Decware Taboo MK IV Review

Hi, I'm a random dude who lives in Corpus and I happen to know Marv. Marv knows that I am an audiophile so he drops by the office stuff so I can check it out. Most recently, Marv dropped off a ZMF Atrium headphone and Decware Taboo amp. I really liked the Atrium and stole it from Marv. When I got a chance to try out the Decware Taboo, I thought this combination with the ZMF was super. I asked Marv if I could take the amp home and borrow it. I've never loved any pieces of gear that much that I asked to borrow them. He replied that I could borrow it for an extended period of time only if I wrote a review, so here it is. For context, I listen to speakers at home. My speakers are the Tekton Lore non-floorstanding model. I have a Bifrost for a DAC and an Emotiva integrated amp. I listen to both speakers and headphones.

I am going to keep my comments brief because I don't normally write reviews. I tried the Taboo as a speaker amp with the Lores. The immediate thing that I noticed was big the soundstage that expanded outside the boundaries of the speakers. This was noticeable on Yosi Horikawa's music where he went to a forest and recorded sounds all around. The downside was that I could not get enough volume from the Taboo. I like to listen very loud. I think the Lores are 94db efficient. I cannot say if the Taboo didn't have enough power or gain or if Tekton fudged the specs on the Lores.

With the ZMF Atrium headphone, the Taboo has been the best headphone amplifier I've so far. Marv said he would bring in better stuff. I'm sure better stuff exists, but for me, this is the best yet. I'm familiar with entry and mid level gear from companies like Emotiva, so this for me this is the best I've heard for now. Other tube amps I've heard sounded veiled, less detailed, very warm. The Taboo is slightly warm compared to solid-state amps but not overly so. The bass is one of the highlights. There is a lot of slam. I know the ZMF Atrium hits hard, but this amp takes it to another level. There is lots of detail and textures. The mids are lush. Sound is tubey, not too much. Closer to solid state than the Freya+ that sounded more tubey. The high end was smooth with no grain. There is a lot of drive and rhythm to the music that the Taboo conveys. Bottom line is that I just liked the sound and love listening to it.

 

Thanks for the review! If I'm reading the Taboo listing correctly, it does 2W into 8 ohm speakers. If you like the sound of the amp and want more speaker power, you could try mono block Zen Triodes or a single Zen Triode Integrated. Decware is quality stuff!

 

Hi random dude from Corpus, thanks for sharing

I think it's probably a bit of both. When you say listen very loud I assume you mean a max SPL of 100-103dB. If your speakers were truly 94dB/w/m sensitive you would want amplifier power between 5-10 watts RMS. The decware will clip before reaching those levels.

 

We should probably just ask him to measure how loud he listens. My wife would consider anything over 90db to be really loud and I think personally that once you get over 95db it's pretty loud and once you get to 108db that's the point where it's physically uncomfortable.

As far as power requirements it will be a huge difference. He might need 8W or he might need 20W.

 

I legitimately think tekton just copied the datasheet sensitivity of the 8" (eminence beta8?) or 10"(eminence 10" something) driver in the lore mini / lore as their sensitivity specification.

 

95dB [email protected] seems pretty optimistic considering the tweeter's pdf spec sheet says 89.9 [email protected]/1M

 

Probably, that's going to still be about 3.5db off. I wish manufacturers could be honest about this, but 80% probably don't even have access to the half space chambers to measure.

 

The crossover components will also reduce sensitivity. In general (but not always), tweeters being more sensitive than mids & woofers will have a resistor in series.

The general consensus is that while being relatively efficient, Tekton's ratings are optimistic.

 

Thanks for the review. Sounds to me like you're about to go down the tube amp rabbit hole.

 

I used the Lucid mode. The manual says it is crossfeed. I set the dial at the midway point or right under it. Crossfield is too much after that setting.

I like @purr1n;s idea with the Tyr and Koss electrostatic headphones. He dropped by today with more toys for me. Will let the man himself talk about it.

 

Tweeter has little to do with sensitivity. Woofer has far more sound energy.

 

I haven't read a description of the "lucid" control. How does it affect the sound?