Audio Mirror Tubadour III vs IV

The Audiomirror Tubadour III SE. It is a NOS R2R DAC based on the famous AD1865n-k chip, supplemented by duelund caps and tube output. The Tubadour III is a non-oversampling converter based on the AD1865N-K chip from Analog Devices. we have a new Audio Mirror component. It is the Tubadour III, which is a digital to analog converter (DAC) that's unique in many ways. 

official website

@charlesbreese i guess should add. I’ve owned the III SE. was one of my favorite dacs. I was thinking of buying it again, but now that Vlad has a new IV with transformer output (instead of the Duelund caps) I’m curious to hear who has heard it or could compare 

i have the III SE, the best DAC I’ve heard or had in system.. pure magic but I’m interested in the IV. Vlad is a wizard.

I currently own the III SE and Vlad is building me a IV to test run.  I kept having a weird clicking noise with anything coming over USB.  Hopefully his USB reclocker and new transformer fixes my glitch.

Just got the tubadour IV in today and gave it a quick 2 hour work out. I would say the differences between the 3se and 4 are: Clarity better on 4IV: Like a thin veil was lifted. Detail better on IV: Im hearing the details better and more pronounced. Less digital glare on the IV. Base texture and weight definitely better on IV. Darker background on IV. This is only after 2/3 hours so we will see if it changes and gets better or worse. All in all, music sounds right tonally and temporally with exciting bass and seductive midrange. Kind

Hey @jrizk13 Nice update. What input are you using?

This is using USB from a laptop using Audirvana.  I will say that on the III SE I had an annoying clicking (jitter maybe or loud power supply?) sound whenever I used the USB input.  I cannot tell if it's the USB reclocker or the new transformer output that is making the improvements and removed the clicking sound.  So far so good, I still have a couple more days of burn in before I'm completely sold but noticable differences are audible.

I live in Ohio around Cleveland if anyone wants a demo.

How does the Audio Mirror handle more complex and dynamic music.

I have auditioned a well reviewed R2R dac by Merason and found its tone and timbre were excellent with simpler music particularly acoustic music.  However when it came to listening to more complex music it was unable to resolve the music and actually sounded muddy.  Surprisingly it became grating due to the confluence of "noise"; not musical at all.  I wonder if this is a characteristic of R2R or just an issue of the Merason.

@mdrone I highly doubt all r2r dacs do this, and I've never experienced this on the AMT, but not sure exactly what you are describing is the same as how I'm interpreting it. 

i.e. I can play some complex electronica, daft punk, etc and I don't feel It gets muddy or noisy 

in fact there is a review on the Holo May DAC by goldensound where he specifically calls out how well it handles some complex music. 

I agree with Mr. mdrone.  Acoustic and classical sounds the best.  The AM4 has really good bass so it also thumps and amazing for rap or electronic music.  Sometimes with older rock I will feel like it's not separating things as well as other Dacs (Bring Me To Life - Evanescence, grunge rock, heavy electric guitar songs).  I'm not sure if it's the recording, the electric guitar overbearing the rest of the music, or if it's an R2R thing. So I would say this Dac is ideal for acoustic/classical/rap/electronica/pop but not the absolute best for 90s grunge rock.

@jrizk13 I've never heard a dac that can make mostly bad bricked walled 90's grunge rock sound good :D

And I love 90's grunge, just never listen to it in my listening room. 

@jrizk13 What about jazz? 90% of my listening is jazz, including current jazz and 320k streams from JazzRadio.  All instrumental. The other 10% is classic rock. Really classic compared to what you’ve mentioned.  Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, miscellaneous late 60s rock.  Opinions? Especially regarding the 320k radio streams.  TIA!  I’m strongly considering the AM Troubadour SE IV as a DAC upgrade.  I’d be using the USB input fed by an Aurender N150.

I have the AMT IV dac @txp1 

its phenomenal with jazz. I use it with my Innuos Zen streaming lossless and 320k radio. 

@kray Thank you!  You’ve been a great help with many of my DAC questions in my search for a new DAC. Also, I emailed Vlad with a couple questions and he responded very quickly. I think it’s time for me to release the wallet Kraken.

@txp1 ”release the wallet kraken” LOL! 
 

do it!