Aqua hifi La Voce s3.....anyone audition it yet?

@grannyring

MHDT Orchid bests the Aqua La Voce S2 in my system

If I am not mistaken you had an Aesthetix Romulus or Pandora before. How would you rate these 2 DAC’s compared to the Romulus?
I am testing the Romulus (standard) right now but would like to try other and cheaper options as well before pulling the trigger....

@grannyring, is the Aqua S2/S3 capacitor coupled on the output. I am interested in this DAC but in general I am looking for a DAC with direct coupled outputs.

The S2 has a cap on the output.  The S3 should also based on what I have read. The Orchid, as you know,  also has an output cap, but it is a better sounding unit than the S2.  With a few upgrades I am confident you would love the Orchid. 

@grannyring I'm glad that you've put the flat stacked copper foil caps to use. That's much better than having the caps sit in a cabinet which is why I sold them. I wanted someone else to enjoy them. Mission accomplished!

The MHDT DACs are excellent once the output coupling caps are upgraded. The OEM caps are as light as a feather and tremendously hinder sound quality. I was blown away at how good the Pagoda sounds with a pair of 1uf Jupiter HT caps. The detail of the Pagoda and the musicality of the Jupiter caps are a perfect combination.  

I had my eye on the S2 and S3 when I was in the market for a DAC. Although I could've easily upgraded the cheap WIMA style output caps, there we're two things that kept me from purchasing an Aqua DAC: the lack of a tube buffer and the abundance of basic components in the circuitry that cannot warrant the high price of a new unit. 

What I like about the Aqua DACs is that their cases are elegant and that they employ a decent amount of high quality diodes / voltage regulators in the TO-220 package. 

All great points! Well said.