I love David Berning designs and consequently, LTA products and having owned a few I have nothing but absolute raves for both the company and the quality of their products!
My first LTA product was the Z10 power amplifier and after having heard that, I honestly thought that every other tube amp I had owned up until then (not an insignificant lot either) must have been broken...
The David Berning design appears to me as one that does not offer a compromise between the traditional tube or solid state sound, neither does it offer a hybridization of sorts, but instead builds on its own strengths that happen to offer an amalgamation of the strengths of these so different technologies.
My latest encounter was the Ultralinear + intergrated, an amp I was absolutely enamored with, but sadly had to return to a close friend who wanted to revert our original trade of this amp against my Enleum (not that I can complain as I've had it in house for over 6 months).
I'd like to offer my sincere congratulations to the good people of LTA for the release of their new DAC, which I hope I'll be able to audition soon.
And BTW, here's Steve Guttenberg's take on it:
LTA is doing a good job building out their lineup. I’m relatively new to the brand, but in the six months I’ve owned an Ultralinear Plus integrated I’ve consistently been impressed with its punchiness and fantastic tone. I never thought I’d find an amp that improves on Pass Labs Class A, but for my listening tastes, the LTA is my preferred ride. Really great company making really great products.