How old is too old for a Dac?

Charles,
Glad you chimed in and its pretty funny I wasn't looking for a new dac, love the YDA-1, and still do, I put what I thought was a silly low bid in on an auction here and was totally shocked when I won and had a new dac on the way! So I want to do a shootout, I love the AN dac its been in the system a few days, it sounds a lot like the YDA-1 with a touch more richness and a bit more sustain to notes and perhaps a bit more tone color. I haven't put the YDA-1 back in to compare yet, the AN is so physically deep I had to put it in my rack sideways and re-arrange cables,  so getting the YDA-1 back in will be a chore for this weekend. I hope I can really decide which is better but I've always lusted after AN so we shall see! Thanks for the kind words!

Jond,
Honestly either way you can’t go wrong. It was the tube aspect of the AN DAC that grabbed my interest às well as their reputation. I hadn’t considered Yamamoto until the Distributor expressed such enthusiasm. He was a fellow SET aficionado and had very good taste and ears. Anyway it worked out well for me.

The Yamamoto YDA-1 tubed version is likely closer in character to the tubed AN DAC. As you probably know,  6 Moons did a really fine comparison review of the two Yamamoto DACs (solid state and tube). The AN should be an excellent fit into your system. 
Charles

Jond,
This should be an enjoyable shootout and I am interested in your outcome. 
Charles 

Thanks to all of you for your input.

I'm considering getting something that will also see tandem duty music/HT use, such as the Marantz AV8802a. It uses the AKM AK4490 DAC, which I understand is pretty good. I'm a little concerned about getting a high cost unit like this... that is combining both pro/pre, as it can make upgrading later more costly.

randy-11

I honestly have no idea! :) These are not very similar DAC's AFAIK. I can't tell you a technical reason for it. It is just a trend I have observed lately. A good trend! :)

Best,

E