I don't have a Super Zen, but there are a lot of guys here who can guide you for tube rolling.  You can expect things to open up with more hours of usage (500+ seems to be a good estimate).  

From what I hear ~ the Super Zen is all about tonality and imaging with a good hit of bass, so give it some hours (500+) for burn in, however I would look into your source as a possible culprit if you aren't experiencing the micro details that you're looking for.

For example, DACs come in a few flavors ... warm and micro detailed are what comes to mind right now.  I have a Rega DAC, it falls into the warm cuddly side of things, as opposed to some of the newer DACs that focus on micro details.  The hard part is trying to find a nice balance of both.

Nearfield listening in a small room. 9 foot ceiling. Heavy plush carpet / pad over wood subfloor.

Omega Super 6 Monitors. They are fast and very good at imaging.

Monitors on Skyland sand-filled bases, pulled out from all walls.

Omega DeepHemp sub on spiked Maple base.

Red Wine Audio Isabellina DAC, via MacBook.

GIK Tri-corners in front. Custom bases so tri-corners cover all 9'. GIK 242 first reflection + 4 GIK Monster bass traps (3 behind and one in front of listening position). Back corners of the room are open, essentially removing corner reflections.

Listening chair nowhere near a wall, leaving listening area pretty good a minimizing reflective sound.

I’ve owned the system for several years, so I know what it’s capable of. The only thing that I’ve changed over the years has been the DAC, and now the Zen. I’ve experimented with several DACs including a Wavelength Cosecant. But I prefer the sound of NOS, so the Red Wine Audio is my preference for the money.

Q: What amp have you compared it to that was more detailed?

A: Last round was a Red Wine Audio Signature 15 with Signature 16 internal upgrades. The detail I refer to – maybe better thought of as resolution – would be fairly comparable between the Super Zen and Sig 16 equipped with stock JJ tube. But I ran mine with mid-60s Amperex 7308, and the NOS tube was a major upgrade.

Q: Not sure how your subwoofer is set up, but if it has a crossover in it and you are running your signal through the sub and then the speakers, you'll obviously be losing something by doing that.

A: Both mains and sub run in parallel via speaker output jacks, so mains and the Zen don’t know the sub exists.

Obviously Omega’s are single drivers, so the only crossover is a low-pass internal to the sub.

This config is recommended by Louis from Omega for this setup. I’ve been running it this way for a number of years, going back to Omega Compact Hemps and a Vandersteen 2W sub.

Q: Although I'm sure you have, don't forget to play with the bias switch. In my system, it has a huge impact...I actually use it in the more laid back position.

A: Yes, thank you. It does make a difference. I would need to turn the system on to make sure where it is set, but I think mine to is set to more laid back.

The first time I was able to achieve the level of resolution I describe was with a Wadia CDP, FirstWatt F1, Omega Compact Hemps / Vandersteen sub. But the sound could be brash on many recordings.

The benefit in moving to Super 6s and the newer gear is a much warmer and more organic sound signature, without giving up resolution.

Again, if more burn in or tube upgrades will help the amp to dig deeper into recordings, that would be great.

Don’t get me wrong, amp sounds extremely good for less than $1,000. But I was hoping that Zen’s minimalist design matched with a system that in theory should be an ideal partner, the Decware may be able to destroy traditional price / value barriers.

Certainly for tone it does. And the overall sound is very good. But like I said earlier, it’s still 10 cents short of a dollar in terms of resolution / imaging / size of soundstage.

Also forgot to add that the Decware amps I've had seem to blossom after a couple hundred hrs.

JD

Thanks JD and DBC. I'll spend more time with the bias switch and take better note of which position I prefer.

Good idea on removing the sub DBC. In theory it should not matter, but a test is always worth while.

JD, I was stupid enough to sell my 7308s. At the time I was trying to raise cash and had planned to sell off the entire system. Then on a whim I picked up the Super Zen - based on price and reviews.

I'm glad that I still have the system. But would love to find the tweak or two needed to get back to where I was before starting to downgrade.

Thanks again for the input.

I read that this current design pushes the limits of the 6DJ8/7308 family, so it might not be optimal. The unit is designed for the 6N1P-EV input and 6P15P-EV power tubes. The source and cabling might be affecting detail. My rig sounds fine with plenty of detail. I've had mine for a year and a half running from 2-8 hours per day 5 days a week 48 weeks per year.

Based on my experience with other Decware amps
(e.g. CSP2+ , CSP3 and Torii MK4), the tubes make a big difference. This is because Decware amps are designed to behave like a straight wire with gain.
A minimalist design helps preserve sonic transparency.

Firstly, I suggest that you ditch the stock rectifier and replace it with a NOS Philips 5R4GYS for only US$50 from Upscale Audio.
You will definitely experience an improvement.

Then if your budget permits, get the best NOS tubes for the other tubes (especially the input tubes) from Brent Jesse at  http://www.audiotubes.com/
They have a very good write-up of the different tube types.

Alternatively, Kevin Deal of Upscale Audio can provide free advice on getting the best cost-effective NOS tubes based on your budget.

I think having one of the larger wattage amps will give you what your looking for , not that the superzen isn't a great amp ,it is . It's just that the Torii,in particular will transport you to the venue. I get all the detail and maybe a smidgen more than the tori , and it took a good long time to break in . in my small room however. I get all the detail I crave for . allow a looooooong time for this amp to break in , don't expect 2 watts to fill a large room , just wont do it like the Torii will!!!!

I have had a SE84UFO for over 1 1/2 years. It has well over 1000 hours on it. I have rolled tubes a couple times. It still lacks subtle detail. To me it sounds cold, anemic, bland and sterile. Last week I replaced my Decware SE84UFO with my 2wpc Inspire 45 Fire Bottle Amp by Dennis Had. The Inspire amp sounds amazingly wonderful compared to my Decware SE84UFO and the Inspire amp has a detailed warm musical sound that my SE84UFO lacks. The Inspire amp uses Type 45 tubes which are real triodes. I had the Inspire amp before I ordered the SE84UFO and the Inspire amp sounded wonderful right out of the box. I learned that if an amp does not sound good out of the box it might never sound good. I am not wasting any more time and money on my SE84UFO it is officially retired. By the way my speakers are 1996 Klipsch La Scalas, 105db spl 1 watt at 1 meter.

Sometimes certain combinations just don't sound good.  I've got a houseful of amps and speakers.  I can take one amp and it will sound wonderful with one speaker but then hook it up to another and all of the sudden it's very mediocre.

Even though I said I was done wasting my time on my SE84UFO. I decided to try one more thing. Today I tried a Russian reissue Mullard GZ34 rectifier tube. Guess what, it now sounds like it should with my Klipsch La Scalas. I had previously tried a NOS SED Winged C 5U4G rectifier, but I never tried my Russian reissue Mullard GZ34 rectifier tube I had from another amp. The speaker switches are in the 8ohm position and the bias switch is in the forward position. I am running a Ediswan CV2492 in place of the 6N1P, tubestore.com Preferred series 7189's for output tubes and a Russian reissue Mullard GZ34 rectifier tube. It took over 1 1/2 years to find the correct combination and finally success.

Now that I have my SE84UFO sounding the way I want, I will be going back and trying the tubes Decware supplied with the amp. The Decware supplied tubes have about 400-500 hours on them. I will not be putting the Decware supplied rectifier back into my SE84UFO, since changing the rectifier to a 5AR4/GZ34 got me the sound I wanted. I also have a pair of Svetlana SV83's I will try.

So my offer of $25.00 is too low now? How about I sweeten it to $26.24?