[ZERUNG]

Folks,
Is the Taboo III better than Dragon Inspire IHA-1 Tube Headphone Amp?
Will be using with LCD2 (Will upgrade to LCD3F).
Cheers
Z

 

[Argo Duck]

There may not be any Taboo III owners here with experience of the IHA-1.

In case there are, it would be helpful if you explain what you mean by "better". What qualities are important to you?

 

[ZERUNG]

There may not be any Taboo III owners here with experience of the IHA-1.

In case there are, it would be helpful if you explain what you mean by "better". What qualities are important to you?

argh!! You have hit the proverbial nail on the head.... But I dont want to be so specific. Nevertheless let me try set as a path to my query. I think my Ican is very good amp,generally happy: But I want to move on to a better tube based Amp that does not cost me an arm and a leg (And upgrade my Can also). I do want musical amp, better in the mids with voice and shimmering in the highs.I am not big into soundstage - but that would be a bonus. So will the bottom end where I prefer a little bit more tighter bass.Yes I do like dynamic offering..... So that almost makes my request list. Thanks
PS. IHA-1 is cheaper, sounds very esoteric, which I love....similar to my Lamp DAC - which trounces the competition with out too much public fanfare..

 

[longbowbbs]

 

There may not be any Taboo III owners here with experience of the IHA-1.

In case there are, it would be helpful if you explain what you mean by "better". What qualities are important to you?

argh!! You have hit the proverbial nail on the head.... But I dont want to be so specific. Nevertheless let me try set as a path to my query. I think my Ican is very good amp,generally happy: But I want to move on to a better tube based Amp that does not cost me an arm and a leg (And upgrade my Can also). I do want musical amp, better in the mids with voice and shimmering in the highs.I am not big into soundstage - but that would be a bonus. So will the bottom end where I prefer a little bit more tighter bass.Yes I do like dynamic offering..... So that almost makes my request list. Thanks
PS. IHA-1 is cheaper, sounds very esoteric, which I love....similar to my Lamp DAC - which trounces the competition with out too much public fanfare..

I have owned the Taboo MK III and have spent time with the IHA-1.  Both use 5U4G variants for Rectifiers however, they differ from there with the Taboo running a Trio of 6922/6N1P's for input/output tubes vs the IHA-1 using a pair of 6SN7's. The Taboo has more power and was built to be optimized for Planar Magnetic (Specifically the LCD-2) headphones. I got to listen to the prototype of the Taboo MK III at Decware with Steve's own pair of LCD-2's. The IHA-1 is likely more suited to higher impedance cans like Sennheiser HD650 or HD800's. I found the Taboo was awesome with those same HD800's so if you are going to run Dynamic cans it would be subtle variations between them. Planars would be better served by the Taboo IMO. The Taboo does have the Lucid Mode cross feed which may or may not be interesting to you. Both are expertly made and will last for many years of great listing enjoyment. They are similarly priced as well.
 
I hope that helps!
 

 

[ZERUNG]

Thank you.
I love the 5U4G rectfier and the various variants (Especially RT 5R4GYS D getter), the 6SN7 does provide some interesting tube rollings that may work well with the chain of tubes from my DAC to the Amp. I am also going to upgrade to the LCD3_P; the lower price of the IHA-1 along with the tube potential is pushing me towards this amp....the colour and the external design is not my cup.
I will mull over this for a while longer.

 

[longbowbbs]

The IHA-1 should be sufficient for the LCD-3's. Frank I has a thorough review on Headphone.guru.

 

[jhljhl]

The CSP2+ and the Taboo MKIII is an excellent combination for the HD800.  It is not frequently mentioned for some reason but once I dialed in the right controls from reading this post I think was from Steve:
 

Run the volume control on the Taboo wide open.  Set the volume control on the CSP2+ at the half way point.  Turn both input level controls to max.  Turn both output level controls to min.  Turn everything on and let it warm up a few minutes.  You will hear no sound.  Then slowly raise the output level controls until you reach a good listening level.  Your output controls are now set.  Use the volume on the CSP2+ from this point on to adjust levels.

 
It is remarkable the 3d layered sound in the HD800.
 
The Taboo MKIII is mostly noted for its synergy with the LCD3f.  However the CSP2+ and the Taboo MKIII also provide a much richer texture with bass slam as well.

 

[checha31]

Hello People,
 
Need some insights from actual MK3 owners who have tube-rolled. I recently purchased (process of delivery) a Decware Taboo MKIII amp for my LCD3. I had heard the music from similar setup and couldn't get the experience out from my head. Lusted for it and finally made the plunge.
 
However, the setup had rectifier tubes that were not part of the original MkIII. I cannot remember the brand. I searched this thread for rectifier tube alternatives but after going through 50+ pages of posts, I feel frustrated that I couldn’t get anywhere much.
 
If someone can list out some good alternatives or point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it a lot. Any good suggestions on the output and signal tubes are also welcome
 
FYI, the type of tubes on the Decware MK3 are –
Rectification       5Y3GT / 5U4 / 5AR4 tube rectification
Output tubes       SV83 or EL84 / 6BQ5
Signal tube         6922 / 6N1P
 
Thanks….

 

[Argo Duck]

^ Have you tried search-this-thread or google to get a smaller set of pages to work through?

Sorry can't help further (I'm an 'actual' Mk II owner) but you certainly do need to tube roll and there certainly are many here who can help. If not, Decware's own forums...

 

[funch]

Here's what I use:
 
USAF 596 for the rectifier.
 
Stock SV83 outputs. IMHO, the EL84's are too soft.
 
My amp is a MK II, and uses a 12AU7 for the input, but I use a Telefunken E88CC gold pin as input
in my CSP2+ and like it very much. This one, platinum and cryo'ed. http://www.upscaleaudio.com/telefunken-e88cc-6922/?page_context=category&faceted_search=0

 

[jhljhl]

  Hello People,
 
Need some insights from actual MK3 owners who have tube-rolled. I recently purchased (process of delivery) a Decware Taboo MKIII amp for my LCD3. I had heard the music from similar setup and couldn't get the experience out from my head. Lusted for it and finally made the plunge.
 
However, the setup had rectifier tubes that were not part of the original MkIII. I cannot remember the brand. I searched this thread for rectifier tube alternatives but after going through 50+ pages of posts, I feel frustrated that I couldn’t get anywhere much.
 
If someone can list out some good alternatives or point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it a lot. Any good suggestions on the output and signal tubes are also welcome
 
FYI, the type of tubes on the Decware MK3 are –
Rectification       5Y3GT / 5U4 / 5AR4 tube rectification
Output tubes       SV83 or EL84 / 6BQ5
Signal tube         6922 / 6N1P
 
Thanks….

You might try searching the decware forum there is a lot of relevant info if I recall there on tube rolling.

 

[checha31]

Thanks for the quick head's up... will follow up on the feedback.

 

[Brucemck2]

I took delivery of a new Decware Taboo Mk3 today.
 
Even right out of the box, with no burn in, with factory supplied tubes, and without being connected to my HE1000s via the balanced cables, it's a great match for those cans.
 
Highly, highly, recommended pairing.
 
Now I just need to figure out what tube complement to try.

 

[jhljhl]

  I took delivery of a new Decware Taboo Mk3 today.
 
Even right out of the box, with no burn in, with factory supplied tubes, and without being connected to my HE1000s via the balanced cables, it's a great match for those cans.
 
Highly, highly, recommended pairing.
 
Now I just need to figure out what tube complement to try.

That's nice to know.  I've used the MKIII with the LCD3f and HD800 both with and without a CSP2+.  I think they are richer sounding with the CSP2+ but the LCD3f with just MKIII alone is really good.  I'm curious to know how you would compare the HD800 or LCD3f sound out of the MKIII to the HE1000 for my reference as I was curious about acquiring an HE1000 as was also wondering about its synergy with the MKIII. 

 

[checha31]

Its been 2+ weeks with my new Decware Taboo MKIII. So far, I have used it without any tube rolling (with my LCD3) to make sure I get a good burn-in with the stock tubes. Plan to roll them soon.
 
My impressions so far -
The stock without Lucid mode has a nice soundstage with good instrument separation. With the Lucid mode, I find suitable improvement.
 
I have gotten some recommendations to pair the MKIII with a CSP2+ but I'm not sure how much of an improvement I will hear. Any thoughts/feedback on this?
 
I'm looking forward to my Decware TORII JR
 
Update soon...