[Matthew Willims]

Don't know if you saw, but Synergistic Research is running a buy-2-get-1-free promo through April...

Yeah, already took advantage of that

 

[JeffMann]

D1000 is a better sounding unit to my ears. More body and naturalness. Basically a combination of the best traits of the Aquarius and my previous Abbas Audio DAC 2.2SE, but with better frequency extension, body and impact. It just does everything right. My Aquarius was posted to its new owner yesterday. I’m sure they’ll enjoy it as it’s still one of the very best DAC’s I’ve had the pleasure of running. It’s just the D1000 is the very best I’ve ever run. The downside though is that it takes 2x fuses so upgrading to SR Purple was an expensive proposition. Worthwhile nonetheless

From where does one purchase this DAC and how much does it cost?

Are there any independent reviews?

Jeff.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

From where does one purchase this DAC and how much does it cost?

Are there any independent reviews?

Jeff.

Ali Express is the only place I've seen it for sale. It varies greatly in price depending on vendor. I'm a bit nervous about buying one because it's literally advertised as a direct copy of a Rockna Wavedream.

 

[Matthew Willims]

Ali Express is the only place I've seen it for sale. It varies greatly in price depending on vendor. I'm a bit nervous about buying one because it's literally advertised as a direct copy of a Rockna Waveform.

Aye, a near exact copy of the Rockna Wavedream. Due to that I can’t really recommend it and will not review it. Still the most impressive sounding unit I’ve ever heard though.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Aye, a near exact copy of the Eockna Wavedream. Due to that I can’t really recommend it and will not review it. Still the most impressive sounding unit I’ve ever heard though.

Wavedream, yes. I get those two transposed in my head. Fixed.

I just can't justify spending that kind of money on something their proud of claiming to be stolen technology. At least Musician is a bit more covert about it.

 

[Matthew Willims]

Wavedream, yes. I get those two transposed in my head. Fixed.

I just can't justify spending that kind of money on something their proud of claiming to be stolen technology. At least Musician is a bit more covert about it.

Musician isn’t stolen tech at all. Denafrips never ever developed their own product. They contracted an OEM to design and build their product. The same one as Musician. As for the D1000 that’s for each individual to decide. If I ever win the lottery I’ll be purchasing a genuine Rockna Wavedream but until such time they’ve not really lost a sale as it’s waaaay beyond my means.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Musician isn’t stolen tech at all. Denafrips never ever developed their own product. They contracted an OEM to design and build their product. The same one as Musician. As for the D1000 that’s for each individual to decide. If I ever win the lottery I’ll be purchasing a genuine Rockna Wavedream but until such time they’ve not really lost a sale as it’s waaaay beyond my means.

True enough - and I'm not knocking Musician (I own two Pegasuses (Pegasii?). Anyway, how much better would you say your D1000 is versus the Aquarius? like 20% better, or is it a night-and-day difference?

 

[Matthew Willims]

True enough - and I'm not knocking Musician (I own two Pegasuses (Pegasii?). Anyway, how much better would you say your D1000 is versus the Aquarius? like 20% better, or is it a night-and-day difference?

It's more of the night and day variety difference. It has all the fine detail of the Aquarius but with the body, sound staging, impact and musicality of a DAC such as my previous Abbas Esoteric Audio DAC 2.2 SE. Basically a goldilocks DAC which just gets everything right. Moving from the Abbas to the Aquarius I was able to appreciate the improved fine detail, incredible transient response and better extension in treble and bass but I lost the weight to the sound, naturalness and musicality of the Abbas. Likewise treble detail is smoother than the Aquarius making it more palatable, yet fine detail is far superior in the midrange and bass regions. The D1000 combines both though without ever sounding in any way coloured. It has musicality in spades. It's just so cohesive and natural in the way it presents things that I doubt I'll ever want for another DAC.

 

[htluc808]

D1000 is a better sounding unit to my ears. More body and naturalness. Basically a combination of the best traits of the Aquarius and my previous Abbas Audio DAC 2.2SE, but with better frequency extension, body and impact. It just does everything right. My Aquarius was posted to its new owner yesterday. I’m sure they’ll enjoy it as it’s still one of the very best DAC’s I’ve had the pleasure of running. It’s just the D1000 is the very best I’ve ever run. The downside though is that it takes 2x fuses so upgrading to SR Purple was an expensive proposition. Worthwhile nonetheless

Hi Matt, can you share what fuse value is (assuming slow blow and small) required for the D1000? I have a unit on the way and wanted to get proper aftermarket fuse(s) to start the burn in process concurrently. Did you mention 2 fuses required and not 1 I saw on the back of the unit?

Thanks a bunch.

 

[Matthew Willims]

Hi Matt, can you share what fuse value is (assuming slow blow and small) required for the D1000? I have a unit on the way and wanted to get proper aftermarket fuse(s) to start the burn in process concurrently. Did you mention 2 fuses required and not 1 I saw on the back of the unit?

Thanks a bunch.

2x 1A fuses

 

[htluc808]

2x 1A fuses

Thank you, Matt. Much appreciated.

 

[Matthew Willims]

Once you install don’t take back out. The end cap pulls off the Purple fuses due to the way the fuse holder works. A way to waste expensive fuses

 

[swcng2001]

I was given an opportunity to audition the Aquarius, however, I have not been able to connect it to my SOtM SMS200-ultra/txUSBultra combo. I run JRiver (MC 29) on a Mac mini. Has anyone tried this? In my case JRiver will try to play a track but stops after a couple of seconds. Any suggestions on how to solve this will be much appreciated. I think the SOtM does not recognise the Aquarius.

Stephen

 

[al2813]

I know this is a thread about the Musician DAC, but reading the thread today I bumped into Matt's glowing comments of the Accurate Audio so had to check it out. i see that when launched in 2019 the DAC cost $1000. Aliexpress now shows a 3000+ EUR price for this DAC (granted 21% VAT is included in this price). So not so cheap any more.....

 

[sajunky]

IIt was

I know this is a thread about the Musician DAC, but reading the thread today I bumped into Matt's glowing comments of the Accurate Audio so had to check it out. i see that when launched in 2019 the DAC cost $1000. Aliexpress now shows a 3000+ EUR price for this DAC (granted 21% VAT is included in this price). So not so cheap any more.....

It was Pegasus (still selling), not Aquarius. If you want something less expensive, look at the Audio GD R-8MK2, around $1700. This is the best value for money at the moment. If you want below $1000, there model R-1 $900.