Linear Tube Audio Aero+ DAC Adds AES3 and I²S at $4,400, with an External-Supply SE at $5,800

Linear Tube Audio has opened preorders on two successors to its Aero digital-to-analog converter. The $4,400 Aero+ and the $5,800 Aero+ SE both carry over the ingredients that defined the original — an Analog Devices AD1865 R-2R ladder chip running without oversampling, and a valve output stage built on the company's ZOTL topology — while adding two digital inputs the first model never had. Both are built in Takoma Park, Maryland, and shipping is expected to begin in December 2026.

All prices here are official US list prices from Linear Tube Audio and from ecoustics' report on the launch; the company's own Aero+ product page lists the DAC "from $4,400" with preorder delivery expected in December 2026.

An 18-bit ladder DAC, unfiltered

The conversion stage is unchanged in principle from the original Aero. The AD1865 is an 18-bit R-2R ladder converter, and Linear Tube Audio runs it non-oversampling, with no digital filtering in the signal path. That is a deliberate design position rather than a spec-sheet flex: ladder converters and NOS operation have their own measurable behaviour, and the company has chosen that behaviour over the filtered delta-sigma approach that dominates the price bracket. PCM is accepted up to 24-bit/192kHz.

Feeding it is the part that has genuinely changed. The Aero+ adds AES3 and I²S — the latter on the PS Audio pinout — to the USB, RCA coaxial and Toslink optical inputs carried over from the original. For anyone running a separate transport, a streamer with an AES output, or a source that prefers to keep clock and data on separate lines, those two additions are the headline. The USB input is Roon Tested.

The output stage: tubes, no capacitors, no feedback

Analogue output is handled by a balanced ZOTL valve stage running single-ended Class A. It is direct-coupled, with no output or coupling capacitors anywhere in the path, and runs zero negative feedback. Two 12SN7 dual triodes do the work as standard, but the chassis carries a toggle switch for tube type so that 6SN7 valves can be fitted instead, with bias set automatically rather than by hand — a useful bit of flexibility for anyone who already has a drawer of octal-base triodes.

The published numbers reflect that topology honestly. XLR outputs deliver 4.4Vrms at 140 ohms, RCA 2.2Vrms at 70 ohms. THD+N at maximum output is quoted at 0.1% balanced and 0.3% single-ended — figures that would look high on a solid-state DAC and are entirely in character for a capacitor-free, feedback-free valve stage. Frequency response is given as −0.3dB at 20Hz and −0.8dB at 20kHz. Power draw is 33W in operation and 8W in standby, with user-selectable 120/230V operation.

What the SE adds

The $5,800 Aero+ SE uses the same converter, the same output stage and the same input complement. The difference is entirely in how it is powered. The mains transformer and a 15mH filter choke are lifted out of the main chassis and relocated to a separate box measuring 8 x 7.5 x 3.85 inches, joined to the DAC by an umbilical terminated in XLR connectors. Linear Tube Audio says the SE supply has five times the energy storage capacity of the standard unit.

The rationale is the familiar one for external supplies — keeping a transformer's magnetic field and its associated mains-borne noise physically away from low-level analogue circuitry, and giving the rails more reserve to draw on. The company attributes greater resolution, more precise imaging and a cleaner presentation to the change; ecoustics is careful to label those as manufacturer claims, and so are we. Nobody has published measured or listening comparisons between the two.

Physically, both models share a 17-inch width and 10.5-inch depth including connectors, standing about 4.5 inches tall with the stock valves in place. The standard Aero+ weighs 11.5lb (5.2kg); the SE comes to 18lb (8.16kg) with its power supply included.

Pricing, preorders and the upgrade path

List prices are $4,400 for the Aero+ and $5,800 for the Aero+ SE. ecoustics reports a 15% introductory preorder discount bringing those to $3,740 and $4,930 respectively; the Linear Tube Audio page we checked did not show a discount, so treat that as ecoustics' reporting rather than a confirmed standing offer. For scale, Stereophile's specifications sidebar for the original Aero listed it at $3,950.

Existing Aero owners are being offered a factory conversion rather than a trade-in. Per ecoustics, the Aero+ circuitry upgrade is $900 and the Aero+ SE modifications are $1,800 — again, prices from ecoustics, since Linear Tube Audio's upgrade page links the programme without listing figures. There is one important limit: an upgraded original Aero does not gain the AES3 and I²S inputs. Those are a function of the new chassis and connector panel, so the two new inputs remain exclusive to buyers of a complete Aero+ or Aero+ SE. Anyone weighing the upgrade against a new unit should factor that in, because it is the one difference a service visit cannot close.

ecoustics also reports a three-year warranty; Linear Tube Audio's product page did not state a term at the time of writing.

Both models are listed as preorders with shipping expected to begin in December 2026. Linear Tube Audio has not said what happens to the original Aero in the meantime.

US dollar figures quoted here are official US prices; where any conversion applies, it is made at the ECB reference rate for 28 October 2026.

This article was written by an AI system from Into The HiFi AI Desk, generated from the following sources, with no human editing pass before publication: ecoustics — Linear Tube Audio Aero+ and Aero+ SE DACs Give R-2R Technology a Modern Makeover, Linear Tube Audio — Aero+ DAC product page, Linear Tube Audio — Aero DAC product page, Stereophile — Linear Tube Audio Aero D/A processor specifications.