I’m looking for $100 to $300 DAC/Amp combo that is tube based, that has a very tube-y sound. I am specifically looking for something that is not neutral. I already have a JDS Labs Element II solid-state so I’m looking for something complementary. Only looking for DAC/Amp combos, I just like the convenience, and I’m also at a desk-space premium.
I saw the Aune T1 Mk 2/3, would that be a good option? Any other suggestions?
Alternatively is there a guide or resource that I missed that could answer my question?
May I suggest you don’t need a second dac at all? The preout on the Element should be sufficient to run into a second amp. At which point Little Dot mkii or Darkvoice are probably what you’re after in the price range.
Also, what headphones are you hoping to use with the tube amp?
I got a few - Focal Elex and Elegia, TH-x00, Aeon Flow 2 Closed, Argons, and a pair of ZMF Eikons incoming. I’ll very likely sell a few of those closed backs, still need to figure it out
I understand the desire to try tubes, but given your headphone list I don’t see too many headphones known to give you the “tube experience.” The Eikon might, ZMF headphones often tube well, but the rest are not known for tubery. This is especially true for OTL tube amps like the LD mk ii and Darkvoice. You might have better luck with a tube hybrid like one of the XDuos.
Honestly I would say look out for a good deal for a used liquid platinum (typically a good deal would be the 400 range) and use the dac in your element for something that would give you the sound you are after while offering a higher tier of experience than your element ii can offer imo. Although this isn’t an all in one and later on you would want to grab a dac like a bifrost 2 as an upgrade, also the liquid plat really likes to be balanced, so balanced cables would be very worthwhile which might make it too costly (and not viable for the x00). If you are really wanting a hybrid, the xduoo ta10 would fit the bill very well as @WaveTheory mentioned
The design behind T1SE is to sound more analog. Unlike TA-10 that uses a modern ESS chip dac, T1SE uses Burr-Brown DSD1793. It’s a unique but old thermometer-coded dac with true 1-bit DSD.
T1SE can unofficially support a higher grade 6h30pi tube which TA-10 can’t. People on head-fi confirmed it works but the needed current could damage the unit. I don’t have the tube so I can’t say if it works.
Zeos -while not knowing he’s listening to a SS amp- said the amp of T1SE sounds better than THX because of the “tubey-ness”. The amp section of T1SE is definitely toward the warmer side.
I bought T1SE for $170 on Amazon. I’m not sure if you could find such a deal.
Now my problems with T1SE:
The stock tube needs like 200 hours of burn in or more to shine. When I first listened to it, I thought I got a faulty unit. The sound was congested and compressed. That’s what Zeos said, too. After that time it’s really good.
I prefer the DSD output of the dac more. I somewhat don’t like the way the thermometer dac sounds. It’s analog and all, yeah, but I’m now converting my FLAC files to DSD on-fly using Neutron Music Player and I like how it sounds more.
Well that’s another unique thing about T1SE. In DSD, basically the dac functions as a low-pass filter so you could get the best of your music using a modern software to do the DSD conversion.
