Tube Audio DesignTADACusedTube Audio Design TADAC Collector's item DAC fromThis is the latest DAC/headphone amp/ preamp design by the late Paul Grzybek of BizzyBee fame. Since they are not produced more it is somewhat of a collector's item. I am the original owner - bough...256.55

Tube Audio Design TADAC Collector's item DAC from

Listing ID: lis81256 Auction 
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Condition
6/10
Payment methods
Ships fromAbu Dhabi, UAE, 0000
Ships toWorldwide
Package dimensionsunspecified
Shipping carrierunspecified
Shipping cost$80.00
Original accessoriesRemote Control, Box
AverageResearch Pricing
Amended on

I am not sure why, but the shipping cost estimate on Audiogon is showing as 0 despite the fact that I have specified it as USD$80 when posting.

In any case, just to be crystal clear: the buyer pays the shipping cost and it is a flat USD$80 worldwide by First Class Parcel Post. This is explicitly indicated in the main text but I just wanted to emphasize it.

This is the latest DAC/headphone amp/ preamp design by the late Paul Grzybek of BizzyBee fame. Since they are not produced more it is somewhat of a collector's item. I am the original owner - bought it in 2008. It only offers 120V and so I have only used it a few months as I moved to the UAE and switched to a CD player rather than using a bulky external 220 --> 120V transformer. I was considering to keep it esp. when I learned of Paul's passing but now I feel that if I am not using something it should be available for others to enjoy.
Photos are of the actual TADAC for sale. The condition is very good. There was noise from the phase switches so I bypassed them with a cable to avoid having to clean them often and since I never really used that feature. This is easily reversible - by desoldering the by-pass wires.
I will include the Mullard 12AU7 tubes that were an upgrade from the Chinese tubes that Paul shipped with the device. See photo. They should have about 150 hours on them. They were bought as NOS from Upscale Audio IIRC.
It is important to note that TADAC max data input speed is 96k. Reserve is very low, equal to the cost of the tubes. Shipping is flat $80 worldwide by First Class Parcel Post.
Below is the Manufacturers' description: Designed for normal SPDIF digital audio sources: CD player data output, PC or Mac streaming audio, Squeezebox, Sonos, Wadia 170i iPod Transport, Sirus/XM data, HD FM tuner data, any serial SPDIF audio data source (coax or optical) except for 192k DVD or PC audio (DVD player menu select 96k or PCM it works fine). State of the art jitter free DAC chips means zero bit loss - any CD player with digital output work as well as the most expensive disc transport. 
TADAC Tube DAC Facts and Features :  o Power: 120VAC only, rear on/off switch, plug-in cord  o Dimensions: 9" x 7-3/8" x 6" tall  o Weight: 6-Pounds  o Designed to match the vintage 1950's industrial look of TAD tube amps  o Select 12AU7 tubes are included. Tight contact gold ceramic sockets - install slowly to prevent bending a tube pin. Use 12AU7, 5814, 5963 tubes. Can leave on all the time without tube life worries. The unique Tube Audio Design analog tube circuit not only sounds out of this world, it is extremely easy on tubes. Perhaps a pair of U7's will last a lifetime in this circuit - time will tell. .  o Large epoxy potted toroidal power transformer resides in the black box on top  o Separate DC voltage regulators for all digital & audio circuits  o Each Power Supply Electrolytic is Film Cap Bypassed  o Contains 5 op-amp: 2 between DAC output & tube circuit to convert to single ended and make the phase switch feature. 2 op-amps after the tubes to drive XLR jacks, 1 op-amp after tubes in the headphone circuit.  o One Invisa-Cap in each tube audio circuit (same caps used in the TAD-150 Signature preamp)  o Data input selector switch in back corner for Optical Toslink or Coaxial-RCA data selection  o The Gold RCA jacks are 100% tube driven outputs  o True balanced gold XLR Outputs are hybrid tube/chip driven  o Analog Aux RCA Input impedance is 10k-Ohms  o RCA Output impedance is 400-Ohms, XLR Output 75-Ohms  o Tubes Light Up Blue when audio data is locked on the input  o 96k max input data speed, Crystal 8414 feeds a Burr-Brown 1793 Advanced Segment Verification Jitter Free D/A chip - a combination that sounds best in this tube design.  o Connect digital SPDIF (CD Player data) single RCA or Optical Toslink to the TADAC  o Designed for PC digital audio (up to 96k). PC Windows & Mac computer USB to audio SPDIF data interface adapter needed.  o DishDVR & DirecTV optical output plugs directly into the TADAC for the best front 2-channel speaker sound. Free Sirus/XM radio in many Dish / DirecTV packages sounds amazing too.  o Tube/SS Headphone jack for amazing HF sound - does not automatically switch main back outputs off with HF plugged in. Designed for regular light load headphones down to 16-Ohms. 
The TADAC has a unique Tubyness knob to adjust how harmonically balanced the music sounds. Adjust the Tubyness to your personal taste. This tubyness control is located on the top of the unit in front of the two 12AU7 tubes This TADAC has a master volume control to adjust gain for rear output jacks (RCA pair & XLR Pair) and the front headphone jack. Many use the TADAC as their system main volume control. Can use an AV-Switcher in front for digital input selection.

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