I was ready to buy in pairs, so recently I got a TORII V and an UFO2. I’d say the difference in the case of these 2 is the power, 20 W vs 2 (I think). But the sounds are very close, and excellent in both cases. The UFO2 will work perfectly in a small - medium room with the right speakers, while the TORII V (and I assume the SE34I.5) could be used in a more spacious room. I also ordered both amps with the idea of sellingl one of them, but I think I may keep both. I switch between both and I enjoy the experience immensely, 2 masterpieces.
Any direct comparisons between Decware SE34I.5 and SE84UFO2?
I’ve been unsuccessful finding many listening notes contrasting the character and tone of the 2 models. With the current long lead times I guess I could just order both and then easily sell one, but I’m not ready to start buying amps 2 at a time yet. (And if they’re any where near as good as the individual reviews claim, I’d probably end up keeping both.)
For my personal set up I’m not overly concerned about the power output difference. Either should be fine with Zu Soul Supremes. I have a Primaluna now so I have a few EL34 compatible tubes I could use, but I don’t have a benchmark on how different the same tube in a different amp would be. I realize both amps are using a pentode tube as a triode, but I’m not sure how different that is from a true triode SET.
There’s an element of ongoing exploration here. The easy answer is to try everything, but time and money are limiting factors. Is triode mode on the Primaluna giving me an idea of what to expect from a SET amp? Seems like having at least one of these is worthwhile even if some fancy boutique 300B monoblocks might be in my eventual future (the exception to the rule against buying 2 amps at once).
Please chime in with firsthand (or even secondhand) anecdotes, links to reviews I’ve missed, better search terms, cat pictures, or knock-knock jokes. Thanks.
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@jacano that sounds like exactly the scenario I wanted to avoid. I had almost made up my mind when I realized that rather than buying more different amps, what I really needed was a better preamp since I’m still using a Schiit Saga+. As it turns out the new pre I ordered is also an integrated amp. Might be interesting to compare a 1W LTA MZ3 to a 2W Zen someday. I never thought to look for that comparison. There should be a special word for a group of amps, like a gaggle, pride, parliament, clowder, or herd. Enjoy your growing collection. |
I also ordered a switch box from Steve with two outputs and an A/B switch and I go from one to the other. I thought at first about selling the UFO2, but it is "only" $1300, almost not worth to sell it. But now (my room is small) kind of I even like the UFO2 more than the TORII. I don’t feel like selling this one either, because it is probably the first V made, so it is special in some way... So, in conclusion, yes, you did very well not buying both amps... |
@cat_doorman maybe too late for you, but exactly the comps you were asking for are available here:
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Thanks for the link. I think I did see this one, but it’s from 2002 so each of the models has gone through several upgrades since then. Now I think both amps use the same output transformers which brings the sound closer together than previous iterations. I think they’re working on orders from a year ago currently. My indecision added many months to my wait. I think upgrading my preamp was the right choice though. I was sure about that, and it made a bigger difference than switching between amps does. |
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