“After hundreds of hours of initial listening, the Decware Zen Torii continues to improve, as designer Steve Deckert said it would.  While the full review will be in issue 40, suffice to say that this is one of the most musically engaging amplifiers I’ve had the pleasure to experience.  If you’ve ever spent time with a great SET and thought “If this only had 2-3 times the power, I could live with it,” your ship has arrived.  After owning a number of the world’s finest SET amplifiers, I can easily support Deckert’s claim that the Zen Torii is certainly the equal of any SET I’ve owned.“

- TONE AUDIO BLOG

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Americans love power. We buy 320-horsepower Chevy Tahoes to haul the kids to soccer practice. For home theater, the magic power number for receivers is 100 watts, and it has to be a seven-channel model, even though 80 or 90 percent of home theater buyers are perfectly happy with five-channel sound.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20029188-47.html#ixzz1RlSvkh38

“The low end through the ZDAC was so tight, taut and deep that it actually bottomed out the 5″ woofers of the DeVore speakers, something none of the other DACs achieved. Then again perhaps that’s a design flaw of some sort. I don’t know. But the ZDAC’s low end was excellent, gutsy, tight and had plenty of snap and power. Petty’s “Working Man’s Bible” presented excellent snap on Ferrone’s snare drum and cymbal spread was brilliant. The Sco disc reveled in a similarly large hall ambience.

The Z-DAC presented a very warm, flowing rich presentation of all discs. I dug it the most. Not as super resolving as the Moon, it presented an organic almost analog sound. Its voicing seemed centered on the midrange, a glorious midrange. I loved its tonality, its ability to isolate instruments yet thread them together into a concise coherent whole. Definitely first row. Baritone sax and bass drums on the Scofield disc had real bite, juiciness and succulence. You could lick the sounds coming out of this black box. It didn’t present a very large soundstage but it did exact a meaty vision that was very immediate, palatable and true. Sco’s guitar also had funky body and strings sounded rich. Drums exhibited punch and attack. Tactile touch-i-ness.

Food sounded almost flat in recording studio terms as though a veil had lifted. Even at lower volumes music was warm and exciting. The Z-DAC got the better of me. It made me forget about the review I had to write and simply partake of the music. But back to work, there was one more challenger.”

Here is a link to the review: http://6moons.com/audioreviews/usbdacs2/1.html

Decware makes low power amplifiers and high-end speakers in the United States. Their entry-level Zen Triode amplifier ($775) pumps out 2 watts per channel, and if you need more get the 6 watt Zen Taboo ($995), or the mighty 26-watt Zen Torii ($2,495). The Zen Triode was the company’s very first model and has charmed tough to please high-end critics on a regular basis.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20025983-47.html#ixzz1RlQczZ69

The full, illustrated, story of the build.

I’m relatively new to this type of electronics building. I have made a Charlize T-Amp, and a modified SI – but these were simply a few low-voltage solder points and a case. SETs have dangerous internal high voltage, and the kit involves stuffing a circuit board with components and rather more scope for errors. The first power-on is not called the “Smoke Test” for nothing. However – nothing ventured, nothing gained. I can read a schematic (from a period in my teens), and own a soldering iron and a multimeter. I already (in the Charlize) have a very good amp, however SETs by all accounts offer a musical transparency and presence that no other amp type can (with limitations of course), and can set you back truly ridiculous sums of money. Decware’s kit falls into my price range, carries reasonable reviews, uses cheap and widely available tubes - time to satisfy my curiosity.

Read the rest of the story with pictures here

ZEN HEAD model ZH1 is now also available in kit form! See the following link:

DECWARE ZKITS

New reviews are coming in frequently:

April 2009 - Hi Steve,

Just like to say thanks for all your help with my many questions. I have to say the amp is astonishing even at this early stage. The Zen Head just gets better and better - it has to be the biggest difference I’ve ever noticed in an amp after 10-15 hours play compared to out of the box. I’ve got about 30 hours on it so far and it’s really opened up in sound stage, detail and richness. I’ve never had a tube amp but I can see it’ a different sound to most other amps. In fact, I can see what you mean now in that, the Zen is natural sounding and it’s the other amps that are far more colored in the bass and general soundstage. I just love it.

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Hi Steve.

I just recently build a WO (Scaled up EXACTLY from the 36×24..) with 2 Cerwin 15’s in it. I chose the v-max because of price and differences in latency, etc… with other drivers. The really high end Cerwin’s and other comp drivers seemed to have more latency and boominess (To my ear..) than the v-max and I wasn’t just looking for pure volume. Anyways, I slapped a cheap 4000 watt Lanzar amp on it, lit it up and blew the roof off the garage.. All I can say is HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!! I haven’t even had the need to actually turn in up. I’m estimating a good clean gut pounding 100 decibels without the need to push the amp in the slightest.. The WO scaled to this size is a little heavy to cart around (Even with casters and handles installed..) but very well worth it.

I was recently asked to play at a friends wedding (I owed him a favour..) and used the WO along with 2 monitors (Sealed boxes that I built w 12’s, horns, and a couple of 1000 watt amps..) that I quickly slapped together 8 months ago. The venue was a medium sized older bare concrete movie theatre converted to a party hall with the worst accoustics I’ve ever experienced. I got 4 business cards of people actually DEMANDING that I call them to play at parties and other outdoor events with my system.

I’ve been asked (Actually begged would be a more accurate term..) to use my system as a front end for my brother’s band now in small to large and outdoor venues. I’ll be building another WO of the same dimensions and purchasing your plans for the Pro 12’s shortly to rebuild my existing monitors and an additional set. Already ordered the horns and compression drivers that you recommended for them along with a couple of 2000 watt amps with active crossovers. I’m probably going overkill on the amp power but I like lots of headroom to play with..

Thanks for all your hard work on these designs. I’ve been asked to build a WO for a friend who heard mine but I’m going to send them to you for that.

Let me know if you’re interested in pics..

Thanks,
Ian.

More info on our cabinet designs

Steve

After 1 month of owning the zp3, I dare say that the ZP3, SE84ZS, full range combo is darn near perfect. I know that I can upgrade the mmf5 turntable, cables, add a pre amp etc., but I see no need. When I play a Streisand Album with the zp3, her voice is stunning. Believe me, I am no Streisand fan and for me to listen to both sides and walk away thinking she’s awesome, is no small feat. So once again thank you for the ZP3. Maybe some day I might think I need an upgrade but for now I think I have the best stereo that money can buy .

Doug Quist

Steve,
i just connected the amp. Wow. I am speechless. I knew I had quite good system, but what I’m hearing now is unbelievable. It’s a new level for me. I have heard several good sounding systems, some of them an order of magnitude more expensive, but this leaves all of them far away behind a horizon.

Replacing my Krell KAV-400xi with your Zen amp was the best investment in audio equipment I’ve ever made.

Thank you. You just made my life better.

Kind regards,
Michal Chaniewski,
A lifelong Decware customer, starting from now.

Steve,

I’ve been busy at work and not doing much listening. I’m the golf superintendent at Port Ludlow Golf Resort and we have a very old and tired irrigation system that needs constant attention. So when I come home, I’m ready to crash. But in the last week, I’ve found the time.

My first impressions were that of very sweet midrange and greater depth, but they seemed tight and I had lost some bass compared to the FF165K’s. When I first purchased the Cain & Cain Abbey’s from Terry about 5 years ago, I was listening to the FE166E’s in them, but later went to the FF165K’s because they were less ‘ in your face ‘ and more listenable at close range.

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