DAC 5 Special

About the DAC 5 Special

The Audio Note DAC 5 Special is a premium digital-to-analog converter designed to extract the utmost musical detail from 16-bit/44.1kHz Redbook CD files and similar digital sources. It employs very stringently selected Analog Devices AD1865 18-bit DAC chips and features Audio Note's proprietary, internationally patented copper-wired 'magic' I/V transformer interface that actively couples the DAC chip output to powerful transformers. This transformer coupling extends throughout the signal path, including a hand-wired silver digital input transformer and a dual mono power supply with multiple regulation stages. The analog output stage uses NOS 5687 double triode tubes coupled to exclusive copper-wired output transformers with a 33:1 step-down ratio, designed to maintain signal linearity and dynamic contrast without feedback. The DAC 5 Special eschews oversampling, jitter reduction, noise shaping, and re-clocking, performing all filtering in the analog domain to preserve wideband phase-frequency and dynamic coherence. It incorporates premium components such as Black Gate electrolytic capacitors, Audio Note tantalum film resistors, Cerafine capacitors, and lavish silver wiring throughout. The unit weighs approximately 22 kg and includes both single-ended RCA and balanced XLR outputs. It is highly regarded for its lifelike soundstage, dynamic expression, and ability to reveal low-level musical details with exceptional clarity and naturalness. The DAC 5 Special is