AQUA LA Scala at Mini CAF March 5th in Rockville, MD
- Thread starter KLH007
- Start date
nc42acc
New member
Welcome. This is a very bold statement. Can you elaborate more into the details that make you prefer the Aqua over the others?
Jack
Active member
Marty
I don't know about his statement about the La Scala's ranking with the other DAC's he mentioned, but I will tell you that the La Voce is a completely different listening perspective from the ESS based DAC's I have owned before so the La Scala should be too. For those who "need" DSD it is probably a non starter, but if you don't it is well worth a listen.
I don't know about his statement about the La Scala's ranking with the other DAC's he mentioned, but I will tell you that the La Voce is a completely different listening perspective from the ESS based DAC's I have owned before so the La Scala should be too. For those who "need" DSD it is probably a non starter, but if you don't it is well worth a listen.
I don't consider it bold in any way, just an honest comparison of what I have heard. I'll be happy to elaborate later in the week, it will take some time to write it all down.
nc42acc
New member
Looking forward to Mini CAF to hear for myself. I am also familiar with delta sigma vs ladder conversion. But I welcome your thoughts on the Aquas merits compared to the other DACs you mentioned. Thanks.
My system is in general 20 years old, with the exception of the Bryston CD player and a Bryston BDP-1. It is comprised of Thor Ta-1000 tubed preamp, CAT JL-1 Monoblocks , Genesis 200 speakers, all interconnects and wiring is XLO signature. I offer that only to “qualify” my bias, which I believe we all have in some form. I purchased the Bryston equipment based on reviews – which was in my opinion an error in judgment. I had and sold a Bryston BDA-2 Dac. I am looking for a Dac to replace my BDA-2 to allow for network streaming of digital files and to clean up the sonic characteristics of the Bryston CD player.
When I listen to any new piece of equipment I use the same discs as a basis for review, again you may be able to determine my sound bias by my disc list.
Roger Waters – Amused to Death
Rob Wasserman – Duets
Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather
Lou Reed – New York
Sarah McLachlin – The Freedom Sessions
Simon and Garfunkel - Bookends
I first tried a Devialet 400 (dual 200’s). I liked the possibility of replacing a lot of large equipment with a single product, but was wary of the limitations of future upgrades. That being said I liked the concept. Sonically the Devialet was too harsh. My wife had a hard time listening to it. The top end was bright to the point of being somewhat uncomfortable. My impression also was that the notes were like a bell curve with the ends clipped off. Sounds would appear FAST , exist, then instead of trailing off, they would disappear, just the very beginning and end. The bass was tight and in general the music was not colored, things were clear. Listening to Roger Waters – Amused to Death was pretty amazing- like being in a theater with large surround sound. Interesting and entertaining – but not what I’d want to live with. On Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather there was a song (believe it was Morning Glory) that I could hear the engineer bringing in the female vocals, clearly they were recorded at a different time because you could hear the hiss of the tape being cued up, the female vocals would exist then the hiss would die off. At first I thought I was imagining it, but after listening more, realized I could tell 100% of the time when the background vocals were being cued up. So I guess something can be said for the detail delivery of the Devialet. This was not replicated by any other Dac I have had in since. I now know it is there and I cannot hear it. I could not live with the Devialet, maybe as they offer firmware updates some of the things I did not care for will change.
I then tried the PS Audio Direct Stream with Network bridge and latest firmware. I read the reviews and expected a homerun. My wife described it as lacking in dynamics. My impression was the midrange and low end were very solid and pleasant and well presented. The top end though lacked “air” or detail. In non audio terms I likened it to listening to velvet or dark chocolate. Nice but too “rich”. I listened to both CD and Network delivered music (from PC based Jriver Server). Sound was the same from both so I eliminated my upstream equipment as the limiting factor.
Next in was the Berkely Alpha II. Aesthetically – it was certainly no home run, but figured I could live with the looks if I had to. No input for direct network so I used the BDP-1 and CD. It has two digital filters. The first was not very dynamic and I was not impressed. Overall I thought it was compressed and not worth the cost. The other digital filter though was a much better fit, and sounded pretty good. Dynamics top and bottom were brought out and I thought maybe I had a winner. Two days of listening though left me with the feeling that it was overall very polite, and the sound was a bit “neat” or tidy. All the detail and information was there, but it was lifeless. Nothing was bad per se, but it was not engaging. I was resigned to thinking maybe that was as good as it was going to get. Was digital really that flat? The Berekely came out and went back to the dealer. I did think perhaps I would return to it in the long run, it was not objectionable, just not what I had hoped for.
My long term CD and DAC are California Audio Labs units – Alpha and Delta. I stuck them back in my main system after the Berkely to get a renewed foundation of what I’ve been listening to for many years and while the ends of the spectrum were clearly not well defined the midrange brought back some of the body and texture I thought I had been missing. They are clearly not up to today’s standards but the sound was pretty amazing considering the age of the equipment. I continued the search.
Based on reviews and some communication with other owners I decided to try the MSB Analog with network renderer. The reviews have been great, the owners highly recommended and I thought – this will be it. It sits near the top of what I wanted to spend (mentally wanted to stop at $10K). So I arranged an audition in my system. Before going further I have to say that dealing with Vince at MSB was a pleasure. He was extremely courteous, helpful and willing to spend time with me on the phone. This alone put the MSB well above what I had heard to date. Like the Devialet , I liked the look and concept of the Analog. I was ready to fall in love. I spent about two weeks listening and talking to Vince, we discussed what I was hearing and he offered great suggestions on how to modify speaker placement to resolve, which helped but did not eliminate what I considered to be shortcomings of the Analog in my system. Top to bottom and in between ALL the data was there, very clearly presented without any introduced colorations what so ever. Certainly in that regard it was the best I had heard in my system. The shortcoming though was that the sound came from well behind the speakers and it hit a flat plane coming forward. My analogy was it was like looking through a perfectly clean piece of glass. Everything is there, but you cannot smell anything, there is no warmth or breeze. The involvement of the senses were missing, great sound, very clear and I must say the top end and base were TIGHT. Best bass I have heard from my system to date.
I gave the MSB a serious try, and thought maybe I’m just being too critical. Is it my problem perhaps and not the equipment? After all, each piece I have heard has had great reviews. There are most likely people reading this that think I’m way off base. Just go to the PS Audio forum and read the discussions. Reviewers called it a “game changer” I thought it was it was a huge mis-match for my system. I’d not have settled for it regardless of the cost. So- what now? I tend to trust my hearing and know I’m a tough sell. The upside to that though is I don’t live in the revolving door world of equipment swapping. I determine what fits and stick with it, happily for many years. The Bryston purchases were errors of judgment, which will not be replicated in the future.
Where to now, I read more and thought maybe the tubed units from Poland or France were the next step. I again spoke to or communicated with owners and they extoled the virtues of both companies and assured me that I was on the right road, but to listen to a brand new, unburned in unit, you are on the hook for full purchase price, shipping to and from and duties/customs fees should it be sent back. This is not a killer perhaps if you know what you want and have heard them, but based on my history, assuming the next one is a winner was not overwhelming.
This lead me to the Aqua La Scala, I was not aware of the company or the product. Some online reviews were very positive. I reached out to the distributor in VA and arranged to have one sent to me. I placed it in the system and immediately said – this is what I’ve been wanting and believing was possible. What the La Scala did was present a soundstage with depth and width. The speakers tended to disappear and music flowed. One of the characteristics I enjoy is getting the sense of “humidity” from a singer, when I believe they are there, that I can hear and feel their breath. It is a non-tangible definition perhaps, but I know the sound and it was missing up until now. I listened to Roger Waters – Amused to Death and sound filled the room. There were things coming from behind me- far from the right and left and from well behind the speakers. Unlike the Devialet presentation this was real; it was believable, not an illustration but real life sounds. I listened for about 10 days to the La Scala and commented to my wife that I have not thoroughly enjoyed my system to this extent in many years, so long I could not really recall. Vocals had depth and body, there was meat on the bone and I liked that. Now it was time to pick nits. Was this where I wanted to stop? To have this in the system for however many years to come? So I turned to critical mode, I thought the vocals were perhaps too tightly centered. They came from dead center of the sound stage, if two singers were there, they would have been coming from the same place, this was certainly a MINOR issue and maybe could be ameliorated by speaker placement or room treatment. Secondly the extremes, top end and bottom were not as tight or open as I have heard, here the MSB was top notch. If I could combine characteristics I’d take the extension and air of the MSB Analog along with the body and soundstage depth and width of the LaScala. I also received from the distributor the Aqua CD player – Diva, thinking maybe their own units would have a synergy that I was missing. Top and bottom end extension and clarity certainly improved but I lost some of the “body” I like so much from the Dac.
I sent both units back still believing there was possibly more out there. Upon shipping the Dac back and returning home I felt a sincere sense that maybe I had been hasty in my judgment. I knew that when I fired things back up I was not going to enjoy what I had there for the last 10 days – I was quite frankly sad it was gone. Feeling this sense of loss over shipping a component back was a first for me, something I was not prepared for. I may end up with a LaScala back in the system yet, I honestly enjoyed having it there and those nights that music filled my room, lights out was the best I’ve experienced.
My only suggestion is that you listen to the LaScala. If it is in your budget it might be a match. Some will seek the synergy of other makes, or place higher value on other characteristics that I do not value so much personally but I honestly think at the price point Aqua has a real winner.
I am in no way affiliated with the company or the distributor. I have no financial interest what so ever. I appreciated speaking with the distributor (Mark @ Well Pleased AV) and respect his style of doing business.
Sorry for the length – I don’t like writing that much let alone trying to explain what I hear – I find adequately defining my listening experience very difficult.
When I listen to any new piece of equipment I use the same discs as a basis for review, again you may be able to determine my sound bias by my disc list.
Roger Waters – Amused to Death
Rob Wasserman – Duets
Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather
Lou Reed – New York
Sarah McLachlin – The Freedom Sessions
Simon and Garfunkel - Bookends
I first tried a Devialet 400 (dual 200’s). I liked the possibility of replacing a lot of large equipment with a single product, but was wary of the limitations of future upgrades. That being said I liked the concept. Sonically the Devialet was too harsh. My wife had a hard time listening to it. The top end was bright to the point of being somewhat uncomfortable. My impression also was that the notes were like a bell curve with the ends clipped off. Sounds would appear FAST , exist, then instead of trailing off, they would disappear, just the very beginning and end. The bass was tight and in general the music was not colored, things were clear. Listening to Roger Waters – Amused to Death was pretty amazing- like being in a theater with large surround sound. Interesting and entertaining – but not what I’d want to live with. On Leonard Cohen – Dear Heather there was a song (believe it was Morning Glory) that I could hear the engineer bringing in the female vocals, clearly they were recorded at a different time because you could hear the hiss of the tape being cued up, the female vocals would exist then the hiss would die off. At first I thought I was imagining it, but after listening more, realized I could tell 100% of the time when the background vocals were being cued up. So I guess something can be said for the detail delivery of the Devialet. This was not replicated by any other Dac I have had in since. I now know it is there and I cannot hear it. I could not live with the Devialet, maybe as they offer firmware updates some of the things I did not care for will change.
I then tried the PS Audio Direct Stream with Network bridge and latest firmware. I read the reviews and expected a homerun. My wife described it as lacking in dynamics. My impression was the midrange and low end were very solid and pleasant and well presented. The top end though lacked “air” or detail. In non audio terms I likened it to listening to velvet or dark chocolate. Nice but too “rich”. I listened to both CD and Network delivered music (from PC based Jriver Server). Sound was the same from both so I eliminated my upstream equipment as the limiting factor.
Next in was the Berkely Alpha II. Aesthetically – it was certainly no home run, but figured I could live with the looks if I had to. No input for direct network so I used the BDP-1 and CD. It has two digital filters. The first was not very dynamic and I was not impressed. Overall I thought it was compressed and not worth the cost. The other digital filter though was a much better fit, and sounded pretty good. Dynamics top and bottom were brought out and I thought maybe I had a winner. Two days of listening though left me with the feeling that it was overall very polite, and the sound was a bit “neat” or tidy. All the detail and information was there, but it was lifeless. Nothing was bad per se, but it was not engaging. I was resigned to thinking maybe that was as good as it was going to get. Was digital really that flat? The Berekely came out and went back to the dealer. I did think perhaps I would return to it in the long run, it was not objectionable, just not what I had hoped for.
My long term CD and DAC are California Audio Labs units – Alpha and Delta. I stuck them back in my main system after the Berkely to get a renewed foundation of what I’ve been listening to for many years and while the ends of the spectrum were clearly not well defined the midrange brought back some of the body and texture I thought I had been missing. They are clearly not up to today’s standards but the sound was pretty amazing considering the age of the equipment. I continued the search.
Based on reviews and some communication with other owners I decided to try the MSB Analog with network renderer. The reviews have been great, the owners highly recommended and I thought – this will be it. It sits near the top of what I wanted to spend (mentally wanted to stop at $10K). So I arranged an audition in my system. Before going further I have to say that dealing with Vince at MSB was a pleasure. He was extremely courteous, helpful and willing to spend time with me on the phone. This alone put the MSB well above what I had heard to date. Like the Devialet , I liked the look and concept of the Analog. I was ready to fall in love. I spent about two weeks listening and talking to Vince, we discussed what I was hearing and he offered great suggestions on how to modify speaker placement to resolve, which helped but did not eliminate what I considered to be shortcomings of the Analog in my system. Top to bottom and in between ALL the data was there, very clearly presented without any introduced colorations what so ever. Certainly in that regard it was the best I had heard in my system. The shortcoming though was that the sound came from well behind the speakers and it hit a flat plane coming forward. My analogy was it was like looking through a perfectly clean piece of glass. Everything is there, but you cannot smell anything, there is no warmth or breeze. The involvement of the senses were missing, great sound, very clear and I must say the top end and base were TIGHT. Best bass I have heard from my system to date.
I gave the MSB a serious try, and thought maybe I’m just being too critical. Is it my problem perhaps and not the equipment? After all, each piece I have heard has had great reviews. There are most likely people reading this that think I’m way off base. Just go to the PS Audio forum and read the discussions. Reviewers called it a “game changer” I thought it was it was a huge mis-match for my system. I’d not have settled for it regardless of the cost. So- what now? I tend to trust my hearing and know I’m a tough sell. The upside to that though is I don’t live in the revolving door world of equipment swapping. I determine what fits and stick with it, happily for many years. The Bryston purchases were errors of judgment, which will not be replicated in the future.
Where to now, I read more and thought maybe the tubed units from Poland or France were the next step. I again spoke to or communicated with owners and they extoled the virtues of both companies and assured me that I was on the right road, but to listen to a brand new, unburned in unit, you are on the hook for full purchase price, shipping to and from and duties/customs fees should it be sent back. This is not a killer perhaps if you know what you want and have heard them, but based on my history, assuming the next one is a winner was not overwhelming.
This lead me to the Aqua La Scala, I was not aware of the company or the product. Some online reviews were very positive. I reached out to the distributor in VA and arranged to have one sent to me. I placed it in the system and immediately said – this is what I’ve been wanting and believing was possible. What the La Scala did was present a soundstage with depth and width. The speakers tended to disappear and music flowed. One of the characteristics I enjoy is getting the sense of “humidity” from a singer, when I believe they are there, that I can hear and feel their breath. It is a non-tangible definition perhaps, but I know the sound and it was missing up until now. I listened to Roger Waters – Amused to Death and sound filled the room. There were things coming from behind me- far from the right and left and from well behind the speakers. Unlike the Devialet presentation this was real; it was believable, not an illustration but real life sounds. I listened for about 10 days to the La Scala and commented to my wife that I have not thoroughly enjoyed my system to this extent in many years, so long I could not really recall. Vocals had depth and body, there was meat on the bone and I liked that. Now it was time to pick nits. Was this where I wanted to stop? To have this in the system for however many years to come? So I turned to critical mode, I thought the vocals were perhaps too tightly centered. They came from dead center of the sound stage, if two singers were there, they would have been coming from the same place, this was certainly a MINOR issue and maybe could be ameliorated by speaker placement or room treatment. Secondly the extremes, top end and bottom were not as tight or open as I have heard, here the MSB was top notch. If I could combine characteristics I’d take the extension and air of the MSB Analog along with the body and soundstage depth and width of the LaScala. I also received from the distributor the Aqua CD player – Diva, thinking maybe their own units would have a synergy that I was missing. Top and bottom end extension and clarity certainly improved but I lost some of the “body” I like so much from the Dac.
I sent both units back still believing there was possibly more out there. Upon shipping the Dac back and returning home I felt a sincere sense that maybe I had been hasty in my judgment. I knew that when I fired things back up I was not going to enjoy what I had there for the last 10 days – I was quite frankly sad it was gone. Feeling this sense of loss over shipping a component back was a first for me, something I was not prepared for. I may end up with a LaScala back in the system yet, I honestly enjoyed having it there and those nights that music filled my room, lights out was the best I’ve experienced.
My only suggestion is that you listen to the LaScala. If it is in your budget it might be a match. Some will seek the synergy of other makes, or place higher value on other characteristics that I do not value so much personally but I honestly think at the price point Aqua has a real winner.
I am in no way affiliated with the company or the distributor. I have no financial interest what so ever. I appreciated speaking with the distributor (Mark @ Well Pleased AV) and respect his style of doing business.
Sorry for the length – I don’t like writing that much let alone trying to explain what I hear – I find adequately defining my listening experience very difficult.
- Thread Author
- #9
BJP691, Are you still feeling withdrawal from the LaScala? It seems you had some of the TOP rated DACs in house, and the LaScala had you enjoying listening to your music instead of thinking about what was wrong. With a better fuse and Telefunkens you should find your winner in the LaScala from AQUA.
nc42acc
New member
Amazing review, outstanding. Your words took me into your experience of each DAC as you listened. Please keep us updated on where you ultimately land. Thank you.