven’t heard the other one. I’m more appreciative than that sounds. I’ve just sifted through lots of individually superlative reviews. I have found a very few direct comparisons on different forums, but since the amps also have nicknames (Rachael and SuperZen) and search engines generally return results by the page instead of by the post, it can get complicated to get the right combination of search terms and then sift through and find direct head to head comparisons. The results also depend on the speakers and room and the tubes and the music. General impressions I’ve gotten are that the SE34 is a little warmer and laid back, but makes up for it with more power. The SE84 is more dynamic and precise but can run out of gas (which makes sense if you’re trying for more volume than 2W can get through your speakers). |
cat_doorman, I own the S34I.5 "Rachel", it is all you need, due to 6 watts per channel. Single ended triode amps uses only three internal elements inside of the tube, due to the way it is wired. Lesser elements involved, the lower the distortion. Also single ended amplifiers waveform does not pass the signal to another tube once it passes the 0 point. Pushpull amplifiers usually operate where the waveform trades off signal to another tube once it passes the 0 point. I run my Decware amp with the Decware CSP3 preamp, Decware switchbox, and Decware ZP3 phono stage. The sound is clean, powerful, and realistic. If you choose Deware lower power amps, just make sure you use higher efficiency speakers for compatibility purposes. Good luck. |
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. |
@jacano that sounds like exactly the scenario I wanted to avoid. I had almost made up my mind when I realized that rather than buying more different amps, what I really needed was a better preamp since I’m still using a Schiit Saga+. As it turns out the new pre I ordered is also an integrated amp. Might be interesting to compare a 1W LTA MZ3 to a 2W Zen someday. I never thought to look for that comparison. There should be a special word for a group of amps, like a gaggle, pride, parliament, clowder, or herd. Enjoy your growing collection. |
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