With every journey, there’s a destination in mind. However, without the proper roadmap, who knows how long it could take to get where you’re going and will you end up spending way more than you need to, to try to get there… A lot of wrong turns and frustrations. With a proper understanding of the route and some faith, it can be a pleasant journey and the destination can be spectacular!
I was fortunate to find a roadmap along the way that really guided me and helped me to get to where I am. I don’t believe there is a final destination, but there are clear markers that you strive to reach. Some have the resources to get there fairly quickly. Others like me, take a little longer to make it happen. But when it does, WOW!
I think I first heard about Decware back in 2017, when perusing various forums like the Hoffman forum and later the Decware forum. It was discussed how SET amps gave the purest and for some, the most desirable sound of tube amps. The Zen amps were highly touted and my Energy Veritas speakers were 93.5db sensitive, so maybe it would work? But it was quite daunting, having always used higher powered SS amps. Further, I was using a very unorthodox setup and couldn’t find any info of low watt tube amps being used with my speakers. I did a ton of research and ultimately, couldn’t get past the power concern. So I decided to go the route of a 20 watt Aegir solid state amp and get my feet wet with a Freya+ tube preamp. The combo sounded really great, but I felt I was still missing something.
At some point I came across an article that really changed everything. It took a number of reads to really start to grasp things. Steve’s article on low powered SET amps with high efficiency speakers should be a must read for anyone getting started, but who think they can never get satisfying sound and pleasing bass from a meager 2 watt amp. It really sunk in why this path would give the purest, most realistic results. It took a while to make sense to me, but once I gained a little clarity, I knew it was the road to take. For me, this actually took many months to gain that faith, to actually remap my route.
https://www.decware.com/paper43.htmI loved my speakers and built my system around them, but recently I got to a place, where I was ready to put the final piece in, to get to that destination, that mile marker that I set out for years ago. That was to have a single driver, crossover less speaker. My current speakers were a 2 way design, crossed over at 2.2k. They sounded great and imaged insanely. They gave a 3D presentation and totally disappeared. But what could a single driver bring?
I again did quite a bit of researching and discussing with a few owners, including a few kind people here, before solidifying my choice for the Omega Super Alnico Monitor. I contacted Louis at Omega, who was great to speak with. He was patient to answer my questions and open to my ideas of aesthetics to make a custom pair for me. I wanted a walnut burl on the front baffle, with a dark walnut finish on the rest of the panels. He advised the dark walnut was becoming difficult to source, but had some fumed oak that would look really good. His work is impeccable and he carefully matched each speaker with a mirrored finish. Very high quality work!
I’ve had the SAM’s in place for two weeks now. I knew within the first 10 hours that I’d either sell my old speakers or store them for when I can have a HT room and a dedicated listening room. Next to my Decware gear, these Omega speakers were the best bigger audio purchase I’ve made. The synergy with my amp is great. The cohesiveness and immediacy is incredible and the tone and texture of sound, as well as the imaging and detailed layering of soundstage is captivating. They bring that immediacy without shoutiness, once broken in. It’s brought an amazing level of realism. I listen to a lot of classic rock and progressive rock, as well as various styles of jazz and fusion. These SAM’s do well with all of it. Bass is surprising with these, again, once broken in a bit. Yesterday I turned off my sub and was pleasantly surprised with how full the bass is. I’ve adjusted my sub to cross lower and just fill in the lowest octave.
Perhaps a more powerful amp like the Rachel or Sarah may bring a little more to the game, but if you are contemplating a pair of speakers to match your Zen amp, these will play very well together and give a refined and detailed presentation to your music. I feel the sound I get is as true to the source as I’ve ever had, thus far. I’m very content at the moment.
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Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden (Read 2958 times)
