MUSICIAN DRACO III DAC R2R

The Musician Draco III is an R2R DAC designed to convert high-resolution digital streams into an analog signal, relying on a true network of resistors manually matched to a tolerance of 0.005%. Its algorithmic processing accurately reproduces musical information, while the R‑2R architecture promotes a natural, warm and balanced rendering. Compared to previous generations, the internal structure has been optimized and each element has been refined to improve the overall sound quality.

Musician Draco III: High-resolution decoding and extended connectivity

The Draco III supports PCM streams up to 1536 kHz via USB and I²S, while the optical, coaxial and AES inputs accept signals up to 192 kHz. For DSD, the USB and I²S inputs allow decoding up to DSD1024, whereas the optical, coaxial and AES inputs support DSD64 in DoP64 format.

This connectivity brings together the USB, I²S, optical, coaxial and AES digital inputs, then distributes the converted signal to a pair of balanced XLR outputs or a pair of single-ended RCA outputs. The RCA and XLR outputs must not be used simultaneously: even when one output is disabled, the signal may continue to be transmitted to it, and using both outputs together may degrade sound quality. For optimal integration, the XLR output is preferred with a balanced amplifier.

Musician Draco III: I²S compatibility and automatic mode selection

The I²S input offers eight adjustable modes to cover the majority of compatible devices on the market. The appropriate mode is determined according to the connected device, without manual configuration of the Draco III pins. In the absence of sound or in the presence of noise, simply switch to the next mode; when no noise is audible, the connection is considered compatible and the setting can be retained.

The front panel indicators allow the various parameters to be monitored: PHASE indicates the phase setting, OS/NOS indicates the oversampling mode, while FILTER corresponds to fast or slow filtering. The DSD_L/R and I²S Cable Sequence Selection functions respectively control the order of the DSD channels and the I²S cable sequence; the COAX + OPT indicators lit simultaneously indicate the USB update mode.