Denafrips Ares II thoughts
- Thread starter cporton
- Start date
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
I wish Schitt did the 15 day home trial over here, as I would have probably bought one by now. I was close with a Yggdrasil Analog 2, but the support in the UK is no where near the level of the US for these.
Musicraft
Trade: Musicraft
£1900 is a lot of money however and relative to other products I’ve come across over the years the GAIA DDC offers superb VFM. The GAIA DDC’s ability to offer super clean digital streams to DAC’s and the subsequent increase in the performance of DAC’s is fabulous. The GAIA DDC should be priced at around £4K instead.
The GAIA DDC is along the lines of the audio equivalent of the Hubble telescope fix for digital signals feeding DAC's
The GAIA DDC enables DAC's to breathe freely and the result is that everything simply snaps into focus I think the GAIA DDC should be seriously considered a pre requisite for good quality DAC's
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
£1900 is a lot of money however and relative to other products I’ve come across over the years the GAIA DDC offers superb VFM. The GAIA DDC’s ability to offer super clean digital streams to DAC’s and the subsequent increase in the performance of DAC’s is fabulous. The GAIA DDC should be priced at around £4K instead.
The GAIA DDC is along the lines of the audio equivalent of the Hubble telescope fix for digital signals feeding DAC's
I think the GAIA DDC should be seriously considered a pre requisite for good quality DAC's
It's £1450 delivered including VAT and Duty, if you buy it direct from Denafrips, the 'Hermes' is a grand.
https://www.vinshineaudio.com/product-page/denafrips-gaia
Which at that price , seems reasonable in comparison with the price of the Innuos Phoenix. Although the Innuos has a better looking case, but at a grand cheaper, I'll take the GAIA's fugly box and hide it.
But stating something 'should be £4k', I call BS on that one
Now it sounds a bit to much like sales sales tactics. I am not convinced.The GAIA DDC should be priced at around £4K instead.
The GAIA DDC is along the lines of the audio equivalent of the Hubble telescope fix for digital signals feeding DAC's
I think the GAIA DDC should be seriously considered a pre requisite for good quality DAC's
I only use USB input which have the benefit of using the clock in the DAC which COAX, I2S etc does not. And for the price of a GAIA I can get for instance a LINK Streamer at £600 + 10 years of Roon subscript and I doubt that a DDC would improve the USB input significantly if at all.
The May replaces a Teak NT-505 which is a great product by the way but not up to the rest of my system (Gryphon Diablo 300 Integrated, Raidho XT-5 speakers)
one requirement was my new DAC should be discreate design. Goldensound's review was that tipped me over to get the May. And the good USB implementation was also a pro so no DDC is required
I was also considering the Mola Mola's Tambaqui DAC, which also has the benefit of being RoonReady but considerable more expensive. It will be interesting to compare the May DAC to FDAC.
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
The May replaces a Teak NT-505 which is a great product by the way but not up to the rest of my system (Gryphon Diablo 300 Integrated, Raidho XT-5 speakers)
one requirement was my new DAC should be discreate design. Goldensound's review was that tipped me over to get the May. And the good USB implementation was also a pro so no DDC is required
Heckyman has actually tried it with a May and said there was an improvement, he didnt just assume. but it could have been due to using a Mac Mini instead of a streamer.
For me, i feel assumptions generate pre-disposed bias much of the time. I might take the plunge for a Hermes unit direct from Denafrips as the cost would be fairly retrievable selling as used. I cant judge till ive tried it personally.
The Link streamer isnt that good without the adjoining Power supply, so the cost is more. Had one of those before. I would love a Mola Mola too but its just pricey in the end even when on the used market then they rarely come up.
JTC
PFM Villager...
Hahahahaha.... don't get your hopes up, FDAC will probably never happen. And I say this as a long-time supporter (who has given up on the whole thing).
In any case, I seriously doubt it would end up being as good as the new generation of DACs; maybe if it had come out when originally promised, but now? Nah.
Yes finding a used Mola Mola is almost impossible
But it is still on my list of DAC's I want to try.I use a HDPlex LPSU which I was not using anymore with my MiniStramer("The Link").
Heckyman
pfm Member
Good to see another May user on the thread!
If any DAC shouldn’t need a DDC, it would be the May. And I agree, it doesn’t “need” one. But if you just happen to have a very good DDC lying around like I did, you might still find you slightly prefer “with” rather than “without”. Depends on source, cables, rest of system, ears etc.
BTW, as someone mentioned Allo, I had USBridge sig + Digione sig and a selection of LPSUs (Shanti, DC3 with upgrades, Ciunas supercap ps, various batteries).
With USBridge, I found the Denafrips Iris DDC was better than the Digione Sig + PSU (and actually cheaper considering the PSU). The Hermes was slightly better than the Iris.
Stock Macmini M1 was quite a bit better than USBridge with all the bag of tricks, And much better than 2012 Macmini or 2011 MacBook Pro.
If any DAC shouldn’t need a DDC, it would be the May. And I agree, it doesn’t “need” one. But if you just happen to have a very good DDC lying around like I did, you might still find you slightly prefer “with” rather than “without”. Depends on source, cables, rest of system, ears etc.
BTW, as someone mentioned Allo, I had USBridge sig + Digione sig and a selection of LPSUs (Shanti, DC3 with upgrades, Ciunas supercap ps, various batteries).
With USBridge, I found the Denafrips Iris DDC was better than the Digione Sig + PSU (and actually cheaper considering the PSU). The Hermes was slightly better than the Iris.
Stock Macmini M1 was quite a bit better than USBridge with all the bag of tricks, And much better than 2012 Macmini or 2011 MacBook Pro.
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
I have an Innous Zenith coming next week on demo from a dealer.
So will be using that into the Aqua La Voce S3, into Prima Luna Evo400. With comparisons to my Naim ND5 XS2, which is currently the best network transport I have used, out of many.
If @Musicraft want to offer me a demo of the DDC, that would be well received, and I'll be very honest about what it does in the setup.
So will be using that into the Aqua La Voce S3, into Prima Luna Evo400. With comparisons to my Naim ND5 XS2, which is currently the best network transport I have used, out of many.
If @Musicraft want to offer me a demo of the DDC, that would be well received, and I'll be very honest about what it does in the setup.
nostromo
pfm Member
The May replaces a Teak NT-505 which is a great product by the way but not up to the rest of my system (Gryphon Diablo 300 Integrated, Raidho XT-5 speakers)
one requirement was my new DAC should be discreate design. Goldensound's review was that tipped me over to get the May. And the good USB implementation was also a pro so no DDC is required
That's a really beautiful HiFi system you have there (I'm happily jealous). The May also has the classy look to match it. I presume you find it lives up to its promises and that it's really bringing out the best from the rest of your very interesting system? I'm pretty certain the FDAC (if it happens) won't look as good as the May, but let's hope it's SQ is not too far away. FDAC vs May will be an amazing contest to hear about....when/if the time arrives please do it! I wonder if the Detox circuit will do some of the work of an external DDC.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
You still believe it will happen?
Musicraft
Trade: Musicraft
Just come across the latest review of Denafrips Terminator DAC
The Absolute Sound https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/denafrips-terminator-dac
"True to its name, the Terminator eliminated all the other DACs in my collection from serious competition. It is more dynamic and revealing than any DAC I know of at even twice its asking price. It’s fair to say that the Denafrips Terminator offers compelling musical reproduction of both PCM and DSD digital data at an attractive price point. The fact that its analogue output is direct and unbuffered, minus the sonic signature of either a solid-state or tube output stage, makes for a neutral sonic presentation. It is up to the end user to spice up the sound to his liking. A tube preamp worked well for me and may for you, if like me you’re after a vivid and dynamic midrange. A true reference and my favourite DAC for now."
I'll be back
The Absolute Sound https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/denafrips-terminator-dac
"True to its name, the Terminator eliminated all the other DACs in my collection from serious competition. It is more dynamic and revealing than any DAC I know of at even twice its asking price. It’s fair to say that the Denafrips Terminator offers compelling musical reproduction of both PCM and DSD digital data at an attractive price point. The fact that its analogue output is direct and unbuffered, minus the sonic signature of either a solid-state or tube output stage, makes for a neutral sonic presentation. It is up to the end user to spice up the sound to his liking. A tube preamp worked well for me and may for you, if like me you’re after a vivid and dynamic midrange. A true reference and my favourite DAC for now."
I'll be back
nostromo
pfm Member
Yeah... Fingers crossed... Later this year.
JTC
PFM Villager...
Nah, my money’s on never
flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
nostromo
pfm Member
No, I'm a neo-Darwinist trying to comprehend the fabulous universe with awe and positivity.Wow, do you believe in God also?