@wlutke - would you mind posting an update on the AM? Possibly looking into buying. Thanks.
From an MHDT to an Audio Mirror, quick impressions
A Tubadour IV SE I ordered on 10/12 appeared today. It replaces a stock Orchid fed by an n130 Node with PD Creative power board and Sbooster LPS. I’ve just finished a half hour session, including 15 min of warm up. Right out of the box it’s showing off. Smooth, articulate and quick with much tighter bass. It keeps the musicality of the Orchid and improves on the pace.
The soundstage is deeper with a more “You are there” feel than the up front “They are here” feel of the Orchid. That’s all for now. For three times the cost I hoped for a noticeably better DAC. What I got was a major surprise and a huge upgrade. Really anxious to put some hours on it.
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@wlutke not to digress too much but curious to know if your prior Orchid dac had the stock coupling caps in it from MHDT, or if they were upgraded? Reason for the question is the stock caps are fairly smoothed over. Nice, yet can be optimized notably. Several colleagues and I upgraded Orchid dacs with really nice caps and other tube options. Achieved an increase in sound stage size, width and depth, nice tone, texture, and retaining gentle detail. If you still have your Orchid it can be a keeper too fwiw. Enjoy the new dac! |
My experience is limited to my original post but I'll try. The AM recently opened up, bringing more feel to the venue. Powerful below 30 Hz or so (compared to the Orchid.) A big factor in choosing this DAC (by reputation) was electric guitar glare. That's been taken care of - on Spotify. I'm just now giving Tidal a try. One session so far. Some songs were Very Good, some were meh, some were too hot on top - Is Tidal revealing the recording or the DAC or the streamer? Too early to tell. I'm giving Tidal, me and the DAC more time for the dust to settle and reality sink in. Streamer next, I think. |
Thanks for the heads up. I've tube rolled the Orchid including 6922 family to some effect. Per my last post the biggest reason for moving on from the Orchid was predominant glare. How is your output cap mod in that area? It would be an absolute long time keeper for me (second system.) Love the musicality. |
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