looking for a good tubed dac

I second the EE DAC. My previous was the PS Audio DLIII. An excellent DAC, especially if bought used, for the money. The EE is a step up and has phase inversion, both solid state and tube, volume control (on the first generation). Bear in mind that the second generation has a USB that can receive 24/96 whereas the first generation can only handle up to 44.1 I am using a M2Tech hiface USB to SPDIF converter between my miniMac and the EE DAC. Bill at Morningstar is a great guy and easy to call if you have questions. I am not affiliated nor have an interest in EE or Morningstar.

The previous post brings up a good question regarding whether or not a DAC should have a tube. It is a nice feature to be able to switch the tube output in or out and some prefer the Sabre-based DACs without the tube, including Stereomojo in their shootout. It comes down to system-matching and source material. If the recording is very bright, the tube tones it down a bit. It does add a midrange warmth vs the Sabre without the tube. Also, the phase inversion is helpful for some recordings. Personally, I like the volume pot. I can then adjust my pre-amp volume perfectly in its best range. If they had put an analog input into the DAC, it would be perfect for my needs. The new EE accepts a higher resolution USB signal but loses the volume. I recommend using the spdif over the USB.