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 1 response by hygienist

I'm strongly considering the Torii MK III, but I'm in a delicate situation.

I'm pursuing a system that maximizes involvement and vocals (a romantic sound, basically), and though I don't have anything against accuracy/detail/dynamics/bass, I'll sacrifice them without a second thought if it gets me more of those two traits.

So, would the Torii be for me? It seems most people are espousing the traits like detail/bass/dynamics that I do not care about, whereas I've heard worrying things about involvement and vocals. In regards to involvement, I've heard from one person this errs more towards an intellectual presentation than an emotional one. Not that the Torii isn't emotional, but if I'm searching for the most emotional/involving amp possible, would I be directed towards the Torii? I also haven't heard much about the vocals, which to me I guess means they're good but not a standout, I'd suppose?

It's a sticky issue for me whether or not to audition, mostly because I can't. I'm sitting on Cary 805C monoblocks that I just purchased, and I'm trying to figure out whether I made the wrong decision and I should just get the Torii. I don't have a pre-amp, so I'll have to buy one, and after that I just don't have the money to float to get a Torii.