[L0rdGwyn]

Thanks.
I have others from 4 different kind of tube amps around....

Even my DAC and PA have tubes in it.

Well, start shopping for 6SL7....any recommended brands....
Tung Sol, Linlai, WE, RCA, Mullard?

For American made, Tung-Sol, RCA, Ken-Rad, National Union, Sylvania are all great brands. The smoked RCAs are a solid affordable option. I'm personally interested in a pair of early JAN Sylvanias, somewhere in the middle in terms of cost. Tung-Sol 6SU7GTY and RCA 5691 are some of the most expensive, but they do sound great.

For UK made, Mullard (ECC35) and Brimar (CV1985) are great, but they are expensive.

If you really hate your wallet, you can try to find a pair of Italian Fivre 6SL7. The prices are outrageous.

 

[meomap]

For American made, Tung-Sol, RCA, Ken-Rad, National Union, Sylvania are all great brands. The smoked RCAs are a solid affordable option. I'm personally interested in a pair of early JAN Sylvanias, somewhere in the middle in terms of cost. Tung-Sol 6SU7GTY and RCA 5691 are some of the most expensive, but they do sound great.

For UK made, Mullard (ECC35) and Brimar (CV1985) are great, but they are expensive.

If you really hate your wallet, you can try to find a pair of Italian Fivre 6SL7. The prices are outrageous.

Thank you.
I will do some searching.....

 

[meomap]

Also, I do own Non ZMF headphones....

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Also, I do own Non ZMF headphones....

Cool, Aegis is pretty flexible so you should be in a good shape. Let us know how they pair in the Aegis thread.

 

[OnlySoMany]

Cool, Aegis is pretty flexible so you should be in a good shape. Let us know how they pair in the Aegis thread.

Really torn between this and zmf decware. This hobby I swear

Need to demo both.

 

[AnyDave]

Really torn between this and zmf decware. This hobby I swear

Need to demo both.

Yeah, demoing both is definitely the way to go if you can. That said, If you plan on driving Calderas with the amp, the Aegis is probably the better route. However, if you are only going to drive high-impedance headphones, there is some magic in OTL.

 

[HiFiWar]

Really torn between this and zmf decware. This hobby I swear

Need to demo both.

ZMF Pendant. Awesome and half the size/price.

 

[NewCanFan]

ZMF Pendant. Awesome and half the size/price.

It’s a fabulous amp for the money, its resale value right now is bargain territory tbh. But I can tell you for sure it doesn’t compete with the Decware if you have ZMF’s dynamics.

 

[OnlySoMany]

Yeah, demoing both is definitely the way to go if you can. That said, If you plan on driving Calderas with the amp, the Aegis is probably the better route. However, if you are only going to drive high-impedance headphones, there is some magic in OTL.

Mostly dynamics. I have other amps that I can use for Caldera.

 

[HiFiWar]

It’s a fabulous amp for the money, its resale value right now is bargain territory tbh. But I can tell you for sure it doesn’t compete with the Decware if you have ZMF’s dynamics.

It's smaller, cheaper, lighter, and can power a Susvara. Hard to beat that in my book. Decware is seriously underpowered and amazingly expensive. Not saying it's bad, just saying that's why I have 2 Pendants right now. I'd grab the Aegis, but man that thing is heavy. It would murder my desk.

 

[LXMc]

It's smaller, cheaper, lighter, and can power a Susvara. Hard to beat that in my book. Decware is seriously underpowered and amazingly expensive. Not saying it's bad, just saying that's why I have 2 Pendants right now. I'd grab the Aegis, but man that thing is heavy. It would murder my desk.

No shade intended on the Pendant, but if you take a look at some of the amps in OnlySoMany's signature, the Pendant may be a bit overshadowed.

 

[HiFiWar]

No shade intended on the Pendant, but if you take a look at some of the amps in OnlySoMany's signature, the Pendant may be a bit overshadowed.

We weren't talking about other amps, we were talking about the Decware, which I wanted to get, but it was seriously underpowered.

 

[erics75]

We weren't talking about other amps, we were talking about the Decware, which I wanted to get, but it was seriously underpowered.

I wouldn't say seriously underpowered as a whole, just not powerful enough to run planars. OTLs are voltage machines and drive high impedance dynamics with ease. Planars and their current thirst takes transformers or solid state circuits to adequately power to their full potential. But for those with dynamic driver headphones, power will not be an issue with the Decware.

I do agree the Pendant is an outstanding amp. I've owned both the first and second gen variants and loved them both. I had noise issues which is why I sold them, but from a versatility and sonics standpoint, they're excellent. I've yet to hear the ZMF version of the Decware, but I have heard regular CSP2 and CSP3 models, which the ZMF is based on, and I'd take it over the Pendant easily. And those were the basic models, not Zach's ultra upgraded version. There's a purity of tone with a good OTL that's tough to replicate with SET amps. If only listening to dynamic drivers, I even prefer the basic Woo WA3 OTL to the Pendants. If there's also planars in your lineup then I'd say yeah just run a Pendant and be done with it.

 

[HiFiWar]

I wouldn't say seriously underpowered as a whole, just not powerful enough to run planars. OTLs are voltage machines and drive high impedance dynamics with ease. Planars and their current thirst takes transformers or solid state circuits to adequately power to their full potential. But for those with dynamic driver headphones, power will not be an issue with the Decware.

I do agree the Pendant is an outstanding amp. I've owned both the first and second gen variants and loved them both. I had noise issues which is why I sold them, but from a versatility and sonics standpoint, they're excellent. I've yet to hear the ZMF version of the Decware, but I have heard regular CSP2 and CSP3 models, which the ZMF is based on, and I'd take it over the Pendant easily. And those were the basic models, not Zach's ultra upgraded version. There's a purity of tone with a good OTL that's tough to replicate with SET amps. If only listening to dynamic drivers, I even prefer the basic Woo WA3 OTL to the Pendants. If there's also planars in your lineup then I'd say yeah just run a Pendant and be done with it.

Also, you really need to replace the stock JJ tubes that come with the pendant - they are not the best representation of the amp's capabilities. So yes, running the stock tubes will make the Pendant worse than some other amps - upgrade the tubes though and you can hit endgame (at least my opinion). And yeah, I run several planars and should have a Caldera on the way here eventually.

 

[NewCanFan]

Also, you really need to replace the stock JJ tubes that come with the pendant - they are not the best representation of the amp's capabilities. So yes, running the stock tubes will make the Pendant worse than some other amps - upgrade the tubes though and you can hit endgame (at least my opinion). And yeah, I run several planars and should have a Caldera on the way here eventually.

I had upgraded the Pendant with a NOS Telefunken G73-r red label, a NOS Osram U709, and a matching NOS Valvo EL-84 Closed Getters pair. According to headfi that should be pinnacle of Pendant tube rolling. The amp was absolutely amazing and I’d agree it was pushing endgame with that roll in value (cost would put it close to 3k new with these tubes), and in sound. That being said, if all I had was the ZMF 300ohm dynamics I’d pick the stock Decware all day. The Pendant is great and a jack of all trades, it can run any headphone and sound good. However, the Decware does sound better with the headphones it was designed for.