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DAC better than Denafrips Pontus II

As I try to finish out my system, looking at user recommendations for DACs better than the Pontus II.  This is one area I have not spent a great deal of time on (the digital side) but I have not found anything negative against the Pontus II or the Ares II.My transport will likely be the Nuprime CDT-8 Pro.  I like the AES to AES ability between these two devices.  From what I've read, it's the best connection.All comments appreciated.

colpgmrguy

Showing 2 responses by sbank

sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
I asked myself the same question, @colpgmrguy, the only one that seemed equalish in value but different was the Chord Qutest. Based on everything I could read, plus my own listening experience with other higher priced models from both companies, I thought the Denafrips would be a better fit for my system and taste. 
After a number of months owning the Pontus II, I've got nothing but great things to say about it. FWIW, I'm a mostly "analog guy" with a higher priced turntable setup. The Pontus is more analog-like than most of the DACs I've heard, even a number of them > $5K. It's pretty damn good overall and especially at its price point. Fit/finish, build quality is a reassuring bonus. Cheers,
Spencer
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
@jjss49 An interesting point about I2S in the Denafrips line, I just saw a review of the new Terminator2, it had 3 different i2S inputs to account for all the variations out there. Perhaps that will trickle down to other models in the future. Kinda crazy that there isn't one standard for I2S! Cheers,
Spencer
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