Taboo - Page 3

Wow, VERY nice, Clayton!  Sweet pics, too - I didn't realize just how identical looking the two were until now.  If not for the taller EL84, it would be impossible to tell them apart unless you were looking at their backsides...

^ Thanks. I know the Taboo has a burn-in period and I got it with the V-Caps option so perhaps it takes a little longer than usual. The first day the Taboo sounded almost grainy and unrefined and the upper frequencies were almost non-existent. I got the same results on the second and third day. Yesterday the amps were on for 8 hours--off for one hour--then on again for another 8. And only this morning am I noticing that the highs are really beginning to reveal themselves--and very nicely, too. Even Elton John's first vinyl LP sounds great. I am using the stock tubes. This is very exciting. String quartets sound the best so far. Full symphony orchestras still sound a little warmer compared to my previous power amp. Strange, yes? Maybe its the recordings.

My previously in-system power amp is 36 watts per channel and this Taboo is 6 watts per channel.

Here they are with the Zu Audio Omen (Sangria).

Okay--I've completed my Decware system for now with the introduction of the ZP3 phono stage pre amp. It's breaking in right now. It's barely 10 hours old.

Thanks, guys! The phono stage still sounds a little dark and slightly murky (murky?--gosh, is there an audiophile thesaurus around?) but all of the tubes are NOS. I disbanded with the stock tubes and let the NOS burn in with the rest of the amp. Here are more pictures. For some reason these pictures remind me of an amusement park or Medusa's hair!!!

The tubes used in the Decware ZP3, from the bottom of the picture to the top (front to back) are 12AX7, 12AX7, 12AU7. The Haltron is a E80CC. I love the sound of an E80CC, which on most amps that use 12AU7 you can use the E80CC in place of it so I plopped one in. I understand that (and I know you are aware of this) Haltron was a distributor that relabeled tubes so I don't really know who manufactured this one. I got it on eBay a year ago from Argentina--it sounds good but not as good as the Philips SQ label tubes from Holland which is what I'm going to replace it with as soon as I receive my order.

Wow, thanks for the pictures.

I absolutely love the Big 3!