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Denafrips dacs

Hi,

I recently bought a Pontus for my stereo setup.
I had previously tested an Ares II which I think is brilliant considering its price.
But the Pontus is clearly better IMO and a great bargain too.
 
I have the Pontus as well. It sounds like a big open window, effortless and dynamic. To be this good, and only be the second from bottom of the line, I can only imagine how good the top models must be.
 
Indeed. That's a very good point.

But I must say this Pontus is clearly good enough for me. I feel that I'm much more focused in sheer music enjoyment than chasing sound quality improvement.

It's always difficult to say, but I don't think that I'll change much in the foreseeable future.
My current setup makes it very easy to just enjoy the music, so why change anything?
 
radamel said:
Indeed. That's a very good point.

But I must say this Pontus is clearly good enough for me. I feel that I'm much more focused in sheer music enjoyment than chasing sound quality improvement.

It's always difficult to say but I don't think that I'll change much in the foreseeable future.
My current setup makes it very easy to just enjoy the music so why change anything?
Click to expand...

I picked the Pontus as a "sweet spot" between price and performance and am not looking to upgrade.
 
radamel said:
Exactly the same here!
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I was amused, the day after I placed my order I saw a Youtube review that said "The Ares II is a good taste of what a real high end DAC can do. The Pontus is a real high end DAC." Confirmation bias I suppose.
 
Great thread, I wanted to start one in a very similar vein, but felt shy... Glad you did.

I haven't got one. But I'm sorely tempted by the Venus Ii. To the point I emailed Vinshine Audio in HK to see if they had a demo unit in the UK I could try (no answer). It's about £2.5K which is too much to punt without the possibility of a return if I didn't like it. Really I should compare it to the Pontus to see if there is a clear difference anyway.

I've trawled all the YouTube reviews and forum threads I could find and I'd say everyone loves the current range from Denafrips. What attracts me is people say these DACs have no digital glare or the usual negative aspects of digital and sound analogue much like a top vinyl setup. That's exactly what I'm chasing.

Steve Guttenburg (Yep him) has the Terminator and loves it, he loves vinyl too. Hans Bleekhausen was left speechless by the Venus II and the Terminator. Tarun liked the Aries Ii. Everyone else does too. ASR measured the Aries and it came out OK I think.

Having seen the innards and judging potential SQ purely by looking at the layout and bits and bobs on the circuit board. It seems to me the ladders in the Venus and the Terminator are the same, the caps and the clock thingies are different. The Terminator has an oven or temperature regulated clock whereas the Venus has a less fancy clock but seemingly better spec'd than the Pontus or Aires. Clocks are important, I've learned.

Further judging possible SQ on inwards it seems the PSU is heftier and more seriously screened out in the Venus compared to the Pontus and Aires.

Apparently they can't make these DACs fast enough to meet demand so there is a 3 month waiting list.... I read it somewhere so it might not be true.
.
Just as a teaser I inquired of John Westlake about the Terminator since his forthcoming FDAC is also a 'Discrete' design (I know zilch about DACs but I'm under the impression 'Discrete' is the same as an R2R ladder DAC design). John is really serious about the clock part too. Anyway he said that by looking at the innards of a Terminator that the caps maybe too far from where their needed for best practice. That got me thinking, perhaps Denafrips aren't completely true to their design philosophy and have placed the caps in nice neat lines to make the innards look appealing to idiots like me.

Having written this I've decided I'm gonna wait out this year for the FDAC and if it doesn't appear I'll get more serious about chasing a demo of the Venus with the uk distributor if that is even possible.

Edit : forgot to ask, have you guys compared the Pontus to other DACs, did you get a demo before purchase and a bit more on what is good or anything you didn't like?
 
nostromo said:
Edit : forgot to ask, have you guys compared the Pontus to other DACs, did you get a demo before purchase and a bit more on what is good or anything you didn't like?
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No demo before purchase, this is a direct-purchase brand with no distributors or dealer network, which is why the price is about half what you'd expect.

But in my area there are no dealers selling 2-channel audio anyway. To demo anything I'd have to make a five hour drive in any direction. Since anything I buy involves taking a punt, I didn't have any more qualms about Denafrips than any other brand.
 
nostromo said:
Edit : forgot to ask, have you guys compared the Pontus to other DACs, did you get a demo before purchase and a bit more on what is good or anything you didn't like?
Click to expand...

Well, I didn't buy direct but through my local dealer in Portugal (the owner is a good friend of mine).

I was able to demo the Ares II and the Pontus.

You can read more about my impressions here: System Pics 2021
 
Another fan here. Was not sure about taking a punt on the new DACs so I thought I'd start with the Digital-Digital-Converters (DDCs).

I have the Iris and recently the next model up, the Hermes.

Currently using the Hermes into a Qutest. In no rush to upgrade DACs, but definitely keeping my eye on Denafrips.

Yes Denafrips do have dealers, but their margins are so low — if you get a demo count yourself lucky.
 
radamel said:
The Pontus is more realistic, as if you were in a very good seat in a concert hall. The 3d image is even better, the sound is more articulate and yet relaxed. A meatier sound with more texture. And more importantly the music grabs you and it's even more difficult to stop listening.
Some could call the sound more analogue.
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I thought I'd quote you here... I love the idea of being in very good seats at a concert hall. Have to agree with you, when you just want to keep listening you know you have a great setup. Your room looks fabulous, I reckon at night with the curtains open and light off you'd have a fabulous backdrop for the music too.
 
nostromo said:
I thought I'd quote you here... I love the idea of being in very good seats at a concert hall. Have to agree with you, when you just want to keep listening you know you have a great setup. Your room looks fabulous, I reckon at night with the curtains open and light off you'd have a fabulous backdrop for the music too.
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Thanks!
 
In the market for my first DAC and a Denafrips could well be the one. Does anyone on here have any idea how good they perform with usb input, as I will be using it with an Innuos Zen, which is usb out only.
 
In my setup I have a Fanless SSD netbook connected to a Denafrips Pontus via USB. It's probably the best in terms of sound quality compared to the other inputs, but by a very small margin.
 
I too have had my head turned. Ares II is a potential for my shopping list. The apparent lack of demo availability in the UK is admittedly somewhat of a downer, on the plus side and as evidenced by the classifieds, as demand appears to comfortably exceed supply for these units having bought the thing for £750, you are likely to be able to sell it used the following week (after a home trial) for £700.
 
radamel said:
In my setup I have a Fanless SSD netbook connected to a Denafrips Pontus via USB. It's probably the best in terms of sound quality compared to the other inputs, but by a very small margin.
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Many thanks. I am just trying to figure out how I will explain to my other half, how another silver box found it's way onto the rack, without having to cough up a porky pie.
 
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