DAC 5

About the DAC 5

The Audio Note (UK) DAC 5 Special (also referred to as DAC 5 or Fifth Element in some contexts) is positioned as one of the top models in Audio Note's DAC lineup, featuring a fully transformer-coupled design with proprietary 'magic' I/V transformers, NOS double-triode tubes (such as 5687WB or variants like 5814a and 6463), dual-mono power supplies with valve rectification, and premium components including Black Gate capacitors, Audio Note tantalum film resistors, silver wiring, and custom C-core output transformers capable of 5-200kHz bandwidth. It avoids oversampling, jitter reduction, noise shaping, and re-clocking, performing all filtering in the analog domain for superior phase and dynamic coherence. Digital inputs include coaxial RCA (75 Ohms SPDIF) and XLR (110 Ohms AES/EBU), with single-ended RCA and balanced XLR outputs. It is hand-built with stringent component matching and is part of Audio Note's Level 5/6 ultimate digital playback systems.