Denafrips Pontus II FPGA firmware upgrade 2023

I'll hold off updating my Pontus 2. I hate bright treble.

 

Has anyone tried the Iris with a non Denafrips dac? Mike, have you tried it with your Benchmark?

 

Interested in the cable loom in connecting a ddc. Could anyone explain please?

 

I have not. I'm too busy for the next week, then I'm gone for two. I may do it myself in May. Otherwise, I have a buddy visiting in July, and we always do a shoot-out of some type. This would be an interesting contender. We would have the Benchmark DAC2, Chord Qutest, Denafrips Pontus II, and (hopefully) T+A DAC 200.

 

Yes that would be interesting, for me, particularly the Qutest.

 

FYI, we already compared the Benchmark DAC2, Chord Qutest (with iFi SMPS and LPS), and Denafrips Pontus II. Check out the thread:

• SHOOT-OUT: Kove, B&O, PS Audio, Avondale, Neurochrome, Benchmark, Chord, Denafrips, Royd, Celestion

We could try the Iris on the Benchmark and Qutest, and we may have a T+A DAC 200 to add to the mix. Theoretically the T+A should be king of the heap.

 

Compared a SBT as a streamer and Qutest as the DAC with a bog standard SBT. No difference to speak of. The placebo effect when first I listened to the Qutest was strong and collapsed when I synced both SBTs and adjusted the volume as closely as I could.
Thera was an audible difference, though, with the softest filter function in the Qutest.

 

Thanks both. Yes Mike, I read your shootout with interest. It’s not really the Qutest but my nicely LPSU’d 2Qute I’m interested in and thought the Qutest might behave similarly. I have no inclination to ‘upgrade’ the 2Qute.

 

I've got a bunch of SBTs here, and we were actually using one as the streamer for our DAC shootout. It never struck us to compare its own sound against the external DACs.

However, since then I've compared the SBT's internal DAC against the Benchmark DAC2. That was no contest--the Benchmark is a much better DAC.

I should mention that the differences between DACs aren't something that you can clearly discern, like you might when comparing two speakers. When a DAC does things right (or at least better), it's the general demeanor that changes.

That's why I was so surprised when I added the Iris in front of the Pontus. I didn't expect anything massive, and at first it didn't seem like much of anything. However, my mind eventually clicked into the extra "presence" that was there. Everything seemed more real somehow. When I tried removing the Iris, it was like sucking some of life out of the room.

Here's the real proof: It's in my office system, where I play music to get work done. With the Iris, I'm continually getting distracted and saying, "Wow!" Again, a nice surprise and somewhat perplexing.

 

More news about the firmware update:

https://www.vinshineaudio.com/post/denafrips-12th-fpga-firmware-update-for-venus-venus-ii-dac

In my case I can't find any loss of bass or excessive treble energy that some people talk about, so it must really be system dependent.

 

I've just tried to roll back to the original firmware, but on both my Macs I get this error msg.:
ls: *.fmw: No such file or directory
ls: *.fmc: No such file or directory
ls: *.cfg: No such file or directory
Start updating firmware / /
/Users/so20/Desktop/Update_FPGA_USB.sh: line 7: ./xprogmac: No such file or directory
Anyone else been successful? I'll contact Vinshine.

4 hrs later: On the back of the (re)installation success of a Steve Hoffman forum member, I tried again and also succeeded. This time I opened the .sh file using Terminal, rather than dragging it into Terminal and pressing return.
Relief and pleasure both! Relief that it worked and pleasure that my preferred Pontus II sound is back.

 

It's available now.

 

But I’m not. I’m away camping!!!

 

DSP it (if it's there at all)

 

To my 50+ ears, it's the palpability of a violin's strings that the original firmware reproduced so fully, engagingly and with no shrillness.

 

It'll be there for you when you return home.

 

Here’s my feedback. I’m using coaxial input. Previously lived with NOS mode the switched to OS for the last 6 months.
New firmware was flashed in less than 4 minutes.
Initial thoughts - tonal balance will need adjusting to. Sounds just as others have described it but top end is not overly bright/shrill just more obvious.
Last night I downloaded the old firmware and reverted back to it. After <1hr I reverted back to the new firmware as I missed what it brings.
New sound is leaner but still full and rich when it should be. Bass sounds more impactful and faster.
Vocals are clearer, double vocalist are easier to hear, subtle cymbal strokes are heard more easily.
I’ve made small adjustments to speakers position and will see if firmware burn in is a thing.
Now prefer NOS mode.
It great to have 2 firmware options and it is so easy to switch via laptop.

 

It's generous of people to share their experiences for the greater good, and it's always hard to explain why we marginally prefer one component or filter over another, but changing speaker position during an assessment of this kind removes hope of reliable distinctions.

As for "firmware burn in", by what mechanism could that happen except imagination? What could change in the DAC behaviour to make such a phenomenon possible?

It seems likely to me that a lot of what is reported on hifi fora, especially about the differences between DACs and cables, is the result of firmware updates in the listener's mind.

 

@sonddek About being able to discern differences in DACs I think it also depends on how resolving the setup is.

Please do not try and make this interesting and informative thread into another "cable thread".

 

I'm sorry I used the c word. I'm normally reluctant to say it.