Aero DAC by Linear Tube Audio - experience

With the Ray Reserve tubes, I would describe the sound as neutral.  Not warm and not lean.  The same is true of my LTA MicroZotl preamp.

I have owned an Aero Dac for a few months now. I am using the RAY Reserve tubes. I have it set up in my bedroom system. I plan on trying some warmer tubes, but I wanted to give the Ray Tubes a chance to settle in. Plus, I'm using a tube amp, so I have enough tube nature from it.

For me, it's a two thumbs up. My other DAC is an ESOTERIC N01 XD SE.

They are totally different in sound profiles, but that was my goal. 
 

I think LTA did themselves a disservice by sending the tubes they did for THE DAC SHOOT OUT and obvious that the TESTER did not take the Areo seriously or they would have tried different tubes.

My input is late but maybe it will help the next guy out.

I got an LTA Aero DAC on 4 April 2026.  (I didn’t do six comparisons, but I did compare it to a Lab12 DAC1 Reference and the internal DAC of my Marantz SACD 30n player.) 

One interesting thing is that I ordered the Aero with stock tubes. (I like to do some tube researching and rolling, having a tube pre and a tube phono stage.) 

I was expecting the stock tubes to be GE 12SN7 tubes. (That’s what all the reviews had said.)

It came with RCA 12SN7GTA tubes. RCA tubes were the ones I was planning to get to roll in. 

I do not know if somehow I got really lucky and someone at the factory made a mistake, or if these are now the new stock tubes.
But they sound excellent—as does the DAC.

Glad to hear that, @hoodjem. Isn’t it nice when the universe smiles on you?

@kirkwallace 

Absolutely yes.

(It doesn’t happen too often, but when it does I pause to appreciate it.)