Black Ice Audio The Glass FX Tube DAC/DSD WiFi
Black Ice Audio’s Glass FX Tube DAC/DSD WiFi pairs expansive soundstaging with a smooth, clean treble, articulate midrange, and uncompressed dynamics. Glenn Young found it transparent enough to run straight into a power amplifier, while Wi-Fi streaming, tube rolling, and a capable headphone stage make this a richly involving all-in-one digital front end.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
92/100
Build Quality
91/100
Features Connectivity
79/100
Value for Money
94/100
Pros
Broad, deep soundstage with smooth treble, strong vocal definition, and clean bass.
Preserves wide dynamic swings and has sufficient transparency to perform well directly into a power amplifier.
Versatile feature set includes Wi-Fi, USB, coaxial and optical inputs, tube rolling, and a well-regarded headphone output.
Cons
No remote volume control; the shared volume knob governs both RCA and headphone outputs, limiting preamp convenience.
The owner’s manual was found confusing, and the analog outputs are limited to unbalanced RCA.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 92/100
Reviewers describe an unusually spacious, smooth and musically involving presentation, with strong dynamics and a notably natural lack of treble edge. Its combination of tube character, transparency and direct-to-amplifier capability stood out against both solid-state and pricier alternatives in the listening comparisons.
Tonal Balance and Musicality
94/100
Glenn Young says he “really, really” likes the sound, finding the DAC cleaner and smoother in the treble without sacrificing dynamics. He also reports broad, deep staging and a presentation that bettered pricier competition in his system, while Z Reviews calls it a clean, well-executed and exceptionally good-sounding tube design.
Resolution and Detail
91/100
The DAC is said to handle demanding vocal material without unpleasant brightness or edge, while preserving excellent definition. Young calls its definition on voices among the best he has heard, and credits it with superior staging and dynamics while maintaining comparable frequency response to a competing DAC.
Digital Performance
92/100
Young found sufficient purity and transparency to run the DAC straight into a power amplifier, suggesting that inserting an active preamp could reduce what it delivers. The Wi-Fi input sounded significantly better than expected, and both reviewers describe a clean, smooth presentation rather than an overtly harsh or mechanical digital sound.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
91/100
The review identifies high-quality internal parts including an R-Core transformer and metallized-film signal-path capacitors. Young specifically notes the heavy-duty transformer is mechanically silent even at close range, and praises the overall parts quality; the double-box packaging also protects the preinstalled tubes in transit.
Features Connectivity
79/100
The Glass FX provides USB, coaxial S/PDIF, optical TOSLINK and Wi-Fi inputs, alongside RCA outputs and a built-in headphone amplifier with volume control. Wi-Fi setup was reported to be straightforward, and tube rolling is supported through common 12AX7 valves, though there is no remote-controlled volume and the single knob controls both headphone and RCA output levels.
Value for Money
94/100
At roughly $975–$1,014, Young calls it a high-end product at a mid-fi price and explicitly labels it a bargain. He also found it superior to pricier competition in soundstage and dynamics, while Z Reviews emphasizes that it offers a tube DAC, Wi-Fi capability and American manufacture for under $1,000.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
No forum mentions found yet
Specifications
- Output Level
- 0 V to 2.3V (±1dB, 47K ohms) (SIN SIGNAL 0dB SPDIF IN)
- Frequency Response
- 20-20 KHz (±0.5dB)
- Bandwidth
- 10Hz to 70kHz + 1dB
- Distortion THD
- Less than 0.01% (1kHz)
- Dynamic Range
- 126 dB
- Headphone Impedance
- 30 ohms
- Output Impedance
- 1.25K @ 1KHz
- SNR
- ＞90dB ( 20Hz-20kHz)
- Tube Complement
- 2 x 12AX7
- Power Requirements
- 110V-120 VAC 60Hz or 220-240 VAC 50Hz
- Dimensions
- 8 inches wide by 7 inches deep by 3 inches high
- Weight
- 6 pounds (2.72 Kg) net, approximately 8 pounds (3.62 Kg) packaged
- Warranty
- 5 year limited parts and labor. 1 year or 1000 hours whichever comes first on Black Ice tubes.
- Fuse
- 110 - 120 VAC, .5 Amp Slow Blow; 200 - 240 VAC, .25 Amp Slow Blow, Size 5mm X 20mm
Manufacturer's Description — Black Ice Audio
Due to the ongoing supply chain issues custom parts for the GlassFX DAC are no longer available from our partners in the smaller quantities we need. We are working to replace them and the gear will be back.
The Glass FX DAC/DSD WiFi elevates your listening with warm analog sound for streaming and digital files. Its high-fidelity output reveals subtle nuances, making every album and new music extraordinary.
We are working on getting more parts, DACs will be added as we can build them.
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