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Zen TABOO Review
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Re: Zen Taboo Amplifier Beta Test
Circle
« Reply #182 on: 03/26/05 at 4:34pm
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Some final thoughts after
going back and listening again to same cuts on the CS + CSP. At my place with
999ES and FE206EM drivers in OB's.
I do hear more of a "bloom" to the
sound with the CS than with the TABOO. The TABOO seems to have some more
detail, perhaps because of the less bloom sorta clouding things up (is this that
"euphonic" thing people attribute mostly to Triode mode amps?)
I'm sure
there will be some people who think the TABOO sounds "dryer" than the CS,
lacking this extra bloom, and/or that the TABOO doesn't sound as smooth as the
CS. I think the TABOO sounds smooth and detailed without sounding dry. Others
may prefer to not have the CS+CSP bloom since it can be thought of as inaccurate
and can obscure some imaging and low level details. Btw, I'm not talking about
the kind of bloom most 300B amps have. The CS+CSP slight bloom is a lesser
degree than what I remember of 300B amps.
To me, I sorta got the
feeling the TABOO sounded more "live like", like I was listening to a direct mic
feed or a live performance as apposed to just a REALLY good sound system. Also
for some reason I caught myself tapping my foot to the rythm/bass more on the
TABOO. Is this what they call PRAT? It could be the extra power of the TABOO.
In a nutshell, I think the TABOO does pretty much everything that CS
can do and more - in the microdynamics,PRAT, and "live like" areas. The only
thing the TABOO does less is the "bloom factor". Which you prefer, the CS+CSP
or TABOO+CSP will be a matter of taste and speakers, which is always the case,
isn't it?
Given I and Paul couldn't hear the difference in changing the
TABOO feedback controls, it may require a higher resolution system combined with
a better listening room to really hear what the TABOO is capable of and if there
are bigger differences between the CS vs TABOO than what I could discern.
My 10 cents. Looking forward to others' impressions.
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Sony 999ES, SE84CSP, TABOO
(on order), HDT's |
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