My SE84CS arrived last Friday, however the step down transformer did not. So a tense 24 hours later the postie knocked and it was here.  ;D

Everything in place now to prepare for a weekend of Audio nirvana.

Unpack the amp, decisions, decisions do i put the Ruby or the RCA rectifier valve in? do i use the SV83 Svetlana or the JJ tesla EL84`s and what about the input 6N1P or 6922?

Ok i settle on the Ruby with the svetlana`s and the 6n1p.

Hook up the ZSLA-1 into the Select, hook up the Tannoys and away we go..........

2 hours later I am a little dissapointed, There is a low level hum that seems to be ZSLA-1 based, The midrange is fabulous, the bass is a bit crumbly too, in so much as there is not much of it.

Move the speakers around a bit opens up the soundstage, decouple the ZSLA-1, Rob it of its 6922 and stick it in the Select,.... set the bias to Dynamic,... plug the cd into the front inputs and....... WOW....... I suddenly understand Steve`s design Philosphy. The Select must be one of the most beautiful sounding amps ever made, certainly in the mids and high ranges, so clear, so dynamic, such a fantastic soundstage, musicians feel as though they are in the room performing stretch out a hand in the dark you may just be able to touch the performer..... Fantastic

Hmmmm now what do I do about the bass  

I wonder is the bass being sucked out by the step down trannie? or do the Tannoys just need a bit more wellie? would a second Select strapped into mono be the answer???  decisions, decisions, .......... Not quite Nirvana yet but certainly getting quite close

Well had an interesting afternoon.

A mate brought around his English Papworth audio Monoblocks and Pre amp weighing in at 120lbs, and giving out 100 watts per channel..

Very nice looking bit of kit, shiny stainless steel chassis, 8 EL 34 output tubes in push pull configuration, My poor little Select went scurrying off into the corner to hide when these brutes were brought in through the door!!!!!!!!

Hooked them up to the tannoys, they had a great deal of bass and had a good grip on the lower end generally.

But you know what......... I was glad to see them go,......... hooked up the select again and whilst the bass is very laid back, the select whooped the big brash 100 watter in every other department for me. Much much prefer my Decware amp.

Really cant wait for KeithC to bring his Taboo around !!!!! now that will be an interesting afternoon.

Indeed .....  :)

My little Select caused my beloved CJ MV-50 and Audio Research VT-100 to be sent off to new homes ..... ???

Last Friday night, a very amiable chap by the name of Rob from Columbus, Ohio stopped by for a visit.  He had some very complimentary things to say about the Decware Select / Parker Behemoth / Decware SO Imperial combo.  We started listening around 7:00 PM and were still going strong at 1:30 AM .....

From our conversation in between disks, it was pretty obvious that he has heard some very nice audio gear ..... so I took his compliments seriously.

As I have mentioned in the past ..... when partnered with an appropriate pair of loudspeakers, it will be a rare situation to find the Select to be the "weak link" in an audio system.

Randy

Andy - are these the GRF Memorials that were discussed a few weeks ago in the thread:

http://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=General;action=display;num=11...

If so, the possibility of "lack of synergy" with the 4th and 2nd order filter functions of the Tannoys was mentioned.


In a design as elegantly simple as the Zen, the loudspeaker's crossover network can have a significant effect on the amp's performance.

It's altogether possible that even strapping a second Zen in mono won't resolve the matter, but a good 5 watts of P/P could  be all the "wellie" you need.

 

It could also be that in addition to the amp needing some burn-in (if new or not played for some time), you're having to reprogram your anticipation of what it "should" sound like.

That's happened to all of us more than a few times.

If it wasn't for the hassle of trans-oceanic shipping, I'd suggest the Taboo would definitely be worth a trial - I've heard this amp on a couple of DIY Fostex full range speakers, and lack of dynamics and bass authority is definitely not an issue.  

so you play the Beatles naked, I tend to save that for Jacqui Naylor or Jewel....

[quote author=Andy831  link=1169495529/0#9 date=1170758754]Chrisby

The transatlantic trials are a bit of a pain, but if you have not picked on this up elsewhere on other threads, KeithC who has just bought a new Taboo lives no more than 30-40 miles from me, and he has kindly offered to bring himself and his Taboo to my home for a try out with the Tannoys.

If it works out as I hope then I will place an order for a Taboo with DeVon straight away. Hopefully while the Strong Pound / Weak Dollar situation is still with us. [/quote]

Yup,  I did miss that.

After sticking my neck out, I'm sure there's more than a few folks interested in the results of your audition.  

I believe the going rate for such a get together is a 6 pack of Guinness* (each?)

* according to Randy, the official beverage of all Decware jam sessions

Andy,
This may sound like preaching to the choir, but if you feel like tweaking your bass (and not just your bass), trying out different rectifier tubes may be an interesting option.

In my SE84B (yes, a low serial number: both a source of pride and a reminder of what I may be missing in the newer amps!), the JAN Philips 5Y3WGTA made a huge difference. A well-liked tube, the vintage Mazda 5Y3GB, was just so-so by comparison. There may be a technical reason for this: I have the 'World' version of the amp and I'm running it on a different power grid from the majority of Zen users in the US. Just a thought.

My favorite was an RCA 5V4GB (I think that's the correct ending letters).  Loved it!

Hi Lon

The RCA was it a 5U4GB or a 5V4GB ie "u" or "v" or are they effectively the same thing? My Ruby and RCA  are both 5U4GB....... phew bloody complicated or what  ;)

Rap - whats that? not seen anybody using that one before  :-[ Any particular manufacturer they seem quite cheap on ebay

[quote author=Andy831  link=1169495529/15#16 date=1170935268]

Rap - whats that? not seen anybody using that one before  :-[ Any particular manufacturer they seem quite cheap on ebay [/quote]


Sorry Andy, no free rides. Mine are NOS Mullard gz32's I was lucky and got a pair for about 100$ but often they can cost that for a single tube in the original blue box here is a pair on e-pay. The good thing about this pair to my eye´s is that they are offering to cryo the tubes for free if the buyer so wishes. Very tempting and a bit crafty, if you ask me.

Tish Yeah it is, I asked the question originally and have done some research, and your right its the same tube., I bought a used Mullard one today to give it a tryout.

GZ32 user in the Select here, also...

You've gotta try the military sv83 (6n15n-ev) as it's miles better than the more lightly built Svetlana sv83. They're not terribly pricey, but what a difference.

Karl

I love it. Its great that you dont have to spend a small fortune to get amazing sound. Good one Steve.

Mr C