Linear Tube Audio
Linear Tube Audio Aero DAC
Linear Tube Audio Aero DAC
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AERO DAC
Aero DAC by Linear Tube Audio
Digital music with the richness and depth of analog
The Aero DAC is the first of its kind, combining revolutionary ZOTL vacuum tube technology with the much-loved AD1865 R2R DAC chip, for a sound that's organic, lifelike, and truly exceptional. Rediscover your favorite music with a DAC that brings the richness and depth of vinyl to digital playback. The sounds are warm and lush, as well as accurate. Super realistic acoustic instruments. Live recordings present the instruments and performers as real, and you are there. The richness and accuracy, the micro-detail breaths, the saxophone keys clacking, the fingers sliding on the strings, are served up in startling realism. The listener is immersed in the music and aware of the reality of the original performance. The high quality of this input device can dramatically improve the sound quality of any downstream components.
WHAT THE EXPERTS ARE SAYING
Herb Reichert, Stereophile Magazine
"Linear Tube Audio's Aero DAC presented recordings with connoisseur-level NOS R-2R sound, which I would characterize as naturally transparent and unstressed. But it rose above this generic R-2R aesthetic by virtue of its extreme clarity, timbral beauty, and fit, athletic boogie factor."READ FULL STEREOPHILE REVIEW
Terry London, Stereo Times
"I have had vast experience with many highly regarded DACs, reviewed many, and own three highly regarded ones. Two of them exceed the price of the Aero by at least $10,000 or more, yet the LTA Aero DAC easily hangs with them regarding performance and the amount of musical pleasure I derive in listening to it."READ FULL STEREO TIMES REVIEW
Lachlan Fennen, Passion For Sound
"It's tonality, naturalness, and timbre is as good as anything I've heard at any price. In other words, the LTA Aero DAC is the best DAC I've heard short of far more expensive options."
Steve Guttenberg, The Audiophiliac
"You are just drawn into the music because you feel the musician's enthusiasm, their energy is coming through so well. That's what really makes the Aero special."
“The Aero stands out from that crowd by offering a natural sense of ease combined with a level of richness and resolution that keeps things real and exciting. If you’re looking for non-digital digital sound that won’t break the bank, LTA has designed a DAC for you.”
— Michael Lavorgna, Twittering Machines
WHY THE AERO IS DIFFERENT
Vacuum Tube Tone and Timbre
Thanks to the unique LTA output transformer-less ZOTL design, the output stage provide exceptional naturalness, and life-like tonality, with rich, engaging musicality. You are in the music, forgetting about your gear. Our unique design also provide 3 times the tube life and 1/3 the heat of all other conventional tube amplifiers. The tubes provide a warm sound, without losing the micro-detail typical with other tube topologies.
AD1865 DAC Chip
We chose the Analog Devices AD1865 R2R DAC chip, nicknamed the "vinyl DAC" for its organic analog sound. This non-oversampling chip, provides the purest sound without digital filters or over-sampling algorithms. These algorithms and filters can add artifacts and make the sound less realistic and natural, which you can hear. This same DAC chip is used by other manufacturers whose DACs cost many times more.
Power Supply
The Aero features six separate, individually isolated power supplies with over 300,000μF of combined storage capacitance. This power system ensures a large power reservoir, significantly enhancing dynamics and overall sound quality. We use a unique topology that provides much more musicality than typical linear power supplies.
Input Stage
Instead of conventional USB and SPDIF chips, the Aero uses a powerful ARM processor for its input stage. This chipset, developed by a company with 20 years of digital frontend experience, provides superior instrument separation and plug-n-play ease of use on all platforms.
DAC Interface
This unique Berning inspired, LTA-designed DAC interface - which converts the DAC’s current to voltage, then passes it to the output stage - presents a consistent load to the DAC chip across its performance band. Superior to the transformers, opamps and resistor loads typically used by other DAC manufacturers, provides a much wider soundstage, improved detail, and better instrument separation.
Output Stage
The output stage is where we bring in the magic of David Berning’s patented ZOTL vacuum tube circuit. This pure Class-A balanced design, directly coupled without capacitors, delivers a 3D soundstage, dynamic range, and musical transparency that is characteristic of ZOTL technology. The tubes are auto-biased, so that tube rolling is easy and automatic. Protection circuitry insures circuit safety in the event of any tube failure.
FEATURES & BENEFITS
- R2R Ladder DAC: No oversampling and no digital filters for organic sound
- Class-A ZOTL Output Stage: The first and only DAC in the world to use ZOTL technology for natural tonality and 3D imaging
- Zero Negative Feedback: No global or local feedback for timbral accuracy and enhanced transient response
- Balanced XLR Outputs: Enhanced signal quality and crystal clear audio
- Three Inputs: USB, Optical, and Coax inputs for flexible connectivity - all play 24-bit / 192kHz files/streams
- Digital Galvanic Isolation: Blocks noise from music sources entering the DAC circuit
- Six dedicated power supplies with advanced low noise regulation, exceptional musicality, and over 300,000uF of capacitance for reserve voltage storage
- Direct-Coupled Topology: No capacitors in the signal path
- Advanced Protection: Circuitry to protect downstream components from tube failures
- Easy Tube Swapping: Fully exposed tubes and simple toggle switch for using either 6SN7 or 12SN7 output tubes
- Plug & Play: No drivers needed for Windows or Mac
- Made in the USA: Designed and built in our Takoma Park, MD workshop
- Roon Tested: Certified integration with Roon for easy plug-n-play setup
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Inputs: USB, RCA Coax, Toslink / Optical
Output: RCA (70 ohm), XLR (140 ohm)
Formats: Up to 24-bit / 192 kHz PCM
DAC: Analog Devices AD1865 R2R
Output Voltage:
RCA: 2.2 Vrms
XLR: 4.4 Vrms
THD+N:
RCA: 0.54% at 1.1 Vpeak.
XLR: 0.061% at 2.2 Vpeak
Hum: RCA: -110dB at 1.1 Vpeak
XLR: -116dB at 2.2 Vpeak
Frequency Response: -0.3dB at 20Hz and -0.8dB at 20kHz
Tube Complement: 2 x 12SN7 (6SN7 tubes can also be used)
Power Consumption: 32W (Standby: 7W)
Input Power: 120/230 +/-10% User Selectable
Dimensions:
Width: 17in
Depth: 10in (10.5 in including connectors)
Height: 3in (not including tubes), ~4.5in (with stock tubes installed)
Weight:Approx 15 lbs
