[jazzgas]

Quote:

 
I also came to find my mains voltage is all over the place, fluctuating in the course of a few days anywhere between 240-256V.
All my devices sound improved with the use of the regen, including the Taboo.

Negrura,  please help this technically ignorant soul.....how do you measure mains voltage?  A few months ago I bought a digital multi-meter to measure  the DC Offset Voltage of an Amp, after much reading.  I found the speaker terminals of my "Newly Repaired" SS Amp were respectively 3+ and 5+ volts.  Unfortunately I found this out after it had fried my beloved ESS AMT speakers.  I returned the Amp with a letter to pick up and repair my speakers.....I haven't heard from them in over two months....I'll eventually get around to pressing them....I'm just too busy enjoying my Taboo and ordering more equipment.  I started fresh. Mark.

 

[negura]

With the regen I do not need to measure it, as it has a Lcd showing this info. With the multimeter I have a common setting for dc/ac so I just press the selection button to switch to AC with the measuring posts into live and neutral. Your multimeter may be very different, so hopefully you have some instructions.

 

[jazzgas]

Quote:

With the regen I do not need to measure it, as it has a Lcd showing this info. With the multimeter I have a common setting for dc/ac so I just press the selection button to switch to AC with the measuring posts into live and neutral. Your multimeter may be very different, so hopefully you have some instructions.

Thanks, I'll have to look it up....I'm a little  hesitant to stick things into my power outlet.  Your discussion here has me looking at the PS Audio Perfectwave power plant P5.  If fact, if I win the lottery, I'd buy trio of this and their Perfect Wave DAC and Transport....until then I'll make due with lesser stuff.  Mark.

 

[OPR8R]

I'm curious.  For those of you who have had the USAF-596 and Philips 5R4GYS rectifiers, can you comment of the differences?

 

[Nick Dangerous]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/655788/the-decware-taboo-mk-111-appreciation-thread/780#post_9569043

 

[OPR8R]

Quote:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/655788/the-decware-taboo-mk-111-appreciation-thread/780#post_9569043

Thanks, Nick.  I have this bookmarked already

 
Since you posted this, I think there have been others who have tried both and I was curious to see what they think also.  I'm actually quite pleased with the way the 5R4GYS sounds in combination with the other tubes I use.  I think I saw some have tried the Philips but gone back to the 596?  Or not?

 

[Nick Dangerous]

The Philips 5R4GYS is popular around here, but the lack of bass with the HD800 was noticeably greater than with any other tube. Couldn't make it work. Oh well. I might have gotten one that didn't measure up to the rest... who knows.
 
I believe most people would prefer the 596 to the 5R4GYS in the Taboo/CSP. Of course, I'm only saying that because I did. 

 

[Llloyd]

Just curious if there is a distortion or THD+N measurement of the taboo somewhere. I can't seem to find one. The distortion is very low from what I've been able to tell, but numbers are always nice for reference.

 

[Argo Duck]

I've never seen any THD+N figures.

Discussions with Chris J (he's a power engineer and knows just a bit about amplifier design) certainly suggest it is low, or more correctly low where it counts: in the higher harmonics and in the inter-modulation (IMD) area too. He looked at the Taboo schematic soon after i bought mine and we discussed a lot about the lack of obvious coloration and considerable extra low-level information I could hear. We talked about what makes tube amps good when - i guess - they shouldnt be.

His final comment was the Taboo seems to have a simple, well-executed and over-spec'd design that means when driving an LCD 2/3 it is literally just idling, with consequent advantages in terms of low distortion and noise.

 

[Llloyd]

Quote:

I've never seen any THD+N figures.

Discussions with Chris J (he's a power engineer and knows just a bit about amplifier design) certainly suggest it is low, or more correctly low where it counts: in the higher harmonics and in the inter-modulation (IMD) area too. He looked at the Taboo schematic soon after i bought mine and we discussed a lot about the lack of obvious coloration and considerable extra low-level information I could hear. We talked about what makes tube amps good when - i guess - they shouldnt be.

His final comment was the Taboo seems to have a simple, well-executed and over-spec'd design that means when driving an LCD 2/3 it is literally just idling, with consequent advantages in terms of low distortion and noise.

 
Ah, thanks for the info!

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

I'm curious.  For those of you who have had the USAF-596 and Philips 5R4GYS rectifiers, can you comment of the differences?

I am getting a more slamming bass from the 596. The 5R4GYS is more refined across the board. Lately, I am loving the slam!

 

[OPR8R]

Quote:

I am getting a more slamming bass from the 596. The 5R4GYS is more refined across the board. Lately, I am loving the slam!

I wonder if I'd "love the slam" enough to give up the Philips.  I guess I don't have to worry.  It's not like there are a ton of these on sale at Costco.

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

Quote:

I am getting a more slamming bass from the 596. The 5R4GYS is more refined across the board. Lately, I am loving the slam!

I wonder if I'd "love the slam" enough to give up the Philips.  I guess I don't have to worry.  It's not like there are a ton of these on sale at Costco.

"Help required in the USAF-596 aisle.....)  

 

[thegrobe]

The last couple nights I have been realizing just how special this amplifier is. In addition to my usual DAC feeding the Taboo, I tried feeding the other input with my iPod touch 5G, lossless files, with just a cheapie Radio Shack grade mini to RCA connector, right out of the headphone jack. (it has the lightning connector, so there is no true line out, however the 5G touch has a very clean headphone out, it actually works very well this way)
 
I was REALLY surprised to find the Taboo/LCD-3 sounded so good just being fed off the iPod. I have tried this before with my other amps and it has always been a little "blah". But the Taboo just adds some magic and spaciousness and you would think you were listening to a much higher grade source. Of course, if you A/B with my desktop DAC and DH Labs cables, there is a bit of a difference. The last 5% diminishing returns kind. I'm not going to go getting rid of my DAC or anything, but I was really satisfied with the sound. 
 
I can't wait to hear the CSP3 in the chain. If the only drawback is a slight loss of transparency, that's okay. I find a lot of my recordings are showing their true nature with the Taboo. If it's a great recording, it sounds awesome. But if it's poorly produced, etc., it is shown as such due to the high level of transparency. A little loss of that to make the entire music collection a bit more even is okay with me. 
 
On another note- the DC blocking power conditioner I tried did not reduce the background hum I'm hearing. I'm not going to continue stinking up this thread with this stuff. If I find a verifiable problem and there's something to report I'll post it. The folks at Decware are helpful so that's what matters. Not a deal-breaker. I wouldn't be going forward with adding more Decware gear to my setup if it was.
 
Oh, and if anyone has a lead on where to get one of the 596 rectifiers...

 

[OPR8R]

Quote:

The last couple nights I have been realizing just how special this amplifier is. In addition to my usual DAC feeding the Taboo, I tried feeding the other input with my iPod touch 5G, lossless files, with just a cheapie Radio Shack grade mini to RCA connector, right out of the headphone jack. (it has the lightning connector, so there is no true line out, however the 5G touch has a very clean headphone out, it actually works very well this way)
 
I was REALLY surprised to find the Taboo/LCD-3 sounded so good just being fed off the iPod. I have tried this before with my other amps and it has always been a little "blah". But the Taboo just adds some magic and spaciousness and you would think you were listening to a much higher grade source. Of course, if you A/B with my desktop DAC and DH Labs cables, there is a bit of a difference. The last 5% diminishing returns kind. I'm not going to go getting rid of my DAC or anything, but I was really satisfied with the sound. 
 
I can't wait to hear the CSP3 in the chain. If the only drawback is a slight loss of transparency, that's okay. I find a lot of my recordings are showing their true nature with the Taboo. If it's a great recording, it sounds awesome. But if it's poorly produced, etc., it is shown as such due to the high level of transparency. A little loss of that to make the entire music collection a bit more even is okay with me. 
 
On another note- the DC blocking power conditioner I tried did not reduce the background hum I'm hearing. I'm not going to continue stinking up this thread with this stuff. If I find a verifiable problem and there's something to report I'll post it. The folks at Decware are helpful so that's what matters. Not a deal-breaker. I wouldn't be going forward with adding more Decware gear to my setup if it was.
 
Oh, and if anyone has a lead on where to get one of the 596 rectifiers...

 
Glad you're enjoying your Taboo as much as I (we are) am.  I spend much more time looking for quality recordings than I used to, but it's worth it on the Taboo.  Not just high sample rates, but like you said, high production quality as well.
 
I'm giving up on diagnosing any hum until I move (possibly soonish).  Last night I could hear a hum in my living room.  I've had to have the outlet my Taboo is plugged into replaced once before.
 
I keep checking Ebay for 596 tubes.  When they show up they go fast, and they're not cheap.