musician aquarius r2r dac any good?


I am about to pull the trigger on Musician Aquarius r2r dac. I would like to know if it is any good comparing to other DAC around 3k-5k USD? Please share your opinion, it will be highly appreciated!!

128x128viethluu

@soix 

I am just hear it this afternoon after about 50 hours of burn-in

 

My first impression is: The Aquarius is a little bit smoother than the Hugo2 at the top end. Both DACs have approximately the same amount of transparency and refinement though.

The mid-range of the Aquarius is definitely better than the Hugo2. Much more focus and clearly defined vocal. The Chord Hugo2 is a little bit more blurry in comparison.

The bass of the Hugo2 is more punchy and more agile (which is what I expect from FPGA-D/S DAC) .

This is not the final result though. The burning process is still happening. 

@viethluu Thanks for the update! Yeah, another 50 hours or so might make a difference. One area I was thinking you might see a noted improvement is in a larger 3D soundstage as this is an area I find R2R DACs can have an advantage (along with tonality) over delta-sigma DACs. Anyway, thanks again for the update and look forward to hearing more.

@soix 

unfortunately, that is not what I am finding. The Aquarius is very close to the Hugo2 in term of soundstage depth and width. To be honest with you, it is very hard to beat the soundstage of a Chord even with r2r DAC.

The only DAC that can beat the soundstage of the Hugo2, that I know, is the Bartok