As with anything else you can let it take over your life. I tried watching the list only when I remembered my order. Then the email notified of any change in status. I was also curious about the number of orders for the equipment I was interested in, as far as trends.

I still find myself frequently checking the list. And this is not my first time I've ordered a Decware amp. So I know the drill. Nonetheless, I succumb to the anticipation! Placed my order at the end of August. So, I'm at the top of the list. Hopefully not much longer  :D

Waiting times are longer than ever before. . . . I'm glad I am not waiting for anything now. It used to be agony when I first started with Decware. But I got used to it. . . but I never had to wait this long!

It's a good sign for Decware, the company has gotten stronger and stronger with an ever more intriguing product line, and this last decade national and international notice. It's so wonderful to see this happen to good people with truly valuable and satisfying components.

With a new amp on order and finally now on the bench, I’ve been known to stalk the list every now and then.  My order was placed back in the beginning of October, so I’ve been patiently waiting.   Glad I’m finally in the home stretch.

Dom

Well, I won’t do that again till Septemebrr at the earliest..Nope, no point in it, eventually my amp will ship...Someday  :o

It took about a week before me amps were on the list and that was last summer. I got them 5 months and a day after I ordered them, and the wait was totally worth it.

I check it every day and don't even have anything ordered!

I like to see what new orders are being placed, where they are going and what appears to be popular.

I might have a problem.

Haha, thanks for the input guys!

Only checked today to show my kiddo how far far back orderes are that are no longer "new" on the list.

I no longer check it. I'll go mad  [smiley=vrolijk_1.gif]

Me too…  I ordered on 4/11 and would just like to see it on the list. I had hoped to build an Amp Camp Amp to fill what now seems could be a sizable time hole before I get my Decware, but those kits are now out-of-stock until Q3,  :'( . Noodling on a plan C...

Holy Stuff Batman, 527 orders as of right now.  I'm sure there are more to be added soon.

Having recently escaped the list with me new ZROCK I'm very happy!

My hat is off to Decware for their success!

Dennis

When I ordered the Zen back in Feb. I sold all my solid state gear. To keep the music going for the wait I purchased a TubeCube7 for $160.00 including shipping and tubes. I was shocked how good this little amp sounds with my Omega Speakers. Good review at Glow in the Dark. Can't wait for the Zen!

I’m about to do a happy dance that I’m almost on page 1!

God bless each of you for your patients!  No one could have predicted that we would be over 10X busier than normal but the great sound of our amplifiers and the Covid 19 situation aligned to turn a lot of people on to what most of you already knew as sound that was nearly a drug in and of itself.

We are all lucky to have such a variety of sound experience at our fingertips due to technology.  Let's not waste it.


Steve

Hello from Canada,
Generally speaking - after placing your order , how long does it usually take for your name to appear on the wait  list ? I believe the last update was 5/18/21 ? I don’t ask out of impatience as I know Decware is swamped with new orders and I  empathize completely -  just curious ?  Thank you 🙏

Thank you Lon .

I've checked several times already, but wow, it hasn't even been 3 weeks since I ordered. It seems like it's been so much longer.

Not entirely off-topic, but is there also a speaker waitlist?

I guess everyone goes through this phase, I sure did.  There may be a diagnostic category for it, something like Obsessive-compulsive Waiting List Disorder or (OCWL).

Coyote -

Under both FAQ, and General discussions, at the top of the page "Important Topics", you'll see a "Real Time Amplifier Waiting List", that contains the link which is now several pages long, sorted by date.  You have the option to change how it is organized.

It can sometimes take a while for updates to be made, with how busy they are, but they will update as they can.

Thank you all for the information.

Oh, I am not in hurry one could say that I have been planning this purchase since I first heard of Decware circa 1998!

I like what the Decware team is doing.

I read somewhere that Steve even said to his team to take the necessary time in building the best they could build and "ignore" the size of the waiting list.

I like that.
It is called having your priority straight!

"Watching" notes on the little Amp being created over the next months will just be eye candy. I might have to buy a T-shirt in the mean time, or something.

I am new to the forum, so still trying to "find my way" around!

Kind regards,

a.

Yes, Thermonic, when Lon posted the link it was legit, but recently was changed to:

https://creatorapp.zohopublic.com/decwarehighfidelity/decware/report-perma/Ampli...

I also edited Lon's post and put the correct link in it.

-Steve

WooHoo!!!! My name is on the list!
And climbing!!

There are some people from Switzerland, Singapore, the UK etc in that list.
WoW!

Congratulations to Steve, your products are truly your ambassadors.

Cheers,

a.

When first added to the list I was checking twice a day, morning and night, every day.  Ended up printing out the list (18 pages) and started marking off the equipment as it goes out the door.   It was satisfying to mark items off the list and it was also really pleasing to know those people all had a wonderful package arriving in the mail shortly  

It is really quite interesting to see how many different countries the orders are coming from.  Speaks to a very satisfied customers.

@Coyote I ordered a TORII MK4.  Hasn't arrived yet, but waiting patiently.  :-)  It's my gift to myself for getting through a bout of colon cancer.  Life's too short to be wishing on tomorrow.

For now, I have an old home theatre amp I rescued from a friend's basement.

I check the list every few weeks.  While it wouldn’t move the list any faster, it would be helpful to have one’s place in line numerically displayed next to the order.  I end up counting the orders ahead of me, which is tedious.  I’m 5 months in and getting excited that there’s only 2 to 3 months before shipping.

Cool, thanks Andrew. That works great. I’m 232.

Has anyone calculated how many orders ship per month on average?  I’m over 5 months in and started at about #370.  That would suggest under 30 ship per month and that at #232, I’m not even halfway after 5 months.  And with 800 on the list now, a 2 year wait for new orders.

I’m fairly sure about my #370 starting point. That was back when there were 200 per page and I was near the bottom of the second page upon purchase.  Admittedly there might be errors in my data, hopefully someone has a more accurate figure of how many orders ship per month.

I just remember when I purchased on March 1, they were fulfilling October orders.  Now the are on December after 5 months.

To the positive, I’d like a Zen Line Conditioner. If I order today I won’t have to pay for perhaps 2 years 😂

Wow, at 38 per month that gives me about 6 months more, or 11 months total.  And new orders at around 21 months.  I’m not complaining, happy for Steve’s success and devotion to quality.  But this does help clarify my Decware purchasing strategy.  Basically, do my part to make the wait yet longer 😂

I wonder what percentage of orders are not complete due to the intermediary death of the customer 😂

21 months!?  I'm sorry, that is not a viable business model.

The used market ought to be getting crazy.

Greetings,

As a small business owner (by choice), I would tend to agree with Dancing Sea. Controlling your orders/deliveries, managing expectations is as important as getting orders.

You are only as good as your last sale.

Keeping control of your delivery time is important, otherwise with long uncontrolled delivery time you risk having people selling their "spot" in the queue for $$ and at that point you loses control of the selling price and production line.  

Of course as the delivery delays increase the customer expectation's increase and that can be a compounding problem.
"I waited so long, it WILL be perfect, right?"

Moving Co. assets (people) from promotion to production etc, can be an option.

I would agree with a previous post.
9 months is an exceptionally long delivery schedule, only acceptable because this product is sold as a "boutique, custom item" but at 9 months it must still hurt the business model.

At a 21 months cycle it would likely be unsustainable to control business growth and QC, new orders could simply be refused to avoid clients frustrations, control pace, and future QC issues that would impede future production.

Lets all take a deep breath and support Decware, they will sort this out.
I am with 'it is worth the wait group'.

All this being said I am not even sure where the '21 months' figure is coming from or if it is accurate.

Cheers all,

a.

Hi Dancing Sea,

I re-read the posts, and Ha, I see.
Well I will think of this as a small consequence of the increase in Decware success and recognition.

This little bump in the delivery schedule will stabilize itself, I am certain they are keeping an eye on it. We also do not know what production 'capacity' Decware has.

Keeping the Quality Control as high as possible is always part of the solution so it does not bight you later... And carillon!
;-)

Cheers,

a.

I called to add a mod to my order and spoke with Sarah.  She said new orders are currently running about 34 weeks, which is 8 months.  They have run into issues with the supply of parts that have slowed things.  And they are considering having one tech to focus on the quick things like ZRocks, and other small devices to move those along faster, and free up the amp chain.

They are keenly aware of the situation and feel badly about it.  They are just a very small company and the run of multiple glowing reviews has overwhelmed them a bit.  I expressed our collective sentiment that we’re fine with the wait as long as quality remains as it has.

The part we neglected to consider in our original hypothesis is the covid related disruption of parts supplies.

My order was placed on March 1, 1978 (just kidding).  But it was on March 1st.  She said late October to early November was a reasonable estimate for shipping.

My understanding was that they had already hired extra techs, but are now thinking of different ways to utilize them.  I think her estimate of my ZRock2 order did not include the reorganization idea.

My guess is that they are assuming this is a temporary influx of orders that will ease up over time.  Magnepan had to deal with this on the LRS, but they are significantly larger company.  It’s difficult to hire a stable of new workers for a temporary influx, only to have to then lay off those workers.  I’m sure part of this equation is how to best serve their employees, as well it should be.

Steve mentioned recently that they have two shifts of technicians working at this time. Also, when they first came out with the Zen Line Conditioner there were a lot of orders. Steve had one of the newer techs dedicated to building these and they increased turn around on build and shipping.

So while I understand the wait can be difficult, please folks Steve and his crew will do everything feasible to get orders shipped w/out sacrificing quality builds.

If it's too much, try buying a used unit or inexpensive drop in during the wait. Your patience will be rewarded in time.

HK

@Thermionic - Well, there were several questions I wanted to ask, but sensed she was busy.  And after all, this isn’t a Frontline investigation 😂

I wanted to ask how they came to that 8 month wait conclusion.  Possibly it’s based upon the notion that they are currently fulfilling Dec 2020 orders.  I see 67 remaining December orders on the list.  And this is August.  That comes to about 8 months for the wait.

However, if their orders per month has increased substantially then the 34 week (8 month) figure might not be accurate because it’s based upon a period in which they had fewer orders per month.

I see the following:
Dec = 67 orders remaining
Jan = 70
Feb = 87
March = 100
April = 177
May = 108
June = 75
July = 76

How all that shakes out, I’m not sure.  There seems to be a spike Feb through May (4 months), and then it’s coming back down.  My non accounting background speculates that the 34 week wait might be an underestimate, especially after the spike.  

I also wanted to ask how many orders ship per month, but it felt like an overreach on my part in context of the conversation.

I’d be thrilled if my order came by November, which would be 8 months for me.  But I’m guessing it might be more like January.

Either way, it shall be what it shall be.  No worries either way on my end.

Yes, we don’t have the data to reach an accurate conclusion.  We don’t know by what degree production has been increased.

I can say that I entered the list with 370 on it, that was March 1.  I’m now 228.  That’s 142 orders in over 5 months.  At that pace, the 34 weeks is off by quite a bit.

April had the Andrew Robinson YouTube video.  That must’ve caused that spike.

Actually something drastic needs to happen, and happen right now.

The current status quo is going to cause problems with existing orders. At the current rate of output, a large proportion of orders are still 12+ mos. away from shipment.

The current way of business isn't working. Blah blah blah aboit the supply chain. The workforce is necessarily going to have to expand significantly.

I put my order in at the beginning of May, and I'm #510 on the list. Thats almost 4 mos. ago. And now Im still looking at something like 13 more mos.

Yup, something very, very drastic needs to change, and pronto.

Hopefully Steve will make some sort of announcement about this really soon.

DancingSea, I agree.

Bottom line: He needs several more techs, like right now.

I made my order 1/6/21 and parts pulled this past Monday! Its been quite a test of delayed gratification, very happy as is what I expected. When I ordered I anticipated receiving in mid July to end of. I should recieve before months end and am fired up. It is totally understandable not only due to the Plauge, the economic crisis due to obvious reasons, and the explosion of interest and sales of the Decware products. Steve didn’t get here by luck, he is a very smart Dude and certainly is feverishly working to get to where he needs to be and at the sme time maintaining the same quality in the process. So why dont we chill out and back off the pressure for answers to his problems so he can focus on what he needs to…..

Wow..........

And I placed my Cybertruck order late November 2019.
I'm in the first 250K out of a million plus.
I wonder how long I'll have to wait?

Its going to soon be about 15 mos. for those who ordered during March and thereafter.

We are actually making some real progress behind the scenes. We doubled our techs around a year ago when the cat was let out of the bag and have been running two shifts since to make things happen. This winter we will be training more help and finding places for them to work.

Our normal build sheet for the past 15 years has been an average of 75 amps. We are now well over 750, despite shipping more product this year than ever before. That's 10 times the load that this ship was designed for.

As things move along we will begin to transition our list into layers. Simpler items will be built sooner to reduce the overall size of the list, which will shorten build times for everyone.

This artisan business model is not scalable. If you want artisan quality products vs. mass produced, and you live in todays CoVid handicapped world, you're going to have to wait for it. Our commitment is simply this: It will be worth the wait.

Things are running pretty tight around here, and despite all the pressure nothing is going out the door with defects and our creative energies haven't been stifled in fact quite the opposite because as we create new ways to deal with this, we keep accidentally having ideas for new products or product improvements.

The future looks bright, as we hope to bring more audio joy to all of you. Both on the speaker end and the amplifier end of things.

Our friends at Lii Audio have been exemplary with their drivers and reference cabinet. They have helped us place what seems like at least a 100 pair into peoples homes around the world so far and we plan to see a lot more offerings from them as we all spend more time in the listening room! Their F15 and Crystal 10 drives that we have incorporated into our Zen Master Series Baffles are flooding the DIY circles with our plans and we have built many pair of these wonderful baffles this year for those who don't do DIY not to mention our affiliate Randy Rash of Caintuck Audio's contribution with his highly affordable small size baffles that simply defy reason...  

And then there are Tube Tots. I have thought about calling them Face Melters, but it's too many letters ; ). These $1200 exotic stand mount almost tiny speakers defy reason when you hear the sound stage and resolution. Some of the best midrange you've ever heard.  Like QUAD quality midrange...  They are in production now with 30 pairs planned for inventory this fall.  Hear them at DECFEST, or make a listening appointment. Also we will start to leak YouTube video speaker demos of these little gems this fall.

We are now getting ready for DECFEST 2021 that all of us who know about DECFEST desperately need after not getting to have one last year due to Covid. It will be wonderful! When people who have never attended one hear the 2 watt Zen Triodes on 100dB speakers and then hear 20 watt Zen TORII's on 93dB speakers that only cost $1200 a pair there will be more than a few sleepless nights trying to figure out which way to go.



Oh yea, we've been doing in house hydrographic paint jobs on both amplifier chassis and our Tiny Radial speakers. These will be starting to appear for sale this fall. It has so far been a lot of fun learning all the many ways to fail at it, but that's how you get good and we need it to be good if it's going to be Decware.

We also have several other things in the pipe that will happen as we move into next year

I have waited over 2 years for custom pieces, guns specifically. My previous vehicle took 16 months from deposit to delivery, my home took 1 year from deposit to keys in hand, it took me 18 months from job offer to the first day I walked in the door. Good things, quality and most importantly hand made specialties take time. I too suffer from, " I want it now" attitude, I have learned to deal with it. Thank you Steve, just keep up the good work, I DON'T want a product that has been rushed and then performs poorly or worse yet has issues out of the gate...

I have no problem with the wait, totally fine with me. I think the actual legitimate issue is a customer service one.  That the wait times quoted at sale are widely inaccurate.  It’s a matter of attention rather than anything that would speed up production.  It’s not difficult to quote a far more accurate estimate.  More an issue of good form than anything overly significant.

Indeed.

Here is the operative phrase that a few here didn't care to hear about at all, and made it pretty clear their underlying thinking is that no one else should have cared either:

Quote:


The above excerpt from Steve's post will be the next difference maker along with the shift in assembly priorities and exactly what I trying to find out as to whether it was in the get well plan.

Derekinla, congrats on the purchase!!

It’s funny how the waitlist psychology can work.  I got on the list for the ZRock2 in March not entirely sure I wanted, or needed, a ZR2.  The wait was about 5 months at the time, thought I could decide before parts were pulled.  As the 5 months have come and gone (transforming into a fuzzy unknown) my thinking has shifted from “do I really need one” to “if I cancel the order and change my mind, I’ll be #999 on the list”!  The exponential list growth has completely done away with any notion other than acquiring a ZR2, needed or not 😂

True. And ironic.

Do the dates on the wait list correlate with the order date? I placed my order on 8/21/21 and I see that an order from another customer was added to the list today with the date of 8/23/21. I don't see my order yet but I'm guessing my order will appear within next few weeks?

On a positive note, since the 27th of last month I’ve moved up 53 spots as of today, so that eclipses the current monthly estimates on this feed.  :)

Quote:
 exactly

Steve,


Woooohaaaa, house hydrographic paint jobs on amplifier chassis how I love the red/black one on the right there.

That would not fit on a UFO2 by any chance??

;-)

Alain

Hey #203, that is pretty cool.  Hopefully you might receive your amp right around Christmas or New Years.  What a great way to start the New Year!  Sincerely, #360

Hey guys. That’s awesome. Some comradery among those on the list. That’ll make the wait a little better. Be here before you know it  8-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f36w3GPoGz0&ab_channel=AlienEncounters

Ahem… #608.  :D

Instead of a gold watch, you get a Zen amp...........sounds like a better deal to me. HAHAHA!

Yes, list placement truly ought to be deeded...

https://ibb.co/YtMvtBL [img][/img]



Prepare for another bump in orders.. YouTuber Thomas & Stereo just got his hands on an SE84UFO2. He has about 1/4 the # of subscribers as Steve Guttenberg's Audiophiliac channel or Andrew Robinson's channel.  

Quote:


LOL

Hey DancingSea, you're a-ok in my book  ;)

Brad

Hey ja1,

Congrats. That is so cool.  I bet next week will be memorable once everything is up and running.  Let us know how it sounds.

DancingSea, that does seem to be the ongoing average. By winter, with the addition ofsome more techs, that average will increase. It will be fun to see what the output looks like after that point.

Hang in there, you're getting closer!

I am officially off the list. My CSP325 is scheduled for delivery on Monday and my ZMA for Wednesday.
Tony, I will. Just keep in mind that it will be coming from a non audiophile  and from a music geek who just enjoys music. John

You guys are funny, look up the definition of an audiophile.
You are spending how much money hoping your music sounds better?

"audiophile"

That word has been bastardized so many times...

These days I take it to mean someone who enjoys playing with tools that reproduce music.

Note here that "music" comes in second and the priority is on the hardware to reproduce it.

;-)


Cheers,

a.

I’ve always wondered about the “seeks to reproduce a live performance” part of audiophile.  With rare exception, live music usually has mediocre sound quality at best. Particularly with amplified performances.  I wish live music sounded as good as my stereo.

In my opinion, “audiophile” is essentially a mental illness 😂.  For 25 years I was a music enthusiast who had a decent stereo.  In 2000 I researched gear on the internet.  Bought a YBA integrated amp, an Ah! Tjeob CD 4000, and Meadowlark Kestrel speakers.  DH Labs cables.  And that was it. Sounded great.  I had yet to become infected by the audiophile virus. Until 2016 I never once thought about upgrading my system. The thought never entered my mind.

In 2016 I made the faithful decision to research for a DAC that might make my computer playback rig sound better and stumbled across the Computer Audiophile forums.  It was akin to stumbling across that back alley in town where you can buy crack.  A few months later and the virus had fully taken root in my cells as an entire world of audio-philia opened before me.

Based on nothing other than reading forum posts, I became no longer satisfied with my equipment. The same equipment that had been utterly satisfactory for 16 years.  I live on an isolated little island in the middle of the pacific. It’s not that I heard a better system and became enthralled.  The virus stuck entirely because of reading far too many posts written by people who were only quasi satisfied with their system and eagerly search for upgrade.

That type of thought process entered my mind. I was both infected and converted.

Five years and $15,000 later, yes, my system does sound markedly better.  But I’m not sure the journey has been worth it.  I’m not sure the addition of a neurosis that’s overly concerned about sound quality has increased my musical enjoyment.   In some respects I’d like to turn back the clock to that faithful day that I sought to make iTunes sound as good as my CD player.  The smart move would’ve been to conclude that (to me) CD players sound better and ditch iTunes.

After exploring the world of computer audio in great length, Roon lifetime license, HQPlayer, and expensive DACs - I now find myself back where I started. Have pulled the computer plug and listen exclusively to physical CDs and SACDs on a Marantz Model 30/ SACD 30n/ LRS system.

I’m telling myself, with a shaky metaphoric cigarette in hand, that after the ZRock2 arrives that I’m done upgrading.  That no amount of reading Stereophile on the can will lure me to audition new gear 😂

The journey has had positives, of course. My system sounds amazing.  I do wish I could easily turn off that “dissatisfied voice” inside.  The one that thirsts for another upgrade, another toke on that pipe.  I’d like to turn that voice off like a faucet and set gear infatuation aside and simply enjoy the music.

I have a neighbor who has a $400 Yamaha amp from Costco and a pair of $200 Polk tower speakers. He has heard my system and agrees it sounds incredible. Yet he has zero desire to upgrade his system.  He’s totally satisfied with what he has and is solely focused on the music.  I have one cable that costs more than his entire system!

Don’t get me wrong, I truly enjoy the elevated gear. But there is a certain genius to not needing the elevation in order to truly enjoy music.

The ZRock2 is the last one man, I swear. I’m going to get back on my feet and live clean after that.... you’ll see 😂😎🌈

Caintuck Randy refers to that feeling as “Audio Nervosa”.  I think we audio folks have all suffered from it at one time or another. Lord knows, I have!

Great thread! Have enjoyed the posts!

Most cars don't appreciate either.  It's a matter of finding the Ferrari of stereo gear.  

It can really get interesting when you accidentally hear fantastic sound from some "out of date" low cost solid state integrated amp!  Sound that maybe Trumps your high dollar tube system.    

I've thought about the pursuit of "live" sound and good or bad, live sound completely fills the space -- like the air in the room.  I've come closest with the F15s in a big baffle but it's still not live-scale.  I suspect I forgive a lot of technical imperfections based on this alone.

Hi All,

This is actually a very cool discussion and many points have been touched.
Here are some thoughts that came to me while reading.

Maybe a category of audiophiles wants to "get there first" the latest caps most performance etc. these pay a lot and will lose a lot as the "future" technology they are buying today will be readily available in a few years.

Then you have the "I want that sound" and one will (especially in the SS world) lose a lot as the Fad fades away and your system sounds "dated".
When doing a sound engineering diploma years ago one teacher was all about the Big bass setup on the board, I learned nothing from that guy and he went nowhere.

Then the nirvana guy who will never be satisfied, this guy is simply not about listening to music, he is about gear, so I will leave him alone.

Then you have blokes like me (maybe). I do not really care about the gear, well aesthetically maybe, ha.
I want hardware that will deliver what I 'need' and that I can tweak. Something that will just pass the signal from a to b.
Within this category there is of course a million paths.
Mine right now is about simplicity.

A source, for me at this time, this is very much an analog source. Or a non-compressed source. S. Jobb famously said he never listened to iTune or most electronic medias as it was compressed crap.

Amplification, to me it starts with a simple, clear, clean, tube amp.
Tube because to me it reaches a vibe when I am listening and because I can tweak that "vibe". A SS never even brings me to the 'vibe' level.

Baffles, to me open baffles with no Xover. this is my current "evolution I have no clued what the open baffle experience will be I am getting some Betsy Lii15. The biggest gamble in my audio experimentation!
We could start a whole new thread on relations between driver size and baffle size. !!

Cheers,

a.

In my experience, a lot of the audio treadmill is due to not being able to get room to work well with the system and visa versa, so we tend to keep looking for improvements because things sound off. Taken a little further, I think the musical experience is so complex and full of complex balances, that it is just really hard to define better sound, making it harder to find.

Truly better sound to me has all the more apparent things like excellent spectral balance and range, natural speed including good hit that is not overstated and very fine micro speed, excellent space and detail complexity across the spectrum.... not hard and not thick... natural bass hit and extension that is fast, not boomy or muddled... etc

But maybe learning to discern when better is better is the biggest thing. And I think that it can take a lot of practice, but also figuring out what to look for. A baseline for me, does it do all the right things with a context of sounding like real playing of nice instruments in a really good room? But what are the things that make a great musical experience that our body/consciousness can identify when it feels authentic, but we can't necessarily easily analyze?

Seems there are just countless balances that can "sound pretty right" based on ideas, and not really "be" right to the subtle discernment of the subconscious... So how to find it?

To me the biggest "real maker" (assuming all else is balanced itself, and balanced between all the rest) is the finest harmonic information in really good space. If these are incomplete or not there across the spectrum, all else can sound really good, but for me it is the natural harmonic stuff that does the magic part, making it realer feeling and more fully engaging.

But unfortunately, this has not been a big measure for many developers, and a lot of highly rated audiophile stuff just does not do brilliantly with this information.... And being so fragile and easy to kill by truncating it in a digital front end, a lot of it may never be there. Or if the front end can hold onto it, something later might squeeze it together too much due to lesser parts and wires, concentrating complexity into harder sound... or masking it away. In a system, it seems there are literally hundreds of ways to lose it little by little, part by part. And back to the all important system balance with the room.... most rooms accentuate or cancel lots of frequencies to various degrees, and the wrong reflections can be big smearers too...

So really, I think our desire for better sound has a very real basis... especially if we get really close to realistic quality sound... if something feels off, it probably is.

And chasing more gear makes some sense... if it is in fact a real upgrade, but it is clearly not the answer on its own judging from how fast the audio treadmill spins for many.

With the very fine musical information innately the most fragile, and with all the many ways to mess it up, I am afraid most of us rarely hear really good harmonic "real-making" in all its glory. And without a reference that reveals it really well, how do we know what all is missing? I wonder how long it would have taken me to "discover it" had I not gotten my NOS Tranquility DAC and the rest of the front end recommended to show the DAC best. With that DAC ,all the parts were chosen finally by sound, and associated computer (with mods), cables, and even external drives were carefully vetted with blind testing.... So all were carefully developed and chosen with this critical harmonic content high on the "need list."

I was lucky with my Decware being nicely resolving and good at natural harmonic content, then with the help of Eric Hider, one of the Tranquility developers, I got a pretty exceptional front end for the time. And even then, it took me years to then further resolve my system and room and show all the Tranquility could give. The upshot of that, even if some is lost, it might intellectually sound pretty close, and feel pretty close, but when there are subtle qualities of natural music that aren't there, we still crave them, most likely because it does not sound as right to our senses and natural consciousness as our intellect. So for me, fine detail and space are major reads for getting to engaging immersion.

Just looking at micro speed.... the fine stuff requires just so speed to show it, allowing the fine detail and space to differentiate. We can hear the finest detail because of the space "next to it" allows us to hear it. And clearly damaged fine detail and space can happen even if our front end is rare enough to fully show this information to begin with. I have found fine detail can be smeared or masked way too easily.... might be some vibration causing subtle noise, or subtle noise from lesser quality power, or too much voltage pushing the amps/tubes harder and concentrating detail into hardness and making thickness... or power cables and ICs that appear good, but mask it.... maybe just a bit too much darkness or thickness in the balance masking it... and many other things! Ouch!

I also find many tubes are not so good at this subtler information. But most likely, it is a progression of decent stuff slowly degrading these valuable musical elements progressively. Fine detail in good space just can't be heard as well if it is slightly smeared... but the subconscious and our senses recognize a lack of natural harmonics just as well as unnatural balances of all the more obvious things we listen for.

So for me, if there is one, harmonic content is the most critical read. And some aspects of fine detail in space are easiest to read, like the complexity of textures, and having them top to bottom... room spatial sounds throughout the range, helping to differentiate and authenticate the players in space, ..... the quality and duration of decays across the spectrum, perhaps one of the easiest reads letting us know we if we have solved smearing, with good speed, and very fine information in space.

If it is mostly there, and supported by a natural baseline set of all the other balances.... nothing missing, and nothing poking out.... no matter what flavor of sound I am working with, I can more easily find musical engagement. Just think how important complex textures and micro speed are to our musical excitement.... complete and with good smoothness, great textures can add such sweet complexity and reduce hardness.... good micro speed can liven it all up with very fast leading edges along with supporting all the fine detail and space I seek..... And if decays are clear and extended in time, from the bass to the very top... then I can be pretty sure I am getting most of what is there on the recordings. Add just a bit of "real warmth," that sweetens the sound a little without the darkening, slowing, or masking anything much, this seems to get me close... then it might be a little luck to get the very deep beauty, but for me, exceptionally complete harmonic content is a critical read to get me close.

What an amazing trip!

I watched the Amazon Prime documentary called LuLu Rich.  It’s the sordid story of LuLu Roe, the women’s clothing multi level marketing company.  At one point there was a many month’s long waitlist just to sign up as a retailer.  They told stories of how overwhelmingly excited new members were to receive their welcome aboard call, how they waited with eager anticipation, and how that was all by design to build expectations and excitement.

As I’m watching this it dawned on me, “wait a minute, I’m on a long wait list…. And my expectations and excitement is building as well…”

Thus I’d like to know, do Decware products ship with a pair of leggings?   😳

WOO HOO.  I made it into the 100's!!!