How warm are we talking? Like the sweltering heat when you get off the airplane for a fun weekend in Miami with Brittney and Cinnamon or like a nice warm embrace from the girl from high school that got away at your 30-year reunion?
What headphones and dac are you going to pair with the pendant too? I have been rolling tubes and dacs with it since around November.
Welcome to the community by the way!!! @erik_szilagyi
One been dealing with Brent for years.
He’s not the cheapest, but his tubes are great.
Got some new EL84 tubes that matched the vintage ones Zach supplied as well as a better 12AU7.
All are dead quiet.
I would stay away from the Mullard 12au7 then. It’s warm, but not punchy.
Both Brent and Upscale both (probably) have Mullard 12at7 / 6201 / CV4024 tubes. I think those fit the bill better for punchy and still warm. Better yet, if you can find a nos brimar 12at7 from a reputable seller, just click buy, and you’re welcome.
Warm like the butt crack of a 400lb guy who fell asleep in a sauna?
You’re welcome.
OMG! Did he survive?
Hey i got pointed to Brent and he responded with some suggestions, the weakest link in my setup is my dac, its a topping d50s, I am not sure what I will upgrade to in the future. From what I gather dacs dont have as large an effect on sound as amps/pads. I am using the verite closed, currently with auteur lambskin pads, but I got a pair of eikon ordered as well. I’m interested in your experience with dacs, have you felt a noticable difference in between different ones, any that stand out as something that I would enjoy. I am talking 30-year reunion levels of warm, changing from the verite pads to the auteur ones increased my enjoyment of the verite closed by a lot. I wonder if there is such a thing as too much warmth, maybe I will find out eventually.
I would heartily disagree with that. Now, the Verite is not super easy to drive, so it’s definitely true that you can’t throw any old amp at it. It has to be beefy and good, so there is some baseline you’ll want to get to. However, once you have a good amp, you’ll dig out a lot of extra detail from a good DAC (assuming you’re using CD-quality or better files - aka, not Spotify).
So what is the “endgame” dac? Is it based on the sound signature you want or its just one that converts music from electricity as possible?
In the most basic sense, a DAC is taking 1s and 0s and converting them into an analog wave. There are a positively insane number of technical and theoretical considerations and variations in how to do this, and there is no single “perfect” or “correct” way to do it. There is a blurred line between flavor and quality, but rest assured, you will notice an improvement when you go up the chain of any given DAC family. For example, you will never ever ever choose a Chord Mojo over Chord DAVE - and you’ll sure as hell notice the difference. Some examples of end-game DACs include the Schiit Yggdrasil, Chord DAVE (ideally, with m-scaler), dCS Bartok, dCS Vivaldi (if you want to go really crazy), MSB Select DAC, Holo May, Denafrips Terminator, and the list goes on. Schiit and Chord, in particular, have “younger sibling” versions of their flagship DACs that do a great job, but you’ll never mistake them for the big boys. None of this is to say that you have to spend insane money on a DAC. I haven’t heard a Topping D50 myself, but everything I’ve heard about it indicates it’s quite good. That said, in my personal experience, I would always prefer a better DAC so long as my amp isn’t dragging it down.
The most noticable difference is DAC’s is a combination of resolution/separation and staging/presentation.
They do have different “signatures”, people will talk about bass impact, or warm/analytical but tonality differences are subtle, and I think it’s really time domain effects they are discussing rather than actual measurable FR changes.
On DAC’s being less significant than amps in how a system sounds, it depends on your budget, Iargely agree with the statement up through say $1000 components, once your spending a lot more than that (say $2500 used for a DAC), it just doesn’t seem to be true IME.
But there is no point spending silly money on a DAC if the rest of your system isn’t commensurate.
On which DAC is for you depends what you are looking to spend, and what Amp you are pairing it with.
As @andris stated the right DAC is important and is a factor.
“endgame” is tough to identify unless you are throwing a briefcase of money out there. Determine your budget and start researching components that fit $$ wise. If you told me your budget was $2K, there are some great options, but they certainly are not endgame.
Many DAC’s do sound similar and take some extended listening to pick out the differences.
OTOH, the Border Patrol DAC is immediately noticeable as different. Very sweet and easy to listen to. The detail is there, it’s just not in your face, and this one has great soundstage and image placement (easier to hear over speakers, for me anyway).
Unfortunately I am going to put mine up for sale as I need more that just 1 USB input. I’m wondering if there is another DAC out there with a similar sound signature, but more features?
Yep, anything from Lampizator is a good upgrade from the border patrol stuff
Yeah, but the price… 
You can find used ones under $3k.
You could try a USB switch-box first to allow for more inputs, rather than buy another expensive DAC, as long as you are otherwise happy with the SQ of the incumbent. Many, many choices under $100. (I haven’t needed one, so I don’t have a recommendation for any specific brand or piece of gear.)
For those of you interested in my in-home deathmatch between the ZMF Pendant and Woo WA5-LE, it’s up! Woo WA5-LE vs ZMF Pendant (OG) Deathmatch
Hey 
I do think DACs make more of a difference than people give them credit for. It’s what is processing the digital signal and converting it to analog. A lot can go right or wrong in that process. You are correct though headphones, pads, amps, source make the largest difference IMO. I think it really comes down to synergy honestly @erik_szilagyi . Balancing the DAC, with the AMP and headphones and finding your combo that brings you joy. That’s the quest we are all on. I definitely think there is such a thing as two much warmth. You just have to keep experimenting and finding when you reach that threshold, it’s a journey of discovery. The journey is half the fun and this great group of audio lovers will help guide you when needed. Most of all trust your own ears, while respecting others opinions and knowledge. Those driving forces helped me learn a lot about this hobby and myself. I am still learning every day, it never stops 
Cheers
No, that won’t be happening.
A: I went to a lot of trouble to reduce noise in my system and a cheap USB hub would ruin the sound (already proved that on my computer desktop system).
B: I need optical and coax inputs, not more USB.
I have a curious question and it does relate to the ZMF Pendant. If you saw one used floating around but comes from a smoking environment but only four months, would you purchase? I’ve repaired computers back in the early 90’s. It’s amazing what cats and smoking does to computers… Alcohol, tooth brush and air compressor did quite a bit to help clean this up.