Oh shoot, will Tek be making a version to sell of this? I've been considering upgrading my E10K to the O2/ODAC, I would seriously consider purchasing one from da store.
I wish there were more HDMI DACs that convert into 3.5mm 5.1/7.1. There's only like 1... (same one from multiple companies...) It's getting dated with HDMI 1.3, so 4K might become an issue for me soon... :-/ Of course I'm sure my reasoning for needing it is really really niche.
I really don't see the point of using small tubes (dual triodes) as a preamp at all to "color" the sound as these typically has such a low amount of distortion you wont hear it at all, sub 0.2% some good circuits can go under 0.02%.
Tube's big benefits are they take overload extremely well, typically you wont ever blow a tube from driving it too hard, even for days, They have very interesting power characteristics when hooked up in ultralinear mode which make them more suited for driving active loads than solid state amplifiers, such as speakers. Speakers are extremely active loads as their impedance changes with frequency thus a constant voltage amplifier is undesirable, whilst a constant power amp is more desirable, ultra linear happens to do that very well.
I don't have access to the same specs that Mayflower put out for the headphone jack of my receiver, or have the ability to do side by side tests. Therefore my ignorance will probably be making me come across as a dick, so please accept my apologies. I love to support independent businesses, but I have to ask:
What does this unit do for such a hefty price tag of $330 over a full fledged AV receiver at a similar price?
Home theatre amplifiers/receivers have had headphone amplification for decades (at least since the 70s) let alone far more features, mainly the ability to power speakers rather than just headphones. They also have DSP modes to 'colour' the audio if you prefer.
Also I should throw in the caveat that I am not looking at some cheap brand here. Main brands like Denon or Yamaha make 5.1 receivers at this price, or even a few bucks cheaper. 2 channel receivers/amplifiers would be much less.
AV receivers aren't geared towards proper headphone amping.
While they do have a headphone amp and or jack in them, doesn't mean it was designed properly or as well done as something that dedicated for headphone amping IE this product here.