Decware. The Best Amp Ever? Andrew Robinson Seems To Think So

Audio Components Amplifiers
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Interesting. I’m pretty sure he was just describing the speaker cable as being from microwave facility use. I know his speaker cable is that mil-spec silver plated copper. I used that for years as well. On the website he is still showing only the silver top of the line interconnects and the copper “DAG” versions.

https://www.decware.com/newsite/newdsr.htm

Yes due to availability Steve has moved from Jupiter beeswax caps to Miflex copper foil.I have those in my ZROCK2 now, put in place by Steve replacing the Jupiter caps I had in there for years and they are very similar if perhaps a bit more transparent and a tiny bit leaner. The pandemic supply changes have I notice impacted a lot of industries! And pricing. I think he sells fewer SE84UFO3 than other amps and it doesn’t surprise me that he did not have a pair on hand. Stock, without the 25th anniversary mods it’s not the same amp the SE84UFO25 is, but with the mods he put in mine it’s right there circuit wise with a bit more power, and it came out about the same price as the SE84UFO25 without the fancy green chassis and meters, which aren’t my aesthetic. I think you’ll be quite happy with your choice.

I’m certainly interested in your speaker experience and impressions. Take your time.

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He led me to believe the interconnects were the same construction as the speaker cables. Either I misunderstood or he did. Yeah, as he kept side stepping the mono block question my read was they weren’t available, and as you say I’d want to hear the 25th anniversary edition mono block which is most likely custom order only.

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I think were the interconnects made from the same wire as the speaker cable they wouldn’t have looked as they do in the photo. But no matter. They did the job, they represented the charcteristics of the amplifier well.

In certain ways each amp could be considered a custom amp as there are options to choose from in the shopping basket and for almost all amps besides this “flagship” you can add the Anniversary Mods, the color and style of base and knobs, capacitor type etc. as you check out. Part of what makes Decware stand out–these are not one size fits all mass-produced components.

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Herb Reichert and Steve Guttenberg both seem to love the amps, so that’s a pretty solid endorsement. And they look great.

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I would appreciate if you would share your Decware Speaker thoughts@

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weedeewop,

At some level I am envious of you getting to have Steve all to yourself for over 3 hours!
I have got to make it to the DECFEST one of these years.

I have Avantgarde Duo Omega horns connected to my SE84UFO25.
I have always wanted to hear how the higher efficiency Klispchs would sound.

You will not be disappointed by the SE84UFO25, it has become the anchor of my system.

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127

Having heard the Avantgarde speakers years ago they have been on my mind, but I don’t think they would be a good fit in my space. It’s an aesthetics thing. Klipsch Heritage series are also a consideration. I have a strong bias against them based on previous listenings, but that was with more traditional solid state of the mid 70’s and early 80’s. Maybe vintage Altecs with a 604 driver? Lots of possibilities all new to me.

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You don’t think the Uno XD would fit or you don’t like the looks.

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Yes and Yes.

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If you haven’t might want to check out Omega as they may work and are more traditional looking. They have a whole section on Audio Circle.

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Been looking at them this evening. Thanks for the suggestion.

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They seem to show up for re-sale on AC fairly frequently as a number think they like the concept and then apparently can’t get used to the difference in presentation from conventional speakers. If you order new I think there is a pretty solid wait period though certainly not as long as Steve’s is.

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While PS Audio certainly deserve kudos for their overall easy going demeanor, the allowing posts about competing products is not entirely altruistic. It creates a broader appeal to search engines. For instance, someone interested in a McIntosh amp can google it. If it has been discussed on the PSA forums, those posts can appear in the search results. I’ve been surprised by how often my searches for non PSA products can lead back to these very forums.

PS Audio is rightfully confident in their gear. WIth that confidence it’s to their advantage to not hide from the competition, but instead take it on directly. And the variety of topics, and manufacturers discussed here, contribute mightily to that goal.

Yes, PS Audio is kind to allow us to discuss competing products. Kind like a fox.

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While that’s a great idea and a plausible guess, it has little to do with why we host such an open (and expensive) forum, though I suppose in a roundabout way you’re correct.

We never pay attention to search engines, hits, and traffic (in fact, more traffic means we have to pay more for the hosting service).

Our forums exist to serve our community and (here’s where you’re closer to being correct) to grow that community. The bigger our community, the more we are trusted, the healthier our company, the industry, and round again back to community.

It’s the same sort of thinking about why we spend so much effort on outreach with my daily posts, Copper Magazine, Ask Paul videos, and our monthly newsletter. By freely giving people what they are looking for, connection and community, we build trust.

A safe and friendly place to hang out and be with people like us.

I think this is what’s so missing in today’s busy and overly saturated world. A place where people like us can safely come together and share knowledge and ideas. A place without a hidden agenda to get views or somehow slyly sell folks on something. We just figure if we share our knowledge, thoughts and opinions (along with those of our community)—and freely offer a safe place to hang out and share with each other—that in the end we will come out stronger.

And, in the meantime, we’ve built something really cool that we enjoy hanging out with too.

I have always though of our community building like a clubhouse where the neighborhood congregates because it’s cool. If we could offer free lemonade or post Playboy pictures on the walls, or whatever makes it more fun, heck, that’s worth doing too. :slight_smile:

Copper Magazine’s the same way. No ads. No pitches for the company. We spend a lot of money publishing that magazine, but not because of search engines or hits. It’s just being as generous as we know how to in an effort at building the coolest clubhouse on the planet for people like us.

If we can do more we will.

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weedeewop - have you established what you think the minimum speaker sensitivity is that you’ll be searching for based on listening preferences, room characteristics, etc.?

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PS Audio is proof that you can do well by doing good. In that respect, the brand promise goes far beyond the value in the products.

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Then we’ll chalk it up to Grateful Dead marketing. The band freely allowed taping because it seemed like the nice thing to do, and they didn’t want to be in a position to police their own fans who would’ve taped anyway and any way. The free flowing openness went against every recording industry norm. And completely by accident, made the band tons of money as the free music exponentially grew their fan base.

Which is a roundabout way to ask when will Octave releases be completely free downloads? :joy::joy::heart_eyes:

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Excellent question, from test reports that I have seen published versus actual can vary be a bit but 96dB at 2,83 v seems to be a fair target. Based on how the amp performs and my hearing something like 96 dB at 2.83 v +/- 3dB 60hz to 16khz, rolling off 6dB per octave below 60 hz.

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Holy moly, I went to Decware’s build sheet where he lists new orders. I wanted to see where my Anniversary amp is on the list. The list is enormous!

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I am glad that he (they) are so successful but it makes my wanting a set of TOR2 amps and a set of Zen Omni’s a dangerous place to be. Might be a good thing to have arrive in December. I am almost ready for the wait. :grin: