I don't have any idea how tube is equated to analog and solid state to digital. Apples and orange kind of comparison. I also find it interesting that some people equate tube and analog sound with a loss of excitement and transparency, and equate digital and solid state sound with thinness, edginess and brightness. I find that most solid state equipment and good digital sources to no longer sound that way, but I do find that their weakness is a loss of low level transparency, dynamics and liveliness.
I don't think that hanging a cheaply made tube gain stage on to the converted output of a dac would do anything to improve the sound. I haven't been impressed by most of the players with tubes. But, there are notable exceptions. The best digital sound I've ever heard came from a set-up using an Audionote DAC-5 that is stuffed with tubes. Simply amazing.
I don't think that hanging a cheaply made tube gain stage on to the converted output of a dac would do anything to improve the sound. I haven't been impressed by most of the players with tubes. But, there are notable exceptions. The best digital sound I've ever heard came from a set-up using an Audionote DAC-5 that is stuffed with tubes. Simply amazing.