[longbowbbs]

Just got an e-mail from Steve about Decware's E-mail trouble....:
 
 

Hi Eric, We're sorry to bother you!  Our e-mails at decware.com were blacklisted on DEC 12 at approximately 3:12 P.M. for reasons yet to be discovered - meaning that all attempts to e-mail anyone at decware.com will result in bounced e-mails.   We can't receive these e-mails that are sent to decware.com.  NEW CONTACT EMAILS: Sarah: sarah@zenamps.com   (was sarah @ decware.com) DeVon: dev@zenamps.com  (was dev @ decware.com) Steve: steve@zenamps.com (was zen @ decware.com) Josh: josh@zenamps.com (was josh @ decware.com)   Please use the above e-mails for future communications!

 

[Argo Duck]

Eric's right but if you have your Taboo and CSP tuned to sound different (e.g. one warmer the other leaner) you can also use both volume controls together. Raising one as you lower the other keeps the level the same but changes the balance of CSP and Taboo. Steve Deckert described it briefly in one of his papers or posts and one of the guys (Will) over on the Decware forums took it to the n-th degree to control weight.

Hey guys, when you use your Taboo with a CSP do you just leave Taboo volume full on and adjust volume with the CSP?
That seems more logical than the other way around but I've never used a pre-amp with an integrated amp.
Thanks....

 

[Argo Duck]

Wow that's weird about Decware's email :eek: Thanks for posting that Eric

 

[thegrobe]

Hey guys, when you use your Taboo with a CSP do you just leave Taboo volume full on and adjust volume with the CSP?
That seems more logical than the other way around but I've never used a pre-amp with an integrated amp.
Thanks....

To mirror the other comments, yes. That's generally the way I do it. However my CSP is the more colored of the two, if I have a specific recording that's a bit lean, bright etc, I'll knock the taboo down around 5 clicks from maximum, thus getting a bit more of the CSP flavor in the balance, as AiDee mentioned.

That's one thing I really like about running the pair, the fine tuning possibilities to get things just to your listening preference.

 

[parbaked]

Thanks guys...

 

[OPR8R]

I tend to keep my Taboo around 15 clicks, and use the CSP3 for volume adjustments...  But I'm kinda like thegrobe, and will fiddle to get stuff sounding the way I like, depending on recording.

 

[longbowbbs]

  I tend to keep my Taboo around 15 clicks, and use the CSP3 for volume adjustments...  But I'm kinda like thegrobe, and will fiddle to get stuff sounding the way I like, depending on recording.

Then you can fiddle with Lucid 1 or 2, then you can roll tubes....No end to tweeking!

 

[dan.gheorghe]

Hey guys,
 
I am experiencing a subtle hum in the left channel with taboo mk3. It is apparent when you are not listening to music. Even if it is subtle (about 20hz I think), it gets annoying after a while.
 
I have already ruled out ground loops and tubes. It is more apparent when I turn lucid modes on. With the old lucid mode int increases ~2 x times and with the new lucid mode 4 to 5 x times. 
 
I can only hear it with low impedance headphones. Sennheiser HD800 doesn't get the humm. But LCD-X, Focal Spirit Classic & Professional and a pair of iems, do.
 
Did anybody experience this?
 
Thanks,
 
Dan

 

[WNBC]

Hum in one channel is interesting.  Have you swapped out tubes?  
 
As for subtle hum with more efficient, low impedance headphones, especially with new lucid mode engaged.  Definitely when I had Grado 325 and Fostex TH-600.  While these type of headphones will sound good with Taboo the noise floor is definitely higher when you move away from non-efficient planars for which this amp was designed for.  Does anybody with efficient, low impedance headphones not have a higher noise floor or subtle hum?    
 
 
 
Quote:

  Hey guys,
 
I am experiencing a subtle hum in the left channel with taboo mk3. It is apparent when you are not listening to music. Even if it is subtle (about 20hz I think), it gets annoying after a while.
 
I have already ruled out ground loops and tubes. It is more apparent when I turn lucid modes on. With the old lucid mode int increases ~2 x times and with the new lucid mode 4 to 5 x times. 
 
I can only hear it with low impedance headphones. Sennheiser HD800 doesn't get the humm. But LCD-X, Focal Spirit Classic & Professional and a pair of iems, do.
 
Did anybody experience this?
 
Thanks,
 
Dan

 

[dan.gheorghe]

Yes, I have swapped out tubes, isolated the taboo from the power-line and the other components in a power regenerator switched to battery mode. Went to another room, etc.
 
The humm is apparent even when the lucid modes aren't on. However, it gets stronger with them on.
 
Tried all the outputs, both single ended and balanced.
 
It is also apparent with audeze LCD-X. It is true that it has only 22 ohms, but it needs some power, not like it's brothers, but it does.
 
The humm is also independent of the volume.

 

[Kendoji]

Yep that's exactly like mine.

 

[dan.gheorghe]

Yep that's exactly like mine.

So are experiencing the same type of hum that I have described?
 
On what headphones? I assume the Grados, Denon and V-MODA. Am I right?

 

[Kendoji]

I hear it through all my headphones, even the planar Hifimans. I don't hear it when music is playing, apart from occasional quiet passages. It bugged me a lot in the beginning but it rarely bothers me now, especially as I'm using speakers more now where I don't hear it at all. One of the guys from these forums sent his back not long ago and Steve said it was fine, so I decided not to bother sending mine all the way from Amsterdam.

 

[thegrobe]

I received my HD800 yesterday. Wow, the CSP3/Taboo with them is pretty amazing. Too early for any real solid impressions though, but still very impressed. I so far only changed the taboo rectifier to an RCA 5Y3GT, other than that just using the same tubes as the LCD-3 for now. Tried the CSP3 alone and CSP3/Taboo pair. Haven't tried Taboo alone yet.

The LCD is like an antique leather chair and a cigar in some sort of library. Rich mahogany and leather clad books surrounding you. The HD800 it's like you're on a surgeons table. But strangely enough it's not scary at all. Maybe they've pumped you full of morphine so it's all good. And damn that surgeon knows what he's doing ....so you feel safe. I was worried about reports of hot or tizzy or unpleasant treble, but there's none of that. It's of course more thin bodied than the LCD, but not unpleasant or boring in any way. The imaging with the Decware setup and HD800 is crazy good.

I won't rehash any more of my discussion regarding hum (Dan you can search through the thread for my posts about it, which includes a return trip to Decware). I'm finding any hum with the LCD-3 to be so slight at this point, it's not an issue really. But there isn't ANY trace of hum with the HD800. So I figure it's noticeable depending somewhat on headphone impedance. 300 ohm- zero hum, 50 ohm LCD-3- very very slight, 22 ohm LCD-X?? Maybe more noticeable? Definitely intrusive on my 30 ohm, high sensitivity CIEM's.

 

[WNBC]

Awesome.  The HD800 is something I think about but wonder if I will like it is as much as the orthos.  HD800 + tubes = goodness?
 
 
Quote:

I received my HD800 yesterday. Wow, the CSP3/Taboo with them is pretty amazing. Too early for any real solid impressions though, but still very impressed. I so far only changed the taboo rectifier to an RCA 5Y3GT, other than that just using the same tubes as the LCD-3 for now. Tried the CSP3 alone and CSP3/Taboo pair. Haven't tried Taboo alone yet.

The LCD is like an antique leather chair and a cigar in some sort of library. Rich mahogany and leather clad books surrounding you. The HD800 it's like you're on a surgeons table. But strangely enough it's not scary at all. Maybe they've pumped you full of morphine so it's all good. And damn that surgeon knows what he's doing ....so you feel safe. I was worried about reports of hot or tizzy or unpleasant treble, but there's none of that. It's of course more thin bodied than the LCD, but not unpleasant or boring in any way. The imaging with the Decware setup and HD800 is crazy good.

I won't rehash any more of my discussion regarding hum (Dan you can search through the thread for my posts about it, which includes a return trip to Decware). I'm finding any hum with the LCD-3 to be so slight at this point, it's not an issue really. But there isn't ANY trace of hum with the HD800. So I figure it's noticeable depending somewhat on headphone impedance. 300 ohm- zero hum, 50 ohm LCD-3- very very slight, 22 ohm LCD-X?? Maybe more noticeable? Definitely intrusive on my 30 ohm, high sensitivity CIEM's.