Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Thankyou Paul79, I will get in touch soon, great read on the 12ax7/12au7 tubes, so to get an idea of what you like, whats your favorite small signal tube for sound quality?

let's hope you do not say you like 6h30 tubes, LOL!, those are the worst sounding tubes, I do not like any russian tubes for that matter, always an imeadiate in your face sound with a small sound stage, some may like that sound, garbage tubes to me!

Well my Aesthetix Romulus uses 12ax7 tubes and sounds glorious! Used in gain stage and 6922 as output. Best digital I have owned.

Paul79,

I have just received some confirmatory feedback to what you say from a trusted industry participant in the high end of the market:

"I am not a fan of the ecc83 and 12x type tubes as i consider all double triodes flawed by design (two amplification elements are never properly
aligned when used in parallel and crosscouple into each other when used for different channels or amplification stages).

That said, this is the extreme purist point of view.

A well made amp using them in parallel config. can still deliver , even so a similar amp with single stage tubes of comparable design will add more performance on top.

So single element triodes or pentodes come to mind (most state of the art recording consoles of the golden age used pentodes, only later double triodes, as they were cheaper.

I would look for a pre with a minimum number of tubes in signal path and with the best tube power supply. According to my research the more tubes in the signal path, the more "fuzzy haze" .

However, if you use digital only, I would got straight out of the dac into the power amp. If the tube output stage of the dac is properly designed for direct drive, any additional preamp should not be necessary and in fact will
add haze and time- smear to the sound.

OK Paul, what 6922 do you like?