Aqua Audio LaDiva CD transport and Formula xHD DAC

If you are still committed to the compact disc, Aqua Audio’s LaDiva transport and Formula xHD DAC is the loveliest combination I’ve had the pleasure to listen to. Period.

We currently use their LaScala DAC in system two with excellent results. Good as the LaScala is, this combination is an entirely different movie.

Long before the days of streaming, the Naim CD555/PS555 was our digital reference, and it was fantastic – but it played CDs and nothing else. Fortunately, you can add other digital sources (including Aqua’s excellent LIN Q streamer) to this stack and take care of everything digital but SACDs.

Much like vinyl is an old format refined to the hilt, I submit the same approach for the compact disc. The Aqua combination is liquid, lush, organic, and highly engaging. Where my other digital reference, the dCS Vivaldi ONE, resolves a bit more detail, the analog-like quality the Aqua pair provides feels more like listening to top-notch analog. There’s a little more tonal saturation, and It’s so inviting. If you’re of the maximum detail persuasion, it might not be for you, but this pair will fool you every time into thinking you just might be listening to a record. That’s the highest praise we can offer.

If you have an extensive collection of CDs that you have no intention of getting rid of and you want an end-game player, I can think of nothing finer.

www.aquahifi.com (mfr)

https://www.facebook.com/arcadiaaudiomarketing (NA distributor)