Audio Mirror Tubadour V

Thanks for your perspectives @smallmouthrule and @dhungana. I have been in contact with Vlad who has been very responsive with questions. I am sure I will end up with a Tubadour in the future.

Vlad is a true craftsman and artisan. He doesn’t churn out a stream of different products he simply focuses on what he knows best and makes incremental improvements.

If you get a chance, have a listen to his SET45 creation. 

Guys, you need to get a Soviet 6c4p-ev rectifier in place of Chinese 6z4 (plug'n'play) and try to experiment with 5842 tubes (adapters needed). I did both, and I like the results. But Western Elecric 5842/417a tubes (in my case) are expensive, while other brands are not so much.

Definitely worth the effort. Besides, it's always fun to try different tubes ;)

Good feedback and experiences from all above on Audio Mirror/ Tubadour's.  I am early on in the evaluation process, thinking through several DAC's and had the opportunity to correspond with Vlad recently.  His timely and informative response on my questions were appreciated.  Now I need to listen to the Tubadour IV SE or V.  No trip to MPLS in the near future and not sure he will be at Capital AudioFest in Nov.  

I picked up a used Tubadour III SE partly based on feedback from this thread. I had a highly modified MHDT Orchid (Grannyring) and the III SE just edges out the modified Orchid. Attacks and decays have a little more natural 3D presentation. A step up in musicality and soundstage.  Prior to the III SE, I demoed a Merason Dac 1 MK2, an excellent DAC. But A/B comparing to the Orchid, it did not provide an upgrade in sound. Maybe it was slightly better or different in some aspects, and yet the Orchid was also slightly better or different in other aspects of the music. They were more alike than different. I sent the Merason back. My next move is to have Vlad upgrade the III SE to the V.