Doge 7 tube DAC

I have the Doge 7 Tube DAC.  I highly recommend it. And I don't love everything I buy.  I wish it was that easy.  It takes me a long audition to truly understand a product in my system. 

I did a post on the unit and tube rolling in it. 

The stock Shuguang tubes do not get enough credit--yours truly included.  The beauty of the stock tubes is that they are very quiet and the preamp side of this unit needs that.  If you aren't going to use it as a preamp you may not have to worry about quiet, non-microphonic as much.  

I liked the Doge more than NAD M51, Border Patrol, Denefrips Ares.  I haven't compared it head to head with any "Giants".  All I know is that I love the sound.  

When my reissue Gold Lion 12AT7s got noisy within 500 hours, I had trouble diagnosing where the hiss was coming from.  I put the stock Shuguang's back in (they were next to new) and things quieted down. 

I would have paid $2000-$3000 for this unit.  The features are super.  

When I built a Roon NUC server this summer, it instantly recognized the Doge 7 and they play really well together, even though the Doge is not "Roon" or MQA ready.  It is DSD ready. 

I saw a used one on US Audio Mart last week for $900 or so.   

Yes!!! JJSS is in the house and ready t review!  Love it. 
This is a wonderful piece of gear.  I’m confident you’ll find it clear and musical.  

@dvdboulet,

The Chinese tubes that ship with it are really quiet, decent tubes. I really like new/reissue Gold Lions throughout it, as an easy choice (both the 12AT7s and 12AX7s), but I got some "butt ugly" RCA 12AT7s from Brent Jesse that sound really good too.

I suppose one of the downsides to the Doge 7 is the 8 12 volt tubes you have to deal with. 8 tubes make rolling not an inexpensive thing. I’ve rolled more tubes in my amp and preamp than the thing so I’m not an expert on it. I’ve noticed that so long as the tubes are quiet and have good life, the sound from the Doge 7 is excellent.