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AUDIO FORUMS >> Classifieds >> Wanted Taboo
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Message started by roikyou on 08/13/21 at 15:32:45

Title: Wanted Taboo
Post by roikyou on 08/13/21 at 15:32:45

Preferably the MkIV but I'm open. Positive feedback in head fi, headphones forum and ebay. Thanks

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by piezoman on 08/13/21 at 19:02:34

I have Steve's finest example of a MK 4. PM sent.

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by roikyou on 08/13/21 at 20:08:50

Since I'm new and no posts, it allowed me to email in regards to the interest. Let me know if that worked. Thanks

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by piezoman on 08/14/21 at 01:03:49

Sold!

Thank you Anthony, and welcome to the Decware family.

Now I have no amp again, until at least November.

Brad

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by Archie on 08/14/21 at 01:16:48

You should have sold it with a closing date in November! ;D

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by piezoman on 08/14/21 at 02:08:16

Ah!

Well I do have one other amp, a 40w integrated Onix Melody SP3 which is somewhat chocolatey....and pretty cheap, originally about $1000 like 10+ yrs ago. Designed & engineered by the Aussies...BUT built by the half-assed dirtbag communist Chinese. What I should do is heave that 40lb. pile of Chinese junk onto the street, LOL

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by roikyou on 08/25/21 at 15:57:18

I wanted to let piezoman know the amp came in with no issues. I could have sent an email but I thought a replay to this thread would be my way of a positive review in regards to the buying experience with piezoman. If there is a better location for a positive buying review, let me know. Thanks again for letting this go before you got your ultimate replacement.

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by piezoman on 08/25/21 at 16:04:07

Thanks for the kind words. I'm very happy its all working out.

How does the Taboo sound in your system? You now have Steve's best version of that amp.

Btw, its a great match with your CSP3.

Brad

PS. My latest guess is I'm about 12 mos. away from delivery of the Torii MK 5, after being on the list for 4 mos.

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by roikyou on 08/25/21 at 16:15:18

Really good, meeting expectations. Recap of hardware, ipad streaming qobuz via usb with usb signal re-generator, chord qutest at 2v rms, csp controlling volume and taboo volume set to max. I might experiment, setting the csp volume to max and using taboo volume. Using a light touch of lucid mode, pretty impressed with it so far with headphones. with try different levels of lucid mode down the road, see how it sounds. Using one of the two input tubes and the two output tubes you provided. I ended up using a phillips 5u4g rectifier that I have. All power running through equi core 1000 and deep core 1800. I got about an hour of time with it last night. I already had a few tubes with the csp with a few el84 options, so I'll have a lot of tube rolling options.

My only real questions and not specifically to you but maybe the forum and those that have used the qutest, would be if the 2v is the correct input for the csp as it has a 1v, 2v and 3v option.

What was the best practice, best noise floor in regards to being quiet or blackest background in regards to volume control, using csp or taboo for volume.

With the taboo volume at 100% and csp, gain and output voltage, the output of the taboo has a little bit of transformer hum between music. Not sure if that is the way it is or just something I have yet to set right.

The csp left and right gain is not set real aggressive and the output voltage is only a few notches. I started out with taboo volume at max, slowly adjusted gain and output voltage till I heard sound, then adjusted the gain and output voltage to keep a good but comfortable sound at 12o clock on the csp.

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by Lon on 08/25/21 at 16:30:25

I would try the 3V setting. In my systems these preamps respond well to a lot of gain into the preamp.

I tended to run my preamp output at about 90 percent and my Taboo volume at about 70 when I was using just those two after a source in a system for mostly headphone usage. It's a bit different for me now as I have a ZBIT and ZROCK2 before the CSP preamp. . . my preamp output is at 70 percent and Taboo about 80 percent.

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by roikyou on 08/25/21 at 18:04:03

I'll give those settings a try tonight and report back. I asked to speak with Steve for a little bit tomorrow. So, I'll have a few things to try to narrow down what works best. Thanks for the input.

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by Rivieraranch on 08/26/21 at 13:25:59

I actually DID hurl something out into the street. It was a shit, malfunctioning HP printer. I climbed a three stool ladder and hurled it from over my shoulder onto the pavement, cursing the printer the whole time.

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by piezoman on 08/26/21 at 14:52:50

Quote:

LOL. This is the kind of post that makes my day. Pun intended. Right up my alley. Thanks for adding the right kind of levity to the forum, I wish we had more of it.

My Chi-com built spare amp deseves the same fate, while swearing and all, having had their filfthy communist paws on it. blank Chi-com built anything and everything. USA needs to decouple trade policy from that regime.

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by roikyou on 08/27/21 at 16:34:28

I actually think our printer at home is an hp, it works and I'm trying to avoid hurling it out in the street.

On the other hand, our printer at work being 10 plus years old and you would think a large company would purchase a printer for a technology company but it took months. Parts of it were in a box for months. My point, would have been nice to hurl it in the street but it's my place of work and probably not the best idea. But, thank you for the recommendation.

I have yet to change the 2v setting but I did talk with Steve Decware about input voltages for the CSP-3 and the reference was 2v but you can test with an of the 1v, 2v or 3v outputs from the Chord Qutest.

I talked a little about tubes and suggested not to use 6P14-EV and go figured, I've got seven of them to collect dust. I might just get tubes from Steve and call it good for the majority of them. I have my own source of rectifiers and a few varying input tubes.

I have set the Taboo volume to around 2o clock and still have a tendency to adjust volume on the csp side but go back and forth. Talking with Steve, it sounds like the way I set the gain and output voltage was right where I needed to be.

Lucid mode I've tried form 10o clock to 2o clock. Majority of my music is old rock, etc, so I would thing lucid would work and I think it does. I listen to very little of any of the new modern digital music.

So, in a nut shell, I think I've got it set up and working. I really enjoy these two amps and no current printer problems. I'd rather print at work, use they're paper and ink anyways. Go figure.

Thanks again for everyone's help, input and printer suggestions.

Title: Re: Wanted Taboo
Post by piezoman on 08/27/21 at 18:13:56

I'm super excited that the Taboo MK IV-25th found a happy new home. It was designed with headphones in mind as its primary mate, speakers are secondary. My experience attests to that. My Audeze LC3F phones sounded extraordinary with the Taboo and CSP3, way deep beyond anytjing I ever heard beforehand.

You now have Steve's best work in your scenario, and having additional flexibility with those XLR inputs/Jensen transformers is icing on the cake, and you wont need a zbit to take advantage of sources with XLR outputs > 2v.