musician aquarius r2r dac any good?

@gladmo I am on the same boat as you buddy. My impression of the Aquarius all comes from internet review. What I am hoping for is landing some where between the Venus and the Terminator. That is why I picked up the Aquarius. I am also exploring the option of having Audio Note r2r. From what I heard they are also very good.

@audphile1 I tried every filters on the Hugo2. The sound changed a little bit with each filter. Yet the soundstage stays the same, the transparency does changed a tiny bit, not increasing but decreasing.

I also tried the Hugo2 running on battery only, the transparency improved a little bit.

Like I said, the Hugo2 has reach its maximum capacity. It has become a bottleneck in my system. My need for a new DAC is real.

Got it!

I just went through a DAC upgrade myself. Ended up with a Bricasti M3. 
Years ago I had an Audio Research CD3 MkII CD player running it with ARC LS-25 preamp, Pass X250.5 amp and B&W N803. I sold the CD3 MkII when I went with a computer based system and eventually with streaming. I’ve been thru a number of DACs, speakers, preamps and amps and was unable to replicate that sheer musicality and level of engagement that CD player had. Until the Bricasti landed in my system last Sunday. I’ve been glued to the chair listening ever since. 
Throw this DAC in a mix. I’m pretty sure you won’t regret it if you end up with it. 

@daledeee1 I was curious to test Lampizator tube DACs, but have not gotten around to it yet because the local dealer was quite out of the way. The simple reason that we keep hearing Denafrips and Musician being recommended is simply because they had been aggressive in providing review units to reviewers and media. And it helps also the DACs really punch above their price point. 

I mean, yes, there are better DACs than Musician Aquarius and Denafrips Terminator Plus (disclaimer: have not heard Terminator Plus yet), but most of them are prohibitively expensive like Mola Mola Tambaqui and MSB Discrete, though some of them have quietly dropped their price realizing the competition. Aqua La Scala MKII is actually cheaper than Terminator Plus in my city. These other brands are definitely more niche and depend more on word of mouth for marketing, but if you are fortunate enough to have local dealers definitely should give them a listen. I recently replaced my Pegasus with Lab12 Reference Dac1 and I could not be happier. 

apl dsd ar dac -  some say blows away everithing in his price range.