![]() ![]() Before I move on to sound impressions, let’s unbox this bad-boy and see what’s inside.Īquarius came in the mothership of all boxes I was already expecting a heavier unit, but seriously now, there aren’t small and lightweight R2R ladder DACs due to their complicated layout and number of internal components. Musician Aquarius goes for $2899 so far this is their statement unit, so I’ll prepare an in-depth look for it. In some ways, Aquarius has an unlimited potential and I can’t wait to tell you more about it. This is overkill in every possible way, spotting an outstanding power supply design, the best-in-class audio-grade capacitors, high-precision femto-second clocks, two FPGA chips and for the first time: Four R-2R ladders in a fully-balanced configuration using only hand-picked and highest grade 0.005% precision resistors. With Aquarius, this team wanted to express their genius, crafting a high-quality converter with the best components they had on their hands. But today…is a much cooler day, as I will be testing their best of the best, their Magnus Opus and crème de la crème. At this very moment, Musician Draco is the most affordable true R-2R ladder DAC there is, with balanced and single-ended outputs, equipped with every possible digital input, there is nothing that is competing with it at only $685 and I mean it. One year later, they added not one, but two additional converters in their portfolio, challenging the notion of entry-level one last time and firing alarming shots into the high-end R2R crowd. ![]() I say only because with R2R, that is actually an entry-level price. Their first-born Pegasus R-2R ladder DAC seriously impressed me with its clever component selection, good power supply implementation, high-quality resistors and outstanding sonics at only $1100. When Musician Audio came into existence last year, they wanted to completely alter that formula, bend to their will a decades long wrong preconception and I truly believe they succeeded. The biggest problem is that a high-quality R-2R unit with little to no compromises starts at around $3000 and everything below that point, seriously lacks precision and resolution. There is almost something for every pocket. There are plenty of R2R DAC manufacturers today, from affordable units like Audio-GD, MHDT Labs, Schiit Audio, Denafrips, Metrum, Border Patrol and Soekris, to mid-level devices like Holo Audio, CAD, LessLoss, TotalDAC, Lampizator, Mojo Audio and then to high-end units like Rockna, MSB Audio, Aries Cerat, Audio Note, CH Precision and others. There is something that is unmeasurable even by the world’s best Audio Analyzers and I can’t put my finger on it. Don’t get me started with piano or cymbals, those are hard to be replicated with such devices and it’s a child’s play with R-2R units. ![]() While chip-based delta-sigma and FPGA software-defined DACs already caught and sometimes surpassed the resolution and dynamic range of R-2R DACs, they never could replicate their long-lasting aroma, natural textures, smooth decays, beautiful overtones and simpler things like reproducing the pitch of the human voice. ![]() I’m fascinated by all those technologies and that is the reason I will always have at least an FPGA multibit, delta-sigma and an R-2R ladder DAC in my house no matter what. When transistors came to conquer the world, they wanted to replace vacuum-tubes for the same reason…but did they actually succeed in approaching or surpassing their masters? There isn’t an easy answer… for some it’s a strong Yes, for others it’s solid No. When delta-sigma D/A converters came into existence, they wanted to replicate the sound of well-thought R-2R ladder DACs at a fraction of the cost. That deep, velvety smooth, indulgently sweet aroma reminiscent of French patisserie and a long-lasting aftertaste can’t be confused with your average $10 bottle of whisky. Ah…the sound of a high-quality R2R DAC after a sea of chip-based Delta-Sigma converters feels like tasting an aged single malt whiskey for the first time. ![]()
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