Thousand Oaks, CA – April 7, 2025 - Zesto Audio is excited to announce the world premiere of the new Tube Athena DAC at AXPONA in Chicago on April 11-13, 2025, in exhibit room #418.
The Athena DAC is an advanced digital-to-analog converter that delivers “The Best of Both Worlds.” In collaboration with a team of world-class digital designers, Zesto Audio has fused innovative digital technology with award-winning tube analog circuits, creating one of the most musical DACs on the market today.
The Athena DAC sets itself apart with a user-friendly interface and advanced technology that offers superior sound quality and performance with its tube circuitry. At its core is a state-of-the-art ROHM chip, which ensures that every element of the audio is reproduced with breathtaking clarity.
The Athena DAC is designed not just for audio playback but for an engaging musical journey. With its combination of cutting-edge technology and vintage tube warmth, it redefines what is possible in digital audio conversion.
So What's Different?
Here are the Top 11 Features:
- Native with No Up-Sampling: The Athena DAC maintains the original integrity of the audio signal, ensuring a true-to-source experience.
- Noise-Cancelling Tube Analog Output Circuit: The soul of the Athena DAC lies within its ability to cancel noise, delivering an immersive listening experience.
- No Filters: No digital or analog filters on the DAC. All filtering is done through the tube output circuitry with minimal phase shift, creating a better stereo image and black levels. This is the perfect merging of solid-state and tube technologies!
- Auto-Mute: No pops or clicks when changing formats.
- Proprietary Grounding Scheme: Our innovative design effectively isolates digital noise, providing a clean signal that enhances listening pleasure.
- Adjustable Ground Switches: Easily eliminate ground loops to remove hum.
- No Negative Feedback: Our design philosophy ensures that your signal is neither limited nor compressed, allowing for dynamic expression.
- Dedicated 12AU7 Output Tubes: Engineered to drive true differential balanced output transformers for significant noise-cancellation.
- 12DW7 Input Tubes: This tube handles the input as well as drives the output tubes. 12DW7 is fast, musical, dynamic, low noise, and offers exceptional sound quality.
- Controlled 2nd-order Harmonic Distortion: With a focus on sound quality, this feature is widely regarded as more musically pleasing.
- Zesto's exclusive ESP Supply: Anticipates the power needed and does not limit the music's ability to pull all the power it needs. Optimized for the tube output circuits, these power supplies further enhance the overall performance of the DAC.
The DAC is equipped with seven versatile inputs, including USB, COAX, Optical, AES/EBU, and I2S. The Athena output XLR connectors are balanced using true differential balanced output transformers for significant noise cancellation.
Two adjustable ground lift switches that easily eliminate ground loops to remove hum.
Join us in exhibit room #418 to celebrate the World Premiere of the Athena DAC at AXPONA in Chicago on April 11-13, 2025
Experience the Future of Audio with the Athena DAC. With its unparalleled combination of ease of use, innovative technology, and a focus on musicality, the Athena DAC is the perfect addition to any audiophile's setup. Experience the next level of audio fidelity and immerse yourself in your favorite music like never before.
Pricing: The Athena DAC retails for $15,000. Shipping, taxes, and customs are additional.
All Zesto Audio products are sold through authorized dealers.
For additional information, please visit our website at www.zestoaudio.com or contact us at 805-807-1841.
George Counnas is the founder, president, and design engineer for Zesto Audio. He has loved music all his life and went from a musician, to an electronics engineer, to an audio engineer. As a young man in England, he worked for DECCA Navigator (now Raytheon), at the time Britain's largest electronics company, as part of the research and development team designing airborne navigational systems for the Royal Air Force. George brings to Zesto Audio the unique set of talents of not only designing, creating, and manufacturing the highest build quality of high-end electronic equipment, but also as an audio engineer, he knows how great music should sound.
Zesto Audio was established in 2010 in Thousand Oaks, California. Zesto Audio is a manufacturer of fine audio electronics, specializing in modern vacuum tube technology for the 21st-century listener. Their award-winning products include the new Athena DAC, Andros II, Andros Deluxe II , the Andros Spirit and the Andros Tèssera Reference Phonostages, the And
