What's the best Tube DAC you have heard?

hi jax2:

here is another choice which will drive you crazy. my favorite amp is the cj mv 125. i have not heard it my own system, but in many other systems. each time i hear a system with that amp, the system sounds rich. that's good enough for me.

in fact i would propose a wager.

you can provide any number of amps and i will blindfold myself. i will bet i will prefer the sound of the sound of a stereo system with the cj in it compared to the how the system sounds with the other amps in it.

o know, another unscientific proposition.

but i am so confident, i am willing to put money on my intuitive conjecture.

one more thing, when i purchased my speakers, i did not audition it in my house nor compare it to other speakers at a dealer's showroom. it is still my favorite speaker--the original quad (57).

the point is i am able to render judgments about components i like without having to hear them in my own system or compare them to other like-components. i could create a stereo system in such a manner and be very happy with its performance. it certainly is an unconventional and iconoclastic approach that violates accepted procedures for evaluating equipment., but it works for me.

hi jax2:

here is another choice which will drive you crazy.....snip

I'll try to control myself.

It isn't your choices at all that drive me crazy. I have loved the Quad 57 in a friend's system, and probably would enjoy the Zanden and the CJ. I just would not express it quite the same way, and get tired of reading those sort of boring, glorified statements being elevated and hyped to be anything more or less than what they are...simply one person's opinion, just like all the rest. Spare me the rhetoric, please. You stated it far better in the brief statement in your second post, which was straight to the point:

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.

Enough said...nothing need be added or subtracted.

As far as your extraordinary abilities of discernment, and remarkable aural memory...whatever works for you. Good for you. You are a god among audiophiles.

If you want to take a Zanden to the next level, try a digital clock, that will improve the sound considerably making it sound more coherent.

Some users report no difference in sound when trying a digital clock, I suspect the DAC in question has some type of clocking improvement, but the Apogee BigBen had a significant impact on the Zanden.

The nice feature about the BigBen is you could use it as an input switch between various digital devices - DVD player, Redbook transport, PC, cable box.

How much are Zandens on the used market these days?

And which hi rez DACs today might be candidates to dethrone the Zanden?

I've seen them come and go on here, the pre-Signature models (mark 1,2,3,4) I think go for under 5k, and the Signature model seems to go anywhere above 7k (i think).

As for a HiRez DAC, I'm not sure, I have an RME (Pro Audio) Firewire DAC that sounds good for now. It seems the high end world is trying to catch up to the HiRez formats. Not sure exactly what's out there.

I often think maybe going back to a Zanden, they really are that good. The gentleman who purchased my old Zanden was talking about all these other DACs he had been comparing, and then when he received the Zanden, he was floored as well.

With the Zanden, you get it all with no compromise, only you are limited to Redbook CD format - 16 bits. Does not sound digital AT ALL. Period. At the time, SACD never crossed my mind.

Maybe one day there will be a HiRez contender, just waiting patiently.