[longbowbbs]

The Taboo is not an energizer and cannot be used with electrostatic headphones.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

I'm sorry I had a feeling someone was going to say that- I just meant in conjunction with the energizer. Didn't know how well the amp would power Stax or how the synergy is

 

[longbowbbs]

Gotcha....
 
I have no idea. It is an excellent amp with Planar and Dynamic headphones.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

I'm really interested in Decware in general since I hear they're great with ZMF cans. I also wanted something that would do well with my Stax Mrk 3's.

 

[longbowbbs]

Zach uses Decware at the shows. Hopefully someone can chime in regarding electrostatics.

 

[Argo Duck]

I'm sorry I had a feeling someone was going to say that- I just meant in conjunction with the energizer. Didn't know how well the amp would power Stax or how the synergy is

Is this what you mean? 30 seconds with search this thread

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Yeah I missed the boat on it. My apologies

 

[Argo Duck]

Yeah I missed the boat on it. My apologies

No problem. Search this thread isn't that good but always worth trying. Google often works better for head-fi posts!

Hope you found some useful information.

 

[doukhobar]

So, I'm assuming it's fairly common knowledge that the Taboo III is far, far superior out of the balanced output? All my listening from the single ended output could not hold a candle to the balanced out. Any balanced cable preferences? I was thinking of the Wywires Red.

 

[neoluddite]

Anyone here in San Fran Bay Area with a Zen Taboo that I might offer a bottle of wine to in exchange for letting me listen before purchase?
 
Thanks

 

[Tom Blake]

I am considering the purchase of a used Taboo Mk III for my ZMF Atticus headphones but I would also like it to be able to power my HE-6's if possible. If I were to feed the Taboo Mk III from the SE outs of my iFi iCAN Pro used as a preamp would it have enough juice to drive the HE-6's to satisfying levels from the Taboo's XLR or speaker outputs? The iCAN Pro can definitely drive the HE-6 when used as a headphone amp in Med or HI gain.

 

[doukhobar]

I am considering the purchase of a used Taboo Mk III for my ZMF Atticus headphones but I would also like it to be able to power my HE-6's if possible. If I were to feed the Taboo Mk III from the SE outs of my iFi iCAN Pro used as a preamp would it have enough juice to drive the HE-6's to satisfying levels from the Taboo's XLR or speaker outputs? The iCAN Pro can definitely drive the HE-6 when used as a headphone amp in Med or HI gain.

Hi there, I currently listen to my HE-6 from the Taboo III and greatly enjoy this. However, I use a tube preamp before the Taboo, though this is not strictly necessary. The Taboo has a lower input sensitivity than other Decware amps, so likes to have a minimum of 2V coming into it, but certainly more voltage would be better based on my conversations with Steve. Unfortunately, I do not know much about the premap you have mentioned.

 

[Tom Blake]

Hi there, I currently listen to my HE-6 from the Taboo III and greatly enjoy this. However, I use a tube preamp before the Taboo, though this is not strictly necessary. The Taboo has a lower input sensitivity than other Decware amps, so likes to have a minimum of 2V coming into it, but certainly more voltage would be better based on my conversations with Steve. Unfortunately, I do not know much about the premap you have mentioned.

Thanks for that info! The iCAN Pro is a very powerful headphone amp/linestage that has switchable solid state/tube input modes. It has 3 levels of output gain and can put out 11.5V into a 600 ohm single ended load. I would think it would help the Taboo Mk III drive the HE-6 from the XLR or speaker outs. I am mainly considering the Taboo for the Atticus which I know it drives superbly, but it would be nice if it could handle the HE-6 also. I have LCD-2's also which I believe the Taboo can drive really well. However, I was planning to sell those as I prefer the HE-6. Maybe the LCD-2's on the Taboo would change my mind

 

[Argo Duck]

The LCD2 (rev 1) on the older, mkII Taboo are indeed something; my preferred amp for this headphone. Moreover, the mkII indeed has lower input sensitivity and was frequently paired with the older CSP2+, a preamp which can put out 30V. (Personally, I find the Taboo more transparent without this preamp, and the LCD2 certainly doesn't need it!).

I understood the mkIII to be more sensitive though, this being part of Steve's design brief along with XLR out, a different input tube and a lucid mode re-designed for 'phones. Although I didn't make the jump to the mk III, it seems you get a lot for your money.

It's good to hear doukhobar's report it drives the HE-6 well. Frank I - IIRC - had little luck with the mark II and HE-6 but the mark III is a substantial re-design and thus a different beast...

 

[Tom Blake]

Thanks for the info! It looks like I am pulling the trigger on the Taboo Mk III. I will definitely try it on the HE-6's and report back. I can try it both directly from the output of my Gungnir Multibit DAC and also from the output of the iFi iCAN Pro preamp/headphone amp.

When using the Taboo with a preamp have people found it is best to run the Taboo with its volume control wide open and control volume on the preamp? Or is the reverse better? The iCAN Pro is so powerful I would be nervous running it with its volume control wide open.

Also has anyone tried running the Woo WEE electrostatic energizer with the Taboo Mk III from its speaker outputs? The Woo requires 3 wpc into 8 ohms and it looks like the Taboo delivers 4.6. So on the surface it should work but I would be curious if anyone has tried it. I would use it with Stax SR-L500's.