Review on Linear Tube Audio Aero DAC

Hey dandion,

I had a brief listening session awhile back with the Aqua Scala DAC, quite good, and yes, the LTA Aero DAC have a lot of musicality and sonic characteristics that are similar. If you like the much more expensive DAC you surely would enjoy the LTA.

Teajay 

I had the Aqua La Scala II DAC (not Optologic) in my system for a while some years ago and eventually sent it back. There was nothing specific that I didn’t like about it and I believe my comparison was with the Metrum Pavane, which I kept. I sort of remember at the time that I didn’t want something with tubes in it.  Unfortunately, I was not able to compare it directly against any of my Mojo Audio DACs.  I had forgotten the La Scala used four PCM1704 DAC chips, but they apparently changed that to their current proprietary Optologic D/A conversion system using FPGAs.  I may think about trying the the La Scala again instead of the LTA Aero.

Thanks guys,

 It looks like the LTA aero is a better choice presently and Aqua La Scala is ready for an upgrade.

Is LTA shipping these now or are they taking preorders?  Also, a lot of hype on the Laiv Harmony DAC out there…wonder how the 2 compare🤔

Hey tksteingraber,

LTA has been shipping for close to a couple of months already. The wait time is about two weeks.

Teajay

@teajay Thanks for the clarification.  Mitch2 had mentioned he was waiting 3 weeks due to LTA waiting on cases to arrive.  

My comment about the wait was based on my conversation with the owner, Mr. Mark Schneider a little over a week ago. I went ahead and placed my order as soon as we finished our discussion that day. The confirmation email indicated:

"Lead time for new LTA orders is typically about four weeks, which includes a full week of burn-in and play-testing."

If anyone interested, LTA Aero DAC available on USAM for $3K.

@tksteingraber The LAIV Harmony, is winning favour as many are getting their chance to Trial a model, using the very generously honoured 30 Day Return Policy.

The comments being read are quite attractive about the Harmony are able to catch ones attention, especially attractive is the SS design as well.

I am a DAC user, which is a Commission Built Bespoke Design that is incorporating Valve Regulated Power Supply and E88CC Tubes in the Circuits Signal Path.

It was this DAC used with a CDT, that finally converted myself to having a Digital Source that was considered to be a very acceptable alternative to the Vinyl Source.

Most recently a Demo' of a Denafrips Venus II with FW Updates got my full attention, as a result of the very good impression made during a comparison session between SS and Valve based Digital Sources.

It would have been great to have had the LAIV H' and LTA A' used as well, at the comparisons being undertaken.    

Michael Lavorgna reviewed the LAIV Harmony DAC on his Twittering Machines website.  He said good things about the Harmony DAC in his review, and particularly for the price.  He happened to have the LTA Aero DAC in his Barn for review at the same time (review pending) and said this about the comparison...

"...the LTA Aero DAC ($3950) also sounded comparatively richer, fuller, and to my ears and tastes more involving, making music feel more life-like and less processed."

@teajay - Have you heard the Merason DAC 1 MkI or MkII? If yes, any thoughts compared to the (half the price) LTA Aero?

Michael Lavorgna currently has the LTA Aero DAC in his Barn for review (pending) and has also reviewed the Merason, so I also look forward to any comparisons he chooses to make.

Hey mitch2,

Wish I could help you, but never had any experience listening to the Merason DAC.

Teajay

"Lead time for new LTA orders is typically about four weeks, which includes a full week of burn-in and play-testing."

Is this unusual for a manufacturer to standardly burn-in their units? What about units headed for reviewers?

For example, that Twittering Machines review of the Harmony and Aero. Was the Harmony right off the production floor, or did it receive some time somehow for more equal footing for evaluation?

With the often very subtle differences in performance, this would appear to be an important consideration

Is this unusual for a manufacturer to standardly burn-in their units? What about units headed for reviewers?

@lpretiring  In my experience it’s not the norm for a manufacturer to pre burn in their products, but it’s sure nice when they do and good on LTA for going the extra mile (it also has the added benefit of reducing the chance of sending out defective products off the line, which is nice).  When I was reviewing I always knew if a product was new and needed breaking in or not and proceeded accordingly, and any reputable reviewer would do the same.  The value of reviewing a new product not broken in or used in previous reviews is that you can give readers an idea of how long it takes for it to start sounding its best along with the degree and type of change in sound that can be expected, which is nice to know upfront if you’re buying new.  For that reason, in my reviews at the end of the product description section I always included details on the break-in process if applicable.  That said, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if many of the yahoos out there producing video “reviews” on YouTube, etc. pay no mind to it and just fire out their crap regardless of whether a product is broken in or not either because they don’t know any better or don’t care and just wanna crank out reviews as quickly as possible to boost revenue.  Anyway, just my $0.02 FWIW.

I appreciate the effort by LTA to burn in the Aero unit at the factory and then verify it performs as advertised/expected.  I believe this is important for a company offering a 14-day audition/return period.  We discussed that I currently own (and previously owned) other well-respected DACs and that the Aero will have to bring something special to the table if I am to keep it.  Therefore, it will be powered up the entire time I have it and I think it is great that LTA are giving it at least an additional week of burn-in.

Regarding Twittering Machines, if you read the reviews, Lavorgna keeps review  gear for an extended period of time so I am confident he understands burn-in and gives the electronics plenty of time to reach their optimal performance.  I find most of his opinions to be believable and without excessive hype.  Therefore, if he chooses to make comparisons regarding the performance of the LTA Aero vs. the Merason DAC 1 MkII, I will pay attention to what he reports.

Twittering Machines’ review of the LTA Aero DAC is positive and discusses similar strengths as in the review by @teajay . Apparently Part 2 is yet to come.

The review does not include any comparisons with the previously reviewed Mearson DAC1 MkII.  Both DACs received the TM Favorite Digital recognition.

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

Here is Michaels review @TM Part 1.

https://twitteringmachines.com/review-linear-tube-audio-aero-dac-part-1/

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

From the way it reads, not at the level of Merason

@wig  Where did you get that from?  He only mentioned the LAiV Harmony and totaldac d1 in the review and no mention of the Merason that I saw.

@ 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

Another possible reason why he didn’t compare the Merason DAC1 MkII directly with the Aero could be that they were not both in his barn at the same time.

It seems Lavorgna likes the Liav Harmony DAC at its price point but he personally doesn’t care for its NOS mode, which he found boring, while he noted an etched or fatiguing quality when playing it in OS mode, but only in comparison to the more expensive LTA Aero DAC.

The LTA Aero seems more aligned with his sonic tastes, like his Totaldac d-1 unity reference, and wins within its weight class and above, but shows some shortcomings against the 3x more expensive Totaldac. Compared to the Harmony, he found that the Aero sounded "comparatively richer, fuller, and...more involving, making music feel more life-like and less processed." I will be interested to read what he has to say in Part 2 of the Aero review.

To understand his thoughts about the Aero vs. the Merason, it may be necessary to read about how he compared each to his Totaldac, which would put the Merason ahead of the Aero.

With respect to burn in,  I appreciate when a company does that.   Some companies make it part of their overall quality control.  Small companies that do it are wise, really helps to root out any problems before it leaves .   

@teajay 

I haven’t seen any mention of the Rockna Wavelight in this thread. Are you familiar enough with it to make a comparison with the Aero? It is another I am considering to replace my DSD Mk2.

Hey markmuse,

The Rockna is another fine DAC. I reviewed it a few years back. However, it’s more expensive then the LTA Aero, but I would rather have the Aero based on its presentation of music. A virtue of the Rockna is that it's volume control is excellent and the expense of a preamplifier is not necessary.

Teajay

@teajay Thanks!

@teajay and others,

This LTA Aero sounds interesting to me, but I have a couple of questions...

I'm a dye in the wool vinyl guy and have a very nice turntable/arm/cartridge/phonostage, etc. that provides very enjoyable listening sessions.

1)  I'm curious for those of you who also enjoy quality vinyl playback, how does this LTA Aero compare sound wise?

2) Currently, I would have to use an old Rotel 955AX CD Player as a transport into the LTA Aero via coax output.  How well would this work with the Aero?  Is the Rotel a good enough transport to get the sonic goods out of the Aero or would I have to spend big dollars on a better transport?

I appreciate hearing anyone's thoughts on this.

Thank you and best wishes to you all!

Don

Hey Don,

Remember the Aero uses a chip nicknamed the "analog" DAC. Two of my closet friends who are die hard analog listeners, with excellent vinyl rigs, love the LTA Aero because it has an ease, overall warmth, and relaxation often associated with vinyl. 

Yes, I'm sure the Rotel being used as a transport should be up to the task.

Teajay

@teajay

Thank you for your quick reply! That makes me very happy to hear that you and your friends feel it is a very analog sounding type dac. I was hoping to be able to find something that I could enjoy listening too without breaking the bank.

Vinyl will still be my primary listening source as I have 1000’s of truly mint records that I have collected over the last few decades that simply sound sublime. However, there I am discovering that there is a lot of great music being produced by modern musicians that I cannot get on vinyl and so I want to have digital source that will produce the beautiful tone and harmonic structure of real live music without sounding hard or strident or 2-dimensional.

I’m also happy that you feel that my old vintage Rotel 955ax will work well for a transport.

I will need to buy a coax cable to go from the transport to the Aero’s input. Any recommendations for a great sounding cable for a few hundred to a $1000 whether new or used.

For context, my current cables are Acoustic Zen Absolute Coppers for all interconnects and AZ Satori Shotguns for my speaker cables.

Oh, also... do you happen to know how tall the unit is with the tubes installed?

Thank you for your help and guidance!

Don

@no_regrets 

I'm of a different mindset in regard to the Rotel being utilized as a transport.

Would an excellent tonearm-cartridge combo performance be affected by an average turntable?

I feel significant gains will materialize with a transport approaching the Aero level.

@lpretiring 

I appreciate your comment. It nice to get different perspectives and opinions!

Which transports would you recommend?

Best wishes,

Don

@no_regrets 

I've used a Musical Fidelity A-5 as a transport, along with a Cambridge CXC, and currently a Project RS2T.

The Project is simply at a different sonic level. Unfortunately, this Project model has had serious reliability issues. 

My original unit was replaced. My current unit works perfectly as long as I leave it in stand-by. From a full off it can sometimes take a few attempts to power up.

I'm not aware if the glitches have been remedied or not. If they have addressed this the performance compares with units several times it's cost.

Good luck with your decision.

      LP

@no_regrets  I also have a full loom of AZ cables, and the last one I added was their MC2 digital interconnect, and if you like the AZ house sound this one is a no brainer — read the reviews as they’re pretty spot on.  Here’s a nice one you should be able to get for $300 if it’s still available as it’s been on the market for a while.

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649210067-acoustic-zen-mc2-digital-cable/

And while I agree your Rotel will work as a transport, transports matter and make a big difference so at the level of your system I’d look to upgrade that if CDs are important.  You could consider adding a DDC like the Denafrips Hermes that would likely up the Rotel’s performance significantly, or you could go to something like a Jay’s Audio CDT2 Mk3.  If CDs are important and you’re not gonna go to streaming I’d definitely do one or the other because the Rotel will likely be a bottleneck.  Hope this helps, or best of luck. 

Hey soix,

Totally agree with you, if Don likes AZ cables, the AZ MC2 would be a great addition.

Of course CD transports make a difference regarding the performance of the DAC they are driving. I consider myself some what of a connoisseur regarding transports. I do not stream, so all my DACs are driven by CD transports. Here's a list of what I have in my collection of spinners:

1) Mark Levinson 31.5 2) CEC two belt T-3,3) Pro-Ject reference with LTA upgraded power supply, 4) Jays Audio MKIII.

I also just had in for review Bricasti's new 10K transport. So when I suggested to Don that his Rotel would suffice to drive the Aero, I did not mean that it would get the ultimate performance out of it, but good enough to still hear what the Aero has to offer. By the way, the best performance I get in my system, regardless of the DAC, is the combination of the Mark Levinson with Jena Cables reference digital cable.  

Even Dr Vinyl likes this digital.

I have owned the Merason DAC 1, Mk ll and even though it’s a fine sounding unit, the Aero is a significant step up.  The best way I can describe the difference is the Merason puts you in front of a very good system and the Aero puts you at the live event.  I also own the newest Linn DAC/streamer/preamp (a significant price difference) and the Aero DAC is right there sonically and in some ways does a few things better.  Will I give up my Linn?  Nope, but it’s great to have two wonderful sounding DAC’s at the same time. I do think the Linn has advantages as well, especially with their streamer and preamp built in.  
 

I agree with teajay regarding price vs performance.  The Aero is a home run for the price.

@drvinyl01 Ha ha! +1

@soix 

I wonder if you or anyone else has had the opportunity to compare the Acoustic Zen MC2 with the Absolute Copper Foil 75 Ohm digital RCA cable?

Is there difference in sound characteristics between using 110 Ohm vs the 75 Ohm RCA cables?

Does anyone like the sound of any other RCA digital cables better than the AZ for similar prices?

Thank you!

Don

@sense63 

Thank you for your comments!  It certainly sounds like the Aero is certainly worthy of it's $4K asking price. I appreciate you sharing the comparisons.

Best wishes,

Don

@no_regrets 

My pleasure.

On another question you asked regarding the AZ Absolute copper, that's the cable I'm currently using and it is extremely good.  Another cable I also use, is the Empirical Design ED 120 Coaxial 75 Ohm Digital Cable which is extremely good as well and much less money than the AZ.

I'm sorry if I had missed reading this in any earlier posts, etc.  But how does the LTA Aero sound when using the Coax input vs the other types?

I ask as my Rotel only offers a Coax output.  So, if the Aero sounds better using other inputs I would wait on buying an expensive coax cable until I got a better transport and then get the appropriate cable at that time.

Any thoughts???

Best wishes,

Don

But how does the LTA Aero sound when using the Coax input vs the other types?

If you’re not going to streaming there’s only SPDIF and optical, so there’s really not much choice there.  Why LTA chose not to add AES or HDMI inputs at this price level is a mystery to me and a significant shortcoming IMHO. 

Hey Don,

The Aero sounds great being driven by a Coax/SPDIF cable. Start with your Rotel as a transport with a good SPDIF cable and I'm sure you will be very pleased. Then you could later on add a dedicated transport and better digital cable. Remember, you have a 10 day trial period, as far as I know no one has returned the Aero back to LTA.

Teajay

@ 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

@wig  I believe that i had read that the Project's output was optimized for AES/EBU. My SimAudio 260DT I discovered via communication with them was as well. As @soix  stated it is a drawback with the LTA not having the other two type outputs as you may not be able to fully maximize the SQ of particular transports

I truly appreciate everyone sharing there thoughts, experiences and guidance with me!

I think I will just start out with using my Rotel as a transport for the Aero and see how that sounds.  Hopefully it will work well, if not, I will just continue saving until I can afford a dedicated one. 
 

Thanks again,

Don

I think I will just start out with using my Rotel as a transport for the Aero and see how that sounds.  Hopefully it will work well, if not, I will just continue saving until I can afford a dedicated one. 

@no_regrets  Sounds like a good/reasonable plan, and I’m sure your Rotel will sound fine as a transport but just don’t skimp on the digital cable because it makes a big difference (sorry if I’m beating a dead horse here).  Love to hear your thoughts once you get things up and running. 

@teajay

@soix

@sense63

I just wanted to take a quick moment to say "THANK YOU" to everyone for all of your help by sharing your thoughts, experiences, and guidance with me as I tried to decipher which direction to go and which steps to take in the effort of improving the digital side of my music system.

I had a busy day today! I was able to purchase an Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper 75 Ohm RCA 1.5 meter digital cable. I then went on to purchased a new LTA Aero Dac from Nicholas at LTA! I will start out utilizing my vintage Rotel 955AX CD Player as the transport - Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper via the Coax output into the Aero Dac.

It is my hope that I will hear a tremendous improvement of sound via the Aero Dac over that of the Rotel’s internal multibit dac. If the Rotel proves to be sufficient, then over time, I will continue to save more money to put towards a high end streamer. If the Rotel isn’t allowing the Aero to shine, then I will investigate a better dedicated transport to replace the Rotel; and then do the streamer down the road further.

I would also like to take a quick moment to say that Nicholas from LTA is a true gentleman! I had a very nice email string with him. He replied to each of my emails within minutes! He was very nice and answered all of my questions and was extremely helpful to me. It was a true pleasure corresponding with him and he really made me feel appreciated and valued. A company may have a great product, but if it is without having people who truly care about their customers... then it kinda falls flat with me. I can honestly say that Nicholas at LTA, truly cares and has a passion for what they are doing. That right there pushed me over the top to want to buy the LTA Aero! I can’t wait to receive it and install it into my system to hear what it can do!

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this forum thread. This is a great community to be associated with

Best wishes to you all,

Don

Please let us know how it sounds in your system.

Can anyone speak for the quality of the components in the AERO DAC.  I have seen the inside but am not able to tell the quality of components.