You get your pick on output tubes you want to hear (tonal change) by selecting one over the other via a toggle switch on the rear of the LTA Aero DAC:
The LTA DAC Aero has a toggle switch on the back panel primarily for changing between 6SN7 and 12SN7 output tubes.
This switch allows you to choose the correct heater voltage for either type of tube, as they have identical electrical characteristics but different voltage requirements.
Important notes on using this switch:
- Only perform this operation while the Aero is turned off.
- Ensure the switch is set to the correct position for the tubes you are using to avoid potential over-current protection or other undesired behavior.
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Everyone I’ve seen who upgraded to the better tubes was very happy so think you made the right choice there.
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According to Perplexity, the upgraded 6 sn7 tubes are better than the stock 12sn7 if you prefer a warmer sound
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@soix also, I got the upgraded tubes for a little extra. I assume this was a good move?
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@soix this weekend. Will upload a video with the complete setup
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It’s probably ok, but when you get a better streamer it’d be something to reassess. Let us know what you think. When do you expect it to arrive?
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@soix i did check with LTA and yes, USB is most suitable. They are shipping a USB cable with the DAC and reassured me it’s good quality. I don’t know the brand but should I take their word for it?
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I love warm sound and should get warmer sound with the aero DAC from LTA. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
While the Aero isn’t necessarily a warm DAC per se, it should certainly be warmer/fuller sounding than your Wiim and a significant improvement across the board. The nice thing about tubes is if you find you want even more warmth you can swap tubes to tailor the sound more to your liking. And my bad, you’re correct the Aero has XLR outputs but does not have a balanced input, which was a curious omission to me unless of course it’s not a fully-balanced design that my guess is it’s not. Anyway, don’t neglect the digital cable between the Wiim and Aero because it can make a huge difference. I’d check with LTA as to which input they prefer but would think it’d be USB. Here are a few solid recommendations that won’t break the bank…
https://www.lavricables.com/cables/ultimate-silver-dual-usb-a-b-interconnect-cable/
https://veritascables.com/products/velox-usb
https://silversonic.com/products/digital-cables/mirage-usb/
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Human nature to seek validation from peers.
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@soix The aero DAC does have balanced outs
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@soix I love warm sound and should get warmer sound with the aero DAC from LTA. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
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Strictly and practically speaking I’d say wait until your amp has broken in over at least 200 hours so you can see which direction you might want to go sonically with a new DAC once the sound settles because it could change significantly and there’s really no rush. That said, I have some thoughts for you to research in the meantime…
I’m a fan of LTA and own one of their preamps, but their DAC is tubed and in your situation I’m not sure you want to start messing with tubes, and it doesn’t offer balanced connections that personally I’d prefer to use with your fully-balanced amp. I’d strongly consider looking into the Denafrips Terminator 15th DAC for its combination of sound quality and price…
https://www.denafrips.com/product-page/denafrips-terminator-15th-r-2r-dac
Here’s a review of their next level down DAC just to give you an idea of what type of sound characteristics are on offer to see if it might be to your liking…
https://soundnews.net/reviews/sources/denafrips-venus-15th-r2r-dac-review-a-feast-for-your-ears/
That said, if you can’t help yourself there’s a lightly used Terminator 15th available now, so at least if it doesn’t work out you can likely turn around and sell it for little loss.
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650241770-denafrips-terminator-15th-dac/
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I have installed 3WIIM products for friends and family. Including an ultra. While everyone is very pleased with the product, they all without exception, tell me how much more pleasing the sound of my system is. I am a fan boy of this company and will happily tell anybody who is interested about them. Hopefully, when you get around to it, that you’ll research these guys.
https://innuos.com/
Getting streaming right is sublime. Hopefully, you will find some Nirvana.
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@goodlistening64 Sure thing. I will upload a video this weekend when it arrives so you will know how it sounds with my 232. Thanks for suggesting.
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@madhusudan_ramaswamy
Congratulations! I'm jealous!
My next preamp & DAC are from LTA, should be able to pull the trigger early next year as a step up - and likely final - upgrade to those two components.
If you don't want it, I will buy it!
Please provide your feedback on this site once you have assessed the DAC.
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@goodlistening64 Did my research and pulled the trigger on a new Aero DAC from LTA. Will be shipped out today.
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Got my new Axxess RCA interconnects today.
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@kerrybh thank you. Let me start a new thread re what DAC to get
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I really don’t think that’s an issue if a dealer does the job. I think your unit is like my pre-amplifier, it’s made to be modular so adding the DAC Will not be an issue. Some of the other smart people here may think that a separate component would be better, but I’d at least consider the Burmester because I think there are obvious advantages
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@soix @kerrybh Called the Burnester dealer and the 232 DAC is now $10,000. Was $8800 2 days ago. I can still get it bur it's internal. Someone will have to install it. I don't know if I like someone opening up a brand new unit
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@soix Actually I don't disagree with you. My setup is still in the works. Can you recommend a DAC model? I can start researching it.
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@soix is, in my humble opinion, giving you good advice. Obviously, entirely up to you and I’m happy you are pleased with your purchase. I think it’s true that to get the full value from the very fine component you purchased, your other primary components need to be at least close to the same tier. I think for a DAC That would do your rig justice you likely need to Cross the $5000 threshold. As I suggested in a previous post, I think the Burmester DAC Module might be the optimum solution.
When I bought my 808 Marc five preamplifier, I already had a very competent phono stage- not ultra level, but pretty good. The burmester module for my preamp ran circles around it in ways that I would not have expected. Something about the synergy, shorter signal path, etc.
unfortunately, this stuff is painfully expensive, and there is also a school of thought h it doesn’t matter, but I’m guessing you could get a home audition of some comparable equipment and judge for yourself. At any rate, congratulations on a great purchase and good luck.
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Actually I did audition a more expensive Cambridge audio unit but the wiim sounded better so I kept it. Like I said, I trust my ears first and foremost.
It’s fine to trust your ears, but your Wiim is far beneath your system and although you may like the sound now you won’t know how much better it can be until you try something better, and there is far, far better out there. I’d suggest trying a better DAC with the Wiim first to start to hear what’s possible. For perspective, if I had your amp/speakers I’d have a streamer and DAC totaling in the $10k range so they’d be more inline with the sound/quality of your other components. In audio, the chain is only as strong as the weakest link and everything matters, and in your system the Wiim is a glaring weak link and is significantly holding back the performance of your system whether you recognize it or not. But I’ve only been at this for 40+ years so what the hell do I know? I’m just trying to help you here and pretty sure others will largely echo what I’m saying, but do with this what you will.
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The real question is what sounds better. The burm in the house or the burm in the merc?
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@soix Actually I did audition a more expensive Cambridge audio unit but the wiim sounded better so I kept it. Like I said, I trust my ears first and foremost.
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@soix Theoretically what you say is true. But the fact is my ears are pleased without compare. Keep in mind I have not fully completed my upward progression yet. Am getting new high quality RCA cables tomorrow. If there is a mid end DAC/streamer you can recommend, I will be happy to look into it.
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So, if I’ve got this right you’re using a $330 Wiim streamer/DAC with an amp and speakers worth upwards of $40k. I know you said you don’t think DACs are all that important and assume you’re of a similar mind about streamers, so all I’ll say is you’re not getting near the performance your other equipment is capable of. As an analogy, what you’ve got here is like having budget all-season tires on a Ferrari — sure it’ll work, but you won’t get nearly the performance out of it that you paid dearly for.
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Strange I took a look at the 232 product page and this is what it said, I guess the Dac is an option then.
- First product in the new Burmester aesthetic design
- New D/A converter
- New rotary encoder with haptic feedback (customizable) for volume, input selection, etc.
- Modular design (phono module, DAC)
- Supports current streaming providers
- New operation app
- New audio concept for preamplifier (incl. volume control) and headphones
- High quality operational amplifiers at the input for sound performance
- Extra short and low noise signal path for minimal signal interference
- New dedicated headphone amplifier designed for low distortion and low noise level
- New input transistors of the power amplifiers with almost perfect pair equality (NPN, PNP) for minimal distortion
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@jond Don't think it has internal DAC
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@jond Don't think it has internal DAC. I asked the dealer.
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My system sounds phenomenal as is. The important components are top motch. DAC is not critical in my opinion but I will definitely keep keep your words in mind.
So, you’re using the DAC in the Wiim Ultra?
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@kerrybh great input. My system sounds phenomenal as is. The important components are top motch. DAC is not critical in my opinion but I will definitely keep keep your words in mind.
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A good measure of value is the resale market.
look at the retail vs. actual (not ask) used prices. This is the value net of dealer spiff and sizzle.
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Just to add to the point, if you can stomach the cost, I don't think you can go wrong with the Burmester DAC module- I think thats a mortal lock. If you don't go in that direction, you might want to wait a while, let your 232 settle in, and make a decision down the road a bit. This will give you time to acclimate to your new (great) sound and determine what sonic improvements you want to pursue. Or, even better, that you are totally satisfied with the Wiim, but I'll wager you'll want something more at the level of the rest of your system.
If you are in Houston, you have access to some good stores for auditions, although with a DAC you really need to hear it in your system to make a good judgment.
Some folks think all decent quality DACs sound the same since its all 1s and 0s. I don't think that but its a point of view.
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There are literally dozens of decent choices in low cost DACs From what I can tell, but I would take a look at the DAC module for your new integrated amp. Burmester doesn’t sell anything cheap, but there is something to the old saying buy once cry once
You would undoubtedly get the best synergy going that route, save a pair of cables And up your game while simplifying in the process. Otherwise, if you like warm, maybe something like a Lampizator? Again, they’re going to be people on this thread that will have better advice than me, so hopefully they’ll jump in. I can tell you from experience that once you start the upward progression, as you have, it’s going to bug you that you may have a component that’s a bottleneck.
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@kerrybh wiim ultra. Looking to upgrade. Any suggestions? Don't wanna spend too much.
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@jsalerno277 nothing too fancy. Wiim ultra. Still in the process of perfecting my setup
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@jsalerno277 at the rate at which I'm going, break in will occur in mo time. Haven't budged since I turned on my 232
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I agree with you about Luxman- really well made stuff. What DAC are you using?
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Why oh why do we question ourselves. Has to be one of our biggest weaknesses. I am so glad you came out on the good end which we all knew you would. Enjoy the heck out of it, I’m sure it’ll be one hell of a ride! 🏎️🏍️🚀
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@kerrybh my Luxman 509z is also fantastic but the 232 build is next level
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@kerrybh someone on this post commented their build quality. Never seen anything like it. Studio quality. Phenomenal.
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Daft Punk? You should play some Merle Haggard on that fine machine. Not really a fair test though, since the Hag would sound good singing in a barrel.
One thing about Burmester- their stuff is art-meticulous workmanship.
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@jsalerno277 Did not purchase DAC option. Love my current setup. Sorry can’t advise you.
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