2. amps-preamps
  3. 1283540711

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...?
jtnicolosi

Showing 3 responses by douger

douger
104 posts
 
This is all very exciting to me, as I am waiting for my Tori III due end of April or early May. I am happy with my PrimaLuna Prologue 5 and my Bottlehead 300B Paramounts, but after reading about the Tori I knew I would have to take the test... My Tannoy Canterbury SE's are pumped... I'll let you know.
douger
104 posts
 
First, I am sorry that Pubul57 is no longer with us since 4-16. He was a very fine gentleman. My Torii MKIII was completed in Mid-May, but I arranged to pick it up on June 4.
Steve, DeVon and Sarah were very gracious as always, and my amp was actually running when I arrived, and had 20-25 hours on it. Cool, that much closer to break-in! When I got it home I played the Irrational But Efficacious CD and that day it lost all harshness and has been utterly magical since! It is a very synergistic match with my Tannoys... I am blessed and grateful!
douger
104 posts
 
Now that I have had my Torii MKIII for nearly two months, I am ready to make an educated comparison with my other amps.
My Bottlehead 300B Paramounts are a great bargain, and a great way to experience 300B goodness on a budget. They give
world-class clarity using EH Gold tubes, and with my Clarity
speaker cables they have serious 8 watts each indeed...

Then I have my PrimaLuna Prologue 5 stereo amp, Gold Lion KT88s, no NFB, 36wpc. This amp is very clean and powerful into my 96dB Tannoy Canterbury SEs, very smooth and involving, also very cost-effective and reliable. It gives a very good account of the music, and not bad space...

My Torii MK III exhibits very high power with excellent clarity and it increases the level of detail, with no hifi artifacts at all, just the music.

I hope my economic world doesn't collapse so I don't have to sell any of them, but the Torii is really special!
More to discover