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Does a Tube Dac make sense?


I’m  in the market for a dac since I bought a Musical Paradise MP701MKII Tube Preamp few months back, does it make sense to buy a tube dac? The seller Garry is suggesting to get the Musical Paradise MP D2 MKIII which is a tube dac with a AK4490 but can be upgraded to AK4499 but I’m leaning towards the RME ADI2 which is almost the same price as the MP tube dac. I’m finding it hard to justify a $1k dac but I have read a lot of forums that suggests the RME or the SMSL M400 and Denafrips Ares II but I’m a sucker for vu meters and spectrum analyzers but if the MP tube dac is a good match for my MP tube preamp I’m willing to give it a go.
stibin
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,198 posts
 
Technically probably not. I probably would not. Used to have one. But practically sure why not if a particular tube dac sounds good to you. I am a mhdt dAC fan. Mostly tube DACs. Mine is SS though. I found I was trying to get the mhdt tube dac to sound like the SS one by rolling tubes. Rolling tubes to change the sound is a feature of many tube DACs. .
stibin OP
12 posts
 
djones51 Exactly my point. Will a tube dac go well with a tube pre since the my pre is already a tube is a tube dac necessary or will my system sound too tubey if there is such a word. I appreciate all the insights here as I myself is at a lost, I’m new to this hobby and I’m learning a lot by reading suggestions and comments but if someone has any experience with a tube pre and tube dac I appreciate the knowledge that you are passing to newbies like me. 
stibin OP
12 posts
 
Charles1dad. Thanks. I have the Musical Paradise MP701 mkII and it does have significant sound improvement on my system but after a few months of using it I started to hear micro-phonics on one of the tubes so that also got me thinking do I really want another tube gear which I might ran into tube problems or just go with a dac that does not use tubes but that does not mean R2R dacs or any other dacs won’t encounter problems as I’m sure at a certain point in time it will.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hi @stibin, 
You wrote,
I have the Musical Paradise MP701 mkII and it does have significant sound improvement on my system.

That just confirms my position that tube DACs can sound terrific. If you decide to move on from a tube DAC you'll be able to find a transistor DAC that will sound terrific as well. Excellent choices in both camps. 
Charles 
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
@stibin,
You can have an all tube audio signal path or an all transitor audio signal path and be happy with either. Just depends on what type of sonic presentation you are seeking. Within the realm of tubes there’s very noticeable variation in what you’ll hear. So called "tubey" to not so "tubey".

For example an Audio Research component using 6H30P tubes would sound different from another brand’s tube component using a 6SN7 or a 12AT7. So even though utilizing tubes you’d still hear a different signature. Same would be true for mixing different transistors. Krell doesn’t sound like Jeff Rowland even though both are solid state.

You say that you are a newbie, no problem you’ll learn to appreciate the many variables that factor into High End audio. We all continue learn as we gain experience along the way.
Charles
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