musician aquarius r2r dac any good?

@tjag 

Good suggestion, I will check out the Mano. I do not know a lot pf European product though.

My goal is still conventional DDC through USB connection, so it will be either the GAIA or the PHOENIX.

Check this

The Chinese gods are laughing in the skies 😂

This is the Gaia

And this is the Phoenix

The good part is that the Gaia is available on the used market for about $1500.

@viethluu 

In the Musician Phoenix DDC Review Sandu Vitalie compared the I2S vs USB on the Musician Aquarius DAC.

II. Musician Phoenix + Musician Aquarius via I2S

The audible difference wasn’t only immediate and apparent as it was with a Singxer SU-6, the difference was actually bigger to my expectancy levels.

On its own, Aquarius is a mighty fine sounding DAC, certainly up there with some of the nicest R-2R DACs I’ve tried to this point, but when locking the signal via I2S from the Phoenix, there was a serious jump in resolution and ultimately, dynamic range.

I would never call the Aquarius as muddy, grainy or soft sounding via USB, but it felt that way when I started my comparisons. 

I2S is better than USB in the Aquarius.

I have already known they come from the same designer. Where else can you buy this quality of r2r for this low price?

@tjag

@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!!