Review on Linear Tube Audio Aero DAC


Hey Gon members,

I just submitted to Stereo Times my review on the new ,and the first, DAC that Linear Tube Audio has just released. For right now I would strongly suggest anyone in the market for a stand alone DAC, regardless of price, consider the Aero. Its build quality, R2R chip set, power supply, internal part selection and the tube based ZOTL analog conversion section leads to one of the most musical and analog type presentations I have heard in the last ten years. Not inexpensive at $3,950, but competes with my reference which sells for $10,000 more. You get a 14 day home . trial. So far no one has returned the Aero after hearing in their system. I go into many details about the Aero in my review, but wanted to give a heads-up for anyone considering a DAC purchase. I believe the Aero is a break through product based on price vs. performance. I'll let you know when the review goes up. Hopefully in the next ten days.

 

Terajay (Terry London)

teajay

Showing 9 responses by wig

@mitch2

I would be curious to hear your impressions on how the LTA compare to Merason in regards to creating ambiance and spatial space. This is why I chose Merason over my $7K+ Tube SW1X III+ DHT R2R Dac; Merason matched it in every area but the airy details just added another level of dimensionality and realness...

Wig 🎶🎵

From the way it reads, not at the level of Merason and seems like the Aero is richer than Laiv but thought he noted that Laiv was rich, warm and soft sounding...

Personal preference I guess.

Wig

I'm also waiting for that review to drop as well and hopefully, there will be some direct comparisons between Merason and the Aero.

Wig

@ soix,

I'm just saying it was quite vague as the Merason was noted as nuanced and resolving and the Aero and Laiv, richer/warmer and maybe he didn't want to compare them directly due to that. 

Good Dacs for sure.

Wig

@ soix

My Pro Ject RS2T CD Transport sounds much better with an AES/EBU compared to SPDIF; more transparent, more apparent ambiance/spatial cues with images that are more focused.

Wig

@mitch2 

Curious to hear your impressions after burn-in of both Merason and LTA. My CD transport is optimized for AES/EBU and sounds much better than SPDIF on my Merason Dac1 MKII. 

Wig

For those Dacs utilizing 6SN7 tubes, I highly recommend Linlai Elite 6SN7s which IMHO, beats most NOS tubes...

Wig