With suitable speakers, I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed. And Decware gives the original owner a full lifetime warranty. My highest rating, next to the smaller, uglier but slightly better sounding Decware SE84C+. Using adapters, the Mini Torii can take a wide range of cheap, easy to source and very good sounding tubes. The Zen Torii MKIV twenty-five watts per channel amp is sold direct by Decware for $3,499 (about £2,540 or AU$4,400). The main thing I appreciated about my Zen Torii MKIV listening sessions was.
Continuing The Journey
In my earlier look at the Decware SE84C Zen Triode amplifier, I examined and recognized the petite amplifier’s subtle but efficacious tonalities and excellent contrasting dynamics during low to medium volume levels in the company of the Klipschorn. Still, the persistent dynamic compressions and loss of soundstage coherence during higher listening levels reflected its unsuitability to drive most speakers. Thus, I concluded with the speculation that a pair of them in monoblock configuration would probably be the more realistic option.
Disagreement from Steve Deckert’s customers surfaced in the Decware online Forum, and I responded to one reader’s opinion in the following abridged excerpt:
“I might have been exerting overly demanding expectations upon the Zen Amp. Yet as a reviewer, I believe I have attained the task of scrutinizing the product under review to the best of my ability. And to summarize and answer your last question, while the SE84C has impressive merits in its design, for the merits and shortcomings of its coupling to the Klipschorn, the single Decware/Klipschorn was not an ideal combination playing music to my expectations, leading me to believe neither will it be for the average room/listener.”
As I further my investigation of the Decware SE84C in monoblock configuration, allow me to reiterate Steve Deckert’s claim as outlined in the Owner’s Manual.
“…it is usually a given that no other part of your hi-fi system is capable of surpassing the fidelity of the SE84…You would have to spend around $10,000 on a cost no object front end to actually hear the fidelity this amp is capable of…you will never be able to actually hear the amplifier, it only passes signal (no coloration’s) so whatever you feed it is what you’re going to hear.”
Monoblock Operations and System Details
The second SE84C Zen amplifier Decware sent me was also pre-wired in the standard stereo mode. Users can reconfigure the units to monoblock operation by following 2 steps clearly outlined in the Owner’s Manual.
The first step entails strapping each SE84C’s left negative speaker output to its right positive speaker output via a single jumper cable. I used my banana-terminated Van den Hul MCD 352 speaker cable for the reconfiguration strapping. The speaker cable then connects to the left positive and right negative terminals.
The second step requires that the left channel output from the preamp be presented to both the left and right inputs of the newly reconfigured left monoblock, and similarly, that the right channel output from the preamp be fed to both the right and left inputs of the newly reconfigured right monoblock. Although the Manual suggested the use of a Y-adapter to facilitate this, I made use of the Audio Note M3 preamplifier’s two pairs of RCA outputs to accomplish the task.
Best Speakers For Decware Zen Mini Torii Pc
Once put into operation, I found the second SE84C to have roughly 10% lower maximum output than my own unit, necessitating judicious volume matching. Thus, for the duration of this review, I set the new SE84C to maximum output while lowering that of my unit a little. Also, the second speaker binding post polarity arrangement was curiously the reverse of my own unit on the second SE84C.
Since the last Decware Review, the 47 Lab Flatfish/Progression digital system has replaced the CEC TL1 belt-drive transport and Wadia 27 Decoding Computer system as my presiding CD reference, taking the helm with my Sony SCD-777ES SACD player.
Audio Note’s double conductor 99.99% litz copper screened AN-La served early on as the main speaker cable, with its own single conductor 27-strand 99.00% litz silver SPx and Virtual Dynamics’ Nite speaker cable providing additional insights. 2 pairs of Granite Audio #470 silver interconnects performed the connections from the M3 initially, with VD’s Nite interconnects taking turns afterwards.
In order of efficiency, the Klipschorns (104 dB/8 Ohm), Audio Note AN-E SEC Silver (94 dB/8 Ohm), Loth-X BS1 (94 dB/8 Ohm) and Genesis VI (90 dB/6 Ohm) were used to evaluate the Zen monoblocks.
The new SE84C went through a minimum of a 60-hour burn-in period before the audition began.
Audition
The first set of speakers I paired the twin SE84Cs with was the Klipschorns, and I promptly started off with the first classical SACD release from Deutsche Grammophon, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 [DG SACD 471 640-2] and Sony Classical SACDs The Rite of Spring [SS 089062] and Requiem [SS 000707], all at breathtakingly high volumes.
This time, I am glad to report that I was not able to reenact my negative experience related to one Zen in stereo operation. Dynamic compression was all but eliminated, and the hellish snare drums from Verdi’s Requiem landed thunderously through the 15-inch bass of the Klipschorns, attesting to the dynamic compatibility of the match. For the record, a half past 9 volume setting on the M3 was already loud enough due to the K-horn’s superior efficiency.
The coupling also possessed microdynamics that helped to preserve the DG SACD’s inherent subtleties in instrument depictions during passages of all magnitudes, diligently reflecting the DSD-processed medium’s finer texturing and delicacy over the Redbook CD edition. Despite a residual violin coarseness typical of DG’s analog masters of the 70’s, the DG SACD offers the first high-resolution presentation of the Ninth that is deeply rooted in the finest classical tradition with interpretation authority and sonic might.
Whitney Houston’s soaring voice in “I will always love you” from the Bodyguard soundtrack [Arista 07882-18699-2] came through with a highly potent mixture of body and dynamic transients. The Decware/Klipschorn system showcased Houston’s incomparably adaptive and elastic vocals with both tender delicacy and festive vibrancy. There was also a meticulous retrieval of dynamics from the vocalization and instrumentation, as the supporting band was heard in contrast to the singer in discernible clarity without the slightest suppression of vocal cues. This song represents pop singing at its best and continues to raise goosebumps after all these years with its rare combination of expertly and spontaneously exercised singing in both subdued and liberated manners, complimented breathtakingly by lyrics of passion and sacrifice.
Trumpeter Tiger Okoshi’s 20-bit K2 CD Two Sides To Every Story [JVC 2039-2] also validated the twin-SE84C coupled Klipschorn’s dynamic competency with a rendition of the trumpet’s soulful liquidity and incisive spontaneity in “Yesterdays.” Despite a less vivid tonality and simpler texturing when compared to the solid-state 47 Lab Gaincard S, the Zen induced from the Klipschorn a most full-range and believable depiction of trumpets and brass alike.
This time, the SE84Cs were also able to vanquish the Loth-X BS1. With this dual mono configuration, they produced undaunted dynamics at very high volumes in my medium sized room, pushing the minimonitors to impressive, unprecedented sonorities. Because of the lower sensitivity of the Loth-X in contrast to the Klipschorn’s, the M3’s output had to be consistently set at near 11 o’clock. Rolling out waves of dynamics, the BS1 maintained tonal integrity during complex passages, as its focus on both the delicacies of strings and massiveness of brass did not waver.
Playing the DSD-recorded horns of the London Symphony Orchestra from Les Troyens [LSO 0010 CD], the twin-SE84C coupled BS1 imparted the meticulously preserved upper midrange with a more fluidic substance, yielding considerable instrument definition while subduing the metallic bite slightly. Although operatic vocals garnered magnitude in volume and exerted drastic demands in scale from the BS1 over those of jazz, the monoblock set up harnessed the extra drive capability to accord the singers and orchestra with persistent ease and smoothness. The minimonitors were convincing testimonials to the Decware methodology as this set up induced refinement from the Loth-X when portraying the LSO DSD CD’s vocals, albeit a relative aggressiveness from a narrow band of the BS1’s upper midrange.
From the DMP jazz CD Further Adventures of Film & the BB’s [DMP CD-462], the Zen amps’ rendition of the brass carried efficacious luster and punctual dynamics. In “Jazz Patrol,” the trumpet/alto sax/tenor sax trio had differentiated dynamic contrasts while in concert with each other, thus imparting a more realistic sense of wielding of instrument. One memorable character of the Decware/Loth-X pairing was the soundstage spaciousness, which served to rid the BS1 of the confinement of its small cabinets momentarily. In light of my experience and preference in using the Genesis VI’s active servo subwoofers, although the BS1’s double bass conveyance remained limited, the pairing had enough subjective energy in the mid-bass region that it did not require addition of subwoofer for a fulfilling enjoyment.
With the K-horn being a suitable match for the Zen amps, this fundamental characteristic improvement of the Loth-X as accorded by the Zen amps made listening to the minimonitors a most musically enchanting experience, ultimately securing for the Decware monoblocks/Loth-X BS1 my highest recommendation.
Next, to elevate the stakes a little, I hitched the Zen monoblocks to the $20,000 Audio Note AN-E SEC Silver loudspeaker. Although with SACDs, the AN revealed a surprisingly clear top-end to the Zen amps that was exceptionally revealing on instrument localization, an accompanying brittleness nevertheless persisted throughout. The manifest edginess plagued strings and brass from both SACD and Redbook CD alike, from heightened string graininess to overly bright brass, making for unnatural tonalities.
When compared to my $3,400 EL34-based low-feedback Music Reference RM9 II power amp, for example, the AN-E SEC Silver pairing with the Zen monoblock configuration also revealed soundstaging more modest in scale and spaciousness, which led to a less credible sonic picture. In this regard, although DSD SACDs were capable of more resolute and more dimensional delineation than regular CDs, differences between the formats became less acute. Although the monoblocked output limitation could be the contributing factor to the soundstaging compromise, the Audio Note speaker’s resolution capability played an inadvertent central role undoubtedly, as this soundstaging phenomenon did not manifest itself through the Klipschorns.
The SE84Cs also produced dynamic distortions when pushing the AN-E SEC Silvers to very high volumes during climactic passages from both SACDs and Redbook CDs, a task at which the Decware/Klipschorn duo excelled.
Coupling the Zen monoblocks to the 4-way, 4-speaker Genesis VI sans the subwoofers was another mismatch. In this case, despite the 90 dB/6 Ohm sensitivity of the Genesis, the mid-bass energy proliferation so resplendent with the Loth-X BS1 was curiously nonexistent, even from the Genesis’ otherwise benign specified 80Hz lower-end mid-bass coupler, and instances in which dynamic compression and collapse of soundstage occurred were bountiful.
Conclusion
The considerable superiority of using a pair of Decware SE84C amplifiers in a monoblock configuration over the use of a single unit in stereo was exemplified with the use of the $599 Loth-X BS1. The resultant punctual dynamics, spacious soundstaging and expressive tonalities secured for the Decware/Loth-X combo my top sub-$2000 amplifier/speaker recommendation. For readers with the extraordinarily efficient Klipschorns, I also recommend the mono pair of Zen amps, as the reasonable $1,000 investment may subdue for some listeners an edge of forwardness in the K-horns, while imparting encompassing frequency responses and undeterred dynamics.
Retrospectively, the $20,000 Audio Note AN-E SEC Silver permitted the most infinitesimal and unfavorable scrutiny of these very affordable Zen amps. While it would take consensual results from a listening panel to confirm or contest Decware’s claim of fidelity, I propose that the Zen monoblocks are best suited to driving small and efficient speakers, as such designs usually entail only one or two drivers with lesser bass and dynamic demands. As differing but noteworthy as Decware’s online customer testimonials may be discussing the successful pairing with a variety of speakers, it is conceivable that many audiophiles do not listen at the same volume I crave and therefore would not necessarily agree with my priorities.
Last and not least, when compared to Audio Note’s Quest 300B monoblocks and my recently acquired Reference Line Preeminence One Signature power amplifier, the SE84C monoblocks did not have the more predominant single-ended tonality, solid-state or vacuum tube. Therefore, dependent on your preferences, the Decware Zen amps can work for or against your goal.
Of equally paramount importance is attention to the proper matching of the SE84Cs’ output levels. Unless you are buying a matched pair of the SE84Cs for monoblocking from the start , it is crucial that you send your own unit back to Decware for calibration with the second SE84C. Furthermore, factory reconfiguration will eliminate the need for extra interconnects and speaker cables for strapping the amplifiers yourself.
Steve Deckert’s concoction of hard-wiring his design and employing the Svetlana SV83 tubes is certainly a breath of morning air in the valve arena; but his choice of the $7 SV83 output tubes are undoubtedly the main factor to the Zen amps’ atypically mild tube induced overtones, despite the single-ended topology.
I urge readers to take advantage of Decware’s 30-day trial offer for a first-hand account.
Decware Manufacturer’s Comments:
Dear Constantine,
I appreciate your continued interest in our entry-level Zen Triode amp for $499.00. Sounds to me like your discovery of the $599 Loth-X BS1 speakers
will make it easy for audiophiles on a budget or with space limitations to enjoy killer sound! I should mention too that with no crossover on the Loth-X driver, the playback should be honest without artifacts like the accompanying brittleness you heard on the AN-E SEC.
But seriously, the problems you heard may not have been the speaker incompatibility at all, it could have been the preamp or source that has always
been masked until the combination of Zen Triode and SEC speakers. I wonder if you had the same problem with the $2700.00 models?
A selling feature of Zen Triode amps is that they are more neutral, less colored than typical SET amps.
“atypically mild tube induced overtones” are what exactly?
We understand reviews are a lot of work, and thank you for your sincere comments. We hope you and all of your readers have a wonderful holiday season!
Respectfully,
Steve Deckert (309) 671 2428
www.decware.com
Constantine Soo’s Response:
I would like to thank Mr. Steve Deckert for taking the time to send us his thoughtful comments.
As a designer, Mr. Deckert’s opinions of the crossover-less Loth-X’s compatibility with his amplifier and the hypothetical inferiority of upstream equipment are noteworthy. I fully endorse a system consisting of the efficient, 2-way speakers Loth-X BS1 being driven by the Decware SE84C Monoblocks. Nonetheless, I also believe it will take an amplifier with more finesse than the SE84C to exploit the Audio Note AN-E SEC Silver fully. Watch for my upcoming reviews on Loth-X’s own $15,000 JI300 integrated amplifier and Linn’s $9,000 Klimax Twin power amplifier in driving the AN-E SEC Silver.
Merry Christmas to our readers and Steve and DeVon Deckert!
Respectfully,
Constantine Soo
Associated Equipment:
Digital Front End
47 Laboratory 4713 Flatfish CD Transport/4705 Progression DAC
Audio Note DAC One 1.1x Signature
CEC TL1 CD transport
Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player xt
Amplification
Audio Note M3 preamplifier
Decware SE84C
Linn Klimax Twin
Loth-X JI300
Music Reference RM9 II
Reference Line Preeminence One Signature amplifier
Z-systems RDP-1 Reference Digital Preamplifier
Loudspeakers
Apogee Duetta Signature
Audio Note AN-E SEC Silver
Celestion SL700
ELAC 518
Genesis VI
Klipschorn
Loth-X BS1
Cabling
Audio Note AN-La copper speaker cable (8 feet, bi-wired)
Audio Note AN-V silver interconnect (RCA 1m, 2 pairs)
Audio Note AN-SPx silver speaker cable (8 feet, banana bi-wired)
Audio Note Sogon silver speaker cable
Aural Symphonics AS-One (RCA 1m pair, 0.5m pair)
Canare L-5CFB 75-ohm digital cable (RCA, 1.5m)
Canare D206 110 ohm digital cable (AES/EBU, 1.5m)
Cardas Quadlink 5C (8feet)
Granite Audio #470 silver cables (RCA 1m, 2 pairs)
Granite Audio #560 AC Mains
Illuminations Orchid (1.5m, AES/EBU XLR)
Illuminations D-60 75 Ohm digital cable (1.5m, RCA)
Loth-X
Van den Hul MCD-352 (8feet)
Virtual Dynamics Nite Series complete cable system
Accessories
ISO, Salamander Synergy 20 (2),
ASC Tube Traps, Flat Traps
Best Speakers For Decware Zen Mini Torii 2
Thanks to our new UFO output transformer design it became possible to bring Decware's most popular amplifier (the Zen TORII MK4) to you in a smaller and more obtainable package without sacrificing sound quality or performance. In fact when you hear it we're sure you'll join the already huge number of TORII JR owner's who say this is somewhat of an understatement. This amplifier is an example of what happens when you build a tube amp in the United States with US parts and labor and put a lifetime warranty on it. The JR is using the same proven if not legendary circuit used in the TORII MK4 but stripped of all non-essential features. As the first in the TORII line to employ our Ultra Fidelity Outputs you can expect a bandwidth to within 1/2 dB from 25Hz ~ 25kHz. The 3dB frequency response is 10Hz~70kHz with 6dB out past 100kHz. The resolution it takes to get this bandwidth results in the kind of speed and transparency that make this amp UN-touchable by anything other than exotic boutique products. It has been my goal since taking Decware online in 1996 to make an amplifier that sounds this good available to the sincere but broke audiophiles of the world, and while we offer several amplifiers the TORII JR the only one that gives you this combination of power and sound for the the price. Steve Deckert - owner of Decware & designer of Decware amplifiers.
20 WATTS PER CHANNEL If you're coming from a larger solid state amplifier of several hundred watts and considering a tube amp but worried about things like bass control, dynamics, weight, headroom, or just having enough power to make your speakers sound right, then you'll probably be pretty surprised when you first hear a TORII JR because the performance and speed are actually superior. You will not be disappointed. Remember, 20 watts of high voltage tubes coupled to your loudspeaker through a huge transformer is not the same thing as 20 watts of solid state transistors directly coupled to your loudspeaker. Most people would perceive the power of a TORII JR around 100 watts and that's not far off when you consider the peak power is over 70 watts into a loudspeaker, and instantaneous peak power even higher still. Let's just call it an amazing amount of headroom. SET TRANSPARENCY Decware's Motto for the past 20 years has been: 'If the First Watt Sucks, Why Continue?' ...and nothing could be truer today. If an amplifier doesn't have the incredible sound of lower power SET's, then it makes no difference how much power it has because it won't be used by people spoiled by SET transparency. The Zen TORII amplifiers of which there are now two, employ a direct-coupled phase inverter design that is high in even order harmonics very much like a good SET amplifier. The result is an SET sound with performance that exceeds solid state.
Ultra Fidelity Output (UFO) are the equivalent of rare hand made boutiquetransformers because that's exactly what they are. Made in the USA and introduced in the Summer of 2015, the TORII JR is the first push pull amplifier to employ the technology. As a result, the resolution and uncanny speed these transformers enable make the TORII JR literally untouchable in the world marketplace for the dollar, and that of course means in no uncertain terms that there is nothing in this price range that sounds better.
You have to understand that tube amplifiers at this price do not have regulated power supplies. And the the more expensive amplifiers that do have regulated power supplies use solid state transistors to do the regulation because it's cheap and makes it possible to use 10 times smaller capacitors, which also save money... and very few amplifiers any where near this price point use tube regulation and rather than shrink power supply capacitance, double it like a Decware Torii amplifier. Consider the benefit of this approach to yield results similar to having your amplifier plugged into an expensive power re-generator.
Sometimes a picture can be worth a thousand words and below is the entire audio circuit of a TORII JR. There are less parts here than you find in a single solid state Op Amp, and being life size instead of miniaturized, it handles the high voltages and current that create the real power of tubes. Shown above; Silver/Teflon wire, cryo treated capacitors and all components silver soldered in a layout that minimizes wire and connections. The channel you see above takes 5 man hours to build. Mass producing the same thing with a circuit board reduces that time to 4 minutes. So if you want to know whether or not a company is more interested in profit or sound, just see if uses circuit boards. ZERO GLOBAL NEGATIVE FEEDBACK This won't mean much to you unless you're an imaging and sound-stage enthusiast. Negative feedback is in the vast majority of tube amplifiers and almost all solid state equipment. It smears the time signature of the music and as a result lowers distortion on paper, but in our would, smeared time IS a distortion that remains far worse. In a good room where you can reproduce a sound stage behind the speakers that goes back 30 feet it is easy to hear what feedback does. The same recording with the amazing depth is destroyed with the addition of feedback reducing the depth to about 6 feet. Attack is also blunted by feedback which is why amplifiers like the TORII JR without feedback sound like they hit harder than feedback ridden solid state.LONG TUBE LIFE The tubes in a TORII JR run at lower voltages than most tube amps and are biased at about 70% of their rated current resulting in tubes that last about twice as long as normal. This also affects the sound in two ways; 1) the lower voltages give a more organic presentation and 2) At any given time the tubes are in better shape than they would be in most amps, so consequently hour for hour the TORII JR will always have better sounding tubes. Many tube amps besides not sounding as good as promised, become tedious to maintain with all to frequent tube issues. The TORII JR is not one of those amps. MADE IN USA WITH USA PARTS Many of the best inventions to benefit mankind came from the United States which is a unique melting pot of immigrants from countries all around the world. The TORII JR, as do all Decware amplifiers, takes advantage of these resources and technologies to bring you an amplifier that Af) You'll probably never sell and B) will probably never break hence the reason it comes with a lifetime warranty against defects in parts or workmanship. TUBES ARE INCLUDED This amp is shipped with hand selected and matched quads of premium quality EL34 output tubes by Tungsol. Any time you change or refresh your output tubes, the bias setting on the TORII JR. must be adjusted for the new quad of tubes. Simple instructions for this are in the owner's manual. The TORII JR Comes with many OPTIONS so you can personalize your amp You can also select from the black figured wood base (shown at the top of this web page) OR contemporary styled solid hardwoods like the walnut shown above. Additional woods like oak, maple, cherry and even exotics can be selected from within the shopping cart. The Black Figured base is only available in Black. Available Knobs: From left to right are Ebony, Gold, Black, Cream, Walnut. You can configure your Torii with the knobs you want from within the shopping cart. Your Amplifier can be configured in the shopping cart Voltage: We will automatically ship your amp with the correct power cord for your country based on the shipping address you supply and the voltage you select. Wood: Only the 'Black Figured' base is of the Victorian style, all other hardwood bases are of a contemporary styling. Wood bases are user interchangeable so if decide at some point to change the way your amplifier looks with a different wood base, you will not have to ship the amp back to have it done, you can do it yourself with a single screwdriver. Volume Controls: Smooth action volume controls are standard and are infinitely adjustable giving you precision control over channel balance. The Stepped attenuators are actually a 20 position switch that features 1% metal film resistors. With those, you can adjust the volume in 20 steps. There is no infinitely fine or small adjustment like the standard volume control. Knobs: Gold knobs are the most popular and consequently, kind of the standard knob for a Torii, however if you selected a black wood base, the Ebony knobs match the base, just as the Dark Walnut knobs nicely match the wood bases made of walnut. Chicken head knobs give the amplifier a more vintage look and are available in black or cream colors. Shipping Case: This case is a guarantee that your amplifier will not arrive damaged from shipping. It also has wheels and a handle making it easy to transport your amplifier to and from shows or audio events. This Military-grade waterproof/shockproof case customized to perfectly form-fit your amp for transport and or shipping. The amp fits upside down into foam. SKB 3I Series Injection Molded Mil-Standard Waterproof Cases are molded of ultra high-strength polypropylene co-polymer resin, featuring a gasketed, water and dust tight, submersible design (MIL-C-4150J) that is resistant to corrosion and impact damage. Case features wheels and a pull out handle so anyone can easily move it.Features a continuous molded-in hinge, patent pending 'trigger release' latch system, comfortable, snap-down rubber over-molded cushion grip handle, automatic ambient pressure equalization valve (MIL-STD-648C), resistance to UV, solvents, corrosion, fungus and impact damage (MIL-STD-810F). Once you have configured your amp in the shopping cart, hit the UPDATE button to see the total price of your configuration. If you're not sure if you picked the right options, place the order with the options you picked and then give Steve a call and we can easily change anything that needs it. You have on average at least 2 weeks after placing your order to call. Zen TORII JR Owners Manual DOWNLOAD THE OWNER'S MANUAL NOW TO LEARN ABOUT THE AMP. by Steve Deckert It's no secret the in the world of exotic tube amplification that S.E.T. amps rule in transparency and liquidity. We've all heard statements like... 'female vocals to die for' or 'insane imaging' when describing these jewels, but in the same breath you'll also hear things like 'needs an easy to drive speaker' or 'while the bass is good, it lacks the absolute control and dynamics of the bigger amps.' So right away you're left with a compromise... performance vs. musicality and grace. S.E.T. amplifiers are what motivated the design of the Zen TORII & TORII JR ...because any time you have between 2 and 10 gloriously transparent watts the only thing that could be better is more. Designing a high power S.E.T. amplifier requires adding another gain stage (tube) or paralleled output tubes (or both). Either one causes a loss of transparency when compared to a single output tube per channel. In the Torii design, even though you have two tubes per channel, they are not in parallel but rather transformer coupled in series so that only one tube is really in the signal path at any one time. Having such a simple signal path gives the Zen TORII JR the same transparency as our SET amps where only 2 resistors and 1 capacitor are seen by the signal. And to complete the picture, just like a good SET amp, the TORII JR employs no negative feedback for slack-jaw imaging. UNFAIR ADVANTAGE How do you get an amplifier to sound like it does at 2:30 A.M. (when the power is cleanest) during the day and virtually every time you listen to it? Tube voltage regulation designed to filter instead of regulate. First of all, the vast majority of tube amplifiers for sale do not even have tube regulation. Not to mention the obvious... but just because an amplifier has tube regulation doesn't mean it's going to sound better. Tighter and more control, yes. Better? ...not often. The classic shunt regulation so often seen in tube amplifiers that do offer it, often poisons the transparency with injected noise that must be further filtered. The TORII doesn't need tube regulation to improve power supply performance. It features a dual mono filter design with oversize power transformer. It's a brute force approach that delivers over 300 ma. of current when barely half that is actually used by the circuit. In this special amplifier the Voltage Regulation tubes are wired in series with the load. In that configuration they become a filtering device instead of a regulating device. The VR tubes place a measurable vacuum gap between the load and the power supply. This creates Ultra Clean Power because all of the the noise is filtered off. (Noise from pollution in your local power grid that includes the harmonics that ultimately end up at your wall outlet and in your amplifier.) This poisons virtually everyone's power outlets but it is eliminated in the TORII JR. Noise and contamination in the power grid literally doesn't make the jump across this vacuum gap between the cathode and anode of the regulator tubes. Talk about black backgrounds, we could call it the grain eliminator or the liquidity insurance program, or just an unfair advantage over tube amps. This ultra clean power is one of the reasons why we know that unless you own and use a power generator, like the PS AUDIO power plant as an example, there is no way your present amplifier will sound as good as a TORII JR during the daytime hours. You won't find tube regulation in the vast majority of power amplifiers, and none that use it in this critically important way. Yet, impressive as it might sound it is only a small part of why the TORII JR can achieve the unique sound quality that is has. SET TRANSPARENCY EXPLAINED The TORII design uses a unique push-pull circuit that employs only a single capacitor and gain stage to drive the output tubes, just like our popular 2 watt S.E.T. amps. Add to that the cleverly simple way it preserves the even order harmonic content and you have a push pull amplifier that is truly unique in the market... It has the beauty of S.E.T. sound with the performance of the very best push-pull. Speed and attack are taken to a new level here. In fact, the TORII JR makes most 200 watt solid state amps sound lean and flat. EVEN ORDER HARMONICS ARE PART OF WHY SINGLE-ENDED AMPLIFIERS SOUND SO GOOD. The Zen TORII has unique harmonics giving it a sound unlike virtually all push pull amplifiers, solid state OR tube. The harmonics of an amplifier can be revealed in the distortion measurements. There are two types of harmonics; Even order harmonics and Odd order harmonics. Musical instruments naturally create lots of Even order harmonics. So do single-ended amplifiers BTW. However, I can't think of too many things in nature that create sound with Odd Order Harmonics, except for solid state and tube push pull amplifiers! This is why you don't get an organic sound from these types of amplifiers, and why everyone is so gaga over Single ended designs. Here is a distortion graph of a typical push pull amplifier: This works by simply playing a single tone at 1kHz and measuring the echo! You can see that the first harmonic (A) is at 3kHz - an ODD number. The next (B) is at 5kHz and the third (C) is at 7kHz. This is what an ODD Order Harmonic signature looks like. Notice there is no even order content whatsoever. Also of interest is the average noise floor seen between the test signal at 1KHz and 20kHz is about -110dB. (larger numbers are better). Considered very good this noise level is brought to you by a Balanced XLR solid state push pull power amplifier. One of the main reasons why push-pull amplifiers never sound like good single-ended triodes is because most push pull designs naturally cancel the even-order harmonics as clearly shown in the graph above! Below is the TORII's graph, where you will find the missing Even order harmonics at 2kHz, 4kHz, 6kHz and so on, yet it IS a push pull design! Shown below is the superior sounding distortion graph of a Zen TORII: So you can see in the explanation above why the TORII's respond like a single-ended amp and why most push-pull designs sound far from it. Having the power and control of push-pull and the sound of SET, the TORII gives you the best of both worlds. THE TORII JR VS TORII MK4 The TORII JR takes our most popular amplifier, the TORII MK4, and shrinks the physical size down by having one large power transformer instead of two smaller ones. In addition, an ultra-linear output transformer is used eliminating much of the complexity of the MK4. For example, adjustable damping, reconstructive feedback, bass and treble adjustments are no longer needed and therefor omitted. The additional tube regulation for the output tubes is also no longer needed since the tube screen are now regulated by the output transformer. This simplifies the amplifier resulting in lower cost to produce. Since the amplifier has less parts and less wire, some very purist things were done to facilitate absolute transparency. We have located the silver input selector directly in-between the input jacks so that all that connects the two is 1 inch of silver/Teflon wire. This was repeated for each channel and basically eliminated around 14 inches of internal shielded signal cable. Additionally, the gain (VOL) controls were separated, one for each channel and located 1 inch away from each input tube. This again eliminates a 12 inch shielded signal cable and replaces it with a 1 inch piece of silver Teflon wire. Besides these differences, the circuit remains the same with the one major difference of being the TORII JR is a fixed bias amplifier using a negative voltage on the grids of each output tube. This means that unlike the TORII MK4, the bias will have to be adjusted each time output tubes are changed. In the MK4, different output tubes can be tried without re-biasing. Biasing the JR is very simple and easy to do, as one small adjustment does all four output tubes at the same time, and can be done externally without having to move the amp. We put the adjustment just in front of the volume control to ensure ease of access. Please review the owner's manual for more information. NOTICE for Spring 2021 The TORII JR has just been redesigned - it is now the TORII JRv2. All TORII JR amplifiers on order are being shipped as TORII JRv2. You can read about the changes here in our forum: TORII JR VERSION 2 The short version is that it no longer has to be biased and it works with a bunch of different output tubes making it a far friendlier amplifier to own and enjoy. It also sounds a touch better and includes some anniversary mods as standard fair. TORII JR, a tube amp, measures better than the Hamon Kardon Citation Solid State Receiver of the 1970's with a square wave response tilt of < 4% and power bandwidth out past 70kHz
SPECIFICATIONS MEASURED WITH EL34 OUTPUT TUBES |
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MODEL TORII JR
20 watts x 2
Hand made in the USA and sold Factory Direct with a
L i f e t i m e W a r r a n t y !
H O M E
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