Hinted by the AURALiC during the festive season on its socials, the Aquila X3 features a full-width enclosure with a sleek, modern appearance. This is topped off with a 14-inch touchscreen display and modular architecture, enabling you to customise and upgrade it over time.

At the heart of the Aquila X3 is AURALiC's proprietary Tesla G3 streaming platform supported by Direct Data Recording (DDR), galvanic isolation and many other technologies. Meanwhile, the firm has also developed a new software interface alongside LightningCast, AURALiC's next-generation multi-room streaming protocol, integrating with Lightning DS, TIDAL Connect, Qobuz Connect, AirPlay II and more.

Connectivity is also abundant on the Aquila X3 with its base configuration including Ethernet and WiFi, two Toslink inputs, one Coaxial input, USB Audio ports (USB-B at the rear and USB-C on the front), HDMI eARC, USB 3.0 for external storage, and a built-in CD transport.

From here, you can tailor the device to your specific needs with optional digital and analogue output modules. The analogue output module incorporates AURALiC's latest proprietary Fusion DAC Gen II, Integrated LEO Clock, ORFEO Class A output module and ORFEO passive analogue volume control. Additionally, an optional analogue and phono input module allows for flexible signal processing, offering an analogue-only signal path or onboard ADC functionality for recording and processing via the Tesla G3 platform.

Internal storage can also be augmented by up to 8TB  via NVMe solid-state memory.

The Fusion DAC, first introduced in the G2.2 series, combes the strengths of the discrete ladder and Delta-Sigma DAC architectures. This unique approach bypasses many standard DAC chip functions, including the PLL, digital filters, and oversampling circuits, replacing them with AURALiC's proprietary technologies for clock reconstruction, digital filtering, and oversampling. This only uses the precise switching network of the DAC chip for digital-to-analogue conversion, delivering superior accuracy and sound quality. However, AURALiC tells us that it has engineered the Gen II hardware to achieve lower distortion and noise levels while extending the dynamic range, ensuring a cleaner and more immersive audio experience.

Fusion DAC Gen II also retains the Clear and Mellow sound profiles of the Tone Mode Control and expanded upon it with two new parameters: 'Richness' and 'Texture'. The 'Richness' parameter influences the tonal warmth and body, ranging from neutral to lush and full-bodied. Meanwhile, the 'Texture' control allows you to adjust the level of detail and clarity of the sound from ultra-smooth to highly detailed.

Power comes from AURALiC's latest Variable-Frequency External PSU, which is said to utilise "Class AB regeneration technology" with up to 400Hz user-selectable regen frequency. The promised result is clean AC power generated to feed into linear power modules, thus eliminating EMI noise and contamination from the power grid.

This technology begins with a low-noise transformer to convert mains AC into DC voltage. A Class AB amplifier, driven by a low-distortion sine wave clock source, reconstructs a pure AC power signal. The amplifier, designed with a high Power Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR) and limited bandwidth, filters out contamination while amplifying only the required signal frequency. A coupling transformer eliminates noise and unwanted harmonics, creating a power source immune to grid instability and contamination, says AURALiC.

The configurable modules are not the only thing that brings customisation to Aquila X3. For the first time in AURALiC's product line, you can fully customise the device by choosing from trim colours, including Jet Black, Space Grey, and Titanium Gold, with surface panel options of aluminium plastic, solid walnut wood, natural slate, and marble.

Furthermore, the surface panels are designed to be easily interchangeable, allowing you to ensure the Aquila X3 seamlessly complements your home décor, from traditional to contemporary.

Xuanqian Wang, founder and chief designer of AURALiC, told StereoNET:

Back in 2017, we required multiple separate enclosures to achieve this level of technology. Now, we've integrated everything into a single, beautiful unit with even better performance and sound quality. The Aquila X3 is also the reason we made the decision to cancel the G3 product line. With this newer style and exceptional value, we felt it was important to launch our new flagship under the 'X' series instead of adhering to the previous design philosophy. Aquila X3 embodies everything we envision for the future of AURALiC.

Each unit is custom-built to order, and you can design and visualise your configurations using a tool on AURALiC's website.

Starting at US$14,999 (approximately €14,499 / £11,499, excluding VAT and taxes), the Aquila X3 will be available through AURALiC's premium dealers beginning in late March, with product available through select retailers in the UK and Europe from April.

Visit AURALiC for more information