DAC for all tube 2 channel set up?

I had an MHDT havana (supposedly a step up from the Paradisea) in my system and recently purchased one again to play around with. I think, for the money, they make great DACs. It may not have the amount of detail retrieval as my Bel Canto Dac3, or the fullness to the bass, but it's not far off, and considering the retail is less than 1/3rd of the bel canto, that's pretty amazing. I've had the Benchmark, which I didn't love, and the only thing I know of the Cambridge and the PS Audio is from reviews, so taken with an extreme grain of salt.

My guess is--and it's precisely that, a guess, since I don't know what the rest of your system is like, etc-- that as you're an analog person, you would probably like the MHDT gear, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't like one of the other dacs you mentioned. I don't find the MHDT Havana stereotypically tubey, so I don't think it will slow down your system, unless it already sounds that way.

I agree with Mimberman, I too have a Havana DAC, it might not be the most detailed DAC around in terms of the quantity of the sound you hear. But the quality of the sound i think is truly high end, for me WE 396A tube for better detail, Tungsol tube for better dynamics. The stock tube isn't bad either, not punchy but it's got a beautiful and lush sound. Regardless of the differences among the tubes, they all produce realistic sound, very true to the timbre. It's definitely a DAC to keep.
andy

OK I’ll lplay the advocate here.

As good as perhaps the aforementioned DAC s are, and I’ve no reason to doubt it, I’ve found there is sufficient info which tells me a system is comprised of the whole of things.

To that end, and owning a tube power train, sometimes a mix of SS & tubes are the need. Sometimes not. Too much of a good thing, and all that business. Dig?

The DACs I tried either complemented the system or detracted from it. I tried an Apogee, Bel Canto DAC 3, and the DA10 from Lavry Eng. All very nice and quite good sounding though each had it’s own voice of course. For my system needs the Bel Canto D3 won out. It gained me better imaging, extension, astonishing bass, and added the feeling of more speed to my all tube pre & amps. It was what the rig needed. The same choice might not have been made had my system been otherwise. It may well have been the Lavry for example.

Soooo, if you’re looking for system improvement, there’s that to think about.

I think Blindjim has a point here, which I was alluding to by stating that I didn't know what the rest of your system is comprised of. As not all tube gear is the same, give us an idea of what you're working with. I stand by my assessment that the MHDT gear I've heard (and this includes the Paradisea+) doesn't sound overly lush or slow in any way. Sure, rolling the tube will provide some changes, but it's not going to go from a romantic and full red wine to an ice clean vodka doing so. Ultimately nothing will be as good as listening to a piece in your system. For the last 2 months I've had 3 Dac's in my system, and while the Bel Canto that I've had in place all along isn't going anywhere, it's illuminating to compare and hear the differences for yourself (which is especially easy to do with a computer-based source).

As Memberman says What are you wanting to achieve?

My system is nothing like a SET sound, nor is it like anything nearing SS, yet it has those qualities which enable it to be very comfortable with any genre.

had I been solely into classical music given my equip, the Apogee may have been the pick. Only into Vocalists? Then the Lavry was a sure bet... further, if my rig was on the edgy side or a bit bright sounding, the DA10 would be a safe and appropriate pick.

The DAC3 wasn't nearly as musical as the other two contestants. it did however bring the items I listed above and all were apparent needs ONCE I heard it in my system... prior to? I was pretty OK with what was going on and was seeking just a good DAC with USB.

Funny thing now is I use the USB incidentally and not as my main pc source interface, and could well live without it after all that. lol.