Good evening from the other side of the world (Australia) and thank you kindly in advance for your thoughts.  I have been on my audio journey for the past year or two now have begun to understand what my "sound" sounds like.  And more recently, I've become aware of Mr Deckert's works, which sound like exactly what I'm after in an end game setup.

After reading through and listening to reviews and reading through this lovely community's comments, I've placed an order on a ZMA with mods, assuming this to be the pinnacle of the Decware sound.  My question though is, is this the case?  

Will the ZMA with all the mods produce a "better" sound than the Zen Torii Mono's, or even two SE84UFO25's acting as Mono's?  I currently have a set of Paradigm Persona 5fs which are rated at 93dB and prefer my music not too loud.  Silky but without loss of texture and detail.

A penny for your kind thoughts?  I'm sure I will fall in love with the ZMA but if there is a better option, it would be nice not to have to wait for the lag time before delivery again.

Welcome!

Firstly I’m sure you will in fact love your ZMA, but you asked for thoughts so I’ll give you mine. You say after all the reviews and forum reading you feel like a ZMA is “the pinnacle” and I’m curious what lead you there?

I think most forum members would say there is no “best” Decware amp, just the best one for you. There are lots of folks who prefer the higher  powered push-pull sound and others (like me) prefer the low power single ended experience. I think if anything Steve would say the UFO25 is the sound to which he compares all the other amps be makes.

So, again, as a practical matter there are no bad choices and more watts certainly gives you more options, but silky, textured and detailed is the UFO sound in 3 words. 93 dB speakers (if they are truly that) would be right on the cusp for 2.3 watts IMO but if your room isn’t big and/or you don’t listen loud you would probably be fine with a single UFO25, certainly a pair would be plenty. For me I have a pair of UFOs and they sound so good I’m back on the waiting list for a pair of UFO25s. I got two to run them balanced, not for the extra watts, but the power is a nice bonus when I get to crank it up.

Hi guys, thanks so much for your welcome and time.  I've been trolling through these forums for the past couple of weeks and have really enjoyed the informative and kind nature of the vast majority of members.

HK
I have a dedicated listening room that measures 7x5.2.2m which I've treated with surprisingly good results (it's amazing what you can learn from the internet!).  I generally listen at low to medium volume levels.  I enjoy lots of music but to particularly like listening to vocal jazz.  Last nights album was Carla Bruni's "French Touch".

HK, that was actually another question I had in my mind, the use of a pre-amp with the ZMA.  Do you run it as a matter of convenience?  Or does the combination create a different sound?

CAJames
Good morrow Sir .  I guess the first step what deciding what my "sound" was and making mistakes along the way.    I have a well reviewed and beautiful sound SS amp and loaned a McIntosh MC275, the Paradigms which a very precise as well as a pair of custom made speakers which a rich and warm.  I've also spent t deal of time at my local HiFi store listening to some of his insane gear.  And after all of this, I've decided that I want the best of all worlds .  Silky, rich, smooth but with texture and details.  Which, from all the reviews I've read and seen, is Decware.

Thank you and yes, I understand "best" is very subjective.  I wish I could come to Decfest to experience the amps IRL.  Reading through the forums, what you've said is the impression that I get.  The UFO25 is silky and textured and the ZMA more powerful and detailed whilst retaining smoothness.  And, going down this path, I think I would copy you're choice of the 2 UFO25s balanced.  Do you think there is a point in adding a CSP3 to that setup, as per HK?

Earthbound
Thank you.  And yes, I've read the whole Sarah 300b thread and that does muddy the waters even further.

At the moment I'm thinking ZMA+ v UFO25x2 balanced.  Just reading through the 300b thread, and something mentioned by Jay in his youtube review (not sure how reliable that comment was) me lean towards the ZMA.  It would be nice to be able to hear them both but that's not possible.

And there's the CSP3...  thank you for your thoughts.

Morph,

Whichever amp you select, I'd highly recommend the 25th Anniversary modifications. They sound exceptional. Also, budget allowing a Decware preamp CSP3 or other is also highly recommended. I use the CSP3 with 25th Anniversary mods because I have two sources, a turnstble w/ phono preamp and a modified CXN V2 DAC/streamer.

The great thing about having the preamp is being able to adjust the gain output on both the amp and preamp. The benefit is incredible adjustability control of the sound through your speakers. It's truly special.

HK

Thank you very much

CAJames
Ahhh, of course.  Silly of me!

HK
Thank you, that is very helpful.  I was just about to order the CSP3 but now see that there is a 25th Anniversary version of it!  Though it doesn't have the headphone outputs of the previous version.  I was hoping to use it as a headphone amp as well.  Just emailed Sarah to see if that's an option.

Burgermeester
Thank you very much.  Yes, I will order the 25th Anniversary editions of each.  I kind of see these also as works of art so I think getting the epitome of each would be fitting.


Thank you.  I think I will stick with the ZMA 25th, just for the flexibility, and add the CSP325.  Would be nice to have both

Hi Lon

Thank you .  Yes I like the flexibility of being able to use it as a headphone amp.  If the CSP325 won’t be able to accept headphones then I think I’ll copy your setup.  Do you know how it compares to the Taboo as a headphone amp?

On another topic, I see that the SE84UFO AND SE84UFO25 are on Stereophile Magazines list of best equipment for 2021.

Thanks for adding the headphone information Lon. I have to go down that road when the csp3 arrives. I was considering the ZMF, only because it’s on the Decware website. Glad to hear the Sennheiser works well with the csp3. How is the bass with that model Lon?

Thanks for the information. I have the zrock coming as well so I assume bass won’t be a problem with the Sennheiser. A couple of reviews mentioned that it could be better. Some use an equalizer with their headphones but I think the zrock will take care of any perceived deficiencies.

Thank you very much for the information Lon

He loves all his amps and a ZROCK2 will help them all. I find each I have sampled sound different, and personal preferences determine so much. I can/will/cannot wait to hear the Sarah.

Plus one on the ZROCK being a fantastic improvement for a CSP/headphone based system. I have a modest but killer CSP2/HD 600 setup. The ZROCK was like adding salt to an unseasoned steak. A total enhancement with more drive, grunt, and absolutely no drawbacks.

Haha! I can’t avoid the forums and I’m half way up page 8 already! I’m an educator who is off for the summer. Once school starts up again in a couple of weeks, my brain will be on other things. My life then goes from unit to unit and passes too quickly. I don’t want to wish my life away so I will just enjoy the new amp and speakers I have now.
P.s. Does anyone have the blue prints for how to build a time machine?

Reading through these forums makes me want to get one of everything!

And thanks Richie.  Those amps do look good.  I’m quite happy to wait for my Decware amps though.  Cheers