DAC diminishing returns

@dsfreeh - there are references to Chord further towards the top of the thread. Some people love Chord gear, others, like me, not so much. Great quality stuff, just depends on what your sound preferences are, and Chord is a bit dry for my tastes (which are more R2R type sound).... 

@larsman  

yes, chord was mentioned, my mistake.  Lots of good info in response to my question.  The more I research Chord, I’m not inclined to go that route.

In my area there are no dealers of high end equipment where I can go listen.

I like my Bifrost, but I would like more of a sound stage, which is what I’m trying to accomplish.

This is Audiogon, not a dealer's website.  Wait for a relatively good deal on a DAC you are interested in, buy it, and if it's not clearly better, put it back up for sale for around the price you purchased it for.  If you take a small hit, so be it.

I had a modded Benchmark DAC1, Havana, and Chord TT2.  I didn't know what I was missing until I got a Merason, and now a Bricasti M1.  There's no way I can go back now.

In my experience moving up in quality DACs provide more than just coloration.  Each time I upgraded I experienced a less digital influenced sound, better imaging and clarity of detail.  I haven't heard the super high end DACs (Lampizator etc.) but rather than lateral moves I've made significant jumps in price with each upgrade and my next DAC is gonna set me back if I ever get to point that my DAC is the limiting factor.

You can mitigate the diminishing returns by checking out the used market.  I just purchased a PSAudio DirectStream DAC that for some reason seems to have fallen out of favor with Audiophiles for close to the same price as the new Benchmarck3HGC.   I don't know how it compares with the Benchmark but I can say it's better than my tube rolled MHDT Orchid. 

I tend to hear vocal artifacts such as glare or an unnatural sounding  tones as a vocalist's dynamics increases  which has been vastly improved with the DS.  It was also improved with the Orchid compared the Allo Piano 2 with the reclocker where I started.. 

 The DirectStream trade in value is $2000 from PSAudio so I likened it to a used car I used that as my baseline.

For me, my biggest issue now is my streamer.  I use a inexpensive fanless PC's USB with its stock switching power supply and WIFI connection.  I'm hoping that by decreasing the background noise threshold with a direct connection to the router and a linear power supply .  I2S streamers seem to cost more than the DAC so I'm trying alternate solutions hoping to get there without spending the farm.  I bummed PI2AES is no longer being manufactured so I'll keep up the search.  

Have fun on your search and don't forget to stop and enjoy the music

OP it may be easy to try the Denafrips Ares used. You should be able to hear a difference. Denafrips does not offer returns. You can pick one up used between $700 to $725 shipped and sell it in a day or 2 for the same price you paid. Not losing any money. The Pontus used you could lose or make a couple hundred depending on the deal you find if you choose to sell it.

I borrowed a Ares from a friend to see what all the hype was about when I was considering the Pontus. For a $800 dac I think the Ares is nice for the money. It has nice bass good soundstage maybe lacking in information but that could be why most move up the line. I owned the Quetest a while back and enjoyed the Ares more for its analog and musical presentation.