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Welcome to Decware
Zen TORII Mk 5
MODEL TORIIMK5
20 WATTS x 2
Made by hand in the USA and sold wholesale to the public with a
L i f e t i m e W a r r a n t y !
A stargate that lets you step inside the music.
5th REVISION
"A Torii is a traditional Japanese gate often found at the entrances to Buddhist temples, where it symbolically marks the transition from mediocrity to the sacred. This is how the amplifier makes me feel when I listen to it, so this is what it was named. We find it's extraordinary fidelity is a catalyst for out of body listening experiences.
This comes in part from it's esoteric point-to-point simplicity and our proprietary transformers.
I'm not sure if this is a time machine, a spaceship, or something that you plug in like a glowing gate to a higher plane of consciousness but every time I listen to it I disappear!"
Designed to be unusually good sounding, and it is.
Steve Deckert - DECWARE / High Fidelity Engineering
Zen TORII Mk5 Dual-Mono Amplifier
FEATURES
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Dual-Mono design where the only thing shared between the two halves is the power cord.
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Purist Design is hand built point-to-point with no circuit boards and zero solid state parts.
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Tube Rectified and Vacuum tube regulated power supplies for each channel.
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Rare harmonics that sound and feel like an SET amplifier.
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No global negative feedback used.
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Sounds great with simple and affordable EL34 output tubes.
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Compatible with KT77, 6L6, 5881, 6550, KT66, KT88, 7027, EL34 and 807 with adapter.
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Optional Transformer-coupled XLR inputs.
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Boutique internals including Miflex Copper Foil capacitors and F&T electrolytics.
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7 way bias meter to read each of the four tubes individually, in pairs, or all at once.
What sets this amplifier apart?
"The two biggest things other than no circuit boards or solid state parts, would be this:
1) Tube Regulation - shown left.
2) Even Order Harmonics - discussed below.
Both are unheard of in the vast majority of push-pull amplifiers, tube or solid state alike.
This beautiful tube is a variant of the OA3 regulator tube. It is a VR90 which drops the voltage to the input stage by around 15 volts. This can be just enough to tickle your exotic N.O.S. 6922 or 7DJ8 inputs tubes into a new level of nirvana. There are actually three of these tubes you can work with that will give you three different sounds.
Even order vs. Odd order harmonics is basically a discussion comparing the sound of SET amps to Push-Pull designs. Push-Pull designs, both tube and solid state have odd-order distortion whereas the SET (Single-Ended-Triode) amp designs have even-order distortion.
Even-order distortion is found in nature. It actually can make things sound better rather than worse. Odd-order distortion is like hitting the wrong notes on a piano, and is never enjoyable in any amount.
We designed the Zen TORII to have Even Order Harmonics by manipulating the operating points in the SET input stage and direct-coupled phase inverter. These harmonics are passed by the the output stage that has been designed with lower voltages and less demanding bias to eliminate clipping. This has a pleasant benefit of increasing output tube life and keeping the sound from getting hard or overly forward and dry.
ZEN TORII PUSH-PULL
ZEN TRIODE SET
Shown above are the harmonics of both the TORII and our SET amplifier side by side.
A typical push-pull amplifier's distortion graph looks like this:
Unlike the Decware's, the 1K tone doesn't generate an even harmonic at 2K, instead it is at 3K, 5K, 7K (A,B,C)
Despite the insane resolution of the TORII design, it manages to keep from getting clinical. The whole design was about the sound, not power. That said, the amp can drive nearly a dead short, and many have reported a death grip on the bass, so the lower power of 20 watts does actually have some nuts behind it.
THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS CAN BE SELECTED FROM WITHIN THE SHOPPING CART.
Wood Base Type
Shown above from top to bottom is: Maple, Cherry, Black, Walnut, Black Victorian. Custom hardwoods and or finishes are available upon request for additional costs.
Knobs Type
From left to right is; Ebony, Gold, Black Chicken Head, Cream Chicken Head, Walnut.
Other Options
LEVEL 2 Anniversary Mods -
This amplifier comes standard with Level 1 Anniversary mods. Level 2 Anniversary Mods simply upgrade the Level 1 mods to Miflex Copper Foil to match the exotic signal caps.
XLR Balanced Inputs -
You can add True transformer-coupled balanced XLR inputs to this amplifier in parallel with one of the two pair of existing RCA jacks for each channel. That means you can have one RCA source and one XLR source, or two RCA sources.
SILKSCREEN -
Most Decware Gear is black with no markings - this amplifier is also available that way at no additional charge.
VOLTAGES -
The amp has a CE rated world voltage compatible pair of power transformers. You can select your voltage from within the shopping cart.
New Options -
When available additional options can be found in the the shopping cart.