RMAF 2015

France's Metronome Technologie's C6+ DAC (€11.000) pops a pair of 6922 vacuum tubes in the analog output stage. The C6 can handle PCM resolutions up to 24-bit/192kHz but the DAC board is easily swapped out making future upgrades a breeze (DSD is coming). The C6+ sits midway between the company's solid state C5 and the top of the dual-output (tube/SS) C8+. The C8+ employs the Asahi Kasei AK4490 DACs which I'd imagine will be used in the updated C6+ (I neglected to ask). Inputs include coax S/PDIF, AES/EBU, Toslink, and asynchronous USB. The C6 includes both single-ended RCA and balanced XLR output. We'll be taking a closer look and listen to a Metronome Technologie DAC in the future.