Also, it’s enough steps that adjustment isn’t an issue. A lot of the time even with 24 steps you dont have a ton of play sometimes with like 3-5 dB jumps between steps, but with the v590 its no worry at all
To some it may be. The v281 I have does not have the stepped pot and I never felt like I was missing anything so when I ordered a v550 I opted for the non pro, spending the @ 500 USD instead on cabling and power cord.
Also, there is a lot of chatter about the relay/noise from the stepped pot. I could see that “noise” normal or not eventually causing me grief, and I also prefer the finer level of adjustment so I opted for the non pro. It still has a remote and that is nice to have, though I don’t use it much in a desktop HP amp scenario.
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Never understood this, it clicks when you turn the volume dial, how often are you really doing that while listening?
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Having had a Shiit Freya +, I actually LOVED that clicky noise. I do agree though that you need at least 64 steps or 32 steps high/low gain to get meaningful micro volume changes in stepped relay implementations.
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I fiddle with the volume some while listening, especially when I’m in discovery mode and flipping through Amazon music or qobuz.
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I personalt change nearly every song
My new amp has a stepped attenuator, my first. The clicks are different, but they aren’t disruptive, or jarring or anything. I don’t have an issue with them.
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Would a Luxman P750u or Moon 430HA be a solid entry point pairing between this and LCD-24/Sus? Any other not terribly hard to find solid state recs in that range? Formula, I suppose.
Unfortunately I haven’t heard either, so I can’t comment, I think @M0N commented on the Luxman in one of the threads.
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Yeah, I saw the post on pairing the Luxman with the 4 flagships in the shit ranking, but don’t think it said anything about the La Voce pairing
I’d imagine it would be a good pairing, luxman’s generally are a big warm sound, the Aqua will move that back towards neutral some, but again I’m speculating.
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That was kinda my thought as well…still holding out hope @Towa will decide not to keep the LAu for now, haha
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You’re circling over Towa’s LAu like a hungry vulture, lol.
We all do it! 
haha, yep…was supposed to be the next stop on the Sumeet tour, so had high hopes of at least hearing it. can’t blame the guy, though, cause there’s a strong possibility that i’d keep it too
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Lol. My amp is a SA purchase that never left my desk. 
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I think so, the luxman would still lean more warm fun and forgiving whereas the moon is going to be more neutral slightly relaxed softer. I might rather go luxman over the moon but the luxman is a worse value considering what they cost in the us (unless you find a fairly priced used)
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Is there anybody who can comment on how the soundstage and presentation of La Voce S3 compares with Chord Qutest? I’m drawn to the description of Amber 3 concerning intangibles but La Voce S3 seems to be similarly voiced and has more inputs and SE + balanced outputs which is also important to me. I know Chord Qutest so any comparison with that would help me to get some idea on this. I may have an option on a used La Voce 3 but I’m not sure if it will cure my DAC upgraditis…
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I had a Qutest for a bit with a LTA MZ2…the sound stage had good depth but not much width. Overall had kind of a dry sound but nicely detailed. Not much “fun” though.
The La Voce S3 I had with a Formula S and it had great width and depth to stage. Had just a nice slight warmth tilt to it. I would guess that it would outshine a Qutest pretty well.
I upgrade from an yggy to la voce, and it was pretty noticeable change. I’d put the Qutest In between a bifrost 2 and yggy as far as detail retrieval. I really enjoyed the la voce overall, and highly recommend if you enjoy a no nonsense sound tilting a bit warm.
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Would agree with this for sure, it should be a pretty noticeable upgrade from a Qutest, not exactly similar signature as it leans a bit warmer and relaxed presentation in comparison but still reasonably neutral overall on it’s own. From a technical perspective overall upgrade, and more balanced in it’s technical ability as well. Big jump in resolution, more tonal density but still very well managed, more balanced between micro and macro dynamics while being an upgrade in both, better timbre, better spatial performance with better width and more depth leading to more accurate placement, blacker background as well. Impact and slam wise it is an upgrade but not as large, but great control over what it has. Speed and separation wise upgrade there for sure, and much more texture. I personally don’t really like how chord emphasizes/represents transients and contrast making things feel overdone, and I don’t get that sense on the aqua
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Thanks for the input. For the record, I have a BF2 at the moment but I was more impressed with Qutest in terms of soundstage. There was just something off in terms of tonality and how it pulled certain things to the back, a bit too artificial. I would like to keep on the warm side but improve on the soundstage (in short)
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