[Matthew Willims]

The SoundNews review pegged my interest of the Aquarius it was a impulse buy . The distributor had marked it down to $2,600.00 USD and as it turned out this dac is an incredibly good purchase.

My journey in a nutshell, I haven’t been completely satisfied and content with my digital front end for sometime now , going through and borrowing different brands of servers and dacs I had recently purchased the Holo Audio May KTE dac over enthusiasm and testimonials however several months later i am disappointed with the May KTE , I am just learning now I’m not completely alone with my disappointment with Holo Audio .

Speaking for myself one major attribute playback has to be able to reproduce is the human pitch , the more realistic the human timbre this being reproduced gets my attention over anything else during playback, the Aquarius does this very well .

I have another month with the Aquarius before it goes to its new owner , I’ll have more to say .

If selling the Aquarius, which DAC are you keeping? I’ll be sticking with mine for the foreseeable future as it’s the best I’ve used to date.

 

[Palyodgree]

If selling the Aquarius, which DAC are you keeping? I’ll be sticking with mine for the foreseeable future as it’s the best I’ve used to date.

A few months ago on a whim I borrowed the flagship Rockna WaveDream dac and Net server something i couldn’t realistically think of owning they being completely out of my set budget. I was quite familiar with Rockna’s sister company AudioByte which also produced the human pitch to a more realistic level then the Holo May KTE dac I replaced it with .
Over the past several months I’ve been working toward making that purchase possible and it will take a little more time in the meantime I needed a another dac , I was looking at something used when I came across SoundNews review of the Aquarius and here I am .

I belong to a small group of semi local music enthusiasts our systems range from midteir to horrendously expensive, I’m not in that category however our common interest we share is music then the components we prefer to play it through be it vinyl or both vinyl and digital.

The Holo May KTE dac is a very good dac ,there are certain attributes about the May that the Aquarius can’t match however what the Aquarius has over the May is it’s ability to sound more realistically with speaking and vocal tone and timbre.

Anyone looking for a darn good dac for the money even at 3K the Aquarius i highly recommend you borrow for a good long listen in your own system or just buy it you won’t regret it .

 

[Matthew Willims]

Ah, that makes sense. The Wavedream is meant to be an incredible unit.

 

[Matthew Willims]

Well, I can now definitely say that the Aquarius when combined with the Gustard U18 and AfterDark Emperor Double Crown is an end game DAC for me. Just spectacular performance though it has certainly exposed the weaknesses in my system. Basically the ability to reproduce deep impactful bass though to be fair that’s normal for open baffle speakers. What is there however is incredibly expressive.

End result: I’ve new Lii Song Fieke S6 back loaded horns on the way as well as a sub. I will get the best from this DAC.

 

[JeffMann]

I have a number of questions.

Question number 1:

How does one actually determine the optimal setting for one's i2s connection? I get the impression that one should just listen to music being played while one cycles through a number of options (? 8 options) by pressing the phase button. Then the instructions state that one should stop when one obtains the "desired sound". What represents the desired sound, and what happens when more than one choice is OK and not frankly distorted? Which one should one choose?

Here is a link to a you-tube video produced by Alvin of Vinshine Audio related to the Denafrips DACs.



It would seem that one should confirm that the phase and left-right orientation is correct for both PCM and DSD signals.

How does one do that with the Musician Aquarius DAC?

Question number 2:

The instructions state that one should not connect two headphone amplifiers to the DAC via the XLR and RCA connections at the same time even if the one headphone amplifier is off. That is inconvenient if one runs two headphone-based audio systems off the same DAC. What effect does it have on the sound quality if one does connect another headphone amplifier to the RCA output if that amplifier is off while the XLR connected headphone amplifier is operating?

Jeff.

 

[Matthew Willims]

Hey Jeff, see below my answers (accurate to the best of my knowledge) to your questions

Q1: You cycle through until you get a sound free of distortion where left and right channels are not swapped. I’ve noticed no real sonic differences between settings on the Musician DAC, there are differences on my Gustard U18 though.

Q2: These instructions are merely for best possible performance. If you’re happy with the degraded sound using both then feel free to do so. It won’t hurt anything. You may not even notice a difference. Try and see, otherwise get an RCA switch like those made by Beresford.

Cheers

Matt

 

[JeffMann]

Hey Jeff, see below my answers (accurate to the best of my knowledge) to your questions

Q1: You cycle through until you get a sound free of distortion where left and right channels are not swapped. I’ve noticed no real sonic differences between settings on the Musician DAC, there are differences on my Gustard U18 though.

Q2: These instructions are merely for best possible performance. If you’re happy with the degraded sound using both then feel free to do so. It won’t hurt anything. You may not even notice a difference. Try and see, otherwise get an RCA switch like those made by Beresford.

Cheers

Matt

Do you do that i2s cycle test using both PCM and DSD signals? How many i2S options are available? What happens when you get two (or more) i2s cycle choices where the sound is free of distortion and where the left and right channels are not swapped? Which one is really the best option?

Jeff.

 

[Matthew Willims]

Do you do that i2s cycle test using both PCM and DSD signals? How many i2S options are available? What happens when you get two (or more) i2s cycle choices where the sound is free of distortion and where the left and right channels are not swapped? Which one is really the best option?

Jeff.

I don’t have a any DSD content so it’s a moot point. I’ve a PCM left/right channel test thanks to Qobuz. There’s quite a few settings so i can’t see you having an issue.

 

[Matthew Willims]

Ok, I found I can set upsampling in Roon to DSD so I’ve been able to test with both PCM and DSD. Left and right channels are correct.

 

[Palyodgree]

I can confirm the Aquarius i2s input is plug and play with PS Audio and Rockna . An audio acquaintance buddy whom borrowed my Aquarius told me his PS Audio Direct Stream servers i2s worked with the Aquarius.
I use Rockna WaveDream Net server , I use i2s exclusively though it is Rockna’s proprietary designed output most owners of Rockna produc line use over the other digital outputs.
Similar with manufacturers or home builders using specially or proprietary designed USB input and output boards in their product line as opposed to off the shelf USB board , this alone makes a big difference in sound performance.
I have another dac coming from Switzerland for home audition , the Merason 1 with i2s input compatible with the more popular PS Audio and Rockna pin outs .

Though there are a number of very good performing dacs which I’ve had in my systems over the past couple years my Aquarius has not yet left the stable .

 

[JeffMann]

Ok, I found I can set upsampling in broom to DSD so I’ve been able to test with both PCM and DSD. Left and right channels are correct.

When you run through the i2S setup choices, how many options are there and how many of them produce a clear sound quality without distortion? Of those that produce a clear (undistorted) sound, how many have incorrect left-to-right orientation or out-of-phase issues with PCM and DSD?

Jeff.

 

[sajunky]

I use Rockna WaveDream Net server , I use i2s exclusively though it is Rockna’s proprietary designed output most owners of Rockna produc line use over the other digital outputs.
Similar with manufacturers or home builders using specially or proprietary designed USB input and output boards in their product line as opposed to off the shelf USB board , this alone makes a big difference in sound performance.

I don't understand a second paragraph. Rockna USB in Wavedream is proprietary, but based on the Amanero Combo386, drivers use Amanero installation program, so I guess it is a fully licenced hardware/software implementation. How to make a judgement on superiority over off the shelf original Amanero module? It can be true in the case of pirated copies, XMOS also comes to my mind, it is sold in numbers without drivers and OEMs are responsible for purchasing drivers.

Enjoy your DAC, I am pretty sure that I2S on DI-20HE will also connect, it is PS-Audio compatible. Recommended addition.

 

[Palyodgree]

I don't understand a second paragraph. Rockna USB in Wavedream is proprietary, but based on the Amanero Combo386, drivers use Amanero installation program, so I guess it is a fully licenced hardware/software implementation. How to make a judgement on superiority over off the shelf original Amanero module? It can be true in the case of pirated copies, XMOS also comes to my mind, it is sold in numbers without drivers and OEMs are responsible for purchasing drivers.

Enjoy your DAC, I am pretty sure that I2S on DI-20HE will also connect, it is PS-Audio compatible. Recommended addition.

The Audio Gd is another great performing R2R dac , I didn’t say Rockna use a proprietary designed USB board ,.

 

[Palyodgree]

My apologize for off subject , mentioning Audio Gd their latest entry intregrate the Master 9P line , the 9PS and 9PN ,stands for smooth or neutral models ,.I don’t own the Susvaras however I wonder how they would sound being driven by this beautifully built amplifier and at under 2k you gotta have a look.

I wouldn’t get rid of my 300 B amplifier for the sake of just wanting a more appropriate amplifier to drive the Susvaras though maybe a totally revised Susvara model will be rolled out soon that’s much more amplifier friendly .

 

[JeffMann]

I now have an Aquarius DAC. When setting up the i2s connection for my CD-transport, I have found that 4 of the 8 options have the correct left-right channel orientation. So, which of those 4 options is the perfectly correct choice?

Jeff.