I’m not sure if I will jump on this upgrade- most likely will wait to hear from others as to the results as I really haven’t used my MKII since purchasing a Lampi TRP3. I’ve heard that the upgrade will run just over $3K USD and your dac will have to be sent back to Italy for the work to be done. New MKIII models are supposed to ship around late Jan early Feb 2025. I’ve attached a link to a video from Elite Audio with a review of the press release. La Scala MKIII Upgrade- Elite Audio
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I've only had my MKII Optologic for about 4 months and early on felt it was a very good match for my system. It is a component that I could live with for quite a while. Aqua offers two upgrade options. They also offer to trade in for an entirely new MKIII unit. That is enticing but I tend to agree with Designsfx to wait for feedback. At present I'm early into tube rolling the 12AT7 and have 3 variants to audition with a 4th to be shipped. If this Telefunken ECC801S I'm currently listening to with only 20 hours on it is any indicator, there are tremendous gains in performance with the addition of one tube. If any LaScala owners have not opted to experiment with a tube variant, they likely are missing out on performance possibilities they practically currently own. At this early junction I'm actually wondering if the MKIII offers as much benefit as a simple outstanding tube match.
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I've been using a Mk II for 2 1/2 years, and am firmly in the camp of believing that the upgrade would represent diminishing returns. To be clear, I am very happy that the DAC is modular, and that it provides upgrade options, but at the same time, I am hard-pressed to believe that the upgrade might produce significantly better sound. |
