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What I got back was nothing short of amazing.. while the case is the same size and the controls are the same and overall, the DAC chip is the same, the implementation is wildly different and in a word- better- but that descriptor doesn’t do justice to the difference.
The DAC manual lists certain hours suggestions as far as break-in and it was accurate as far as the changes in sound over the first 24 hours and then over the next few.. hundred.. I bought the IIISE used so this was my first break in..
It was interesting to hear it from the start, then how it changed over the first few hours.. After the first day, playing 24/7 it settled down and continued to change/ improve over the next week.
We’re at a month now, or a little over. I ran it full on for the first week before shutting it off for the first time, then have left it on overnight a few days but mostly just on in the morning, off at night.
I work from home so, we just listen all day. I knew the sound of the IIISE DAC intimately, how it sounded with different gear, with silver/ copper/ copper/ silver XLRs, RCA etc into a preamp/ amp combo, into an all-in-one set up, bypassing the onboard DAC/ streamer..
The Tubadour IIISE was the most organic, natural sounding DAC I’d ever heard. The V is more of that same sound, somehow done better. With the IIISE, music became more real, natural sounding, like the difference between a live recording and a CD.
With the Tubadour V the SQ goes farther towards realism and verisimilitude, closer to either ‘being there, at the performance or having the band playing right in your room’ as folk commonly suggest.
Like a Tardis, the room the Tubadour creates inside your listening space, seems somehow larger than the math the walls, floor and ceiling can possibly deliver. The stage is wider with deeper seating and more precise placement of instruments on the stage- front back and side to side.
The noise floor seems to be lower, dishing double scoops of plankton, driving deeper data detail, effortlessly into the ear holes..
If there is any window between me and the band/ orchestra etc. the glass is clearer, the picture is sharper, the shapes all have harder edges and look more real.
There’s a suspension of disbelief that happens, every time we put on an album, digital file and sit down to watch some music unfold through the speakers. it’s the same suspension when watching a movie. “I know this is not real but for a juicy bit, I’ll operate as if it is.”
I’ve found that with the V I have to suspend approximately 72% less belief than I did with the IIISE.. which held the lowest belief suspension rating, to date, until the V hit town. These disbelief suspension numbers can be confirmed on ASR.
EOD- the IIISE was a game/ life changer for my system and audio journey.
The V improved my audio, to a level I was unaware existed before this. I don’t think you can find a better DAC at any price, though possible a different ‘flavor’ but not a better sound experience.
While I am back on AMPsearch2024, I am done with DAC-hunt for good and it feels as good as it sounds.
They say you can’t buy happiness outright but you can buy things that you know will make you happy. This is one of those.
If you want to try the Audio Mirror Tubadour, you can sometimes find the IIISE used. If you like the DAC, then you can do the upgrade to the iV or V.. but if you are ready for the BEST DAC EVAR, then just step up to the plate, give Vlad a ring and take a swing at happiness.
