Congrats on the Helene DAC. I have the Aries Cerat Essentia Mono amps and today I received the Aries Cerat Ianus Ageto Preamp. I also will be getting the Kassandra 2 Ref DAC and the Aurora Speakers. This will be an all Aries Cerat system and my LAST system. FYI, I am trading my Lampizator Horizon for trhe Kassandra 2 DAC.
Aries-Cerat Helene Review
I have had this Helene for just a couple of days but I want to share my initial impressions before the newness wears off. The thing about this hobby, we get something new with great sound but in a few days that new sound becomes normal. Now, I'm not an equipment reviewer. I don't have the prose or creative skills to assess and communicate as well as professional reviewers. I'm a typical hobbyist who has gone over his head in high end equipment. Reference photos on my system page.
I do not rotate through gear very often. I used an Audio Research CD player for 15 years. Then three years ago I bought an Ayon Stealth Xs DAC and the Ayon CD-TII transport. Those devices rocked my world. I had no idea CDs contained so much music, detail and richness until I heard the Ayon gear. I enjoyed my Stealth DAC for almost 3 years until I did an upgrade to the Ayon Kronos DAC. It is a very nice DAC as well. It was a typical upgrade within the same brand/line- same basic sound but a little better in the bass and a little smoother highs. I could have been very happy with this DAC but it had a tube related problem and I ended sending it back to the dealer. R2R Ladder DACs had piqued my interest sometime back. With R2R DACs in the back of my mind and after suffering much agony over spending that much money on a DAC, my dealer graciously accepted back the Kronos and sold me the Helene DAC.
With little gear experience I can only compare the Helene to the Ayon gear and to my turntable- both of which are very fine. The Helene is a beast. It weighs some 85 lbs by itself. The wooden crate said 95 lbs on the shipping label. The UPS driver arrived none too happy about off loading this crate. He commented that he didn't understand how it was accepted for shipment by UPS. Oh well, it was finally in my hands. With considerable effort and help from my son we hoisted this thing onto my equipment rack. I installed the tubes, checked the bias and replaced the thick, very heavy steel lid with 10 screws. No chance of that lid flying off- screws or no.
Listening impressions: First, this DAC is dead quiet- total blackness. My previous DAC was quiet, or so I thought. Typically, on my previous DAC when streaming I would hear the noise floor raise up as a sort of prelude to the music when I hit play. With this DAC the noise floor is black as black and the music erupts from the black. I keep thinking the music isn't going to start when I hit play on my iPad but then it startles me when the music starts.
Everything about the sound is better with this DAC. Clarity, bass, the highs, the voices all sound better than before. It is as big a change from the Ayon gear as the Ayon gear was from my past CD player. It is musical with the right amount of detail so that it does not become so analytical. The biggest things are Cellos sound right. Piano is the best it has ever sounded on my system. Cymbals are so smooth, rich and full bodied. The Cymbals rival the best of the best of my vinyl on nearly every song. I think for the first time ever I got chills listening to a classical piece. Classical is so clear and spacious that it is the best ever that I have heard on my system. I'm not a big classical person but I can really enjoy it now.
Another thing about the clarity. Background vocals are so clear now that I can understand their words clearly where sometimes before they were not clear enough to understand. The bass violin on a jazz recording was so good I just wanted to hug myself. I'm going through another age of discovery with my music. Fun fun.
I believe this DAC has 16 channels of R2R Ladders. It uses a SET tube output and has a built in voltmeter for adjusting the bias. The DAC has just three inputs- USB, Coax and AES/EBU. This DAC also only accepts straight PCM- no DSD, no oversampling. That doesn't bother me because I found I used straight PCM into my other DAC 99% of the time. The USB is double re-clocked and the AES and Coax ports have the option of re-clocking. Output is either SE or XLR and it is a true balanced output. A ground lift switch on the back can be turned on for SE mode.
I will update in a few weeks after further listening. These are my initial impressions based on and compared to my previous DAC.
Showing 11 responses by willgolf
Charles I know to a degree you have followed my audio journey going way back to SR fuses. A lot has transpired over the last seven years. I never would have thought I would end up buying Aries Cerat components. i never thought I could afford them. And then, after having some major health issues my life changed and I just said to myself that you worked hard to get what you have, why not enjoy it to the fullest? I absolutely love my Lampi Horizon DAC. Yes, I am hoping for greater synergies by having an all Aries Cerat system. But, it all boiled down to making a financial decision in order to get the Aries Cerat Aurora speakers.. My wife was ready to kill me when she found out that I would be replacing my current speakers which she helped pick out and absolutely loves them. It was all part of a package dealer and what the dealer was willing to give me on my trade-in equipment. I also promised her that I was now done swapping equipment....wink wink. I just hope my current speakers will find a nice home somewhere. They are truly outstanding for the money.
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Congrats on the new music server. Antipodes is definitely a great server. I can tell you from my experience that a great DAC and Music server is critical for absolutely the best SQ. When I had a Lampizator Pacific DAC after having the Lumin X-1, I was not initially impressed with the Pacific. Once I added the Lucas Audio LDMS music server I could not believe how good the music sounded. Everyone will argue what is the most important component, but for me, in my system, the LDMS provided greater SQ. The combination of Helene and the K50 can be end game components. |
So you really have a problem with the distributor of Aries Cerat vs Aries Cerat components. Have you heard Aries Cerat components? In the last 5 years, I have done a lot of buying and selling components. Aries Cerat is not well known in the USA as there are very few dealers. It is also a higher-end expensive brand. I have had Wilson, Sonus Faber, B&W, Raven, Audio Research, Canary Audio, Lumin, Meitner, and Lampizator, I am not an expert, but from my experience, the attention to detail, engineering, build quality, and sound of Aries Cerat are as good as I have ever heard, Prior to buying Aries Cerat components, I compared them with 8 different systems all valued at over $500k each. When I got to Aries Cerat, I just said WOW. There was just that much difference. So there is a reason the NA distributor is gushing over them, Unfortunately, it is not in everyone's price range. If you have not hada. chance to hear Aries Cerat, you may want to attend the Axpona show where Aries Cerat will be displayed. Cheers |
The Ageto is outstanding and thanks for asking. I was 100% convinced after going three years without a Preamp that I did not need one. I was wrong. The major difference is that I can now listen to music at really low sound levels and still get all of the detail that I crave. The music is way more lush, soulful and live. My Kassandra 2 Reference DAC is coming Tuesday. My Aries Cerat Aurora speakers are in my garage in 6 very large crates totaling 2000 lbs. The sad news is I need help to set them up so I have to wait until March 24. |
+1 on the test of vinyl vs digital. I have read so many threads saying Vinyl can not be matched. I can't really say as I have not had vinyl for over 20 years. What I do know is having a great DAC and Music Server can create some unbelievable-sounding music. I am glad you have found your nirvana with music. In my case, I have the Lampi Horizon and Lucas Audio Music server. On Tuesday I get the Kassnadra 2 reference DAC. It will be interesting to see and hear changes going from Lampi to Aries Cerat. |
LOL on the WBF comment. I find WBF members have been very helpful in my audio journey. Yes, I will try and provide feedback on the differences between Kassandra and Horizon but I will probably do it on WBF. I am not big on all of the fancy audio terms but I will do my best. In response to the cabling comments above, I have used Inakustic cables then went to Hijiri and now I am heavy into QSA Lanedri. |
First impresssion of Kassandra 2 Ref vs Lampizator Horizon. This was based on my old speakers ---Viking Acoustic Grande Voix Dual Horn speakers. My amp and Preamp are both Aries Cerat Essentia and Ageto. My music server is a critical part of my system and is a Lucas Audio LDMS. The key with Horizon is your ability to tube roll to adapt the sound to your liking. I was not using any of the base tubes from Lampi. There are only two tubes in the Kassandra and they are E280F variety. I thought the Horizon had better bass and a little bit more detail. Kassandra was more neutral. The Horizon costs approximately $20k more. I am not disappointed at all with the Kassandra but the Horizon for my ears was a little better. Enter the Aries Cerat Aurora speakers. I can see, hear, and feel the synergies with an all-Aries Cerat system. I also exchanged the stock Kassandra tubes and replaced them with a Rusian version of the same tube. It made a big difference right away. The Bass packed more punch and was very fast and cohesive. The detail and soundstage improved. It is amazing what changing tubes can do for a system. Another part of that is I am using a QSA Ultimatum Infinity jumper cable from the crossover to the bass driver of the Aurora. Obviously, the new speakers and cable only have around 12 hours on them so there is a long way to go to break in. Even though I loved my Horizon, I do like the synergies from Aries Cerat.
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@tonywinga --Are you a member of What's Best Forum? If so, there is an Aries Cerat forum that has many reviews of Aries Cerat equipment. I will chronicle my journey on that forum under Aurora speakers. I suspect I will get around to do that with lots of pictures this weekend. The last time I did a review of the Lampizator Horizon on Audiogon, I had to have the moderator take it down because I did not appreciate many comments referring to rich man's DAC and why would you spend that kind of money on a DAC? It got nasty. I can only imagine what would be said on Audiogon if I did a full Aries Cerat review. BTW, I am not rich. |