Hi 1Mark,
I owned the Essence but I never had the Decware or the Art Audio paired with it at that time. I did have an Art Audio PX-25 and and AA 845 and a Decware Torii with the Omen Defs. I preferred the PX-25 to the 845 for its Increased transparency, speed, and PrAt and I would love to have the PX-25 in my possession now..... However the Torii was my favorite amp With the Omen Defs as it had the immediacy and in the room presence of the best set (which for me was a Coincident 300b with BT tubes), coupled with amazing transparency, and very deep and fast bass. The Torii has a lot less coloration than most other tube amps, is very detailed, and maybe a bit too transparent for some systems. It does seem to pair very well with Zu ( I know of four other Zu owners that were very happy with it), but it doesn't pair as well with my current Tekton Pendragons as the midbass is a bit overwhelming for my room.......that is in comparison to the Art Audio Carissa 845 which produced a big bold romantic sound. It was fantastic for jazz, but seemed to be less agile with faster paced music.......
I do hope this helps.....one huge pro of the Torii is that you can easily customize the bass and treble for your speakers, and the large number of tubes make it alot of fun to customize to meet your needs........
I owned the Essence but I never had the Decware or the Art Audio paired with it at that time. I did have an Art Audio PX-25 and and AA 845 and a Decware Torii with the Omen Defs. I preferred the PX-25 to the 845 for its Increased transparency, speed, and PrAt and I would love to have the PX-25 in my possession now..... However the Torii was my favorite amp With the Omen Defs as it had the immediacy and in the room presence of the best set (which for me was a Coincident 300b with BT tubes), coupled with amazing transparency, and very deep and fast bass. The Torii has a lot less coloration than most other tube amps, is very detailed, and maybe a bit too transparent for some systems. It does seem to pair very well with Zu ( I know of four other Zu owners that were very happy with it), but it doesn't pair as well with my current Tekton Pendragons as the midbass is a bit overwhelming for my room.......that is in comparison to the Art Audio Carissa 845 which produced a big bold romantic sound. It was fantastic for jazz, but seemed to be less agile with faster paced music.......
I do hope this helps.....one huge pro of the Torii is that you can easily customize the bass and treble for your speakers, and the large number of tubes make it alot of fun to customize to meet your needs........