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)
Hey whoopycat, Great question! You might find it shocking that the Pass Labs DAC-1 performance is quite close to the present day reference level DACs. I hate using percentage statements, but I would say the DAC-1 gives you close to 85% of the state of the art performance of this generation of great DACs. I'm sure yours sounds great in your system. Teajay |
Amazing! What is this like a 27 year old DAC?
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Hey jetter, Yes, the Pass Labs DAC-1 is about that old. Mine was re-capped by Pass Labs and is in pristine condition. The only reason that Pass Labs stopped manufacturing the DAC-1 was the unavailability of the great Burr-Brown PCM-(K)63 chips. Pass Labs policy is if they can't have parts to repair a certain model in the future they stop manufacturing it. The DAC-1 uses four of these chips in a fully balanced configuration. Then add Nelson's brilliance with power supplies and you get a great sounding DAC. Teajay |
