Yulong Aquila II DAC and Headphone Amp Review

[Robbo99999]

I got a big problem with the price, I don't think I can take any DAC seriously if it costs $600, even if it's got a headphone amp (which happens to be a bit rubbish to boot!).

 

[pimy]

Yulong Aquila II DAC and Headphone Amp Review :

https://headfonics.com/yulong-da-art-aquila-ii-review/

 

[FireLion]

Thanks! That's somewhat of a disappointment. I like the looks but I listen with my ears, not my eyes. It doesn't have the ESS hump but then the intermodulation distortion is above that of the Topping DX7 Pro. Looks like it has less than half the power of the DX7 Pro, too. Unfortunate.

Martin

Isn't this double the power of the DX7 Pro?

@amirm how does it actually sound? Do you listen to music or just hook up the machine and look for specific readings.

Can you also explain what you mean by instrument grade? If these readings aren't audible then why not recommend it unless it be for specs sake from the tests you perform which is not telling me how it sounds.

Who are you aiming to market this to based on your findings a guy with a couple of headphones who loves music or some guy with a laboratory lol?

 

[pozz]

Isn't this double the power of the DX7 Pro?

@amirm how does it actually sound? Do you listen to music or just hook up the machine and look for specific readings.

Can you also explain what you mean by instrument grade? If these readings aren't audible then why not recommend it unless it be for specs sake from the tests you perform which is not telling me how it sounds.

Who are you aiming to market this to based on your findings a guy with a couple of headphones who loves music or some guy with a laboratory lol?

I'd note that nearly every measurement shows small flaws. Jitter tones show up even in the main graph.

The main thing is elevated noise compared to cheaper products. The SNR measurement for the DAC is an early indication, being just barely above SINAD, but the headphone outs show 10dB to 20dB worse noise than Topping products.

The conclusion of the review is clear: subjectively fine as long as you don't use IEMs, but for specs' sake there is better stuff out there.

 

[odyo]

This combo unit looks really good. Is there any competition to this unit around this price range ? I don't agree with Amir's subjective remarks. Also not measuring the balanced 32 ohm power output is not fair i feel.
ES9038PRO dac
32 ohm: 4w, 64 ohm: 3w, 300 ohm: 750mW.
Nice design, outputs, display etc. This seems great.
Any comment on ASRC vs Sync mode ?
It says analog volume control, how is the channel matching ?
How is 50mv performance ? What is the default gain ? Is it 6db with BAL out ?

Topping's all in one units are disappointing in terms of power output and price. Fiio K9 same. I find Yulong's Aurora and Aquila 2 interesting. Maybe not as good as something like a D10B+A30 pro stack but this is all in one.

 

[yandaex]

This combo unit looks really good. Is there any competition to this unit around this price range ? I don't agree with Amir's subjective remarks. Also not measuring the balanced 32 ohm power output is not fair i feel.
ES9038PRO dac
32 ohm: 4w, 64 ohm: 3w, 300 ohm: 750mW.
Nice design, outputs, display etc. This seems great.
Any comment on ASRC vs Sync mode ?
It says analog volume control, how is the channel matching ?
How is 50mv performance ? What is the default gain ? Is it 6db with BAL out ?

Topping's all in one units are disappointing in terms of power output and price. Fiio K9 same. I find Yulong's Aurora and Aquila 2 interesting. Maybe not as good as something like a D10B+A30 pro stack but this is all in one.

hmmm,ok the comments here are very interesting. Tbh as a Chinese, topping's reputation is pretty bad in China, yulong has a very good feedback and it outbeats topping easily. Ppl say that topping product's sound is quite analytical and lifeless. On the other hand, yulong's product has a much warmer tilt, therefore it's quite popular in China. Very interesting to see the comments both in Chinese websites and asr

 

[restorer-john]

hmmm,ok the comments here are very interesting. Tbh as a Chinese, topping's reputation is pretty bad in China, yulong has a very good feedback and it outbeats topping easily. Ppl say that topping product's sound is quite analytical and lifeless. On the other hand, yulong's product has a much warmer tilt, therefore it's quite popular in China. Very interesting to see the comments both in Chinese websites and asr

Interesting. The Yulong product looks way more attractive in my eyes, than anything Topping have produced.

 

[yandaex]

Interesting. The Yulong product looks way more attractive in my eyes, than anything Topping have produced.

yeah I meant it's very intriguing to see ppl having different opinions. Folks on asr prefer hifi sound, which are clean and analytical. But many Chinese hifier prefer warm sound more just to enjoy the tonality and music.

 

[Veri]

yeah I meant it's very intriguing to see ppl having different opinions. Folks on asr prefer hifi sound, which are clean and analytical. But many Chinese hifier prefer warm sound more just to enjoy the tonality and music.

What is "warm sound" though? Is it more (H2) distortion? Is it rolled off highs? Is it glowing tube valves that somehow make you associate the sound with warm-ness?