musician aquarius r2r dac any good?

@tjag 

i2s should be better than usb for sure. But, I am out of $$$$ for a good DDC now. Let’s wait for next year tax return season!!

For most DACs it seems that I2s or Coaxial are always better than direct USB.

I have been using this with my former Pegasus and current Lab 12. It’s the cheapest and fuss free way to provide I2s and Coaxial from a desktop.

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Interface-Coaxial-Optical-Audio/dp/B08HN3VSF8/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=2XEK9R0XJT293&keywords=douk+audio+mini+xmos&qid=1661048048&sprefix=douk+audio+mini+xmos%2Caps%2C366&sr=8-2#

I'm planning on getting the Audio GD DI-20HE DDC in a month or so.

It has been recommended by my UK dealer. 

@auroravengeance

Thanks for the link.

Coaxial supports less resolution than the USB and I2S. That is a deal breaker for many.

Regarding if the I2S was better than the USB, it depends on which interface was implemented better. For example the Holo Audio recommends using the USB, while Denafrips/Musician recommend the I2S.

I had this discussion on another thread (check below), I was then "certain" that the Innuos PhoenixUSB was the way to go because of the huge number of recommendations and positive reviews. However, after I got more feedback on the thread I realized it really depended on which interface the developer invested more in.

Note the Phoenix here refers to the Innuos PhoenixUSB.

Blake wrote

Posted September 22, 2020

I was hoping Srajan at 6Moons would compare the Phoenix, Gaia and some other D/D converters.

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/denafrips6/4/

While the review is not yet finished, in his review of the Denafrips Avatar, Srajan notes that he did compare the Phoenix, Gaia and through extrapolation to another review, the Mutec MC-3+ USB. While the comparison was not perfect in that he compared Phoenix going to the Terminator Plus usb input, whereas the Gaia was going in to the Terminator Plus I2S input (there was no way around this since Gaia doesn’t have USB output, and the Phoenix only has USB output), the ranking of best sonic performance was:

1. Terminator Plus + Gaia with the Terminator Plus "clock out" feature engaged upstream to the Gaia.

2. Terminator Plus + Phoenix

3. Terminator Plus + Gaia without Terminator Plus "clock out" feature engaged.

4. Mutec MC-3+ USB

Dante Rivera compared his Terminator USB vs I2s in this YT video. The I2s is best. However, this seems specific to the Denafrips DACs. For different DACs I think it depends on which interface is implemented best.

Both Koso and Chameleonracks have the Holo Audio Spring 3 DAC. They preferred the USB interface over the I2s. They used the USB interface in combination with the PhoenixUSB and Intona USB Isolator, respectively.

Here is a curved ball.

The Musician Aquarius/Pegasus DACs don't have a clock out for syncing like the Terminator. Therefore, " if " the ranking Blake wrote (below) were correct, then:

Aquarius/Pegasus + PhoenixUSB   (USB interface)

would rank higher than 

Aquarius/Pegasus + Gaia without its "clock in" feature engaged.  (I2S interface)

Oh dear lol

the ranking of best sonic performance was:

1. Terminator Plus + Gaia with the Terminator Plus "clock out" feature engaged upstream to the Gaia.

2. Terminator Plus + PhoenixUSB

3. Terminator Plus + Gaia without Terminator Plus "clock out" feature engaged.

4. Mutec MC-3+ USB