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

I think I will just start out with using my Rotel as a transport for the Aero and see how that sounds.  Hopefully it will work well, if not, I will just continue saving until I can afford a dedicated one. 

@no_regrets  Sounds like a good/reasonable plan, and I’m sure your Rotel will sound fine as a transport but just don’t skimp on the digital cable because it makes a big difference (sorry if I’m beating a dead horse here).  Love to hear your thoughts once you get things up and running. 

@teajay

@soix

@sense63

I just wanted to take a quick moment to say "THANK YOU" to everyone for all of your help by sharing your thoughts, experiences, and guidance with me as I tried to decipher which direction to go and which steps to take in the effort of improving the digital side of my music system.

I had a busy day todaysmiley! I was able to purchase an Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper 75 Ohm RCA 1.5 meter digital cable. I then went on to purchased a new LTA Aero Dac from Nicholas at LTA! I will start out utilizing my vintage Rotel 955AX CD Player as the transport - Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper via the Coax output into the Aero Dac.

It is my hope that I will hear a tremendous improvement of sound via the Aero Dac over that of the Rotel’s internal multibit dac. If the Rotel proves to be sufficient, then over time, I will continue to save more money to put towards a high end streamer. If the Rotel isn’t allowing the Aero to shine, then I will investigate a better dedicated transport to replace the Rotel; and then do the streamer down the road further.

I would also like to take a quick moment to say that Nicholas from LTA is a true gentleman! I had a very nice email string with him. He replied to each of my emails within minutes! He was very nice and answered all of my questions and was extremely helpful to me. It was a true pleasure corresponding with him and he really made me feel appreciated and valued. A company may have a great product, but if it is without having people who truly care about their customers... then it kinda falls flat with me. I can honestly say that Nicholas at LTA, truly cares and has a passion for what they are doing. That right there pushed me over the top to want to buy the LTA Aero! I can’t wait to receive it and install it into my system to hear what it can do!

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this forum thread. This is a great community to be associated with heart

Best wishes to you all,

Don

Can anyone speak for the quality of the components in the AERO DAC.  I have seen the inside but am not able to tell the quality of components.

Hey brbrock,

I know that LTA uses high quality internal parts in all their products. If you want precisely to know what companies parts they use just call Nicholas at LTA and he will give you all that information.

Teajay