This week I moved the Taboo Mk III amplifier out of my main system where I have been using it as a headphone amplifier for a number of weeks and placed the Taboo Mk IV into service as the headphone amp. I had been using the Mk IV as my speaker amplifier and that duty has now been taken over by the might SE84UFO3-25 Monoblocks.

The Taboo Mk III is an excellent amplifier. Mine has a stepped attenuator and Jupiter beeswax caps. The Mk IV has the Type 2 caps from Jupiter and two "standard" potentiometers, and  the one other difference is that it has the Decware "UFO transformers." There is a difference between the two amplifiers when using headphones, and I am sure a bit of the difference is the different caps. But to be honest I think the biggest difference is caused by the different transformers. The UFO transformers have a profound effect on the sound.

Steve writes of these: "UFO stands for Ultra Fidelity Output transformers. These proprietary Decware transformers push what's possible in a boutique output transformer design with a high degree of precision and the very best steel yielding a bandwidth 5 times wider than human hearing so that the response in the audio band becomes ruler flat."

In comparison, one can hear this "ruler flat" sound from the UFO transformers. They create an openness that is unusual in audio playback. A deep clarity creates few barriers to the signal and you can hear the clear, unfettered sound, which exhibits itself with a bump of dynamic contrast as well. In comparison the Mk III sounds a bit slower and confined, which honestly with some material is a boon. These transformers, available in a number of amplifiers, seem in my experience the breakthrough in fidelity that Steve states they are. I have them now also in the SE84UFO3-25 Monoblocks, and that clear and dynamic sound is at the core of their signature sound as well.

The UFO transformers are in my opinion now another feature of Decware products that makes them stand out for value and quality.

I keep telling Palomino to send one of his Rachel in for UFO treatment - hopefully Steve can do some 25th anniversary mods on Rachels as well?

Good to see that the scammers are still here.

 Gosh, I wonder what an epoxy coating would sound like when poured over my exotic wood floor?