2. digital
  3. 166177-146733

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
jjss49's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
garry has a very good ear and his dacs sound very ’analog’ with their tube output stages - excellent performance for $ and like mhdt and a few others, ideal for those seeking a dose of warmth, body, dimensionality and fullness to the typically ’clean-n-lean’ sound of digital

however, i think garry, like many other small makers, are out of stock presently due to supply chain issues

but if you like a leaner sound, and like lots of features, buttons, menus, filters, sexy displays (not to mention an owner’s manual the size of a small phone book) the rme will certainly please!
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
If the dac sounds better because it’s got an output tube instead of ss, it was probably a bad sounding dac, and the tube is just a bandaid fix.

Also dacs with tube output don’t drive very well into the next equipment, be it passive pre active pre or direct to poweramp if it is lower than <20kohm input impedance.
As tube dacs usually have high output impedance and are capacitor coupled, which "could" also roll off the bass those low input impedances <20kohm.

Cheers George
willgolf
937 posts
 
It depends on your budget also.  I had a Lumin X-1 to source my tube mono and Pre-amp.  I thought a tube DAC would take it to the next level.  So I ordered the Lampizator Pacific.  Thje Pacific is a tremendous DAC.  However, after owning both the solid state Lumin X-1 and the Pacific there is not $15k improvement.  Plus I had to buy a Music server on top of that versus the all in one X-1.  
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
Ok YES..
facten
2,882 posts
 
One of my DACs is a Modwright Elyse - 6922 tubes and 5AR4 tube rectifier that I have used with Modwright LS100 tube pre and KWA100 SE ss amp; Line magnetic 518IA tube integrated, Finale Audio 7189MK2 tube integrated , and now while in my 2nd system an Ayon Audio Spirit 2 tube integrated ; it has had zero issues driving into any of them, and there has been no loss of bass or any other frequencies
More to discover