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AUDIO FORUMS >> Classifieds >> Zen SE84 kit with tube rectification
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Message started by Carn01 on 07/30/10 at 23:45:58

Title: Zen SE84 kit with tube rectification
Post by Carn01 on 07/30/10 at 23:45:58

Hi,

I´m new in the forum, the last year I built a pair of DIY HDT´s with DFR8 drivers thinking in low power amps. They soun very good, I use them with 2 tube amps, both pp: an old Fisher with 7189 tubes and a Golden Tube SI-50. IMHO the Golden match better with the HDT´s. Now I want to built the Zen SE84 kit, but I realize that the Decware model use a tube rectifier and the kit use diodes. I prefer the tube rectifier but I don´t know if is possible to get a Zen SE84 kit with tube rectification, do anyone know or have information about it?.

An other alternative is try to get the power and audio trans and built the rest of the amp. But I don´t know if Decware provide the power and audio trans as a parts.

Thanks,

Carn01

Title: Re: Zen SE84 kit with tube rectification
Post by Hasafraker on 07/31/10 at 13:49:43

I can tell you that the kit sounds awesome, if it's purely for aesthetics if you can figure it out on your own I know there have been a couple people who have purchased the kit and then ditched the circuit board and wired it point to point and converted it to tube rectification but I'd be surprised if you can get the kit setup like this. (and I would pinch Steve really hard if it was :P )

I believe that the kit layout is a compromise to keep the price low enough to make it affordable for the DIY'er without eating into sales of completed amps.

I can't say enough about the sonics of the kit however, seriously the best amp I have and I have a few, half of them I built myself including that one. The only amps I have that come very very close are a pair of SET mono's that I built, but the kit is still better.

Good luck!

Title: Re: Zen SE84 kit with tube rectification
Post by Steve Deckert on 08/01/10 at 04:38:56

The ZKIT1 has a power transformer (Decware) with the 5 volt rectifier windings so that you can easily mount a tube rectifier somewhere on your chassis and use it in place of the diodes. That said, good diodes have some advantages in certain areas. Speed of course is one of them. Less voltage drop is another. When you compare a production SE84C+ with the latest ZKIT1, the SE84C+ has more graceful clipping characteristics, is slightly warmer and you can change is fundamental DNA with different brand and types of rectifier tubes.

The ZKIT1 by comparison has a little more speed, dynamics, a tiny tiny bit more power and a nice sparkle on the very top end that comes with the slightly higher B+.

Steve

Title: Re: Zen SE84 kit with tube rectification
Post by Steve Deckert on 08/01/10 at 04:43:41

On another note, yes the kit sounds WAY better than anyone would expect. The only thing that will best it is a production model SE84C+ by the same company ;)

However, if you would like to take it up another notch, build a pair of the ZKIT2's with a single power transformer. It's about a 15% improvement in performance across the board.

Steve