Another new DAC: Audio Mirror

@teajay is very excited about this DAC and rightfully so.  He invited me over to heard it and it was sounding excellent!  I agree that it sounds better in his setup than than the stock MHDT Orchid and it wasn't even fully broken in yet!

@grannyring I agree that the true test would be against a modded Orchid.  I modded mine with the V-Cap ODAM (no copper bypass) and it was a huge improvement.  I think the modded Orchid would be much closer to the SE version.  Ultimate comparison might be using the Dueland caps and Z-foil in the Orchid vs the AM SE that has the same.  It's nice that Audio Mirror basically sells a pre-modded DAC for those that are not into modding and want to retain their warranty.

Some interesting comparisons going on, within this thread as well as the thread about the Lampizator Amber 3 dac and Orchid. As mentioned on that thread, I am presently using a modified Orchid dac (by Bill Dion/Grannyring), with Vishay naked Zfoil and Audio Note Tantalum resistors, Vcap Odam and Vcap CuTF caps, as well as a Synergistics Research Orange fuse. I have been very enamored with the sound of this modified dac, although I have not heard the Amber 3 nor the AM SE. Just listened yesterday for several hours. There are moments where time seemed to stand still. Music is presented in a most effortless, natural (to these ears) manner that draws you in rather than being thrust upon you. Sound stage is expansive, depending upon the particular recording. Vocals can be intimate in an almost spooky way. I do wonder, without hearing the comparisons myself, whether the differences between these dacs might come down to personal preferences, what priorities one may have. This modified Orchid ticks off all the boxes for me, but that doesn't mean it would necessarily be everyone's cup of tea. Especially if one preferred a more forward, in your face sort of presentation. Other equipment in my system may also help describe my preferences: Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE/Stage 2 preamp, First Watt SIT 3 amp, Audio Note AN/J LX speakers, Oppo BDP105 used with hard drive attached. 
By the way, from what I have been told I am not sure that Duelund caps will fit in the Orchid dac, at least not without some effort. Might be a moot point for some as before I went ahead with this mod, I did a lot of research about the Vcap Odams, and it appeared that at least some preferred these caps to the Duelunds which again might just be a matter of personal preference.

Duelunds won’t fit in the Orchid. You could/may fit a small .47-1uf value, but I would not use a value that low in the dac. Frankly the Odam & Cutf combo is every bit as good if not better. In this particular unit the Odam & Cuft bypass combo (2.2uf & .01uf) are a better match. Great synergy of combined strengths of the stock unit and this cap combo. I have used all the Duelund caps for years and am very familiar with them as well as Jupiter copper foils.

Has anyone experimented with different coax cables with the AMT III? I'm using a CA CXC as a transport and suspect there are gains to be had with better cables. I have tried 2 different cable from Straightwire and the results are significant enough to consider exploring. 

BTW did some mods on the CXC that provided improvement. Put in some Dynamat, redirected a wire and separated 2 wires that were clipped together.

A cross-post from the Lampizator Amber 3 thread that I think people here would be interested in too...

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Finished my dac shootout today... had the Lampizator Amber 3, Audio Mirror Tubadour 3 SE, ifi iDSD pro, and Shiit Bifrost 2 on hand. Previously also had a Matrix x-sabre pro, PS Audio Directstream, and PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC MK2 in the same system. All were fed lossless Tidal with the SPDIF output of a Magna Mano Ultra streamer. Speakers are Coincident PREs, amplified by First Watt F4 monoblocks, and a Don Sach's DS-3 6SN7 preamp (see my system page for full details).

First, I'd like to echo Bill's comments about Colin of Gestalt Audio. Total class act, and highly recommended for any purchase. He's been responsive, helpful, and not at all pushy. Perfect service.

For review: In my system, the Audio Mirror was the winner. To my ears, it was the most real sounding of the bunch. It has beautiful "meat on the bones" and was the most holographic. The Amber sounded good, but in a very different way. For me, it was brighter and more lively. The soundstage was huge, but had less depth and liquidity than the AM. I also liked the iFi iDSD pro (used in tube+ mode with the bitperfect filter). It had great tonality, but was significantly flatter and less 3-dimensional than the AM. I think more people should give it a shot. The Shiit was good. Very even-handed and competent, but more "digital sounding" to my ears. My friend was listening blind and liked it the second best of the group (behind the AM).  

Despite its king-of-the-hill status in specs (see Audio Science Review), I did not enjoy the Matrix x-Sabre Pro. It was very quiet and clean, with a nice mellow sound, but also a bit "grey" and sterile. I also did not like the PS Audio Directream, which just sounded wrong in my system. It felt disjointed. I don't know what the situation is, but for some reason it doesn't work with my ears. Unlike others, I actually preferred the PerfectWave over it (twice - as I tried upgrading two times over a 4 year span).  

All in all, it was great to finally listen to a wide range of sources, and I could enjoy most of the ones in the stable. The experience also brought me closer to my AM T3-SE. A beautiful, highly recommended dac.