I think it’s one of the best dacs anywhere near its price point. I’ve had many dacs in the last 3 years and the Ares II can stand on its own again dacs up to $2k.
I only sold mine because I had unexpected and hefty water damage repair bills to take care of, and I had to sell my second system. I will buy another Ares as soon as I’m able to. This dac cuts the right balance between analytical dacs like the RME and tube dacs like Audio Mirror Tubadour 3. I also found it to be better, of course based on my purely subject opinion, than Chord Qutest.