General Asylum: REVIEW: Decware Zen Triode Preamp Preamplifier (Tube) by DAVID

On several occasions the debate on which component is the most important has taken place on this forum. While I'm not going to get into that I have noticed that, more often than not, the preamp is relegated closer to the bottom of the list. While in my experience changing the preamp has resulted in some of the biggest changes to my systems sound. I started my audio journey, using above average equipment, about 4 years ago and it consisted of Carver gear. The preamp for the system went for $350 and had all kinds of features included. Through my own ears and the help of a friend I began to dislike the sound of my system. I discovered when I fiddled around w/ the various gimmicks on the Carver preamp I noticed the sound changed a fair bit. It became the choice of the "lesser evil". I began to hate that preamp. From there, after a lot of reading, I ended up getting an Audio Research LS-7. Wow. The sound was MUCH more clear, clean and w/o all the muffling of the sound I had w/ the Carver. After about 3 weeks the sound bloomed out even more and I was happy. Then I bought a McCormack DNA-1 and the sound improved even more. I found out about passive units seeing as how the McC. was engineered w/ the idea of using a passive. So, what else, I got a passive. The passive gave a much more natural sound w/o the sheen of hardness that the LS-7 donated to the music. In addition, the soundstage got much larger through the passive. Mind you, I didn't notice this hardness and limited soundstage until I directly compared the LS-7 w/ the passive. Still, there was always a coldness to the sound of my system. Trading up to the Meridian CDP made a major improvement but still there was a slight coldness keeping me slightly removed from the music. Hmmm, maybe them damn arrogant tubeheads are right. It was hard to believe since the LS-7 did not give any kind of sound that I heard described by the tubers.
Oh for gawds sake, get on w/ it. OK, enter the Decware preamp. I'd heard about it here and visited the site. The description of the circuit was impressive. For a couple of months I lusted for the thing like a 7th grader who finds the womens underware section in the Sears catalogue. Then, finally, in fit of lust I ordered the thing. Wow, can you say "the patience of Job necessary". It took right at about 10 weeks to get the unit. When I did get it I raced home and inserted it in the system and plopped in a very compressed CD and from the first 5 seconds I could tell that this preamp gave a sweeter presentation. The CD was still bright but more listenable. Later, I did more extensive comparisons between the Decware and my old passive. Transients through the passive seem more "in your face", the attack of the notes seem to be quicker but the decay is much better through the tubed unit. The passive provides a wealth of detail but it comes across more blaring, less natural. Remember, the passive sounded much more natural than the LS-7. Bass seems a little less defined through the passive too. Maybe the Decware is coloring the music but when listening through it the music is every bit as detailed, this ranges from the "big sounds" down to the inner, subtle details. Again, through the Decware, the individual instruments are NOT blaring but have a natural, detailed, emotionally involving sound to them. There is just some kind of warm, sweetness to the sound that involves my emotions w/o, I repeat, w/o any loss of detail. In fact, I'd swear the inner detail has improved!
Now for the cons. As I stated previously, these units are hand built by order so expect 8 to 10 weeks before you see yours. The philosophy behind this unit is "music over ergonomics". There are only 2 inputs and the switch for choosing the inputs is in the rear of the machine. Not a huge big deal but a bit of a pain. The preamp provides switches to select higher output levels, different capacitors for slightly different sounds that I won't get into here. The differences are subtle. There have been a couple of other individuals, who frequent this site, who got Decwares and had quite a few problems. Power supply noise seemed to be the biggest problem. A couple of them returned their units a couple of times but the problems persisted. Ultimately they returned the preamps for a refund. I, on the other hand, have had absolutely NO problems whatsoever. This is a preproduction model so, at least, expect the possibility of problems. But if it works, baby it works great. I can't wait to try out some NOS tubes in this thing!

REVIEW: Decware Zen Triode Preamp Preamplifier (Tube) Review by DAVID at Audio Asylum