[McKajVah]

Quote:

Teh Taboo Mk 111 will nto be good for speakers 87-89 DB un that size room or any room for that matter. The Mk 111 will work better with speakers that are 94DB or better =and in my opinion need the csp2  to smudging its best for speakers. I thought the Dare 2A3 8 watt integrated amp was better for the highly efficient Omega 3T. If the speakers you are using look at the recommended power rating from he speaker manufacturer. Most will bin those range woiil say 25W or more to drive them . I have never seen a speaker manufacture with a 89DB speaker recommend a 4.5 W amp to drive them properly.  Most Decware amps  are designed for 94DB and up and in my opinion the Mk 111 needs a preamp for speakers to sound best.

Yeah, my bad... I forgot to tell that i really never listen to music past 90db, and sit about 1,5m-2m from them. So in theory 4W should be enough....?

 

[negura]

There appears to have been some activity today, as I've finally received my shipped email a couple of hours ago, which is like 4-5 days later after they charged me. It's been a considerable wait overall and fully expected, but I've still well exercised my patience. In the end a few more days won't make any difference...
 
Ironically I have received my EL84 tubes from Frank well before my Taboo.

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

Yeah, my bad... I forgot to tell that i really never listen to music past 90db, and sit about 1,5m-2m from them. So in theory 4W should be enough....?

Its not about the Loudness. it about driving multiple driver speaker with crossover. Underpowered speakers dont sound good. They have flabby bass and  you never getting the nest form the speaker you purchased. If your call but even near field which is what I amusing the Omega 3T the Taboo was just OK and I felt it needed a preamp as the MK111 was really designed for headphones and Steve said a speaker amp as a second thought. If you have the csp2 or any other preamp then it should work OK but in my opinion a 89 DB speaker would work better with more power.
 
The MK 111 played my 89DB Polks but fully opened it was not very liud and they were being drive like the 35W Pioneers SX650 was a better amplifier for the Polks which are in my daughters room now.  The Pioneer makes those inexpensive Polks really sound great.

 

[Argo Duck]

Ian, I'm a little surprised about your problem getting the W4S-Taboo 3-LCD 2 loud enough.

I have the taboo 2 which has more power - but only 1dB more - it's rare I go over 12 o'clock. A gain problem? Might be worth trying another driver tube?

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

Ian, I'm a little surprised about your problem getting the W4S-Taboo 3-LCD 2 loud enough.

I have the taboo 2 which has more power - but only 1dB more - it's rare I go over 12 o'clock. A gain problem? Might be worth trying another driver tube?

The MK has no resistor in the amp the MK111 adds a resistor which cuts the volume downs some. I think it would work better with a pre amp which it did when I reviewed it. 

 

[IHMEYERS]

Quote:

Ian, I'm a little surprised about your problem getting the W4S-Taboo 3-LCD 2 loud enough.

I have the taboo 2 which has more power - but only 1dB more - it's rare I go over 12 o'clock. A gain problem? Might be worth trying another driver tube?

I have tried a number of driver tubes.  The best of the bunch (in terms of sound quality) was a NOS Brimar.  I liked that better than either the stock tube, Mullard, Telefunken or Amperex (Orange lettering) I had in my tube box.
 
On most recordings I am able to get just enough gain at the highest (or next to highest setting).  Having had a lot of high end stuff in my house over the past 30 years I am generally a pretty good judge of this stuff and I think the Taboo3/LCD2 is borderline without a preamp.  IMHO, borderline in terms of gain, not sound quality which to my ears is A+.  I think whether it works or not for a given individual will depend upon how much gain they gain get from their DAC.
 
Frank's explanation about the resistor makes sense because there are no recordings where I can use the 12 o'clock setting.  I am on the fence about getting a preamp.  I have downsized over the years to reduce the $$$ I have tied up in my system and I am not sure I want to spend much on a preamp (since for me using just a single source all it is is an expensive gain stage) , although the Decware preamp isn't too bad cost wise.  I am also not wild about putting anything in the signal path (i.e. preamp and another pair of interconnects) if I don't absolutely have to.

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

I think they are short handed there--Sarah is on maternity leave,or,so I've been told by Devon..so..???
I'd e-mail Devon..
 
It is a holiday ..happy 4th.

She was definitely pregnant when I was there in March. It is a National holiday tomorrow in the USA so it is not unusual for small business to take the week off.....

 

[IHMEYERS]

Quote:

She was definitely pregnant when I was there in March. It is a National holiday tomorrow in the USA so it is not unusual for small business to take the week off.....

She must have given birth about 2 weeks ago.  When I was on the phone with DeVon then she commented that Sarah had gone into labor.  Great news for the family.

 
I wouldn't be surprised given everything going on and the mid-week holiday that they won't be back until Monday.

 

[Argo Duck]

Hi Ian, bearing in mind I've never heard the mkIII, so this is just speculation/general information...

I recall Frank had a problem with his first mkIII review unit because level was too low. Turned out the engineer concerned had wired in a 100-ohm resistor. It was supposed to be 1 ohm! Things changed radically when this was fixed. Have I got that right Frank?
(It's so long since I picked up any electronic parts I'm not sure how resistors are coded now, but I could understand it being an easy mistake to make).

The W4S - even in SE mode - surely produces a healthy, standard 2Vrms. Doesn't it?

 

[mikek200]

Quote:

She must have given birth about 2 weeks ago.  When I was on the phone with DeVon then she commented that Sarah had gone into labor.  Great news for the family.

 
I wouldn't be surprised given everything going on and the mid-week holiday that they won't be back until Monday.

Yes,I think you are right...
Just hope Sarah & the baby are ,OK. ,and Sarah gets some rest..
 
I'm guessing that my Taboo will go out on Monday,Devon told me the re-certification is done & all is well..so?
A few more days wont kill me..

 

[IHMEYERS]

Quote:

Hi Ian, bearing in mind I've never heard the mkIII, so this is just speculation/general information...

I recall Frank had a problem with his first mkIII review unit because level was too low. Turned out the engineer concerned had wired in a 100-ohm resistor. It was supposed to be 1 ohm! Things changed radically when this was fixed. Have I got that right Frank?
(It's so long since I picked up any electronic parts I'm not sure how resistors are coded now, but I could understand it being an easy mistake to make).

The W4S - even in SE mode - surely produces a healthy, standard 2Vrms. Doesn't it?

Using the Stereophile test CD I have been employing for 15+ years the amp outputs just less than 1V using the test tone track.  That's without headphones attached and the voltmeter leads attached to the speaker terminals. 
 
Seeing as how I got the amp directly from Decware (it was in for repair and that customer sold it to me and had DeVon ship it here) and that Steve himself checked it before I got it I would think that it is operating as it should but who knows.  Maybe I will call them next week.

 

[Frank I]

the first sample unit had the wrong resistor in the amp. I would htink if this was back to Decware  for a repair I would think the problem is something else. I would send it in again and and see what up with it.

 

[IHMEYERS]

I think I am going to buy a preamp or zstage for it.  I hate like hell to wait until September for it so if anyone hasa relatively new Decware preamp or zstage they want to sell quickly please PM me.
 

 

[mikek200]

Quote:

I think I am going to buy a preamp or zstage for it.  I hate like hell to wait until September for it so if anyone hasa relatively new Decware preamp or zstage they want to sell quickly please PM me.
 

How do you know ,that you'll have to wait till september.
If they know what the problem might be,you could ???have it back in a few weeks.
 
I sent my taboo in for re-cerification of the warranty,& some forum member,I would have to wait 12 weeks-when I emailed Devon,,it was done,so=10 days
More than likley will ship Friday,tomorrow....so.

 

[IHMEYERS]

No, I meant that I don't think there is anything wrong with the Taboo and I would have to wait until September for a Zstage if I ordered one now.
 
My hearing is just so/so these days so what seems not loud enough to me is likely loud enough for most people.  My 16YO son thinks its way loud enough.  Since the amp was just re-certified 2 weeks ago its probably fine.  This is the first time I've had a high end system without a preamp.  I've never run directly from a DAC to amp before this.  I sold my CJ preamp a few months ago because I was going headphone only and I didn't think I would need one...