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Denafrips DAC owners - how did ownership compare with the hype?

Yeah. It was a good experience to hear it first hand but I’ve since found myself with a Minidsp SHD which is excellent. Its neutral, and with DSP it’s able to sound as the artist intended in my room. :)

I only changed from the DSPeaker AM 2.0 because I wanted four outputs rather two given I have 2 subs and stereo mains, so it allowed me to put the bass where it behaves the best and provide the mains with the critical stereo image.
 
Re: skip fix, I asked Alvin:

I've bought the Oppo 203 and Cambridge Audio CXC. DENAFRIPS engineers are working on this. I have a strong feeling that the long overdue FPGA firmware update will fix the problem.

Enjoy the music! ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♭ ♮ ♯
 
They have been saying that for +18 months. I did two firmware updates that they led me to believe would sort the problem and were waste of time. The last one actually made things worse. That's when I jumped ship. Sad because I loved the sound in between the skips.
 
To be fair, in my case the skips were pretty rare, and I don’t recall it ever happening with the JA so it’s more of academic interest for me. I hope they do fix it, though, just to put this to rest (since it must impact their sales to an extent)…
 
The whole point of this thread is how did ownership play out compared to the glowing reviews. You had to buy an expensive new transport to get your Venus to work properly and I got rid of my Venus just shy of a year in because I didn't want to. Had I know about the problem I wouldn't have bought it in the first place but there were no reports of the issue before my purchase. And I read/watched countless reviews. If a manufacturer makes something thats faulty, sales should suffer if they don't sort things to the customers satisfaction. I though I was being more than fair in giving them close to a year to fix the problem. I'm greatful they took it back and I didn't loose much, but had I tried to sell it, disclosing the problem wouldn't have helped the sale price. I still think it's a great sounding DAC but wouldn't recommend it without a Jay's Transport - which by all accounts, works just fine.
 
To be fair the Venus II worked almost perfectly with the CXC, except rare micro-skips (varied between one per disc to one every few discs played) and they were pretty subtle in that I often wondered if I’d imagined it!
 
I've owned a Holo Audio Spring level 2 R-2R DAC.
It was OK. I quite enjoyed listening to it.
But I can't say I subscribe to the 'I can never go back to a non R-2R DAC' school of thought. I went back without a qualm.

I'm currently using an old school, ancient digital tech Theta DAC that cost about 20% of what the used Holo set me back.
I haven't done a back to back comparison, but I feel quite confident in saying that I prefer the Theta.
 
It's a Theta DSPro Prime.

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It shows my W4S DAC1 the door quite handily.

Other recommendations? I'd be happy to try other Theta's.
Over the past few years I've really enjoyed Lexicon MC-1 and DC-1. Currently using an MC-1 in my 2nd system. Not the last word in resolution or transparency, but somehow very musically involving. I have a spare sitting on my shelves, I keep meaning to try it in my main rig but haven't gotten around to it yet.
 
With all the usual caveats, my set-up, my room(s), my ears, etc., in case it's useful to anyone - I'm currently enjoying an Ares II. In different locations I use Quad ESL 57s and full-range single MAOP drivers, both of which sound better to me with a powered sub-woofer adding some weight. I was slightly surprised to have to crank up the sub with the 57s as soon as I tried the Ares II. Less so to have to crank this one up even more with the Frugel-Horns when I got back home. The net effect is still very pleasing, so if you're auditioning the Ares for the first time be aware that the slight absence of bass can be compensated for, and the clearer mids and highs are well worth it, imo.
 
davidjt said:
if you're auditioning the Ares for the first time be aware that the slight absence of bass can be compensated for, and the clearer mids and highs are well worth it, imo.
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It's interesting you say that. One of the first notable impressions I had of the Holo DAC was that it had an awful lot more weight and sounded warmer. I used EQ to get it back to where I liked it and it sounded largely the same. I concluded it was because now the signal wasn't exclusively within the domain of the DAC itself and had been fettered with, but there is of course the entirely reasonable question - are the audible differences between DACs more to do with presentation than quality? I'm using a MiniDSP SHD now, and beyond the output control (I now have four rather than two, meaning I can EQ both mains and subs independently) its sounds pretty much the same as the DSPeaker Dual Core 2.0 AM before it. One of the best and worst measuring DACs on ASR head to head, both of which sounding great if you asked me and ending up putting the Holo in third place (although it also sounded great if you ask me too, so there's that!) :)
 
I've heard that the Pontus has more weight, and since like Wilde I can resist anything except temptation, I'm about to find out. :D
That's how impressed I was by the Ares. Determined not to add an Iris, for the time being anyway.
As for ASR - no comment!
 
davidjt said:
I've heard that the Pontus has more weight, and since like Wilde I can resist anything except temptation, I'm about to find out. :D
That's how impressed I was by the Ares. Determined not to add an Iris, for the time being anyway.
As for ASR - no comment!
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I already have the Denafrips Iris 12th (ddc) for my Ares II 12th (with July 2023 firmware) which improves the SQ...I love both!

I want more of the Ares so today I ordered the new Denafrips Pontus II 12th-1 and I'll use it with the Iris 12th (ddc).

music source=Apple music

My mixed use setup:
 
The Pontus II broke me away from my trusted Benchmark DAC2 HGC. The Iris boosted it further.

More recently, it's been surpassed by the T+A DAC200 and Weiss DAC204, so I'm getting ready to sell it so that someone else can enjoy it.
 
The Pontus II impressed me so much that I succumbed to a s/h Iris DDC sooner than expected, and the combination has turned out to be my 'end-game' source. It brought my whole system to life and had the same effect on the holiday set-up - the old cliche 'source first' turned out to be true after all, in that differences between amps and speakers took a back seat, just tinkering at the margins. I was too busy enjoying the music to bother.
(I have wondered occasionally whether a purpose-built streamer would improve on a laptop+Fidelizer+the Iris, but as I no longer feel I'm missing anything, there's really no incentive to investigate. Likewise, reviews of the new Linkwitz LX521.4 are intriguing but it's impossible to imagine a worthwhile return on investment. The urge to splurge produces a handful of used cds instead.)

As I still had the Ares it seemed worth doing the firmware update when it became available and I was really impressed by the difference it made, taking it very close to the Pontus in my set-up.
 
davidjt said:
The Pontus II impressed me so much that I succumbed to a s/h Iris DDC sooner than expected, and the combination has turned out to be my 'end-game' source. It brought my whole system to life and had the same effect on the holiday set-up - the old cliche 'source first' turned out to be true after all, in that differences between amps and speakers took a back seat, just tinkering at the margins. I was too busy enjoying the music to bother.
(I have wondered occasionally whether a purpose-built streamer would improve on a laptop+Fidelizer+the Iris, but as I no longer feel I'm missing anything, there's really no incentive to investigate. Likewise, reviews of the new Linkwitz LX521.4 are intriguing but it's impossible to imagine a worthwhile return on investment. The urge to splurge produces a handful of used cds instead.)

As I still had the Ares it seemed worth doing the firmware update when it became available and I was really impressed by the difference it made, taking it very close to the Pontus in my set-up.
Click to expand...
I was quite impressed with the Pontus II myself, such that I reevaluated my goal for "accurate" music playback. The Benchmark DAC2 HGC that I'd been using is exceedingly detailed and accurate, but ultimately the Pontus II was more fun, and that was my goal in my music listening.

FWIW, if I were working in a studio, then I would still prefer the Benchmark. It's a far better DAC for that situation, even though it sounds rather clinical.

I impulsively added the Iris, skeptical as whether it would make a difference. I was quite surprised at how much more musical and fluid it made the Pontus II. Where it had been a bit rambunctious, the Iris made it communicatively engaging.

FYI, I was never able to get a suitable cable to do I²S between the two units, but AES/EBU worked really well.
 
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