Another new DAC: Audio Mirror

@teajay Thanks for the great review TJ, and I agree with everything you mention in it... I love my Tubadour 3, and with the excellent service from Vlad, this DAC should be on anyone's short list of DACs to audition.  I also love the fact that you can "flavor" it to your specific tastes with rolling in any 6922 based pair of tubes into it.... 6922/7308/6DJ8s have such a variety of sonic flavors... 

@steakster  interesting possibility there with a 12au7 to 6922 adapter. I also thought about 6sn7 to 6922 adapters, but the tubes are place horizontally in the chassis, so there won’t be room for 6sn7s in there without being a bit creative. But the 12au7 with adapter may work! I already use 12au7s with my preamp, and have a few to play with... 

Hey folks, what tube family does the Troubadour III use, and what’s the recommended tube to use ? Also, what is the fuse value?  I am finding it intriguing....

@emil  Thanks! I found that after I posted the question.

Has anyone compared this AM T3 to a Metrum Onyx, which is what I have. I think it’s an excellent DAC and I love it, but having a tubed DAC is something I’m considering as well.

@lpretiring - I can answer this for you, since I had this exact email exchange with Vlad about the very same thing, as it is my concern as well. 

With the stock tubes (the two pairs of sub-miniature 5977 tubes, which incidentally have a pair installed on each 9-pin adapter) the max voltage is only 1v. If using a pair of 6N1P (or other tubes in the 6922 family) the gain is 6db, so you will max out at 2v.

@emil according to @musichead it's a 2A, slo-blo, small (5x20mm); looks like it might be placed in the cavity in (above) the AC IEC, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

@toolbox149
Vlad has a pair of 5977 tubes soldered together, and attached to a 9-pin adapter, which inserts into a standard 9-pin socket.  So there are two pairs of these = four 5977 tubes.  What's nice is you can roll a pair of your favorite 6922 / 7308 etc. family of tubes into the T3 if you prefer a diff sound.

@audio123 

I really wanted to, and was going to try those Miflex caps in my Tubadour, but then I found out how large they measure! Massive! I didn’t know how I would be able to fit them in there. I ended up going with the very nice Jupiter Copper Foil and Wax caps, and love ‘em, and love this DAC. What tubes are you running?? 

Looking forward to your unbiased review Terry @teajay ! Knowing how sweet your Orchid sounded when I heard it at your place, and knowing how awesome my Tubadour III sounds, it will be an interesting read!

Super easy, but you have to remove the top panel. I keep my T3 covered with the top panel, but not screwed down.