"Upgradeability – many manufacturers claim it, few really deliver. Aqua is among the few that really do make upgrades available in the form of circuit boards that can easily be retrofitted to older products.
The La Scala mkII DAC may well hold the sweet spot in the Aqua DAC lineup. It gives away very little compared to the Formula xHD, costs less and adds an utterly seductive touch of tube magic."

Christiaan Punter
HIFI ADVICE

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"While I'm not quite ready to sell my analogue gear, La Scala MkII is a fantastic product whose warm sonic embrace I can't imagine anyone in their right mind describing as "digital". It does have a sound though: It's wonderfully musical, inviting, enveloping, and entrancing."

Ola Björling

AUDIOSTREAM
"You can not do much better! The La Scala Optologic is one of the best DACs I have ever heard." (translated)

Christian Möller
AUDIO Magazine

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CES 2018: Stereophile Binaural Video Reports
"Excellent Sound"

John Atkinson - Stereophile
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"Yea what he (and I) said! The Aqua Formula joins the rarefied air of music making DACs that shatter digital's glass."

Michael Lavorgna

AUDIOSTREAM
"The great thing about the Formula xHD DAC is that it offers unprecedented purity and all the advantages of the aforementioned R2R designs and adds to this all the dynamic power and drive that I could ask for, while totally avoiding imposing any character onto the sound."
"But in the end all the technology in the world means nothing if it does not distil into great sound. Fortunately, after having heard the Formula xHD DAC, I can testify that this DAC is truly magnificent!"

Christiaan Punter
HIFI ADVICE
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Christiaan Punter of HIFI ADVICE: “WOW”, this is a seriously great DAC!
The "Greatest Bits”, new award for the Formula DAC
"This is a very natural sounding converter with excellent transparency and a musical fluency that makes you want to close your eyes and escape into the music."

"The Aqua has the power to get to the parts that others fail to reach."

Jason Kennedy
Hi-Fi+

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Jason Kennedy | HI-FI +: “The Aqua has the power to get to the parts that others fail to reach.”
"The Formula does. So it pays to study its recipe in detail. It really is something else."

Srajan Ebaen
6MOONS

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Formula DAC 6MOONS Blue Moon Award
"In its Optologic incarnation, the La Scala MKII cements further its position at the very top of the DAR-KO DAC Index and DAR-KO Award assignation becomes as easy as it has ever been. In a word, primo!"

John H. Darko
DIGITAL AUDIO REVIEW

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The new La Scala MKII Optologic awarded by John Darko
LA DIVA CD TRANSPORT & LA SCALA MKII DAC review by Leo Yeh - MY-HIEND >
LA DIVA CD TRANSPORT & LA SCALA MKII DAC review by Jürgen Saile - HIFISTATEMENT >
LA DIVA CD TRANSPORT & LA SCALA MKII DAC review by Audio Art >
"Put my name down too on this growing list of outspoken admirers for the Aqua Hifi La Scala II!"

Srajan Ebaen
6MOONS

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The Mono and Stereo Upper Echelon Product Award
"The Formula xHD DAC encompass THE very attributes of 21st century high-end audio digital replay with the "set of skills", that were unthinkable few years back. I'm talking about sound quality without even entering the price point."

Matej Isak
MONO & STEREO

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"Aqua Acoustic Quality’s Formula xHD is an extremely fine-sounding DAC whose warmth and ability to decode files of extremely high resolution should win it many admirers. Many will also applaud its designer’s rejection of digital filters, oversampling, upsampling, and MQA."

Jason Victor Serinus

Stereophile - June 2018

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Jason Victor Serinus | Stereophile: “Formula xHD is an extremely fine-sounding DAC”
"The best sound at CES—indeed one of the best sounds I’ve heard at a trade show— it was worth coming to Vegas just to hear this system. "

Jonathan Valin
The Absolute Sound

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The Absolute Sound: The best sound at CES
"His heart is certainly an extremely sophisticated electronic system.

The most important thing is the sound, and about it Aqua shows something that - regardless of price - few DACs will be able to repeat."

Tomasz Karasiński
StereoLife

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New Award by StereoLife
"The Lamm room had a big, bold and sensual sound"

Peter Breuninger

AV Showrooms

View the video >
"For the past year and a half, my reference digital-to-analogue converter of choice has been the Aqua Acoustic Quality Formula xHD. It remains spell-binding, a source of constant pleasure and musical satisfaction
It has that uncanny sense of purity and natural ease, a stress-free listenability that simply gets me closer to the music, and this not merely for a digital component. The xHD is capable of resolving the finest dynamic gradations, the slightest nuance of a musician’s unique touch, pressure and feel in the most human and, therefore, analogue of ways."

Peter Katsoolis
SoundStage Australia

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Formula xHD by Peter Katsoolis | SoundStage Australia
"Stupefacente digitale"

Andrea Della Sala
Giulio Salvioni

AUDIOGALLERY

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Audiogallery #13 | Audiostar
"Ladder to Heaven"

"The enchanting naturalness is surely what will resonate for the longest in my long-term auditory memory, long after the test device has left my listening room. The Aqua Formula xHD really taught me a lot. And this experience will have implications. I want the master-tape feeling back!"

Michael Vrzal
Fidelity International Magazine

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Formula xHD by Michael Vrzal | Fidelity International Magazine
"Italienische Lebendigmacher"

Josef Bruckmoser
image hifi

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La Diva - La Scala MKII Optologic by Josef Bruckmoser | image hifi
HIFI ADVICE: The sweet spot in the Aqua DAC lineup
AV Showrooms: Gold Show Award
The Rocky Mountain 2019 International HiFi Press Awards have been announced:
aqua acoustic quality Formula xHD | The winning DAC
The Formula xHD receives the International HiFi Press Awards RMAF 2019
Jeff Dorgay : Aqua’s La Scala II is one of digital’s finest.
"It only takes about 60 seconds to figure out that the LaScala is incredibly special. A rare treat, indeed"

"Having spent a lot of time with many of the world’s finest DAC’s, the Aqua has become an instant favorite."

www.tonepublications.com/MAGPDF/TA_099 >
La Scala  |  PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
"This is one of the finest DACs we’ve had the privilege to use at any price"

Jeff Dorgay | TONEAudio "Product of the Year"

https://www.tonepublications.com/MAGPDF/TA_100.pdf >
The Formula xHD | PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
The Formula xHD | PRODUCT OF THE YEAR "Outstanding Performance"

Peter Katsoolis | SoundStageAustralia

www.soundstageaustralia.com
"Every single detail of the mix is delivered through the Aqua LinQ into whichever DAC you choose to use with it, and it’s a sound you’ll find yourself listening to repeatedly, just to hear those little nuances in Dylan’s near-spoken vocals."

Andrew Everard | Hi-Fi News

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LinQ |  Award by Hi-Fi News

The musical bridge
Formula xHD Rev. 2
Positive Feedback 2020 Brutus Award
"I was taken by its sense of presence, its presentation of detail without being "analytical" or cold, and its ability to handle huge swings in dynamics. The no filtering/no oversampling plus FPGA is showing itself to be a powerfully credible approach to digital sound reproduction…I'm very impressed."

Dr. David W. Robinson | Editor-in-Chief Positive Feedback

Positive Feedback 2020 Brutus Awards >
“In my opinion, the Aqua LinQ is nothing less than a milestone product. It is the absolute best network endpoint that I have heard and I enthusiastically recommend an audition.”

Christiaan Punter  |  HFA Hifi-Advice

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LinQ |  HFA Award
“It is revealing without being trying, lush but not bloomy, and above all capable of captivating musical sound”

”MAGICAL EXPERIENCE
It’s simply magnificent.”

Review: Andrew Everard | Lab: Paul Miller

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THE YEAR'S FINE PRODUCT  |  Hi-Fi News
Formula xHD Rev. 2
La Scala MkII Optologic | BEST BUYS AUDIO & AV
"The Aqua La Scala DAC is a handsome, high-end unit with what’s arguably an idiosyncratic approach to digital-to-analogue conversion, one that requires a high-end level of attention to make work. The proof of Aqua’s success is that musically, the La Scala is in every way first-class."

Read the full review >
“It’s almost as if the streamer is stripping away everything that isn’t music and presenting the DAC with the signal alone with precise yet fluent form that sounds so right it’s uncanny.”

”In short, I want one!”

Jason Kennedy | Hi-fi+


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LinQ and La Scala |  Hi-Fi +
“Aqua takes the Competion to the Cleaners”
"DER MISSING LINQ"

Von Michael Vrzal | FIDELITY


Read the full review (German) >

Read the review (English translated) >
FIDELITY No. 57 with the LinQ Core
Awards and Reviews
Positive Feedback 2022 Brutus Award
Final notes on the aqua Formula xHD Rev. 2 DAC
"In my estimation, the aqua Formula xHD Rev. 2 is one of the relatively rare, front-rank, world-class DACs…and I've heard a fair number of them over the years."
"It's definitely on my top o' the heap list…."

Dr. David W. Robinson | Editor-in-Chief Positive Feedback

Positive Feedback 2022 Brutus Awards >
"If you are still committed to the compact disc, Aqua Audio’s La Diva transport and Formula xHD DAC is the loveliest combination I’ve had the pleasure to listen to. Period."

Jeff Dorgay | TONEAudio


Read the full review >
DIGITAL PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
and the Magazine Cover!
"This is a genuine high end streamer at a not very high end price and a strong contender for our best of the year winners selection"

Jason Kennedy | The Ear  -  Read the full review >
The Ear: LinQ receives the "Editor’s Choice Award"
La Diva M2 | HFA Award
"The La Diva M2 retains all the aspects for which I feel that the CD format still has the edge. These include the unequaled free-breathing sense of flow, the more organic imaging, and a superb level of refinement and air. Along with this, the M2 brings a newfound level of richness and tonal saturation and considerably wider and deeper soundstaging, compared to the original La Diva."

Christiaan Punter  |  HFA Hifi-Advice

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FIDELITY AWARD 2022: Innovation!
"But not only existing customers profit from the additional efforts that Aqua has invested in La Scala, because even those who do not yet own one of the noble Ladder DACs can be convinced by the Italian qualities." (TRANSLATED)

Philipp Schneckenburger
EINSNULL

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La Scala | StereoNet APPLAUSE AWARD 2023
"This DAC offers all of the benefits of a resistor ladder design then adds in some tube-type warmth and a well-designed output stage to deliver a stellar sound."

Craig Joyce | StereoNet

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"Unlike many other manufacturers, Aqua does not bulk up, but relies on a relatively light construction that is nonetheless mechanically solid and a delight to the touch - the basic operation via toggle switch on the device alone is a show in itself. In order to fully exploit the Redbook format, Aqua components communicate with each other via I2S. The result is an incredibly lively, open style that belies bitrate number games and leaves the majority of streaming setups behind." (TRANSLATED)

Michael Vrzal - Read more >
FIDELITY AWARD 2024: Superior!
SoundStage! Australia Products of the Year Awards 2023
"There’s no disputing the excellence of the CD format even in these days of high-resolution streaming which can stretch to multiples beyond the Redbook standard’s humble 16-bit/44.1 kHz. In fact, a sizeable percentage of experienced audio enthusiasts still rate the CD as the sonically superior digital format.
The Aqua Acoustic Quality La Diva M2 is at the vanguard of the CD format’s purest principles. It’s a transport only, which allows mating to your DAC cocktail of choice with its own concoction of flavours. Its disc-spinning mechanism’s excellent design will precisely read the pits and flawlessly dispatch an undistorted flow of data to its DAC destination."

Edgar Kramer, editor in chief of SoundStage! Australia

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"The Aqua Acoustic Quality LinQ Network Player, Diva 2 CD Transport, and Formula DAC possess a naturalness and realism that make them sound different, and in many ways better, than other digital. ....
If you’re in the market for a digital front end, these exceptional products from Italy should be on your shortlist. They made an indelible impression on me, and I suspect that they will on you, as well. "

Read the full review >
Robert Harley, editor in chief of The Absolute Sound
"Aqua's concept is hard to grasp if you haven't seen the amazing LinQ from the inside. Slots are still free for future expansions, and the Italians are already working on a "squeezebox" module.
This makes Aqua's LinQ unquestionably one of the most intelligent network players on the market at the moment." (TRANSLATED)

Michael Vrzal - Read more >