Aqua La Scala MkII on Windows 11: excellent DAC, unacceptable driver support
I know I am not very active here.
As a matter of fact, the only forum where I am regularly active is diyaudio.rs, where I am a kind of moderator.
However, I want to share this experience with more people, because I think it may be relevant to anyone considering an Aqua La Scala MkII, especially if Windows 11 USB use is part of the plan.
I have just bought an Aqua La Scala MkII Optologic DAC.
First, let me be completely fair: the DAC itself is excellent. Even with stock tubes, it is a seriously good sounding machine.
In my system it fits very well, and that is exactly what makes the whole situation more frustrating.
My intended use is with a general-purpose Windows 11 PC. I am not buying a separate server, streamer, bridge, transport, or another computer just to work around a driver problem.
This PC is my normal computer and I want it to remain that way.
The problem is the USB driver. The available Aqua driver does not work properly under current Windows 11 security policy.
The driver can be installed only by booting Windows in a special way and temporarily disabling driver signature enforcement, but after a normal reboot/shutdown Windows blocks it again.
The other working solution is to disable part of Windows driver security.
In other words, the DAC can be made to work, but not without a workaround or without weakening Windows security.
In earlier emails today, the Aqua representative (Cristian) told me that the driver is correctly signed and that, in their experience, it works perfectly on Windows 11 systems.
Later today, I was also told that Windows 11 includes native USB Audio Class 2.0 support and therefore does not strictly require external drivers!
On my system, that is not true in practical use.
Without the Aqua driver, the La Scala MkII is not available as a normal usable Windows system audio output.
With the legacy Aqua driver, Windows 11 blocks the WDM audio part under current Driver Policy / Application Control.
JRiver can use the Aqua ASIO path, but Windows system audio does not work normally unless the WDM part is accepted — and that required weakening Windows security.
Tidal and Spotify doesn't recognise just USB, they need actual driver.
So this is not a theoretical audiophile preference about whether a dedicated streamer sounds better than a PC.
This is a basic functionality issue: USB input and Windows system audio through the official driver.
Before buying this DAC, I contacted Aqua and provided the serial number of the exact unit.
They confirmed that it was a legitimate La Scala MkII Optologic unit, upgraded by Aqua in Italy in 2017.
They also confirmed that it was eligible for the MkIII upgrade and gave me the price for that upgrade.
That was actually my plan: buy a used MkII, then pay Aqua for the MkIII upgrade later.
So this was never about trying to get anything for free.
After I confronted Aqua with the driver problem and the inconsistency between "the driver works perfectly on Windows 11" and the fact that on my actual Windows 11 Pro system it is blocked, the answer changed.
I was then told that my unit is a "legacy La Scala unit of 2015", that it was bought second-hand, and that if I require a certified, fully optimized Windows 11 driver, the solution is to upgrade the unit to MkIII specification.
That answer is deeply problematic to me.
First, the secondary-market argument is irrelevant.
Driver support is a platform support question, not a warranty ownership question.
The USB interface either has current Windows 11 driver support, or it does not.
Second, reducing this to "your unit is from 2015" is misleading.
This is not about the production year of my individual DAC.
It is about the La Scala MkII USB driver itself.
To the best of my knowledge, La Scala MkII remained the current La Scala platform until the MkIII transition around beginning of 2025.
That means someone could have bought a La Scala MkII from a distributor's shelf much more recently than 2015, possibly even close to the MkIII transition.
Just less than year and a half ago.
If that customer uses the same MkII USB driver on a current Windows 11 system (and he must as there isn't another one to choose), the situation is the same:
either compromise Windows driver security, avoid normal Windows system audio over USB, or pay for the MkIII upgrade.
Third, Aqua's suggestion that I should invest in the MkIII upgrade because it uses a modern driver architecture is exactly the point.
I was already planning to do that. I had already discussed that with Aqua before buying the DAC.
But after this experience, why should I trust that the new driver architecture will not become obsolete again before the next generation appears?
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The practical timeline is this:
I contacted Aqua before buying the DAC.
I gave them the serial number.
They confirmed the unit was legitimate and had been upgraded by Aqua to MkII Optologic specification.
They confirmed that MkIII upgrade was possible and gave me the price.
I bought the DAC.
I discovered that the available MkII USB driver does not work normally under current Windows 11 security policy.
Aqua first told me that the driver is correctly signed and works perfectly on Windows 11.
Aqua then (about half an hour later) told me that Windows 11 native USB Audio 2.0 support means the external driver is not strictly required.
In my actual use, that did not solve the problem.
Aqua then shifted the discussion to the unit being old, second-hand, and "legacy".
Aqua then suggested a paid MkIII upgrade as the solution for a certified, fully optimized Windows 11 driver.
After that, my attempt to reply by email was rejected/blocked, so I could not send my final response directly.
I have the emails saved, including the earlier correspondence before purchase, if anyone wants to verify the sequence.
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This is the reply I could not send:
Hello Cristian,
I must respond very directly to your last message.
First, your statement that my goal is "to find a solution that does not involve any financial investment on my part" is unacceptable.
I did not ask Aqua for a free MkIII upgrade.
I did not ask Aqua for free hardware.
I asked for a functional, current Windows 11 driver for the La Scala MkII USB interface, or for a clear confirmation that Aqua does not provide one.
Trying to present this as if I am asking for something for free is a cheap way to discredit me instead of addressing the technical problem.
You should be ashamed of using that kind of argument.
Second, please do not hide now behind the fact that the website may not explicitly state Windows 11 compatibility.
That is not what I am referring to. I am referring to your own email, where YOU wrote:
"In our experience, on our Windows 11 systems, the driver works perfectly."
You also wrote that Windows 11 includes native support for USB Audio 2.0 and therefore does not strictly require external drivers.
On my system, that is not true in practical use.
Without the Aqua driver, the La Scala MkII is not available as a usable Windows system audio output.
With the legacy Aqua driver, Windows 11 blocks the WDM audio part under current Driver Policy / Application Control.
The only way to make it work was to weaken Windows driver security.
That is not "works perfectly".
Third, your attempt to reduce this to "a legacy La Scala unit of 2015" is misleading.
The issue is not the production year of my individual DAC. (Btw, You have upgraded it to mkII standard in year 2017 according to earlier e-mail you sent to me.)
The issue is the La Scala MkII USB driver itself.
To the best of my knowledge, the La Scala MkII remained the current La Scala model until the MkIII transition around 2024/2025.
That means a customer could have bought a La Scala MkII from a distributor's shelf in early 2025, and in 2026 Aqua's answer to that customer would effectively be: "you should have bought something else if you wanted drivers appropriate for the time of purchase."
That is the real issue.
Whether my personal unit was made in 2015 or 2017 or whether another MkII unit was bought new-old-stock in 2025 does not change the technical fact:
the official MkII USB driver is not accepted by current Windows 11 security policy without compromise.
Fourth, the secondary-market argument is irrelevant.
Driver compatibility is not a warranty ownership question. It is a platform support question.
The USB interface either has current Windows 11 driver support, or it does not.
Fifth, I find your proposed solution deeply problematic.
You are suggesting that I invest money into a MkIII upgrade in order to get a modern driver architecture.
That is exactly what I originally intended to do, and it is one of the reasons I bought this unit.
This is also documented in our earlier correspondence, where I clearly explained that I was planning to buy a used MkII unit and then pay Aqua for the MkIII upgrade.
But after this experience, why should I trust that this new driver architecture will not become obsolete again before the MkIV is even released, just as the MkII USB driver appears to have become obsolete before the MkIII transition?
That is not a confidence-inspiring upgrade proposal. That is a warning sign.
The practical situation is now very clear:
Aqua first told me that the driver works perfectly on Windows 11 systems.
Aqua also told me that the driver is correctly signed.
Aqua then pointed me to a website where only older Windows operating systems are listed.
Aqua then stated that my unit is a legacy 2015 unit.
Aqua then suggested a paid MkIII upgrade as the way to obtain a certified, fully optimized Windows 11 driver.
On my actual Windows 11 Pro system, the MkII driver only works as a normal system audio device after weakening Windows security.
So please do not change the meaning of your own previous statements.
In an earlier email you told me that the driver is correctly signed.
Later, when the problem became clear, the discussion shifted to the fact that the website does not list Windows 11 compatibility and that a certified, fully optimized Windows 11 driver requires the MkIII upgrade.
Those two positions cannot both be presented as if there is no problem.
If Aqua does not provide a current WHCP-certified Windows 11 driver for the La Scala MkII USB interface, then say so clearly.
Best regards,
Mladen
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To summarize my position:
The DAC itself is excellent.
That is not the issue.
The issue is that the official MkII USB driver does not work normally on my current Windows 11 Pro system without weakening Windows security, while Aqua first presented the driver as signed and working perfectly on Windows 11, then later framed the solution as a paid MkIII upgrade.
I find that unacceptable from a high-end manufacturer.
If the official position is simply: "La Scala MkII USB is supported up to Windows 10 only; certified Windows 11 support requires the MkIII hardware upgrade," then that should be clearly stated.
That would have been honest.
Instead, I received shifting explanations, a suggestion that I was trying to avoid paying, and finally my email reply was rejected/blocked.
The real problem is not the driver anymore. The real problem is that after inconsistent technical explanations, he implied I was trying to get something for free and then blocked my email so I could not respond.
�
That is why I am posting this publicly.
As said, the real problem is not the driver anymore. The real problem is that after inconsistent technical explanations, he implied I was trying to get something for free and then blocked my email so I could not respond.
Blocking a customer after accusing him of trying to avoid payment is not technical support. It is damage control when faced with own inconsistencies.
