looking for a good tubed dac

Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC. Nothing comes close for the money

I second the EE DAC. My previous was the PS Audio DLIII. An excellent DAC, especially if bought used, for the money. The EE is a step up and has phase inversion, both solid state and tube, volume control (on the first generation). Bear in mind that the second generation has a USB that can receive 24/96 whereas the first generation can only handle up to 44.1 I am using a M2Tech hiface USB to SPDIF converter between my miniMac and the EE DAC. Bill at Morningstar is a great guy and easy to call if you have questions. I am not affiliated nor have an interest in EE or Morningstar.

I will third the recommendation of the EE Minimax. Best DAC I have owned. Try some opamp rolling and find the right tube and you'll have a top notch setup.

It seems there's feeding frenzy regarding the EE minimax.

It would also help to know how you are planning to connect it, and to what (computer/CD transport/SB Touch/etc).

Other tubed DACs: Audio Research DAC8, Wavelenght lineup, Accustic Arts Tube DAC II, Ayon, Aesthetix. Then there's the question of why they NEED to be tubed...

I hope this helps.

The previous post brings up a good question regarding whether or not a DAC should have a tube. It is a nice feature to be able to switch the tube output in or out and some prefer the Sabre-based DACs without the tube, including Stereomojo in their shootout. It comes down to system-matching and source material. If the recording is very bright, the tube tones it down a bit. It does add a midrange warmth vs the Sabre without the tube. Also, the phase inversion is helpful for some recordings. Personally, I like the volume pot. I can then adjust my pre-amp volume perfectly in its best range. If they had put an analog input into the DAC, it would be perfect for my needs. The new EE accepts a higher resolution USB signal but loses the volume. I recommend using the spdif over the USB.

can you define what is meant by a "tube" sound. a dac that uses a tube either in the gain and/or as a buffer, may not have the characteristics of tubeyness, depending upon the definition.

for me i consider a tube sound that which embodies the sonic characteristics of the conrad johnson amps, like the mv45, mv 75 and mv 125. others would consider that sound, overly colored.

i don't know of any dac that has the character of a cj mv 125.

i think there is more to that sound than just a dac.