I have got to write up the Decware Tube-Tots, I have procrastinated on these for too long and shipping times are starting to extend as more people learn about them and try them out. Decware hasn’t fully sold 100 pair yet but they are almost there, maybe after the next batch they will surpass 100 pair sold.
New under $1400 shipped, they look good to me, they are fairly small and work great as stand-mounts in both my large and small listening rooms. Despite what Steve claims they really do need at least 6wpc and have no problem when fed quality watts at over 100wpc.
These things scale, period. No matter how expensive the front end feed i give them, I honestly don’t feel i have yet found the end of their abilities. Every fine nuance they can reproduce, they are so very easy to blend w/ a variety of subwoofers i have tried on them, you can bi-amp the little buggers, they feed well with tube, class A and Class A/B power. They adjust slightly and will take well to each and every DAC i have mated them with. They are rear ported and their bass output can be enhanced based on room placement, they don’t need allot of room yet don’t get lost in a large room. I have enjoyed them on various genre’s to include modern Rap and EDM which is not normal for this style of speaker. They are fast and tight, really tight but can show some bloom when called upon. The only genre i felt was meh at best was large orchestral pieces, this type of music really requires the big boys, really large speakers IMO.
They don’t have tweeters, if you need to have your ears pierced on the highs these are not for you, they don’t lack a wonderful top end, but for those that require air and highs that exceed 12k there are much better models of speaker available. They don’t pound out bass nor have an extended bottom end, again other makes are available that will do better there. They do have quality bass, beautiful detail in the depth they are able to reach. My preferences center around a beautifully represented midrange and they shine exemplary here and they do this for what’s considered “cheap” in this hobby.
They are small and easy to ship if you get bored of them and decide you want to sell them off later on. Keep this in mind when purchasing speakers, big speakers are a harder sell. They are solid, like rock solid…tapping them you can tell there is heft in the material and build. They have one feature i personally disliked and changed, the little brass bar steve uses to connect the 2 binding posts does not allow banana plugs the full depth they need to seat well and you also can’t easily use spades or bare wire with these little bars in place. I replaced the bars with high quality jumpers and have not looked back.
Happy to answer more detailed questions if need be. These are keepers for me, plain and simple. Spend what your wallet allows, i really like nice things too, I swear though these little, very simple speakers are well designed and can probably satisfy most folks who are looking for great sound within a reasonable budget for an average living space.
Ok, i feel better now, i dislike it when i sit on little hidden gems and don’t speak out but insist on just hoarding the joy for myself😬