Au revoir, MHDT Orchid, you're a great DAC but...
I've decided to sell my beloved Orchid. Terry London and others on this forum really helped me into the best DAC I had ever heard with the MHDT Orchid, and the mods that Grannyring did made it really amazing. But as time wore on, I started to realize that having tubes in my DAC as well as in my preamp and amp was more than I needed. I had all the liquid top end control I needed with my preamp and amplifier.
I realize now what a major benefit the Orchid is for a solid state system, or for anyone seeking that "vinyl" sound. The NOS JW396 guarantees that (thanks to Brent Jessee for that great DAC tube).
Anyone interested in the DAC can find it easily, and anyone with questions is welcome to let me know.
I'm wondering if anyone else moved the tube DAC out of their tube system as I have?
I know exactly where you coming from, too many tubes can lead to softness or mask the true characteristics (signature) of a component. A solid state DAC can restore the delicate balance you’re seeking in your system. My advice would be to consider a DAC with onboard streamer like Lumin D2. With a 14 days return policy, I think this would a good alternative to explore and streamline your digital front end, quite possibly a step up from your modified Node :-)
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Good thread. Finding that delicate balance. I sure enjoyed my upgraded Orchid whenever my solid state amplifier -or- tube amps with more detailed output tubes were in play. The Orchid would smooth and balanced things out nicely, in this configuration. However, with my all tube system, lush 6SN7 tubes installed in my tube preamp, and smoother output tubes in my tube amps, having the Orchid in front position could be a tad bit "too much of a good thing", some times, for my taste. Did lots of experimentation with GE 5670 triple mica, Tesla 6CC42, WE396/2C51 tubes in my Orchid, and mine also had upgraded Mundorf Silver Gold coupling caps inside. Today, I’m now back to a (non-tube) solid state r2r dac for some of the targeted inner detail and texture I was looking to recapture. This paired with my tube preamp and mono tube amps works better for my ears and taste I’d say. Not ready to take the big leap on a high $ SS dac yet. It will take many demos to get there fwiw. |
I loved my Orchid DAC (still have it tucked away in the closet) Using the 6922 adapter and NOS tubes the sound was fantastic. I replaced it with the PSaudio DirectStream. which had a similar sound signature but I felt was more detailed and produced an even better soundstage. I had them both directly connected to a SET tube amp. While I moved from a tube DAC to a non tube DAC I think it was more of an upgrade of the processor than elimination of the tube. |
@lalitk Thanks for the suggestion! |
