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REVIEW: Decware Select Zen CSP2 Tube Headphone Amp - Page 3

post #31 of 463
7/29/08 at 11:15am
Thread Starter 
Those are very nice tubes! They should sound great.
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post #32 of 463
7/30/08 at 6:15am
Bought three NOS JAN Philips 6922 today. These are rated the "best buy" by Vacuum Tube Valley magazine in their 6DJ8 / 6922 tube shootout.

JAN-Philips 6922 Low Noise
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post #33 of 463
8/10/08 at 3:35am
When i start up the Decware now, I hear crackling noise in the headphones. this lasts for about 5 seconds. Then I can play the CD and everything sounds good. Is this normal? I have tried changing all the tubes, but the same thing is happening.
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post #34 of 463
8/10/08 at 10:55am
Thread Starter 
You mean only when you first turn it on? I'm not sure if that is "normal" - you should email Steve at Decware. He will tell you.
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post #35 of 463
8/10/08 at 11:17am
Yes it is only when I turn it on. But they are not nice sounds. I will email him, or maybe try to call them tomorrow.
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post #36 of 463
8/10/08 at 2:02pm
Does it sound like low level pings? If so, that could be normal. My Musical Fidelity X-Can V3 did that when powered up for the first 10 seconds. I was using the same tubes as well

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post #37 of 463
8/10/08 at 3:25pm
No, it is just nasty distortion. Like the distortion you hear when searching for channels on the old radios. But a bit louder. Nice picture you got there!

It all started when I plugged in my graham Slee Solo and a cd-player in the same environment of contacts. My CSP2 where playing music into one set of headphones, and on the same time I let my Solo burn in some headphones. Once i started the cd-player connected to the Solo, the Decware started giving very bad noise in the headphones connected to it. I turned off both equipments, and started the Decware again. Just a lot of noise came into the headphones. I let it rest for a while. Changed all the tubes, and it started with high noise, which settled after 5 seconds. Then it was quiet and the sound very good. Something must have happened, because the amplifier was silent when I started it in the first days I had it. My powercable has not been put in a grounded environment. Is that very bad? My two Darkvoice 336i has never been in a grounded contact, but I have never had any problems with them?
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post #38 of 463
8/10/08 at 4:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by arirug View Post
Nice picture you got there!
Thanks. I took it with a Nikon D50 with the cheap kit lens. Pretty amazing for such an inexpensive SLR.

Well anyway, I wish you the best of luck with you noise issue. I'm sure it's nothing major. Your amp comes with a lifetime warranty which is awesome. And from what I hear, Decware is a great company to deal with.

Glenn
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post #39 of 463
8/10/08 at 5:14pm
Thank you! One way or another a solution will be found in the near future!
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post #40 of 463
8/11/08 at 1:22pm
I called Steve Deckert today. When I should demonstrate for him the bad noise which came through the start up of the amplifier, then it had suddenly disappeared. He was a very serviceable man to talk to. We had a quite long talk and he gave me some advices. He asked me what my impressions of the Decware was, and I told him it was the best amplifier in the house. If I had any issues regarding the CSP2, I should just call him. I love my CSP2 so it`s good that I`m back on track. That will say 5-8 hours of use every day.
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post #41 of 463
8/22/08 at 1:51pm
The noise came back. But it is just the 5 first seconds. Then everything is allright. I changed the tubes for what i thought was 3 Sylvania 6DJ8. Now the noise was totally gone. After a while I took a closer look at the tubes and see that I have received 2 Sylvania 6922 and one 6DJ8. So now the CSP2 was playing with one 6DJ8 in the front and two 6922 in the back. This combination worked great, but I still wanted to have three tubes of the same type in the amplifier. I took out the 6DJ8 and put in one of my Philips 6922 and then I had noise again. Tried a new one , noise again. then I tried the third of my Philips and this worked 100%. No noice at start-up. As a rectifier I use a Sylvania 5U4GB. I wonder if it is a big risk for making some damage to the tubes during tuberolling? But anyway now it works great and I am very satisfied! I have ordered some 6N1P NOVOSIBIRSK 1960~1966 Years military equipment , and some 6N1P-EV Made in Kaluga "VOSHOD" 1973 and 1975.
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post #42 of 463
8/22/08 at 6:05pm
Thread Starter 
My guess is the Sylvania tubes will sound better than the Russian tubes, but give it a try!

I also think the older, coke-bottle shaped 5U4G sound better than the GB's, so that is another thing you can look for
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post #43 of 463
8/27/08 at 7:21am
Now I have three Sylvania 6DJ8 in the front, still the same rectifier. This sounds great! I will buy some 5U4g coke-bottled rectifiers in the near future. I haven`t tried the vintage russian tubes yet, because what`s in the decware now works so good! There are no noises at startup anymore! All in all a very good amp. Now I use this in the first floor and the Singlepower Extreme in the ground floor. The Travagan`s Red gets used once in a while.

What do you think about the Decwares Top of the Line Silver Reference Interconnects, 1 meter $169.00? Is it worth spending 2x $169.00 for interconnects for the CSP2 and the Extreme? I use Oppo DVD-players as transport for both, and an Oritekv V4.1 DAC for the CSP2, and a Lavry DA-10 for the Extreme.
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post #44 of 463
8/27/08 at 10:08am
Thread Starter 
The Russian tubes will not sound as good as those Sylvania 6DJ8's. I am using a trio of those and a 5U4G, and the sound from the CSP-2 is really quite amazing. I would have to say that the CSP-2, the RSA Raptor, and the WooAudio 2 or 6SE amps are the only tube amps I would consider recommending in the $750-1500 price category right now, given some of the other US amp makers'...um..."issues", and the difficulty of getting service on amps made in China that do not have US servicing distributors. Decware (like RSA and Woo) has EXCELLENT customer service as well as making a great product.

Arirug I have never heard any of his cables though.
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post #45 of 463
8/28/08 at 12:58am
I have had Steves Zen amp for quite a while now. I still power my home brew horns with his "C Select" amp on occasion. Nice Fellow! Good review Mr. Skylab, as always, keep em' coming!
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