@alerrico I have the Venus II dac. It is very close to the "Original" Terminator. Alvin Chee said as much. I also have a local friend that had a Pontus II, then a Venus II. He said the Venus was very good. His father bought a Weiss 501 and handed down to him the Terminator version 1 and he told me that they are VERY close. So the Venus is probably very good for the money. I really like mine in my $60K system. It holds it’s own. I hope this helps.
Denafrips 12 anniversary
I have heard Denafrips new 12 th anniversary Terminator+
it is $1000 more ,and just slightly better a bit warmer and slightly more refined in detail , then the previous + another guy in are multi state audio club the The terminator 12 anniversary and compared to the T2/ and price only $300 more this is a far better deal the 12+ anniversary now $7500 Waay overpriced it is 98% thesame as the regular terminator2 ,12 anniversary .
you can buy the HoloSprings May KTE for under $6k
the Terminator2-12 anniversary is by far the best bargain out there and being under $5k. A Best Buy , I would have bought the + dac if it just went up $3-400 like it’s sibling ,a bit greedy ,and the Steve huff review ,almost a carbon copy of the previous + dac review it’s your $$ just our viewpoint from a value ,performance perspective.