Hey Carl:
Couldn't sleep this morning and was thinking about your question, "why did you choose the MKIV over the Mystery amp"?

Simply answer, because of the review in Tone Audio by Jeff Dorgay.

After hundreds hours of initial listening, the Decware Zen Torii continues to improve, as Steve Deckert said it would. Suffice to say that this is one of the most musically engaging amplifiers I've had the pleasure to experience. After owning a number of the world's finest SET amps, I can easily support Deckert's claim that the Zen Torii is certainly the equal of any set I've owned.

All of this adds up to sound reproduction that is rare with most amplifiers, no matter the price, and a practical miracle at $3500. Granted, 25 watts per channel won't be optimum for every speaker and room combination. But within this realm, I can't think of a more enjoyable amplifer than the Decware Zen Torii MK. I bought the review sample and plan on keeping it long enough to see if it will ever break.

"I BOUGHT THE REVIEW SAMPLE"...

Those 5 words is what swayed my decision. Reviews come and go, but when a reviewer actually buys the review sample, that says alot.

If you are interested, I've included a few pictures of the amp, from its arrival in a pelican case to its setup...the tubes are boxed separately.

I

So I've got the 1's and have only been playing with set up a short time. I picked up $2500 in GIK panels/traps for a fraction of new and just finished an initial placement. My preamp is Mark Levinson 380s, and amp is ML 334 with 125wpc, Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 tube cd player and/or use it as a transport through a PS Audio digital link DAC. So really well reviewed equipt, and good room, but I'm not happy. The sound stage is excellent, now the bass is great as well, but I still feel the highs are harsh. I do have a Rogue 99 Magnum tube preamp that I can try, but I shouldn't have to go tubed to lose this bright/harsh high end.

I currently have the speakers about 10' away and toed to aim at my ears. I'm going to try to toe in further so they point to my nose and see if that helps, or toe them out away from my ears. I've got absorbtion on the wall behind me and removed side reflections, . I've also got a Behringer RTA and check to see if there are major peaks in the 4k-8khz range that might explain this. I don't want to change the character of a great speaker (it wasn't harsh at the dealer), and would prefer not to EQ them, but hope to find an objective explanation that I can try to fix either by treatment or EQ. The fact that so many of you are talking about tube amps is starting to suggest the need to soften the highs. I just got rid of horns and set tube amps.

I'm interested in any thoughts, especially from GoldenEar folks who may have more insights.

So I have the No 326s with a pair of McIntosh MC601's with No360s DAC ... so similar level equipment. I have Triton 2's so I'm not sure if the 1's are brighter or not and would be interested in your impression if you have done that comparison even at the showroom(been thinking of 1's myself but wouldn't want it any brighter for sure ... to be fair my room is a tad on the reflective side still). Not sure what cables you are using but with nice Audioquest cables the system definitely was a bit hot in the highs. Went with Shunyata Cobra interconnects and Cardas Clear Light 1.5M speaker cables and the system definitely sounds better(more natural and open without harshness). The speakers also sounded better after about a month of playing. That said ... my original equipment was a Modwright Integrated the KWI-200 and it was quite a bit warmer (tubelike) than the Levinson/McIntosh combo so I would imagine good tube gear might be appealing in some cases. Good Luck!

George

I am using an Audible Illusions Modulus 3B all tube preamp and an Odyssey Stratos Stereo Extreme+++ Amp at 165wpc and 60 amps per channel peak to peak. Sounds glorious on my newly purchased Triton Ones.

Those systems should sound SWEET AS!!!!!!
Stereo5, I used to have the same AI Modulus pre-amp, and it was great, but I think I never got the best from it, your experience should be better with the Odyssey.
Lamia1, yours should be a great system. Sad to hear you are not satisfied, did you try the tube pre-amp yet?
I think I would. Did the positioning help? It is all about proper setup and system synergy.
My experience has always been that my system sounds better, my speakers sound much better than they did at the dealer's showroom. Most of those guys are not always so great at demonstrating their equipment.
Please let us know how it goes and what you find out.
I hate to hear someone with that much invested in high-end equipment is not enjoying it to the full.
God Bless,
Wayne

I still have not been able to get the sound right. I eqed each spker but when I when I went back to stereo, the highs went from a few db below flat to 10db above. Odd room interactions I guess. I will try more acoustic treatment but don't want to be stuck with a tube preamplifier. Something is wrong when a ML pre and amp don't sound great. I may dump my behringer eq and mic for a calibrated usb umik mic and REW as I don't trust what I am seeing. I do agree about the dealers. They had screwed up the set up in the demo room. I will figure it out eventually.