A review (or first impressions) of my SE84UFO25 (#290). Figured since my waitlist stint was lengthy, my review should be too.
I also felt compelled to write a detailed review because I know there are others out there, like me, who are going to spend years scouring the internet for scraps of information, trying to justify the madness of waiting for something they hadn’t even listened to.
Since this is my first tube amp, I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially on the manufacturing side from a smaller company.
What my ears are chasing: I never considered myself an audiophile until one day I had a religious experience while listening to a pair of Klipsch Khorns hooked up to McIntosh MC225 monoblocks. It was the first time I had ever witnessed center imaging, sound stage, and the feeling that a 70-year-old recording was “live” or “transparent.” I had the great pleasure of streaming my library of music through that wonderful system for hours over the course of a year, and I’ve been chasing that sound ever since.
After doing an obsessive amount of research, listening to other systems, and trying to narrow down the best tube amp to pair with my Klipsch Forte IVs (on a realistic budget…), I placed an order for Decware’s 25th Anniversary amp, which was a scary purchase considering I had never heard a single Decware product.
As months turned into years, I kept myself sane with Decware content: forums, Facebook groups, blogs, videos of proud amp owners. The cult-like following was equal parts reassuring and a little unsettling. I found myself reading between the lines of every post, trying to ‘hear’ the amp through my screen and figure out if the hype was holy truth or just excellent marketing by a handful of Decware loyalists.
One rabbit hole I fell into was reading this very thread that unfolds over the course of several years. I wondered if it was all a marketing tactic or if Steve was genuinely this thrilled with the sound of his anniversary creation.
Deep into this build thread, Steve continuously gushes about the sound of the amp he’s building — to the point where I questioned if the man was tripping on mushrooms, because the only time in my life where I’ve praised “The Gods” or felt as though I were a vessel of divine intervention, where my own personal adventures with psycidelics.
But then I recalled my own religious experience with my friend’s K-Horns and McIntosh gear. Could this be possible? Could I relive a spiritual experience, like Steve, in my own home, at a fraction of the cost of that godly system? I know I can’t match the sheer scale of the K-Horns, but I was hoping this amp, combined with my Forte’s, could get me close.
Two years and nine months later, it arrived at my doorstep late on a Tuesday.
I was so nervous to open it because I had built this amp up in my mind for years. Was it really going to be “magical?” Or, could I have easily ordered a better amp without tormenting myself on a waitlist?
As others on this forum have mentioned, it was very well packaged. After removing all of the bubble wrapping, I found the amp to be much more striking in person than any photo or video had revealed. There are so many cool details in the meters, the texture of the plate, and as a first-time tube amp owner, the little worlds that existed inside each soft glowing tube were mesmerizing.
Again, not having any experience with vacuum tubes, I took a calculated guess as to which tubes from my case fit which sockets and hoped I didn’t burn the house down when I flipped the power switch.
A satisfying yet delicate “tick. tick. tick” sound came from the tubes as electricity began to flow through the amp. Everything flickered to life. The meters slowly rose, and I found myself caught between three years of anticipation and the sudden fear of actually playing my first song.
I knew the amp would take time to warm up before sounding full. I knew the amp needed burn-in time before everything was nicely seasoned. I knew I was out of my league with the collection of tubes offered and that I would not have an ideal pairing for my speakers right out of the gate. Most importantly, I knew it would take time for my ears to adjust from my current setup to this one.
After giving it a courteous ten minutes to warm up, my very first impression was that the amp sounded “good.” It was a fine-sounding amp, and sounded much more modern and “fast” as described on forums than a sluggish, vintage-sounding tube amp drenched in warm syrup. But I’ll admit I wondered if I had buyer's remorse after this long a wait. I was open to letting things settle and educating myself on a tube pairing before making any rash decisions.
One thing I was relieved to discover right off the bat was that yes, 2 watts on a 99 dB sensitivity speaker (fed through twenty feet of cheap speaker cable) and no pre-amp, was louder than I would ever need in my 15’ by 25’ living room. For casual listening, the gain knob hovered around 9 to 10 o’clock. For jamming out and deep listening, I pushed the gain knob to around 1 o’clock. For fun, I turned it past 4 o’clock before it started clipping — nothing I could aduibly hear, but the meters started to dance — and that was way too loud for my liking. So 2 watts is more than I need. Weird! Really weird. I can’t imagine I’ll ever exceed 3 o’clock unless I’m bragging to a friend about what two watts can do (which I will often).
I went to bed that night feeling a little underwhelmed and in over my head on the sonic signatures of the provided tubes in my kit.
The next day, I had a long conversation with ChatGPT. I walked away having a much better understanding of what each tube did, its history, and the sonic signature each one offered me.
I have to say how thankful I am that Decware includes a tube kit, especially for someone like myself entering the tube world. Tube rolling feels like starting your journey into the Grateful Dead’s live concert catalog. It’s way overwhelming! Where do you even start? I think that this kit made my purchase easier for me in starting my tube amp journey. Decware essentially handed me the Europe ’72 album of curated vacuum tubes, which feels like a solid place to get my bearings and hold me over for quite some time.
While I personally don’t find the Cornwall IV’s and Forte IV’s as bright or “shill” on the top end as older Klisch Heritage speakers, the horns do lean bright compared to some open baffle speakers I’ve listened to (curious if others agree or disagree with that thought). So I swapped out both tubes for the pair I thought would sound best with my Forte’s (6N5P and the OA3). I then ran the amp at whisper levels the entire day. I wanted to put 8 to 10 hours of burn-in on the new tubes before I had my first real dedicated listening session.
Interesting note: With the volume only two clicks up on the stepped attenuators (whisper-level volume), the bass was surprisingly punchy and detailed! There was a bass rumble, yet the volume wasn’t loud enough for me to discern which song I was playing.
During my lunch break (work from home), I didn't have enough time to pull the speakers out from the wall and perfectly angle them towards my listening chair for an intimate listen, so instead I cranked it up and just jammed out with it. As far as punch and slam, the Decware played Jamie XX, Daft Punk, Erykah Badu, and The Weekend with the same heft, power, and scale as my 25-watt class A/B amp and my 100-watt class D amp! Big sound! Was not fatiguing at loud volumes!
I was happily surprised to discover this because I know the amp shines with more intimate recordings like jazz, classical, or acoustic music. I did not expect my Fortes with this Zen amp to party like this! Obviously, there are differences between this 2-watt amp and my 100-watt class D, but if I were walking around the house while the Decware was playing in the background, I would not be able to detect a “whimpy” difference without sitting in my listening chair and critically listening. That’s a big compliment for such a small-sized amp with flea-like power! It means my wife and I can enjoy this amp every day without feeling the need to swap gear when listening to modern music.
The evening came, and I was finally ready to dim the lights, grab a drink, and dial everything in for a real listening session.
I shuffled through a few songs and started listening to Angel by Sarah McLachlan. My walls disappeared. My speakers disappeared (which is not an easy thing to achieve with Forte’s). The piano was weighted and real. The bass was effortless. Her voice sounded holographic and the reverb caused her words to trail off into the obise. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but it made me tear up. The sound I had been hunting for was finally in my own living room.
I know Klipsch Fortes are not equivalent to Khorns, and I could never achieve the same sense of scale that I have in my living room, but for a fraction of the price, I know there are albums that I could play through this Decware amp that would give that $50,000 system a run for its money. Plus, I know this amp still has to season more, and I haven’t explored the other tubes provided.
I had my second dedicated listening session the next night, and I decided to have this one in the dark. I turned off all the lights in the house. This amp is an intimate creature, and even though it plays back anything I feed it with big sound, it sounds the best in the dark, at night, when your ears are sensitive and your eyes are no longer needed.
I know there are go-to audiophile recordings from the usual suspects that we all gravitate towards when wanting to show off systems — and those songs do sound incredible on the SE84UFO25. But like most of us, I don’t often find myself regularly listening to those artists. So I wanted to hear how this amp sounded with my regular listening habits.
On Tidal, there are several versions of Frank Sinatra’s ‘One for my Baby (and one more for the road)’, but one of them places the piano all alone on the left side of the room, with Frank’s voice warmly coming through in the middle. It’s not a great recording. There is a lot of sibilance, but Decware created the most memorable and intimate sound stage for me. Frank was right there, seven or eight feet out in front of me, and a grand piano was fifteen feet or so off to my left. There was nothing on the right side of the room until the orchestra slowly came in midway through the song. When the orchestra wasn’t playing, you could hear a few of them ever so quietly shifting in their chairs, giving you the sense that you were there in the studio with them. I listened to that song four times in a row just to appreciate how it sounded (and again, horrible sibilance). The VR75 tube in my kit gave weight to Frank’s voice. When he softly sings the lower notes, I can hear the subtle vibration in his smoky voice. That vocal fry sound. It was so lovely.
‘Give Me One Reason’ by Tracy Chapman (I’m a child of the 90s). The guitar is so real, big, and electric! In the dark, it sounded like someone had plugged their guitar directly into my right speaker and was standing off to my side. Tracy’s voice was holographic.
‘Hey Joe (live)’ by Medesky Martin & Wood off their Tonic album is so wonderful. Someone in the room has a creeky wooden chair (a member of the band or an audience member), which I had always found slightly annoying on my other amps because it’s distracting. Still, on the UFO25 it sounds so real and is a little sound that makes it feel like you’re in the room with them during the recording.
I assume many of us on this forum are no longer youngsters, so don't sleep on Taylor Swift’s song, Fortnite! It’s a wonderful, enveloping song and shines on the tubes.
I recently discovered Gabríel Ólafs (an Icelandic Postmodern classical musician). Her entire album, Polar, is unreal on this amp. It hits everything. So dreamy and epic.
I listened to Pärlor sköna by Christian Jormin 3. Jesus! That is quite an experience. The drums were so real and spatial. On other amps, the scale is a bit overwhelming, like a wall of sound, and the bass feels overdone. Through the UFO25, I was bathing myself in ear porn.
Seventy-two hours after receiving my package, I am over the moon with this purchase. The SE84UFO25 is definitely worth the wait. It is such an incredible pairing with my Klipsch Forte IVs. From hosting gatherings while listening to classic hip hop to me turning off the lights and getting romantic with my system, this amp has hit every one of my needs.
And I owe Steve an apology. The man is not losing his mind, nor “tripping” or hyping us all up in some marketing ploy to sell his products. I, too, had a religious experience with this amp, and I feel sorry for my friends and family who are going to have to endure listening to me rant and rave about my tube amp for the next few months.
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