Decware Appreciation Thread (MT review up on first page 2-10-12)
Jul 17, 2012 at 6:53 AM Post #361 of 1,238
Quote:
Hey Mad Dude!
I used the CSP2+ pre-amp for my Taboo, but experienced a non tube related hum in both channels for some time. None of my efforts could solve the problem. End of the story, the units transformer went up in smoke last saturday. I hadn't checked shipping expenses for the return, yet. But if it's as expensive to get it from switerland to the US, as you mentioned Mad Dude, I might have to reconsider the repair as well.
angry_face.gif

 
Well, maybe someone could give me some advice for nice pre-amp instead of the CSP2+ for my Taboo?

Funny the CSP2 has no transformer its and OTL
 
Jul 17, 2012 at 9:13 AM Post #362 of 1,238
Funny the CSP2 has no transformer its and OTL


Hi Frank! I hope you're doing well.

He's talking about the power transformer.

My CSP2+ also hummed and sputtered constantly and went from mono to stereo. I sent it back to Decware with a detailed explanation and Decware replaced the jack and retuned it. The problem returned so I had 2359glenn look at it. He said it was messed up so he modded it for me and rewired some obvious production errors and now it works like a charm. :D
 
Jul 17, 2012 at 10:27 AM Post #363 of 1,238
Hmmmm...that is all kind of disturbing.  Decware has a pretty loyal following it seems, but I have seen some instances of them not being very attentive to customers who report problems.  They should really take customer issues seriously and deal with them carefully.
 
Jul 17, 2012 at 10:34 AM Post #364 of 1,238
Hmmmm...that is all kind of disturbing.  Decware has a pretty loyal following it seems, but I have seen some instances of them not being very attentive to customers who report problems.  They should really take customer issues seriously and deal with them carefully.


Does Steve ever monitor or participate in the forums? It is alsways helpful when they are monitoring.
 
Jul 17, 2012 at 10:43 AM Post #365 of 1,238
I have heard there are pretty active Decware forums, but I have never looked at them.
 
Jul 17, 2012 at 12:15 PM Post #366 of 1,238
Quote:
Originally Posted by FX5K /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I used the CSP2+ pre-amp for my Taboo, but experienced a non tube related hum in both channels for some time. None of my efforts could solve the problem. End of the story, the units transformer went up in smoke last saturday. I
[...]

 
Whew, that must have been a shock. Humming noise is one thing, but transformers going up in smoke is quite another matter...
confused_face.gif

Regarding shipping, the cost for sending the amp to the US is 77 CHF($79) for economy shipping, + return shipping ($95) + import fees (they probably won't charge tax again, but there are always "handling fees" or something like that, last time this amounted to about $50). And if you don't have the receipt for the import tax anymore (threw mine away, stupid I know) there will again be import tax of another $80 or so. You end up with quite a sum.
 
In any case, I'm planning to sell my CSP2+ (at a rather low price obviously). Since Decware requires to send the amp in order to transfer the warranty to a new owner, I'll combine this warranty transfer and the repair - they can ship the repaired amp directly to the new owner. This way I won't lose a fortune. Still, I figure that all in all I've burnt about $500 for the Decware.
 
 
 
Quote:
Does Steve ever monitor or participate in the forums? It is alsways helpful when they are monitoring.

 
He does, I've started a thread in the Decware forums while ago and got a few replies from him. There are many other helpful people over there, too. Nothing much came of it though, all attempts to solve my problems by changing tubes and whatnot didn't produce any results, it seems that a professional repair is the only possible option.
 
Oh well, it was a nice adventure, but ultimately not worth it for me. I'm done with tube amps in general (this isn't the first time I've had a bad experience with a hand-made, expensive, "audiophile" tube amp). Admittedly I'm quite happy with what other (less exotic) gear I have, and will focus on wasting spending my money to buy more music instead.
Nevertheless, these problems seem to be relatively few, since I've never heard of any before. I hope all owners of Decware gear enjoy their amps! :)
 
 
 
________________________________
 
Update:
Jost got a reply from Decware regarding my questions about the possibility of combining the repair and warranty transfer. They will not hold the amp after repair; this means I'll have to wait until I've found a buyer (or rather, the buyer will have to wait). Also, they charge $75 just for transferring the warranty. Great. I would have expected a bit more courtesy from a company like Decware... At least the repair is covered by the warranty.
 
Jul 17, 2012 at 12:40 PM Post #367 of 1,238
Quote:
Update:
Jost got a reply from Decware regarding my questions about the possibility of combining the repair and warranty transfer. They will not hold the amp after repair; this means I'll have to wait until I've found a buyer (or rather, the buyer will have to wait). Also, they charge $75 just for transferring the warranty. Great. I would have expected a bit more courtesy from a company like Decware... At least the repair is covered by the warranty.

 
The reason I had mine repaired/modded by Glenn was because of the shipping charges. Decware will cover the repairs under warranty but they will not cover the cost of return shipping. They will also charge a repackaging fee if the original packaging was damaged. So I paid for shipping and return shipping charges and it was returned with a replaced jack (which didn't fix the problem). I didn't want to keep sending it back to Decware only to have it not fixed again so I settle on sending it to Glenn who actually fixed it. So ultimately I ended up spending $60+ in shipping charges to Decware and about the same amount in shipping charges to and from Glenn.
 
Jul 17, 2012 at 2:38 PM Post #368 of 1,238
I haven't found the Decware forums to be all that active.  I posted a question about the Taboo over a month ago and it was never answered.
 
Jul 18, 2012 at 3:39 AM Post #369 of 1,238
@Mad Dude - I could be interested in being that buyer, as I do have EE support should there still be issues after Decware's repair. PM me if interested.
 
@Clayton SF - when did you buy your CSP2? Was this before Decware's popularity 'exploded'?
 
And what type of production problems were fixed? Poor soldering, that sort of thing?
 
Mere surmise, but I wonder if their fast-growing fame has created these production problems? Or is this something more systemic...
 
Jul 18, 2012 at 9:57 AM Post #370 of 1,238
@AiDee - I bought my CSP2+ in October 2010 and it took 7 weeks to build.
 
I know nothing about wiring amps so this is just Glenn's observations when he looked at my amp. I hadn't even opened it up to look at it myself until after I got it back from him:
 
I think its just a wire left out during its manufacture. The problem is that the filaments should be at 1/2 the power supply voltage then AC grounded through a capacitor. It is less likely to have heater-to-cathode breakdowns this way. The filaments will still have a virtual AC ground through a capacitor that will shunt hum and noise to ground.
 
I will let you know when I have this finished and I might have to order a capacitor.
 
This Decware amp is really the same circuit as a Single power PPX3-6SN7 only uses ECC88 instead of 6SN7s. The amp is really osculating and motor boating and needs a decoupling circuit added to the power supply. And a grid stopper resistors added at the grid inputs at the tube sockets.
 
I've already done some of this work and the headphone jack really needs to be replaced and I noticed the amp really can't drive low impedance phones. It works OK with HD650s or HD800s.
 
 
Jul 18, 2012 at 10:11 AM Post #371 of 1,238
Quote:
@Clayton SF - when did you buy your CSP2? Was this before Decware's popularity 'exploded'?
 
And what type of production problems were fixed? Poor soldering, that sort of thing?
 
Mere surmise, but I wonder if their fast-growing fame has created these production problems? Or is this something more systemic...

 
I also share the same concerns.
 
Since Decware is a "home-grown" company, given their really low prices, I'm also thinking along the same lines.
 
Production QC could be a problem if they are overloaded with too many orders.
 
 
BTW, my CSP2+ is hum and hiss free (and trouble free) from day one.
 
Jul 18, 2012 at 10:15 AM Post #372 of 1,238
Quote:
I haven't found the Decware forums to be all that active.  I posted a question about the Taboo over a month ago and it was never answered.

 
Steve is usually too busy to respond to posts on the forum.
 
You can get a swift response by sending an e-mail to Sarah (Sarah@Decware.com) instead.
 
Decware recently got themselves an "AI" assistant called Sarah Bot over here
http://www.decware.com/newsite/contacts.html
 
Jul 18, 2012 at 10:39 AM Post #373 of 1,238
Quote:
.....
 
This Decware amp is really the same circuit as a Single power PPX3-6SN7 only uses ECC88 instead of 6SN7s. The amp is really osculating and motor boating and needs a decoupling circuit added to the power supply. And a grid stopper resistors added at the grid inputs at the tube sockets.
 
I've already done some of this work and the headphone jack really needs to be replaced and I noticed the amp really can't drive low impedance phones. It works OK with HD650s or HD800s.
 

 
I Googled "Single power PPX3-6SN7"
 
http://www.soundstage.com/allinyourhead/allinyourhead200410.htm
 
The history is very interesting. The owner-inventor was "Mikhail Rotenberg".
He sold his amp to a respected member of Head-fi.
The rest as they say is history.
 
BTW, my Decware CSP2+ works great with my Beyer DT880 - 600Ohms.
 
Jul 18, 2012 at 10:48 AM Post #374 of 1,238
Quote:
 
BTW, my Decware CSP2+ works great with my Beyer DT880 - 600Ohms.

 
... and it is absolutely stellar with my Beyer DT990 - 600 Ohms. Chrystal clear, with lots of punch, sparkle, and air. :)
 
Jul 18, 2012 at 2:02 PM Post #375 of 1,238
Quote:
 
... and it is absolutely stellar with my Beyer DT990 - 600 Ohms. Chrystal clear, with lots of punch, sparkle, and air. :)


I have emailed Devon Deckert who is a friend also and she has made Steve aware of this thread. I had some issues that were rectified without incident and mostly with the Taboo due to the HE6. I have had no issues with my CSP2. It is an outstanding preamp as well as headphone amp, It plays low impedance cans like my AKG550 and M60 but really shines with my 770 and especially the hD800. Hopefully Steve addresses the concerns here and remember he been around since 1996 so he not a fly by night guy like Mikhail who robbed members here,
 

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