Gervais Cote
Predator
I am far from being a teenager but still like to crank up the dial from time to time.[/QUOTE said:Glad to see I’m not the only one ! Rock on!
Denafrips dacs
- Thread starter yuckyamson
- Start date
Heckyman
pfm Member
The problem for Willow Tree are the conditions from the brand.
Insufficient margin from the brand for normal service such as stock, demos, returns, credit card commissions etc. And no exclusivity.
In return, for the customer, a low price.
That's the deal with Denafrips. With a "normal" dealer support and network, the public price would probably be at least double what it is now.
Insufficient margin from the brand for normal service such as stock, demos, returns, credit card commissions etc. And no exclusivity.
In return, for the customer, a low price.
That's the deal with Denafrips. With a "normal" dealer support and network, the public price would probably be at least double what it is now.
Amber Audio
This is the Day
I’d have thought the lux would be competitive with the Denafrips? The DA-06 is of interest as it matches my Lux 590 and 500 kit. Seen quite a lot of discussion about Denafrips but not heard one yet, hopefully will get a chance sometime.
From quite a few reviews, the opinion seems to be that the Terminator is better than the Luxman and the problem is, I can't hear before any purchase.
Would you be interested in the DA 06 DAC?
Mac
Amber Audio
This is the Day
Maybe/Probably
Thing is I have a few DACs here doing a head to head at the moment, would need to move a couple on. Original plan was Aries G2 to DA-06 but the plan got derailed after the DA-06 I’d seen on a dealer site was already sold, I’ve now gone a different way, the OCD means I’d like more Lux kit so the power buttons match!Maybe/Probably
Ah I see, bet that was the same one I saw, from Audio Emotion? ended biting the bullet and buying a new one... that sh one is still on their site!
I will probably test the water with an asking price tomorrow, will let you know the outcome.
Still a bit worried on buying without trying first though.
Mac
Amber Audio
This is the Day
Yep AE, they are a pita not marking/removing sold items, not on their own though, tried to buy things from 3 other dealer sites only to get the already sold email, take it off the for sale page then ffs. GLWTS, they don’t come up often so hopefully it will sell quick. Must say never heard a negative thing about Denafrips.
I must admit I'm quite interested in the Denafrips DACs.
My problem is that my gut felling is that the Ares would be more of a sideways step from my current setup and the Pontus is probably the better option, and the furthest up their ladder that my budget would allow. However, I feel uncomfortable paying Pontus money for something I can't demo beforehand or ideally have a home trial of... I tried a Chord Qutest about a year ago and was able to return it after a week's home trial.
My problem is that my gut felling is that the Ares would be more of a sideways step from my current setup and the Pontus is probably the better option, and the furthest up their ladder that my budget would allow. However, I feel uncomfortable paying Pontus money for something I can't demo beforehand or ideally have a home trial of... I tried a Chord Qutest about a year ago and was able to return it after a week's home trial.
.Denafrips offer a 14 day money back policy, but the customer pays the return shipping to an office in Bulgaria. Not sure about shipping costs in the UK, but to return a Pontus from my base in Ireland to Bulgaria, including insurance is prohibitive to say the least. Would love to hear one, but the gamble is too great if I was to feel it is not to my taste
Shuggie
Trade: Ammonite Audio
I bought a Denafrips Ares II unheard, from Willowtree Audio in December. It took 250 hours of use to fully settle down, during which time its sound character changed for good and worse quite a bit, but once 'run in' it's pretty astonishing. Speaking as someone who does on the whole prefer vinyl, the Ares does sound rather 'analogue' with particularly good portrayal of tonal colour, and of acoustic spaces and timing. My experience of other DACs is limited, but musically the Ares II really does hit the spot and I certainly don't regret my purchase for a moment, given its reasonable cost. I can't imagine what the Pontus or Terminator models sound like, but I dare say that at some point I will be finding out.
Denafrips are proudly Chinese designed and manufactures and I do respect that - such a contrast with so many UK/EU/US makers that seek to hide Chinese manufacture using vague labelling.
Denafrips are proudly Chinese designed and manufactures and I do respect that - such a contrast with so many UK/EU/US makers that seek to hide Chinese manufacture using vague labelling.
Since the Terminator launched maybe 4 years ago they gave only issued one revised dsp board at a cost of about £120.
Recently they launched a Terminator + or suchlike which is effectively a new higher end dac. It costs a few thousand more.
nostromo
pfm Member
Just to add, the new Terminator II, Venus II and I think the Pontus II, all have new DSP boards and from just a visual internal look (because I'm obsessed), some of the Caps have been changed too. The Caps may be of a different type and look rather neat and 'serious' to me.
Thank you for informing me about the timeline for those updates for the Terminator.
Denafrips has labelled the most recent model of the Terminator as the "Plus", instead of as the "II". I wonder why precisely that is.
nostromo
pfm Member
Interesting. Maybe due to the new Caps? Some reviewers/owners have preferred the original Terminator I vaguely recall reading, which I found wierd, the comment made me wonder if they were fully sane, why would Denafrips release the plus if it was technically inferior.