Aries Cerat Helene vs MSB Premiere DAC vs Lampizator Pacific 2

Ok, so......

I ended up going with the Aries Cerat Helene. Had an amazing dealer experience with Eric Connors at Unlimited Audio. Took me forever to decide, but ultimately I pulled the trigger on it.

Switched out the Dave/Blu combo and WOW. Big difference in presentation. I don't see how they can sell this dac so "cheap". Not only due to its size and weight, but the quality of components and sound.

Completely happy with this choice. This compared with the Viva is a dream. I don't how it could sound better than this.

If anyone else is looking for an endgame dac, message me and I'll hook you up with the dealer. It was an A+ experience start to finish.

I have a Helene on its way here and I am curious about where you Helene owners source your E280F input tubes in the USA?  Also, do you have a favorite GZ34/5AR4 rectifier tube?  I have read that the rectifier tube is important to how the Helene sounds.  Is it possible to achieve most of what the Helene is capable of sonically when using current production rectifier tubes, such as the Mullard or Genalex at around $60 or the Matsushita at around $80, or do I need to spend $3-400 on a NOS rectifier tube?  Finally, what length of warm-up does the Helene require before it mostly reaches its potential, is it in the 1-2 hour range or longer?  Thanks for any responses.

@mitch2 now that you’d had your Helene for almost 11 months, if you don’t mind sharing, what did you decide about E280F and the rectifier tubes?

First, I have found the Helene to sound outstandingly musical, and it has been a thoroughly enjoyable addition to my system.  It provides a similar R2R type sound as the flagship Mojo Audio DACs I have owned, but pushes the envelope just a bit further with sweet, clear high frequencies, tonally rich vocals, and full powerful bass.  The sound is organically natural overall and should satisfy just about anyone who values a combination of musicality, dimensionality, tonal density, adequate resolution, and a bold, powerful presentation.

Regarding tubes, I have not dug too deep into comparisons, although I did initially purchase enough tubes that I have adequate back-ups. I decided I was not going to pay $900 for a metal base rectifier so instead, I have NOS, mid-1960’s, Mullard 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier tubes, including a couple of back-ups.  I am using NOS Siemens E280F tubes in the output stage and I have several pairs of those too.  I also have a couple of pairs of E810Fs and a couple of pairs of E180Fs.  While I tried the E810Fs and E180Fs long enough to verify that they work, I didn’t give them enough time to fully evaluate them beyond saying they sounded pretty good.  Once I dialed in the E280F tubes and found a good setting on the bias adjustment, I pretty much got back to my life and quit rolling tubes. 

Thanks, @mitch2!  One day i will find a used Helene and be grateful for this info on its tubes!