I just added the following to the review:
> Decware ZenHead
DECWARE / High Fidelity Engineering Co.
I was asked by Decware, a maker of many high-end tube amps, to review their portable headphone amp, The ZenHead. When I received it, I was surprised about the size – it’s BIG. It’s as big as the Lisa III. It uses a 9V battery, and has no charging facility. Like the Lisa III, it’s really too big for many portable applications. Decware’s Steve Deckert said that he did not really try to keep the size down for the same reason that he didn’t include a batter charging circuit – he was going purely for the best sound he could. Certainly a good goal. However, while in the case of the Lisa III I felt the superior sonics could justify the size, the Zenhead is merely a very good, competitive sounding amp, that is really big.
OK, OK, but how did it sound???? Well, very good. Overall, I felt that Decware’s main business of selling tube amps shows in how the amp is voiced. It sounds like many tube amps I have heard. As such, its sound is a little idiosyncratic. I struggled some with the normal ratings I give, in terms of capturing the essence of the amp. On some tracks it sounded fantastic; on others, merely good. It sounded SO different from the iQube, my reference amp, that I had to switch back and forth multiple times to get a handle on the ZenHead’s sound. It is slightly colored. But in a very pleasant way.
Build Quality: A: Pretty industrial, plain looking case, but very sturdy, and solidly built. No turn on/off thump. Totally silent also – no noise at ALL. No points for style, but none deducted for cheap plastics – it’s all metal.
Treble: A-: Treble is quite clear. It does lack some top end air and extension, and is perhaps a tiny bit hot in the mid-treble.
Midrange: A-: Sometimes they were splendid, but sometimes they didn’t sound quite right to me. Most of the time they had a certain presence I associate with tube amps, but occasionally that presence wasn’t really serving the music and just sounded like a coloration.
Bass: A: The bass was excellent. Full, powerful, punchy. Lacked the very last bit of depth that the iQube has, but still truly excellent.
Neutrality: A-*: Well, it just isn’t completely neutral sounding. Compared to the very, very neutral iQube, and also to the Meier 2Move, the ZenHead has character. Much of the time I really liked its character, but sometimes I didn’t think it was adding helpful.
Soundstaging: A+: The ZenHead has non-defeatable crossfeed. I found that its soundstage was deep and wide, and truly palpable. It excelled here, even better than the 2Move with the Meier crossfeed on. If you are a soundstage freak, this amp is for you.
Transparency: A: This was kind of tough. There wasn’t anything that made me feel the amp wasn’t transparent. Neutrality and transparency are NOT the same thing. So even though the amp really wasn’t neutral, I did think it was transparent sounding. Quite so, in fact.
Hmmmm…so what to make of the Zenhead? Well, it won’t be for everyone, but some people might think it’s the best they ever heard. I didn’t, but you might. For me, however, at its price and size especially, I think it will warrant a careful listen for the prospective buyer.
Conclusions (4/25/08)
OK, so now it’s now 39 amps! Here is my view on how the amps stacked up. Note that the sum of the "Grades" I give does not always tell the whole story in how I rank them, since the whole is sometimes greater or lesser than the sum of the parts, and I am often forced to split hairs here, since the list has gotten so long. Also please note that even if these amps include a DAC, that DAC performance was NOT a factor in these rankings AT ALL. Also, for clarification, this ranking is based on sound quality ONLY, and does not take things like size or battery life into account.
1. Triad Audio Lisa III
2. Qables iQube
2. Headamp Pico
2. Larocco Audio Pocket Reference II mk 2 (availability unknown - PLEASE read entire review)
2. Meier Audio 2MOVE (and the older MOVE)
3. RSA SR71
3. RSA The Predator
4. RSA The Hornet “M”
5. Xenos 1HA-EPC (discontinued)
6. RSA Tomahawk
6. Meier Audio XXS / Headsix
7. TTVJ Portable Millet Hybrid
7. Decware Zenhead
8. Xin Reference
8. Meier Audio Porta Corda III (discontinued)
8. Xin SuperMicro IV (current version auditioned 1/22/08)
9. Headamp AE-2
10. Go-Vibe 7
10. Mini3
11. Leckerton Audio UHA-3
12. Portaphile V2^2
13. mSeed Spirit (discontinued)
14. Mini-Box E
14. Storm B4
15. iBasso P-1 (discontinued)
16. Visely HEA- 1
17. Microshar uAmp107
18. Practical Devices XM4
18. C&C XO
18. iBasso T2
19. Go-Vibe 6 (discontinued)
20. Xtra X-1 Pro
21. Xenos 0HA-REP (discontinued)
21. iBasso T1 (discontinued)
22. Xtra X-1 (discontinued)
23. C&C Box V2
24. Storm B3
25. Little Dot Micro+ (discontinued)
As always, this is JUST MY OPINION, but I hope it has been helpful.
