The tubes that were in there were stock tubes, minus the rectifier. I only swapped the input 6N1P > 6DJ8. Same volume range with either.
That shouldnt be marked down as a complaint, just a note that i never go past 10 on most amps, but surprised i do here. Volume changes as expected with the knobs. Hi/Lo switch does change volume but not as much as i have seen other switches. It can almost be used as a shortcut to adjust volume without tinkering with two knobs.
@Souldriver do you have anything sitting around to use as a Pre-amplifier? My own personal preference w/ both my current Decware amps has been to use a pre-amp and then find the best gain setting on the amps. It takes a bit of playing around but i usually find a level somewhere between 60-85% ish percent on the gains that works to my satisfaction for a good mix of headroom and the sound quality of the music. There have never really been high SPL levels w/ my Decware amps, including the HP pieces. I have HP output installed on my 341.5 amp, i enjoy the sound immensely but itās not any sort of power or SPL beast.
I donāt know if any of this info helps.
::sweats knowing the GA has the volume pre:: Nothing easily reachable. Its also not a worry unless it is an indication of an issue with the amp. I dont think I am at that level yet. It get loud at that halfway mark and unlistenable loud going up more and more. It doesnt seem like a malfunction is happening. (There are some scratchy pots but i was warned of that) i mean the output is doubled on the speaker taps and you guys always talk about running headphones off thoseš¤ā¦ But no not yet.
I do have some other thoughts, and possible concerns, but nothing major at the moment, or at least nothing i want to judge without putting more time on the amp or trying other easy changes.
If for any reason you go speaker taps remember to use a box w/ resistors in it. Tube amp speaker taps to HP need the resistors in line.
@NickMimi After changing knobs, realizing the original knobs did not match up on the clock (fixed now), and being annoyed trying to match both channelsā¦ I remembered the U1 has volume control, so I took the time to try the Leedh processing they brag about.
I set the volume on there at 60%, dimed the volumes on the amp (probably should do that but I did) and things are looking up. I may need a test track to help adjust amp volumes.
Be patient it becomes second nature and gets easier and easier as you familiarize yourself and your ears. I really disliked dual volume knobs in the beginning but as i acclimated my ears to the technique iāll be honest at this point it makes complete sense to have them. Allow yourself to listen, donāt force yourself. Your brain will tell you when itās right, youāre probably still overcompensating. I donāt know if you grasp my words, but your ears will learn to quickly tell you when itās just right unless you have an off track that purposely moves the sound far left or right when it starts playing. Many do that.
So i have been very confused by the Taboo these past few weeks, borderline to the point that i feel like something is not right or i am just not hearing this at all the way others have with this amp.
Testing mostly with the Mojo and into the 2.2pf and 24. It feels very compressed and round on the top end and in the vocals. Like theyre trying to push out but are being held in and blunted or there is some gravity keeping it all in and very dense and tight. I would even liken it to when youre playing with an eq and you turn 1 or 2 bands next to each other way down just for fun.
I am alao now in troubleshooting mode as when i was writing this my power flickered and things definitely are not working right. No audio to the left channel, right channel is very low.
FFS i cannot win lately.
Ok well that was a short scare. Just turning everything off, letting it rest, then reseating got it all sorted.
I think at this point i am patiently waiting for the drausk cable for the hd600 to try that as i am more familiar with that headphone, but i just feel like something is amiss. It is so pushed together and (i hate this word but fuck it) veiled that i feel like this cant be right.
It is still doing things very right but it just doesnt seem to be hitting right.
Iāll be very curious as to wether ur thoughts on it change 
Either it needs a trip in to the shop or there is something really wrong w/ the tube combo being used 
Something sounds amiss 
Right now it is stock tubes. Still could be an issue but we will see. Its an odd sometimes it sounds great, other times its like wtf
I saw the line for the SBAF taboo loaner was short so i signed up for that and ill have that unit in a week or two. I dont know the upgrades that one has but it is at least balanced and mine isnt. But it should highlight for me if it is the amp or me.
Iām putting my money on mismatch of tubes at the moment. Iāve had parts fail on amps, they are usually easier to diagnose. Tubes on the other handā¦ For example i have a pair of 6SN7 tubes that my LTA amp hates, They suck in the soundstage to an almost distinct line in the middle w/ no left/right soundstage at all. Weirdest thing, my Baltic DAC on the other hand loves them, they are detail monsters. Thatās the most relevant example i can give that would match your scenario Sorry to hear about the issues, i know you were so excited to get the piece in hand.
Yes it hits so many of my audio goals function wise. But in the end if it isnt right, then you either accept it or pass it on to someone who it hopefully does fit better.
I have 1 other el84 pair to test at the moment, and a few more i can switch around. I just dont have another rectifier, but from what i read rectifiers really shouldnt last forever and they usually work or they dont.
I was on the SBAF Taboo loaner tour. I thought it was an awful amp 
Sounded compressed in the mids, lacked lows and highs.
They can fail in other ways, but usually there is a big flash of light, they go pop and take the fuse with them.
A very short Taboo āreviewā by popular demand (1 person).
When I hear a piece of equipment that has a glaring issue (or 2 or 3ā¦) for me, I shut it off and Iām done. This is going to be super short.
I found the amp rolled off too much especially in the low end. I could have lived with that but the midrange was way too congested/compressed and I found it a dread to listen to. I think the issue may have been an upper midbass bump that bled into and fucked the mids. I couldāt get past this so I didnāt pay much attention to any of its other attributes. This was with an Yggy, factory tubes, multiple cans.
Maybe my ears are shit because everyone else seems to love the amp. But, Iāve had a double digit number of amps come through my system in the past couple of years ranging from a lowly Magni to stuff priced the same as the Taboo and nothing sounded so awful. I was part of a loaner group and no one else complained so it wasnāt a damaged amp.
Itās possible Iām overly sensitive to even minor fuckery in the midrange and thatās what did it for me and the rest of you will adore it.
If you have cans with an upper bass/lower mid suckout, this amp may be perfect.
Any thoughts on the treble from memory? I found it very rounded, and once again condensed. Maybe not lacking sparkle but not having the air to let it express itself.
I feel seen!
Also @GZF , i didnt see your comment from a few days ago. I am next on the same tour and i am going to use it to make sure i am not crazy. I am not giving up on it yet but there is some relief that I am not the single odd ball not hearing what others are boasting about.
I have a lot of tweaks and swaps to make to fully disqualify it (its handsome enough to keep on that merritt alone) but i only have so much on hand and i dont want to spend big money on interconnects to see if that is the make or break link in the chain. (I dont think it is, the AQ and BJC rca i have should be good enough to not bebin the way)
The taboo I donāt know how I feel on it myself. I owned one for a few months, but had little desire to use it after listening to it. I canāt say it had great synergy with most of my cans outside of the lcd 2pf, and it was pretty richly colored for what it was. I donāt think I had as negative of an experience as @GZF, but I also wouldnāt disagree with his description of the sound either. Itās weird because their speaker amps and their OTL didnāt exhibit that sense of being overdone or overly compressed as the taboo did. I do know that the person who had it before me tubed it to focus on cleaning it up, and I donāt know what it sounded like with stock tubes
Itās an amp that really wants to emphasize itās coloration and signature and almost lean into the stereotype of tube sound too hard lol
I can see why some like it (at least with the tubes I had in there, and a cleaner leaning dac pairing), but I feel like itās a pretty specific market and I didnāt feel much desire to keep it outside of the specific lcd 2 prefazor pairing
Not really. As I mentioned, I couldnāt get past the upper bass and mid issues enough to spend time listening to the other stuff. My entire time was spent swapping cans and DACs to get to something listenable but I never got there. Itās a bit of a shame because I had so looked forward to listening to it.
