Lab 12

I ended up visiting Fidelis in Nashua NH.    Awesome store   They are the distributor for LAB 12.    I used several of their products while demoing the DAC 1.  Really good stuff !!!!  Build quality is excellent.   After spending a little while with the DAC 1,  I ended up buying one.  

Check out LAB 12 , excellent gear !

The Lab 12 Gordian power conditioner struck me as a very interesting design.  But it seems to have not enjoyed much "uptake" in the audio community.

https://www.lab12.gr/product/gordian/

that isma cool looking device but the proprietary cables are expensive and that's probably why.  I would put my amp, preamp ,and dac on it at the least and the cables are $400 ea

The build quality is great , very tough industrial strength chassis.   Nice fit and finish on all products.   I was impressed by their whole line.   

It always makes me happy to hear about someone actually sitting down and listening to something before buying instead of the hit and miss guesswork that seems to permeate the audio landscape. Enjoy. 

Congrats and I expect you are enjoying your DAC 12 Ref DAC.  I own a Lab12 ref DAC and love it’s simplicity and it’s sound is amazing.  I bought mine used 6 months old at 1/2 price. It is an under the radar DAC and at regular price is very good deal for it’s performance level in my mind.  Upgrading tubes and a high quality USB cable make a big improvement. Mine is feed by a Bricasti M5 NAS and using an audioquest coffee usb cable.  Tubes are Valvo Red Label E188CC made in Holland by Amperex. Other tubes that I have used with great sound are Dario Minwatt E188CC made by Philips France, Siemens E88CC and Amperex 6922 made in USA in that order.  All made in ‘60’s with gold pins.  Enjoy and cheers to happy listening!

Thanks !  I am really digging this DAC...  I let it "cook" all week  by essentially leaving it on with a 192k stream all week .   Finally got to try USB and it sounds really good.    I think I would have bought it even without a trade in, but that make it affordable.     I went a little overboard on audio so far this year so in the near future I will pair it with a better streamer.   

Definitely check out Fidelis if you are in the New England area it is worth the trip