advertisement


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

tuga said:
Apparently Denafrips DACs are not NOS, which may actually be a good thing (depending on who you ask):

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/62872-denafrips-dacs-might-not-actually-be-nos/
Click to expand...

Funnily enough it was this that tipped my choice towards the Holo Spring 3, as it does really NOS. My logic was that if NOS was desirable then having the real thing would be most desirable, and something like HQPlayer would be able to feed a better version of OS anyway. I didn’t expect it to be that significant, but y'know...

Back in the real world having spent a bit of time with it (and HQP with all it's variations) I just prefer plain old NOS as it comes straight from the DAC - to me, it sounds more real and there is no sense that it is soft, rolled off or in some way a compromise. Sometimes tubes can give up a bit of detail (although they give an awful lot more back, so we’ll worth it in my experience) but this doesn’t feel like a trade off at all.
 
Last edited:
Latest review of the Terminator II DAC :)

Btw, and fwiw we currently have in store Ares II, Pontus II, Terminator II, IRIS DDC and GAIA DDC as well as DAC's from dCS, PrimaLuna and EMM Labs/Meitner Audio and Kinki Studio Audio's EX-M1+, EX-P27, EX-M7 and EX-B7's -

 
Last edited:
simon g said:
Why not try an Audio Note DAC? That would be a proper tube DAC, rather than 'tube like' (whatever that's meant to be)

For me, these Denafrips DACs represent a substantial risk. They are definitely 'du jour' but I've seen that hype before; flare brightly and die. Asking those who bought if they regret the sale will mostly elicit a negative response, whether it's a DAC or anything else. There's also the herd mentality aspect; many buy just to be 'part' of something (but they'd never admit that)

On top of all that and a significant risk; what do you do if the unit goes wrong? Return to China presumably? All those capacitors; plenty to fail there. Component quality is also a concern; spec drift and component variability is a common problem with Chinese kit.

A comment above about real music reproduction lays with R2R DACs is clearly nonsense. The music reproduction from my system is sublime; not an R2R ladder in sight. What about all the other non R2R based systems out there? Are they all not producing real music? Tosh of the first order; pure hyperbole.
Click to expand...

I don't often rise to the bait but this needs challenging. First the background.
I owned an Ares2 for a year, sold it for 90% of what I paid due to price increases and the success of the Ares2.
I now own a Pontus 2. I was happy with my Ares2 but wanted to try I2S connectivity and meant moving on to the Pontus2. The sound is better, not hugely but it is better. At this point I should say I'm a vinyl guy, I love vinyl but here's the thing there are a significant number of albums that on my system sound better streamed via Qobuz because of poor pressing or simply too many tracks.
So back to the quoted post. Simon I am intrigued as to how you came to view there's substantial risk, if you could please expand that would be helpful.
From my perspective there is a risk in buying anything. I had a problem with my Pontus 2 on arrival. I emailed Alvin, carried out a few simple tests and it was agreed that a component in a mini board had failed. Next day a replacement was on its way. It arrived 4 or 5 days later. Alvin provided instructions and a video link and it took only a few minutes as it was a press fit. I sent the defective one back and Alvin paid the return postage the same day. By way of contrast I have had one very poor experience with a UK manufacturer and a couple of so so ones over the past 30 years on items costing approximately the same or more.
As for R2R ladder DACs being the last word in digital conversion, well they are very good, certainly good enough for my ears but there is no one best anything. As always, you make your choice, pay your money and hopefully enjoy what flows from it.
 
Not all Chinese gear is bad, an enormous amount of tech gear is manufactured in China including Apple products, how many of these do people own and spend a considerable amount of money on.

in the end you spend your money on what you want, not what someone else says, the Denefrips Dacs are getting rave reviews, but it’s your ears and you should try them out yourself to see if you like the sound and see if it is better or not. I make my own judgements and buy what I am happy with, remember, it’s only you that needs to like the sound of your system. If you believe a component give a sound that you like and you can afford it, then that’s all that counts. I don't make judgement or begrudge anyone buying a certain make of equipment if they are happy with it. If the denefrips were made in the UK, components would still be bought in from Far East sources, trust me, years in the Automotive engineering industry as taught me that China and other Far East locations do have good companies capable of world class manufacturing and quality products.
 
I home demo'd the Musician Pegasus (slightly upgraded ares ii) and honestly it wasn't disappointing just nothing amazing I proffered my Ayre QB-9 to it but the pegasus wasn't offensive at all, nice and easy to listen to but it falls short of the Ayre in every metric other than staging in my system and in my opinion.
 
I've had a Denafrips Terminator for almost two years now. I like the way it sounds, although I don't have much to compare it to. HOWEVER, the unit has broken twice now. Basically every time I unplug it (which I have only done twice) it breaks. It's dead. Does anyone have experience with this or do I have a lemon? I'm not happy about paying $100 in shipping two ways again for the repair. I would love to know if these units are reliable or if others are having to send their units in for repairs multiple times.
 
CSR78 said:
I've had a Denafrips Terminator for almost two years now. I like the way it sounds, although I don't have much to compare it to. HOWEVER, the unit has broken twice now. Basically every time I unplug it (which I have only done twice) it breaks. It's dead. Does anyone have experience with this or do I have a lemon? I'm not happy about paying $100 in shipping two ways again for the repair. I would love to know if these units are reliable or if others are having to send their units in for repairs multiple times.
Click to expand...

Very interested to know others experience of this! I have a Pontus 2 ready to try out... And like to know the gear I buy lasts well, has a decent warranty OR easy to get serviced.
 
CSR78 said:
I've had a Denafrips Terminator for almost two years now. I like the way it sounds, although I don't have much to compare it to. HOWEVER, the unit has broken twice now. Basically every time I unplug it (which I have only done twice) it breaks. It's dead. Does anyone have experience with this or do I have a lemon? I'm not happy about paying $100 in shipping two ways again for the repair. I would love to know if these units are reliable or if others are having to send their units in for repairs multiple times.
Click to expand...

That seems exceptional to me, at least I haven’t seen reports of failures and really the vendor should pick up the shipping fees. I think I would want a replacement. Did they say what they did to repair it the first time?

Have you seen any other reports of similar? I had a quick scan but didn’t find anything…
 
If The Terminator is the same as the Pontus 2, it autosenses the incoming voltage and selects the correct transformer windings via a circuit and relays. My guess is it has been this that has failed.
 
Sibbers said:
That seems exceptional to me, at least I haven’t seen reports of failures and really the vendor should pick up the shipping fees. I think I would want a replacement. Did they say what they did to repair it the first time? Have you seen any other reports of similar? I had a quick scan but didn’t find anything…
Click to expand...
According to the warranty, I'm responsible for shipping both ways to SC for repair. I've inquired about trading it in as a lemon. Last time they replaced the entire power supply.
 
mickhick1 said:
If The Terminator is the same as the Pontus 2, it autosenses the incoming voltage and selects the correct transformer windings via a circuit and relays. My guess is it has been this that has failed.
Click to expand...
I think your correct. The problem is the unit does not have a true power switch or any fuses. So for that split second where you try to plug in a nice, high-quality and tight power cord, it had an uneven power flicker. So it's bound to happen.
 
My Denafrips Venus DAC gets physically unplugged at the end of every day, and plugged back in the next day. It has not missed a beat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top