Another new DAC: Audio Mirror

I'd love more info on this dac. It doesn't seem to be a balanced design though, which is what I would be interested in. 

XLR analog outputs are available as an option which I realize does not make it "balanced".

XLR analog outputs are available as an option which I realize does not make it "balanced".

"Could be" what many do these days, on the output of sources and the input of amps, they just add a single ended to balanced output or input opamp converter, which sounds worse than the (single ended) rca which doesn’t use the opamp.

single ended to balanced opamp converter
https://www.mouser.com/images/microsites/low-power-diff-con-fig01.jpg

balanced to single ended opamp converter
https://i.stack.imgur.com/OBlvF.png

And the only way to find out is to look at the circuit diagram or visually trace the circuit to see if it’s a pseudo balance or a real balanced circuit from input to output, you’ll be surprised how many are pseudo, especially tube amps, pre’s and sources and R2R dacs, even some solid state pre’s and amps though not as many.

Cheers George

Years ago I bought the original Audio Mirror DAC for aroung $500 which I believe used the TDA1543 chip (it may have been TDA1541 though). It was a very nice DAC, which I eventually had modified by Tube Research Labs. Those mods made it sound a whole lot better. The DAC in stock form stacked up very well against an Audio Note DAC I had a chance to listen to for an extended period. Not sure what Vlad is up to these days, other than moving to MN from TX, but I hope his last two DAC efforts improved on the first. If so the price is a bargain.

clio09

Good to see he's a stayer in this industry Anthony, seeing you've had dealings with him before, any chance of finding out what d/a converter he uses?

Cheers George 

Analog Devices per his netsite.

For balanced outputs I use balance output transformers if you are curious how it's done.
Thank you for your interest in the new DAC,
Vlad

BTW Audio Note uses the same approach.

Thanks Vlad!

@audiomirror 
how much is the tubador mark III with XLR outputs?

@audiomirror

Hi Vlad.
We’re interested here and more so on SNA where I posted your new dac, what is the Analog Devices d/a chip your using, on SNA it’s bandied about that it’s the 20bit AD-5791 is this correct ???

audiomirror
 For balanced outputs I use balance output transformers if you are curious how it’s done.
Thank you for your interest in the new DAC,

So, single ended from the digital to analogue conversion output, then converted to balanced at the end like some do with an opamp, but you’ve use a transformer instead, as I’ve seen others do also.

Cheers George

I was a proud owner of a Denafrips Terminator DAC, which was significantly better than any other DAC I’ve had in my system before.

A friend of mine who has an entire Audio Mirror system including their big horn speakers showed up at my door with this brand new Audio Mirror DAC. It was not even burned in properly after only playing a few hours. I was absolutely sure that the big Terminator was in another league and there was no room for comparison. Well, it turned out I was not exactly right. They sounded different. What I really liked about the Audio Mirror was how it reproduced vocals and bass. Vocals was so smooth and real and the bass had a lot more details compared to the Terminator. Simply the Audio Mirror was more musical than the Terminator.

I realized how good the Analogue Devices AD1865NK chip was and went on a mission to find the best AD1865 DAC I can afford. I am currently building an Audio Note Kits 5.1 DAC. Once I get all the parts and complete the build it would be compared again to the Audio Mirror and can report back. If you see the ANK here sale you would know why :). One of these two DACs would go in the empty slot where the Terminator once was.

For balance outputs add $170

Have owned quite a few tube DACs from Metronome Technologie ( Talking many years ago with Dominique Giner about his favorite Burr-Brown 18-bit chip was fun, Accustic Arts, Zanden, Audio Logic ( Jerry Ozment was such a brilliant designer)  Audio Note 3 and 3.1,  Audiomeca and Audio Aero using Analog Technologies chips.  Went trhough the tube mods from Modwright, Exemplar Audio, APL. Nostalgia...
So what do we deal with now? ESS chips?  Looking at my Oppo 105 and 205 players now.  Boring.  I know, it's the chip implementation.  Still sold my Mytek DAC.Starting fresh, I guess I will follow Vassils' s advice and  will order a Tubadour DAC.

Just went to your website.  Really beautiful gear you have there!  And your mono blocks are stellar looking!
- Bob

I just bought The New Audio Mirror Tubadour 3 Dac and like most new audio it took about 10 Days of non stop usage to show you how Really GREAT this Dac is- in my opinion ....Its a combo of it being a R2R...with the  Analogue Devices AD1865NK chip and Vlads Stage/4 tube  implementation....I had a Schiit Audio Yggy 2 and it was to bold ...Vivid and could be unrelenting and sold it last week and was VERY glad to see it go...Its a great Dac-just didnt mesh with my system and was looking for something i could just lay back and listen to for hours...If your a fan of the better Audionote Dacs...This is the one to Listen to..Yep Yep...its that GOOD at a Very Fair Price....

@audiomirror. How many of the analog devices chips are used in your new DAC? What is the tube complement?

Will the Audio Mirror site have pics of the inside of the Tubadour 3 soon? Are there any professional reviews upcoming on it?

I saw that thread became active again, so let me post an update.

I built the Audio Note Kits DAC 5.1. I went nuts and put Duelund tinned copper caps, Vishay Z-foil resistors, expensive silver wire, silver WBT connectors, etc. etc. The list goes on. I am very happy with the result. No regrets that I sold my Terminator DAC. The sound now is more dynamic, more analog, musical, better refined. The bass on the Terminator was always muddy, and now it is very well defined.

I guess it is a matter of personal preference. If crystal clear details is the most important thing for you, the Terminator may very well be a better choice. If you want to experience music and like to feel that the musicians are playing in your room, give the ANK 5.1, the new Audio Mirror DAC, or another well design AD1865 DAC a try.

After I gave the ANK 5.1 enough break-in time, I took my friend’s Audio Mirror DAC at home again and did a lot of A/B testing for over a week. Surprisingly (or not) they sounded so close that it was hard to believe I spent four times more money for my DAC. There were songs I could not pass an A/B test, and there were songs I could. I liked my ANK DAC better, but I still wonder if I tweaked the Audio Mirror DAC with better coupling caps, resistors, wire, connectors, etc. The difference between the two DACs was much smaller than the difference between the streamers in my system. Actually adding or removing the fiber media convertors in my network probably made a bigger difference than the A/B between these two DACs. I think the difference in sound comes down to the different tubes these DACs use, the different coupling capacitors, and a couple minor things in their design - the ANK DAC has more sophisticated power supply, while the AM DAC may have a little better digital section, or at least that’s what I think the differences come from.

A person on another forum with a Terminator DAC contacted me and after chatting for a while, he ordered a custom Audio Mirror DAC with some upgrades I recommended (Duelund caps, Z-foils, and pretty much all the tweaks I made to my ANK DAC). Last I heard he sold his Terminator and was super happy with the AM DAC.

I am considering selling my ANK DAC and buying an Innuos server and an Audio Mirror DAC that I can tweak with my favorite sounding parts. I think I would have better sound, because the source makes a big difference with these DACs. But it’s hard to replace the almost 40 lbs ANK box that is nearly the size of my PS Audio P20 Power Regenerator with the tiny little AM device that weights and costs a fraction of the ANK. It does not feel right :). Although I already know it "sounds" right :).

Hope that helps. I highly recommend both of these DACs. Audition whichever fits your budget if you can.

P.S. My friend also had an older model Audio Mirror DAC. I was never impressed by it, and I would not recommend it.