Review on Linear Tube Audio Aero DAC
Hey Gon members,
I just submitted to Stereo Times my review on the new ,and the first, DAC that Linear Tube Audio has just released. For right now I would strongly suggest anyone in the market for a stand alone DAC, regardless of price, consider the Aero. Its build quality, R2R chip set, power supply, internal part selection and the tube based ZOTL analog conversion section leads to one of the most musical and analog type presentations I have heard in the last ten years. Not inexpensive at $3,950, but competes with my reference which sells for $10,000 more. You get a 14 day home . trial. So far no one has returned the Aero after hearing in their system. I go into many details about the Aero in my review, but wanted to give a heads-up for anyone considering a DAC purchase. I believe the Aero is a break through product based on price vs. performance. I'll let you know when the review goes up. Hopefully in the next ten days.
Terajay (Terry London)
@teajay - Have you heard the Merason DAC 1 MkI or MkII? If yes, any thoughts compared to the (half the price) LTA Aero? Michael Lavorgna currently has the LTA Aero DAC in his Barn for review (pending) and has also reviewed the Merason, so I also look forward to any comparisons he chooses to make. |
Is this unusual for a manufacturer to standardly burn-in their units? What about units headed for reviewers? For example, that Twittering Machines review of the Harmony and Aero. Was the Harmony right off the production floor, or did it receive some time somehow for more equal footing for evaluation? With the often very subtle differences in performance, this would appear to be an important consideration
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@lpretiring In my experience it’s not the norm for a manufacturer to pre burn in their products, but it’s sure nice when they do and good on LTA for going the extra mile (it also has the added benefit of reducing the chance of sending out defective products off the line, which is nice). When I was reviewing I always knew if a product was new and needed breaking in or not and proceeded accordingly, and any reputable reviewer would do the same. The value of reviewing a new product not broken in or used in previous reviews is that you can give readers an idea of how long it takes for it to start sounding its best along with the degree and type of change in sound that can be expected, which is nice to know upfront if you’re buying new. For that reason, in my reviews at the end of the product description section I always included details on the break-in process if applicable. That said, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if many of the yahoos out there producing video “reviews” on YouTube, etc. pay no mind to it and just fire out their crap regardless of whether a product is broken in or not either because they don’t know any better or don’t care and just wanna crank out reviews as quickly as possible to boost revenue. Anyway, just my $0.02 FWIW. |
I appreciate the effort by LTA to burn in the Aero unit at the factory and then verify it performs as advertised/expected. I believe this is important for a company offering a 14-day audition/return period. We discussed that I currently own (and previously owned) other well-respected DACs and that the Aero will have to bring something special to the table if I am to keep it. Therefore, it will be powered up the entire time I have it and I think it is great that LTA are giving it at least an additional week of burn-in. Regarding Twittering Machines, if you read the reviews, Lavorgna keeps review gear for an extended period of time so I am confident he understands burn-in and gives the electronics plenty of time to reach their optimal performance. I find most of his opinions to be believable and without excessive hype. Therefore, if he chooses to make comparisons regarding the performance of the LTA Aero vs. the Merason DAC 1 MkII, I will pay attention to what he reports. |
