Anti-Audiophile MUSIC FIRST DAC - Audio Note 0.1x Tube/R2R DAC 

Thanks for stopping by to hear my story with the Audio Note 0.1x DAC. Don't forget to like this video ! Also I am curious about your experiences with Tube DACs (good or bad) please feel free to share in the comment section below. Related videos: Why This Pro Musician Chose Audio Note. COMPLETE Home Audio System by Vincent Bélanger !: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jZccjsXEErc.html Is GR-Research XLS Encore DIY KIT Speaker a Giant Killer? vs Sonus Faber Electa Amator III: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fcf2tYySyAY.html Our Journey For The BEST HiFi Experience an Audiophile Can ask for ! - LES9 @gfnproductions: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-f3ZmwqrBDo4.html Support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/jayiyagi follow on Instagram: instagram.com/jays_iyagi/ follow on Facebook: facebook.com/jayiyagiofficial Follow soundstage take 2 reviews: ru-vid.com/group/PLPOzvlhtSqn5xdc__ftuSt4Rxy_wm5Af0 *My Daily Components (All Tested And Proved To Work in Blind Tests)* Fancy speaker stands I use: shop-links.co/choe8oQHC9w Speaker stands I use (budget): amzn.to/3ssRhI3 Desktop Speaker Stands I Use: shop-links.co/chofc1R7mpT acoustic panels I use: ua-acoustics.com/ acoustic curtain: amzn.to/31d1zAM my fav hifi tweaks: (Isoacoustics devices) amzn.to/3j5FGvM Speaker Isolation Feet I Use: shop-links.co/choffy3csSK Turntable Isolation I Use: shop-links.co/chofgeNORJP Component Isolation I Use: shop-links.co/chofhTC3wc7 #hifi #audiophile #homeaudio

I love my 0.1x. I replaced my (more expensive) Moon 280D with the Audio Note Dac and I am very satisfied with my choice. Highly recommended.

Get rid of all the junk and just keep Vincent Bélanger in your listening room.

It's a killer dac. Use the coax instead. It's much better that way. I have the dac 5 special myself. Best dac in the world if you ask me.

That’s why I love my AN Dac3.1x/II and ofcourse the rest of my AN gear.

Audio Note will be around for decades.. Dennafrips...highly doubtful

An interesting comparison would be this DAC with the Border Patrol SE-i DAC. Same chip, really well implemented and probably the most natural sounding DAC I have heard.

I love the sound of my old B&O CD7000 with the Philips CDM-4 transport and the TDA-1541A DAC (same basics as in the best Macintosh CD-players of the same era). It's more analog sounding then a lot of modern Delta-Zigma-dacs. Better depth in the sounds-stage, a more homogeneous presentation, better tonality, better PRaT. Not as transparent and detailed as modern dacs but it delivers Music. The CD7000 is waiting for a recap (the main caps have a short life span). Another recommendation, perhaps a more affordable and accessible one is to go for a used Rega Dac-r. Uses two Wolfson dac-chips, one per channel and is working in non-oversampling. Also very "musical", added a lot of PRaT, and is analog sounding . Bought one not long ago for £250 (almost the same in USD).

Hi Jay :) I would love for you to try the Aqua La Scala DAC from Italy. Look them up, love your video's.

Design is how old, 13 years? That‘s a huge period in digital era.

4:05 You mean, Discrete vs Chip R2R dac... is not 100% Discrete, but most of it is....

The old Philips chips can make a wonderful DAC. Tremendous variation available on the theme based on implementation. They all sound good, but with extra care can be amazing. I started with a very good Peter Daniels implementation of the 1543. Very good. Rich and authoritative in the bass. Then Lucas Fikus got me into the 1541a. Several cd players with Lampizator mods for 6n2p tube output and then a lampy DAC got me hooked. Ended up making my ultimate version with a 1541a S2 chip, tons of Blackgate caps and supercaps, and dual mono choke based 6n2p tube output. The input is I2S from a streamer with FIFO reclocking and a SOTA ultra-low phase noise clock. The result is very natural, holographic, laid back but incredibly detailed with pinpoint sound stage and space. And this is with redbook material. I think hires is not required.

I've been wanting to listen to an Audio Note DAC for a while. Thanks for the video!

Can you review the Park's Audio Waxwing, especially for it's intrinsic musicality? I currently run a Moon 110LP v.2, and find that a great phono stage for my system modest, affordable system.

would love to hear your opinion on the Holo Cyan 2. NOS ladder dacs have caught my attention and given many ladder dacs are still applying oversampling or other heavy processing even in NOS mode, this one is extra interesting, especially at the price. As much as I love the details and quickness of my Topping, it's just not "it" in my heart. I will check out your holo spring review now but the cyan is more up my alley, I think.

Ok, we get the point. I think you should have chosen a comparable price/ sonic excellence DAC from Audio Note.

Has anyone used this 0.1x Tube/R2R DAC with the Sonore ultraRendu?

Sometimes you hear claims that audio kit sounds better or as good as items costing x3 the price so on, this is not always the case but Audio Note 0.1x is just that it is above it's pay grade, it is very good.

Magic: the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature. Alternative alchemy, devilry, black art, hocus-pocus, enchantment, artifice and mythical. Great review about a product that I know very little about-- I am putting together a system for the first time in over 30 years!! This review is helping a lot Jay! This is part of my journey as well.

OK😂BUT WHERE IS YOUR COMPACT CASSETTE DECKS 😅Where is your TECHNICS😅?

I got a used ANK 3.1 - it replaced DACs I had up tp 6k+ and I can't imagine anything else.

The worse the dac the better

Don't forget: "listening" to music is ultimately a whole body experience. ears, skin, eyes. The difference in hearing with your eyes open or closed is enormous. And another aspect: everyone who is talking about sound here should first have their actual hearing ability tested by a doctor. This is helpful when considering your own real possibilities. There are apps for smartphones that measure the volume of the environment. Look how much noise surrounds you all day long. And that has an impact. If you live 20-30 or 40 years at a level of 60, 70 dB or more your hearing just won't be good. So: stay relaxed.

Been using the Audio Note Kit DAC since 2005 and extremely pleased, when used as the source for my Tube OTL's. Their later DAC's eliminated analog filtering post the I/V stage, by employing the resistor/transformer/resistor topology, which is the least compromised technique available.

Yes, a reference does not need to be the best , it is a just a point to ground your ear. I used the Vandersteen 5 as a tool for other speakers because it had few problems . Your reviews are getting better as you gain more time. Well done Jay.

Great review. Personally I am not a fan of the AudioNote philosophy that less is always more. They argue that loudspeakers without bracing are better, Dacs without overclocking are better, etc. If they are right, then virtually every other manufacturer must be wrong.

Jay What exactly are those great panels behind you.are they difussers? Thank you

Your hair is beautiful

Recently attended a hifi show in the UK and described the same DAC as having a natural magicness, 🤔

I have an Audionote p1se signature. 10 watts PSE. El84.Magic. You should try their type j and type e speakers.

hi Jay back in scotland after 35 years in Canada 🇨🇦 still miss it very much .this dac sounds very interesting .and thinking of getting a tube preamplifier and get rid of my solid state preamplifier .all best from Scotland 🇨🇦

I've been running an AudioOptimum NOS-DAC based on the TDA 1543 for almost 3 years. I used a Pro-Ject RS2 T as the drive. I would never want to go back to another type of converter (i.e. with oversampling). So organic, so musical, especially in connection with a high-end drive and the corresponding chain behind it.

I saw the new Vincent amp in your video. Do you review it? If yes, when we can expect the video? Thanks

TDA1543 must be the best kept hifi digital secret of all time. I love my NOS-TDA1543x8 dac-ah so much I bought a spare one. Hard to describe how 3D and solid is the sound is from this $150 DAC.

A few years back a kind dealer came to my home to demo some Heko speakers i was looking to drive with my MingDa Cavatina 805 monos and he bought some Audio Note single ended 300b monos and an Audio Note 2.1 cd player. The monos were double the cost my Mings and only had 8w per channel vs the 40w per channel of the Mings. I was gutted how much better they sounded. 8W into 95db speakers in a 4x5m room kicks ass but it was MORE dynamic, more refined and more spacious. 300b is a better sounding valve than 805. But then i realised half of the magic was from the AN cd player.... it was popped alongside my Luxman D-06 sacd player yet cost half as much at the time. And yet it was sooo much more musical... ive always regretted this moment because the AN stuff is beyond my budget but i was eye opened by the simplicity of the AN cd player being faithful to the original designs of the 80s. It injects life and naturalness into red book digital like nothing i had heard. I wanted a slice of this pie so i went for the Opera Consonance Linear cdp and got that purist tube cdp which really sounded lovely and organic if not quite at the AN level but was 1 fifth the price. I definately recommend the AN stuff but its just abit too expensive for me. The build quality was also very much an afterthought, cheap and plasticky.

Came for the Audio Note, stayed for the comments about Jay's hair. Also, at that price I wonder how it would stack up against the Pontus.

This is why I picked my May KTE over the Terminator+.... It was just more musical, spatious and holographic and still with excellent detail (not as much as the term+). The best, or at least a great compromise between the exacting Terminator and a tubbed DAC.

" Both of best worlds"

Interesting, but I'm more interested in the Vincent amp you have in your rack. Vincent gear is greatly under-covered in the US.

I hope to see more videos with your French friend. He is great entertainment.

I know many AN adepts would recommend modern 3.1x/II dac or higher based on AD chip. But I really recommend to try older DAC 2 or 3 or 4 based on Burr Brown PCM-63 in Signature models, full of Black Gates. You would really surprised how natural they sound.

Just got the Peachtree GaN1 - it blows away my system at the cost of the interconnects from that system (Holo KTE, Holo Serene, Kinki EX-B7 monoblocks). Hope you review it Jay. It converts digital to digital using GaN and it sound is on another level. Prepare for a shock. The whole system is iFi Zen Stream (linear PSU) to GaN1 to speakers and using the iFi app to play and adjust volume.

I use the ANK 4.1X DAC. It has 4 tubes and employs the AD 1865 chip. You can buy it assembled by Digital Pete for $3,500. Used as low as $2,500. With the Innuos Zen3 it is perfect. Powered by Pass INT25.

You should review Musical Paradise MP-DX. Tube dac with upgradable clock, capacitors and tubes....

I had borrowed the 3.1x balanced. I don’t think it had a usb input iirc. It was a very good dac. Probably the most analog sounding dac I’ve ever heard. I would love to have kept it but it was too expensive for me. $12k usd if memory serves

boh... I will never understand people who like the terminator DAC. I compared it with many DACs, which I still own: Matrix, Chord, Aqua Formula, Lector Audio and ALL of them sounded way, way better.... More resolution, transparency, image, "finess,", speed... everything! Boh... matter of taste. After all I also don't like at all the sound of tubes...

Are you familiar with the Monarchy Audio NM-24? Also a tube dac with a line level preamp section. EXCELLENT and outstanding value on the used market (they're no longer made).

Never heard a NOS or un(digitally)filtered DAC but I can understand why they might sound more 'realistic' or 'natural' - digital filtering requires trading off frequency phase-shifts (of the harmonics that constitute pretty much all instruments except maybe a triangle!), pre and post ringing, and aliasing generally. I suspect a large part of the reason digital transfers (at least at 44.1) of old analogue recordings often sound bad (compared to original all-analogue/vinyl releases) is because oversampling or delta-sigma/sigma-delta A-D-A exacerbates the effects of the scrape-flutter present to some degree on most tapes (see Plangent Processes and the remarkable results they achieve by removing it, even after sampling back down to Red Book/CD res.). That isn't to say the wouldn't still be benefits with DDD recordings (even if the AD/delta-sigma side is baked-in). Once you get to 96KHz and up I'd have thought NOS and analogue filtering would always be the way to go (although I don't know if anyone makes such an R2R DAC chip, and I imagine building 96/192(and up)kHz resistor-ladders would get rather expensive). ETA >> forgot about DSD, which I guess might make those high-res R2R's moot - just convert the PCM and use a DSD chip? ETA >> as is actually done, it turns out, for example in the Cayin RU7 USB DAC.

Lampizator Amber III DAC was ok rather boring. Sold it after weeks of trying. Best tube DAC I have now is Audio Research Ref CD9. Stunning sound. Run my Pioneer N70ae through the ARC with substantial improvement.

For those interested, Vincent Belanger has two albums on Bandcamp.

Hi @Jay , good day writing in from SG. Wanna seek your advice if it’s worth to get the AN 0.1x DAC as an upgrade to my bluesound streamer and a Marantz cd player, both basic stuff. Will I hear significant differences? Or I shouldn’t be looking at this upgrade at this point in time due to my current gears.

I have an old Audio Alchemy DAC from the 90s. It has a really warm and sweet sound like you describe. Maybe no DAC does it all?

Very nice my friend ! And many thanks! See you soon dear Jay!

Hey jay,🎉great topic and explanation, which format or source streaming you used and which music did you reference too. Thanks a lot for your work.

Can this (or other) tube DACs be paired well with Vincent SV-237mkii amplifier? Both are warm, is the pair way too warm?

Jay. 40 years musician here. Try an older model. Marantz HD DAC1. They are cheap on the user market but I can’t find anything better yet. And yes I tried the Venus II and benchmark DAC3 and many others. The Marantz bests them all. Try it. Trust me

Jay, is that a Jay’s Audio DAC you have above the Terminator? If so, how do they compare?

I'm happy for you...those T A D references cost what $15 to $25,000. They better sound like nothing else...do they?

Audio Note has better and cheaper DACs from their DIY section if you have the means to DIY like the 2.1

I see Gato audio monoblocks in the background. Are you planning the review?

Denadrips Terminator is not true NOS dac. And You can hear it

You are ralking about audio haha, audio note is music !! Audio note is the most musical brand there is.

Very good haircut, perfectly balanced with your face shape. Whoever cut it did an excellent job. Oh yeah, cool DAC.

I like your reviews, but you've got way out of my price range!

How many times was the wotd dac spoken ? . Guess then replay you may be surprised.

Is that an Atoll amp in the background? Test coming?

Hello Jay thank you for your review. I am currently looking at 3 models. I am looking at Border Patrol SE-i, Audial DAC S5 and Audio Note 0.1x. Are you familiar with the other two? I am looking for a true-to-life sound presentation. Also I understand what you mean by magic. To me the magic makes you believe what you are hearing is in the room with you instead of a recording.

@Jay’s iyagi please please make a review for the Vincent amp

You don’t know me from shit…but I would just love to visit and listen and hang with you and Vincent Belanger for a day. Regardless, more vids with you guys listening and supplying wonderful (and hilarious) music/system/life analogs 🎉

GG for the new haircut, Jay. I can't wait to see your take on those TAD (?) speakers.

T plus + gaia ddc is a BEAST! Reference sound

Where did you get your quadratic diffusers?

@Jay’s iyagi nice review. Separate one coming for those TADs? Cheers

I liked the o.1x a lot. This entire time i was under the impression that you chose the holo may over the terminator +

Jay little bit out from theme but could you please compare this TAD bookshelf's with triangle anniversary Duetos? your opinion?

If you don't want to burn your money and still enjoy in old philips tda's magic, just buy Teradac 4.5

Can you plug two USB sources into the single USB input? Asking everyone.

Is it the chip or the tubes Jay? The early 1990s Nakamichi cd players had that chip-sounded great really,Interested in your opinion of the new Ladder Schuman dac.

What the best thing about clicking on one of your videos? The anticipation felt as the camera sweeps up to expose your latest affectation. Have you sent Danny a Thank You for the room treatment motivation? He would like that.

I wouldn't normally make a comment like this but whomever cut your hair knows what they are doing..it fits your face.

They don't seem to make it easy to buy their gear. I have been looking at CD transports and they have several on their website, but no pricing and no apparent place to buy them. Any suggestions?

Can you describe the difference between the Ares II and the AN 0.1x? I listen in the nearfield (desktop system) at low volumes if that helps.

Jay, can't seem to find anyone in the US that carries these? I do see some GATO gear sitting in your background which I love. ;) I do have a ladder array dac "Aqua LaVoce" which I really like.

This dac is possible to order online?

I hear a difference with my Doge 7 with hi res audio. Would you say this better than the Doge 7 dac cause its resistor vs. Delta sigma chip? How many tubes does it use

Good explanations

What a haircut man, your barber deserves some clout

Wonder how it compares to the Border Patrol DAC of similar design and price.

I would love to check this dac out someday. Don’t have a lot of experience with dacs but did try the Jolida glass FX tube dac. Honestly didn’t impress me at all. Not much different than my MacBook. Just picked up an Aries two and wow what a difference. Like night and day! Enjoying it very much!

Audial Aya 5 is a 1541 based dac I'd like to try.

i saw a vincent in your rack.

Like

Hi Jay great review, been experimenting myself with various audio note components. Are they Gato PWR 222 mono blocks in the background? If so are you planning a review soon?

I wonder how the Audio Devices version sounds

It's 100% the tubes giving it the magic

Thank you

Nice

You should check out the decadac if you like this. I own the Celibdache myself.

Hello from Waterloo Ontario! Jay, Love your reviews. You seemed more excited and impressed with the Doge 7 tube DAC when compared to the Audio Note. Is the D7 still the best $2000us tube DAC on the market? I have a vintage Sansui QRX-9001 and I'd like to add a tube DAC to my system. Thanks! Greg

Jay, where can i purchase this item? thank you