audio research dac

it is a very nice unit with good detail

also consider the DAC2 which uses high end burr brown d/a chips and is solid state

the dac 3 with the wrong tubes can sound a little mellow in a "warm" system, but I've auditioned it extensively and it had incredible low level resolution

no upsampling 20 bit tech

Tom

HI TOM .
THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT. WHAT BRAND OF TUBES SHOULD I BE LOOKING FOR (NOS OR NEW PRODUCTION) ALSO DO YOU FAVOR DAC2 OVER DAC3 .I HAVEN'T BOUGHT IT YET AND CAN CONSIDER SOMETHING ELSE IF NEEDS BE.YOUR OPINION IS MUCH APRECIATED
TRANSPORT WILL BE A KRELL ,AMPS BY ROGUE AUDIO M150'S MONOBLOCKS,LINE STAGE AUDIO RESEARCH LS3 BALANCED,SPEAKERS STILL HAVEN'T DECIDED (I OWN MISSION 753'S AND WILL USE FOR NOW)TYPE OF MUSIC IS MAINLY CLASSIC ROCK ,BLUES ,JAZZ.
GEORGE

dac2 - slightly better low level resolution with the Burr Brown chips

dac3 the tube stage gives it a warmth that can sound too warm in some settings - it is a very engaging piece

most prefer dac3 to dac2, but there is a price jump
both are built like a tank

nos tubes telefunken, amperex, etc
talk to fletch here on audiogon
he can match tubes for system characteristics with the best of them

both daca mate well with arc preamps

you may also want to research the newer dacs with upsampling etc

hope that helps

Tom

HI TOM
Thank you for your comments. i do own an ARC line stage the
LS3 balanced and bought a used DAC3 .the previous owner suggested a TELEFUNKEN or SIEMENS nos as well. they are rather expensive though. I will be talking to fletch indeed
DAC 3 is clearing customs as we speak and i should be getting it in next few days.

thanks
George