What's the best Tube DAC you have heard?

Hey mofimadness, where did you get your op amps? Those are the same ones I am going to get. I've also noticed that many times there is an extra letter designation following the numbers you give for the op amps...do you know what those numbers/letters indicate? Thanks.

Actually, one more question for you, how does that Mullard sound? Is it real sweet and warm or what. Thanks again.

Here is where I got the OPA2604. These are a standard DIP8 and drop right in:

http://www.newark.com/texas-instruments/opa2604ap/ic-op-amp-dual-fet-ip-2604-dip8/dp/97K6814

Here is where I got the AD797B. These require the adapter.

http://cimarrontechnology.com/so8to8-pindipadapterpn970601-3.aspx

Here is the article that Doug did for Dagogo. It also has all of the info you will need:

http://dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=864

Again, a BIG THANKS to Douglas Schroeder for taking all of this on!

The Mullard is a sweet, warm, vocal driven tube. Very open and throws a huge, wide and deep soundstage. My favorite brand of tube and I've tried them all.

with regard to the zanden, while i have not executed a direct comparision with other dacs, i have yet to hear sytem that resembles the "classic" tube sound to the degree i heard when a zanden dac was part of a stereo system. so while not a truly scientific statement, it is based upon my audition of 1000's of stereo systems, including my own.

the allusion to "smokes" them all is an obvious figure of speech and not meant to be taken literally.

with regard to the zanden, while i have not executed a direct comparision with other dacs, i have yet to hear sytem that resembles the "classic" tube sound to the degree i heard when a zanden dac was part of a stereo system. so while not a truly scientific statement, it is based upon my audition of 1000's of stereo systems, including my own.

the allusion to "smokes" them all is an obvious figure of speech and not meant to be taken literally.

No, that comparison doesn't sound remotely scientific, or even qualifiable. It sounds like a pretty blatant exaggeration based upon acoustic/aural memory of systems that don't necessarily bear any resemblance to the system/room/music you might have heard the Zanden with. Feel free to correct me here. I suppose your vast experience with so many systems can filter all that information and all of those variables, and render a sound judgment (pun intended) that's as good as a direct comparison? Your simple statement above regarding the DAC having a classic tube sound would have been more to the point and less misleading, IMHO. The "allusion" you mention may be a figure of speech but it does directly imply direct comparisons in order to come up with such a conclusion. Comparisons that are not direct, as I'm now understanding yours to be (as you've disclosed), are.... well, I won't even pass that judgment I'll just leave that one to others to judge for themselves, lets just say I think you should have disclosed that from the start rather than using the metaphor, or allusion that you chose, whether or not a figure of speech (and a highly overused one in these forums I might add). Your original post strikes me as so many posts to these forums do, as a rather grandiose exaggeration of hierarchy based upon little or no direct comparison. Again, perhaps I am missing something about that first statement in your first post(?). What did you mean by "regardless of sound"?