Are there other, similar designer/builders, or does Steve Deckert’s shop exist in a vacuum?
I have pleasantly been listening through Decware amplification and speaker design for over a decade. The value at the time was fantastic.
These days, there is a two year waitlist from date of order, and the cost has increased with notoriety and success. Business is booming. All things being equal, Decware is not something that I would consider today for those reasons alone, and that would be my loss.
My question is, are there currently any affordable and readily-available, efficient analog circuits like Steve’s that fill in the niche that Decware inadvertently left behind in 2020?
Similar circuit designs are extremely popular in the DIY audio world. I’ve built a few tube amps as a hobby, and it wasn’t that hard if you can follow a schematic. I guess that’s where I’d look for an affordable value amp, either DIY or someone’s used DIY amp.
Its crazy that Steve sold a point to point wired SET amp for $899 up until like 2020. He made money on his other products.
One of the reasons that Decware is so popular is they make high quality stuff that are not priced ridiculously. A similar amp from some exotic builder or high end brand is probably going to cost more.
Having said that, you can get Japanese or Chinese kits that you can build or get someone to build for a lot less and you can even get prebuilt units if you look hard enough.
Taobao and Alibaba is a good place to start if you are on a budget.
There are some doing good work, but not as much in the SET way.
Would Quicksilver Audio fit the bill?
In terms of affordable options, I can’t offer a lot - but Amps&Sound makes the best sounding tube gear I’ve ever heard. He’s an absolute genius, and has a large family of amplifiers and headphone amps to choose from based on heavily improved classic designs.
He’s also a great communicator and works quickly. He keeps a backstock of as much of his menagerie as possible, and stands behind his work. Definitely worth reaching out to at least explore what might be a good fit given your specifics.
Its crazy that Steve sold a point to point wired SET amp for $899 up until like 2020. He made money on his other products.
There is a 2 year wait list because he would rather sell you something else that costs more 😉
Some great deals can be found in vintage gear. Audiokarma.org’s bartertown has some nice stuff available right now
i came in just to say i have a decware amp. i love it.
thanks for coming
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Bottlehead.com is a popular one.
Not exactly readily available as I believe most are made to order these days like Decware, but Quicksilver and Dennis Had’s solo offerings. If you are in to DIY then Bottlehead has a similar philosophy.