DENAFRIPS DAC ---- Owner Impressions, Feedback, General Discussion, Questions and more....

new here

heard the terminator

nice sound but definitely in the brighter/less weight camp

Sorry didn’t mean to cause consternation with my comment above - I had limited exposure to the unit - about 1.5-2 hrs listening to it and other DACs (Chord Dave, current Yggy, higher Auralic,) in a good friend’s system - Conrad Johnson/Primaluna tube gear, Kef Reference with Rel subs. Not sure the state of break in of the various units. Yggy was even more bass light than Denafrips, Dave had most fullness of tone. No doubt the KEFs have a modest upward tilt in its character but this sense I got was hearing the various DACs through the same system otherwise. Anyhow, this is just one data point... always trust your own ears more than anyone else’s!

am glad to see denafrips thru alvin set up usa support/repair capabilities

enough units have been sold here now, the move is long overdue

excellent products, perform very well for the price, carefully voiced to sound natural yet incisive

I have just sold my Audio Note DAC One signature edition and now looking for a new DAC. Denafrips is at the top of my shortlist. Based on the prices, the Ares II seems to be a downgrade but I’m of the opinion that DAC technology has progressed tremendously and a lower priced modern DAC may be better than an older higher priced DAC. I hope someone can give me some opinions on the following:
1. Is there an audible difference between the Ares and Pontus? My ears are not great and I don’t and won’t use expensive cables. 2. Are they a good match for my 300b tube amp and floor standing speakers with aluminium ribbon tweeters?
3. I’m toying with the the idea of buying two DACs - an Ares II and a delta sigma one (one of those Topping, SMSL or Gustard DACs that measures very well and can decode MQA) so that I can switch between them depending on my moods. Or should I go all in on a Pontus?

yes in my experience with both the pontus is definitely more refined than the ares 2, which had a troublesome sibilance (to my ears, in my system) in the lower treble

i have not tried the venus, but i have tried a terminator also, and in my opinion the pontus is the sweet spot in the line for performance for $

the pontus will have a brighter more revealing presentation than the border patrol as well as tauter deeper bass... still nice dimensionality and body in the mids and bass but the pontus will provide somewhat more up-front detail, sharper cleaner edges to transients and more ’air’ in the treble region

just so folks don’t misunderstand my earlier post, the denafrips pontus voicing is quite middle of the road in terms of treble energy, it is quite balanced top to bottom overall

as @twoleftears said, the bp unit is one of the most rolled off sounding dacs out there, and in my system it did this to the detriment of conveying inner detail and air (something the pontus does exceptionally well)

i will do this now, quickly, from memory - i will basically put the various standalone dacs i have tried over the past 18-24 months into three tiers of brightness/forwardness of treble - this is just for this single dimension only, one of several sonic criteria for choosing a dac to work well in a good, highly resolving system

there are subtle variations in tonal balance within each group, but for sake of simplicity i force them all into the 3 tiers 

a - most energetic treble/fast and forward

chord qutest 2qute hugo tt2
rme adi 2
topping d90
schiit yggy
musical fidelity trivista
ps audio digital link (cullen)
mytek brooklyn

b - relatively balanced, medium treble energy

denafrips pontus, ares, venus, term (nos)
ayre codex
jolida black ice tube dac
metrum pavane jade amethyst
schiit gumby
mhdt various, modded
sonnet morpheus
ava hybrid fet tube
w4s various
chord mojo

c - most rolled off/smooth understated treble

border patrol
audio mirror tubador
mhdt various, unmodded
musical paradise
neko d100-2
psa direct stream (pre sunlight firmware)
metrum octave

hope this helps some readers here trying to buy the right dac for them (am sure i may have left out a few still)

price increases fairly modest - about $100 USD per piece