OK, I took a punt on a Venus II - couldn't justify the cost of a Terminator, and just knew that I'd eventually regret not pushing past Pontus II. It just arrived, and I set it up a short while ago.
Bearing in mind that it has just travelled for a couple of weeks from Singapore, and into a completely cold system (which I haven't used for a couple of days due to doing other things), and allowing for the fact I just plugged it in, didn't faff with the IsoPucks or anything - it's sounding pretty good already. Different, rather than obviously better than the Brooklyn/LPSU, quite dramatically so. So far I only tried my trusty "Mock Tudor" CD by Richard Thompson, and since I know this recording intimately, every nook and cranny, anything new or different (or indeed, missing or wrong) will be very obvious. There's clearly a bit more detail, and a slightly different presentation in space (for the round-earth folks), a definite 'ease' about the sound which might be otherwise described as 'analogue', and if nothing else changed from this I'd not be disappointed. But it is meant to change quite a bit over the first few hours, so we'll see where it goes. If there's a drawback it's the lack of a display - I used to like watching the meters on the Brooklyn - but it's a beautiful chunk of a thing, impeccably built and stands comparison to my amp in terms of build (as far as I can see). FTR I am using everything on default right now, so no idea if that's NOS or OS etc. I'll worry about that later. Whether it's worth the extra over Pontus II or Ares II, I'll not be able to tell, having not heard either, but I am not unimpressed with it thus far.
My plan is now not to rush back here in an hour to report on progress, but to give it casual listening over the next week and see how/if things change. And to confirm, the VAT-paid price via Vinshine Audio was totally straightforward, no additional costs to report. I was even able to pay in GBP (and saved about £20 in the process).
