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Does a Tube Dac make sense?


I’m  in the market for a dac since I bought a Musical Paradise MP701MKII Tube Preamp few months back, does it make sense to buy a tube dac? The seller Garry is suggesting to get the Musical Paradise MP D2 MKIII which is a tube dac with a AK4490 but can be upgraded to AK4499 but I’m leaning towards the RME ADI2 which is almost the same price as the MP tube dac. I’m finding it hard to justify a $1k dac but I have read a lot of forums that suggests the RME or the SMSL M400 and Denafrips Ares II but I’m a sucker for vu meters and spectrum analyzers but if the MP tube dac is a good match for my MP tube preamp I’m willing to give it a go.
stibin
yakbob
478 posts
 
I own the MP-D2 mk2 with the AKM 4497 chip, Mundorf caps, and NOS Amperex tubes. No regrets here.

The value in this DAC for someone in your position (unsure of tube components) is the ability to easily parts swap rather than whole component swap. Tubes, caps, even chip swaps are possible, and the changes do have a noticeable effect on sound.

There is a fairly active Musical Paradise thread on audiocircle that would be worth your time.

djones51
4,947 posts
 
No, tube DACs make no sense at all but buy whatever you want.
jdoris
972 posts
 
I'm not getting why tubed digital sources are a bad idea, in general.
Georgehifi mentions added challenges mating with downstream equipment, but are there other reasons?
Surely there are better and worse designs, but people have mentioned numerous well thought of units, including high end ones.  (I'd add add Lampizator to the list; I've heard several of their models sounding quite good in a friend's system.)  I'm now solid state, but I've had and enjoyed both.

I'm genuinely curious, but barring more information, it seems like a blanket dismissal of tubed digital is hard to maintain.
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,635 posts
 
The only answer to that question is get the MP AND the RME side by side in your system with your ears for some time. Return the one least liked, whatever the reason(s).
Report your experience, which is more valid than blather.
If $1K is a significant amount to you, do it right.
Not by fishing in the impounded pond of forum opinions.
steve59's avatar
steve59
1,789 posts
 
I had a CAL dac with a tube output stage 15-20 years ago when digital was harsh. Modern dac's/recordings/streaming services are so much better I don't look for tone controls anymore.
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