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Decware SEWE300B "Zen Sarah Amplifier" 300B

CohibaJoe

CohibaJoe

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Let's give a timeline of my order for SEWE300B Sarah 300B amp which I placed on 1/2023. Being a tube head, and my LOVE for tube gear, I ordered a SEWE300B Sarah amp at Decware 1/2023. During this time, and 2 Emails about upgraded external parts (Top Plate Black with Polished Copper Transformer covers) I received an Email Friday (4/18/26) that my order is really to be built. Invoice paid and we are now in the batter's box.
I look forward once this is shipped and arrives to my home with lots of pictures of this awesome 300B Amp. Stay tuned.....
 
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Mopardave said:
What tubes are you getting with it? I understand the Decware brand tubes are Linlai and he is big on the Wathen tubes as well. Cant go wrong with either.
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I had added the Decware tubes when I originally ordered the amp. I will be calling Steve (Decware) tomorrow to ask him about his thoughts on the Wathen CryoTone Tube Bundle ($2320).
 
I've built a few of their Zen Triode kits with Edcor transformers and after some adjustments they were extremely impressive. Have also visited Deckert's listening room, the amps are both beautifully built and unique sounding. They pull a lot of unique details out of music I'm accustomed to (favorite test tracks), which is a testament to him tuning the amps to his preference instead of laboratory standards. I still prefer heavily colored classic amp circuits but Decware is what you want if you like analytical amps that make studio masterpieces sound incredible and badly recorded songs sound like nails on a chalkboard.
 
CohibaJoe said:
I had added the Decware tubes when I originally ordered the amp. I will be calling Steve (Decware) tomorrow to ask him about his thoughts on the Wathen CryoTone Tube Bundle ($2320).
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So, I received a reply from Steve about his thoughts on Wathen CryoTone "which was tested"..."The CryoTone tube bundle has a bold sound. Any time I'm going to spend real money on my system, I make sure it goes towards the weakest link in the chain."

Sounds like a "Skip" and put the $$'s in the chain. So, will start with the Wathen CryoTone 300B-WC first just for Ha-ha's.
 
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Mopardave said:
Im not allowed to say how i feel about them in my system. Too many here thinks its snake oil and get upset. More of the best tubes for me and you.
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Is the notion of tubes having different sound characteristics considered controversial?

You should feel welcome to share your thoughts!

:bigok:
 
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Mopardave said:
Im not allowed to say how i feel about them in my system. Too many here thinks its snake oil and get upset. More of the best tubes for me and you.
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You are allowed to say how you like them, you are not allowed to act like a salesman for them.

AK Rule 7- Trolling' (inciting controversies) and 'Crusading' (aggressive proselytizing of anything) are not allowed.
 
gadget73 said:
Can probably partly blame me for that. I think its a bunch of nonsense and have said as much. People have gotten upset at that too. Tubes may sound different but I don't think deep freezing them has any real use. If there was, RCA would have been doing it 60 years ago.
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Ah, I see. I get it.

I am an amateur here: in college physics, we were taught that different metals and other materials are affected differently by temperature change. (Recall heating the top of a cocktail shaker to make it so the lid isn't stuck?) It does seem like it would be a potentially tough issue for something with as many component parts as a Hi Fi tube to go through cryogenic treatment without the differential expansion/contraction of the different components having a potentially deleterious effect.

Surely, this would make for a measurable change before/after treatment. I don't know if that's been done, but it seems reasonable as part of the discussion.
 
You're a better man than I am. No way I would wait over 3 year for a product to be delivered. That said, I have nothing but respect for Decware. I really wish I had purchased on a decade ago. Looking forward to your feedback on the amp.
 
Enophile said:
Surely, this would make for a measurable change before/after treatment. I don't know if that's been done, but it seems reasonable as part of the discussion.
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I'd be far less skeptical if I'd seen that, but I've not run into test data of a tube or batch of tubes that had a before and after like that. Maybe it does make a real measurable difference, but any time things are sold with a lot of nebulous language instead of actual data it makes me think its nonsense.
 
We use it here where I work, and I would use it on tubes of mine if I knew the process on how they can do it safely, but I think if I put a tube in it that would be the end of it, A sudden shock of that cold to glass I don't think it would survive.

Last year I filled a large bath tube size basin full of Liquid Nitrogen, as I had a huge shaft, I had to put a very large bearing on, and it was an interference fit. That bearing was on a shaft for the vertical stabilizer for the new Mobile Launcher that was to be used on the Artemis launcher for future launches. I hung that shaft by an overhead rail crane and lowered it in that bath and gave it a real cool down. then after it stopped boiling, I quickly dropped that bearing down on the shaft. It now sits about 270 feet high on that launch tower..

The bearing is inside where the "x" meets.

This was the testing tower, just built to test the new VS, (vertical stabilizer)


WIN_20260421_23_13_55_Pro.jpg
 
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If cryo treated tubes sound better, my guess is it is because they are carefully screened and matched prior to the treatment. Have never heard any cryo treated tubes. So, :dunno:

This article by an electronics engineer concludes "The bottom line is that cryo-treatment is no remedy for inferior materials, manufacturing defects or deterioration caused by ageing.".

www.effectrode.com

Cryogenic Treatment of Tubes: An Engineer’s Perspective - Effectrode

www.effectrode.com www.effectrode.com
 
I've always kind of wondered if at leased some old stock tubes do degrade over time just sitting in there boxes. Some of the "secret sauces" used in the coatings of the inner structures might have degraded? Even though they're vacume sealed.
 
gadget73 said:
You are an awful lot more patient than I am. I want my parts in 2 weeks so it can sit in the box for years until I get around to it. Having to wait years to get parts to ignore for more years is just nuts.
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My favorite is finding parts like power transformers, caps, etc, in a box or parts bin and thinking, "huh, when or why did I buy that?" And then winding up using those parts for something else. :rolleyes:
 
Changing the properties of the metal could effect the flow of electrons in a tube. I am pretty sure cryo treatment lowers the resistance and helps lessen corrosion, so both those properties seem beneficial. But the cost seems substantial so perhaps the cost/benefits wasn't enough for major tube manufactures to justify it. I purchased an amp that had a quad of treated tubes, some Gold Lions but I never rolled them with others to compare them, they're here somewhere. I don't recall anything jumping out about them. But I guess sometimes improvements can very subtle rather than major. But cost for cryo treatment is a bit more than I want to pay.
 
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