[jamato8]

I'm really interested in hearing this DAC. Glad to know so many of you in the DMV area have purchased, as I hope to hear it at one of the local Head-Fi meets. Someone mentioned a listening opportunity on 6/1? Is that officially posted somewhere? Otherwise, I'll just drive up to LTA to hear it. I've already got the MZ3, so I'm already a huge fan.

Audio Note UK used the 1865 dac chip in their 50,000 dollar dac. The AD1865 with the Zotl output would have to be so very fine!

 

[jamato8]

Here is a nice internal shot of the Aero DAC. Very nice layout! You have the Zotl amp section on the left and you can use 12SN7 or 6SN7 tubes.

 

[SolarCetacean]

I demoed the Aero on Friday at LTA HQ and I was quite surprised by its performance. I had thought the Aero would be warmer and smoother and possibly lack some detail vs the standard D/S DAC, but I was wrong on all of those fronts. I compared against the Ferrum Erco Gen 2 and I found no lack of detail, no oversmoothing, and no excessive thickness or warmth to the sound. In fact, in some songs there was more treble energy on the Aero than the Erco (the Erco uses a digital oversampling filter created by the developer of HQPlayer, so it's like HQPlayer in a box). There seemed to be a slight hint more body to percussion notes and a more "raw" sound to vocals and brass instruments. In some cases, particularly with acoustic or orchestral tracks, it made instruments sound a bit more lifelike than on the Erco Gen 2. The midrange was pushed slightly forward in space (closer to me), but not at the cost of instrument layering which can happen on other forward-sounding DACs.

I'm very intrigued. I was afraid I might not like a DAC that's warm and smooth at the cost of detail, but fortunately the Aero is not that sort of DAC at all. Now I'm wondering if I want a brighter, raw-sounding DAC and how well that would synergize with my headphones. And also how much I will enjoy tube-rolling. HQPlayer won't be a viable option for use with the Aero due to it only supporting PCM up to 192 KHz, so HQP can't really show off what it's capable of, but the Aero would open the door to tube rolling which could be an exciting new area to play around in.

I made a more detailed series of comments on my impressions in the other thread on the Aero: here and here

 

[jamato8]

Listening to the Aero as it burns in.

It is like the Aero breathes music. It is an amazing musical instrument.

 

[obstacleofaffliction]

This dac is like pineapple on pizza.
Some will love it while others will not.
I read on another thread someone questioning why anyone would ever want a tube dac because it colors the sound. Well, I totally get why and I don't think I will be returning back to "clean" dacs.
Tube rolling is addictive with amps alone but ever more so now with the Aero. The tubes make the sound customizable. With each roll of tubes, it's like a different dac. The synergy and tube rolling possibilities with my MZ3 are mind boggling even with my small tube collection.
Also, the Ferrum Hypsos Oor has never sounded more fun.

Pineapple on my pizza for now on.

 

[jamato8]

This dac is like pineapple on pizza.
Some will love it while others will not.
I read on another thread someone questioning why anyone would ever want a tube dac because it colors the sound. Well, I totally get why and I don't think I will be returning back to "clean" dacs.
Tube rolling is addictive with amps alone but ever more so now with the Aero. The tubes make the sound customizable. With each roll of tubes, it's like a different dac. The synergy and tube rolling possibilities with my MZ3 are mind boggling even with my small tube collection.
Also, the Ferrum Hypsos Oor has never sounded more fun.

Pineapple on my pizza for now on.

Yes, the tube will affect the sound but one BIG thing they miss is, this is not a regular tube system.This is a Zotl section, which is extremely linear and far different in design and implementation that other tube circuits. To not realize or comprehend this is very misguided and a misunderstanding of what you are getting.

 

[obstacleofaffliction]

Yes, the tube will affect the sound but one BIG thing they miss is, this is not a regular tube system.They is a Zotl section, which is extremely linear and far different in design and implementation that other tube circuits. To not realize or comprehend this is very misguided and a misunderstanding of what you are getting.

Absolutely, the harmonics introduced by the tubes are surgically precise.
It took a couple of weeks for my mind to fully grasp what I'm hearing.
It's wonderful!
The Aero is a treasure waiting to be discovered by more.

 

[obstacleofaffliction]

I hope more people discover and appreciate the Aero.