musician aquarius r2r dac any good?

I have the Musetec 005 that is mentioned above. I am a huge fan boy of that unit. I lent it to my friend for a month and he did not like it for the gear he was testing it with, the RAAL SR1a + CA-1a headphones and VM-1a amp.

I love the 005 with my 2-channel speakers (incredible sound) but once got the unit back I also started listening with my VM-1a. SR1a, and CA-1a and it was not good at all. My Benchmark DAC3B is so much better with this headphone gear.

It is all about synergy.

I love the 005 with my 2-channel speakers (incredible sound) but once got the unit back I also started listening with my VM-1a. SR1a, and CA-1a and it was not good at all. My Benchmark DAC3B is so much better with this headphone gear.

“It is all about synergy”

I believe that most can appreciate and accept the consequences of synergy. This seems to be an extreme example. Why does this DAC’s performance vary so markedly between speaker and headphone usage?
Charles

The VM-1a has 7 tubes and works ONLY with the 2 headphones I listed. I generally do not like tubes, but there are exceptions. With the Benchmark DAC3B, the sound is incredibly detailed, fast, and rivals the very best sound I have heard from ANY system (no room to contend with).

The CA-1a sounds like headphones on steroids, while the SR1a (called ear speakers) sounds like speakers attached to your ears. Stereophile will review the amp soon. I hope they use a very neutral DAC like the DAC3B.

With the Musetec 005 the sparkle on top is just not there relative to the DAC3B. If I did not have the DAC3B I may have been content with the VM-1a and 005 pairing but I lucked out hearing the DAC3B with the VM-1a.

Today I replaced, my CODA 07x preamp and put in the Benchmark LA4 preamp + Benchmark AHB2 monos + Musetec 005. Just stunning. Better than the DAC3B in this stack. I have to decide on some gear pairings for my office and this will be the final setup.

For my Livingroom I will get a second Musetec 005 + CODA 07x preamp + KRELL 175XD amp. I may sell the 07x to buy a second LA4.

Gladmo,

Exact same boat here, the Pontus offers a sound signature that is near perfect to my ears. I talked to Alvin, and he suggested the Iris DDC would take the Pontus to a new level…..and he mention that some are finding the Pontus plus DDC preferable to the Venus.

A Pontus Iris combo is is $700 less than a Venus, and the Pontus Hermes is the same price as the Venus

I’ve also been getting to the point of wanting a decent r2r dac to replace my d70s - which itself is no slouch! But am wanting that special something a true ladder dac can bring. Don’t know if anyone here already mentioned the new Ladder Schumann Dac? Looks suspiciously like an ares ii…But is already being compared favorably against the Musician Pegasus: