DATE: March 11,1999

Steve:

I've been listening to the Zen SE84 Amp for over a month now and I have to say it's awesome! Having built tube amp's from scratch in the 60's, I just had to assemble the Zen myself to fully experience what this amp is all about. I'm glad I did -- your Web assembly instructions are excellent and allowed me to duplicate the tried and true layout with confidence. Space is a bit tight, but a little care and patience paid off -- it worked perfectly the first time I powered it up.

But the sound is the amazing thing about this amp! This is my first venture (actually re-venture) into tube amps. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I decided to build the Zen (after researching many others) for my home office as a bit of a test. I teamed the SE84 with the excellent Rotel RCD-971 CD player and a pair of efficient Klipsch KSB 3.1 bookshelf speakers (94 db SPL).

The result, even in this sonically-humble environment, is a sound that is exceptionally live, tight, and precise. My larger system sounds somewhat "veiled" or "muddy" by comparison, as does substituting a solid state amp for the Zen. The bottom line is that the Zen has a clarity and musical quality that, as many have said, simply makes music more fun to listen to.

In fact, I've listened to music a lot more since the Zen, and have purchased several more CDs recently. For the whole story and some pics (including the resulting underside wiring), check out my web page at http://www.megsinet.net/slmyers/zen.html

BTW everyone at Decware was really friendly and helpful -- it was nice to talk to real people right away and even get questions answered by the designer! Your service is both fun and informative, as is your website.

Thanks for a great product,

Steve Myers Aurora, IL