Any tube DACs with tight bass?

I own the Manley Ref Tube DAC that has absolutely incredible bass extension. But I also had the VTL Ref Tube DAC for a couple months at the same time. The VTL had a little more of the lowest bass presence but it was not clear which of the two units was more accurate. Neither has any of the bass qualities that you described of typical tube DACs.

Overall for me, the Manley was more smooth, natural sounding and simply had a greater musical presence. And the Manley DAC's build quality is vastly superior. Both of these units are not easy to find on the used market. Expect the Manley to be in the $3000-3500 range and the VTL in the $1700-2500 range.

John

Audio Logic makes an outstanding tube DAC. There is a review by Agon member rcprince for this DAC. The Electrocompaniet was a little deeper but the AL equaled the Chord DAC 64 in my system. The AL DACs used are around $2K.

Email me with any other questions.

Happy Listening.

Try the Musical Fidelity TriVista-21 DAC. Awesome!