Tube DACs

I second the Audio Note DACs. I have the 2.1x balanced, purchased used. I also have the Wavelength Audio Cosine DAC which is very similar in design and concept (tube output, zero sampling) that I use in a headphone system.

I have a Cal Alpha in my main system (w/a BAT DK5) and a Sigma II in a 2nd system and use them regularily so long as I'm not looking for the ultimate audio adventure (great resolution and soundstaging). They are warm and musical - they are a bit forward in presentation but not bright or glassy (assuming you've tubed them correctly). They are more forgiving of problems in CD's and for casual listening I actually prefer them to the BAT. What I would love to find is a CDP or a DAC which has the tonal balance and upfront presentation of the Cal Alpha, but with the resolution of the BAT. Anyone know of such a beast?

Try auditioning the Musical Fidelity TRIVISTA-21 DAC. Simply amazing!

If you don't mind saving a lot of money, check out Scott-nixon.com where the "TubeDac," and matching power supply are on sale new for a price so low it might be hard to take the DAC seriously. After pioneering the tube output consumer DAC, this is the master's less is more purist approach which ended up being a bargain. The only way to make it cost more is to choose some rare, single NOS tube. My older Anodyne ATAS uses four tubes, where the cost of NOS tubes alone can equal the price of the entire, new era TubeDac. With all the money saved, you can run wild buying CD's.

I use my Audio Aero CD player's DAC for my DVDs (two channel), Satellite and it does a great job playing CDs as well. Since it has a volumn control I find that it serves as a preamp as well.