PONTUS, oh PONTUS, how do I love thee ?
Let me count the ways . . . .
Introduction:
As
promised this is part II of my association with Denafrips DACs, and Alvin of
Vinshine Audio who distributes them. Mr.
Denafrips PONTUS has been with me about 3 weeks now, long enough for me to feel
comfortable with some early observations.
First of all, he is one handsome fella, all brushed silver with an
elegance all his own. I have even grown
used to the tiny L.E.D. indicators on the front panel, they seem to fit with
the no nonsense character of this design and even at night are not obtrusive. Secondly Alvin was right, the PONTUS is a big second
rung up the Denafrips ladder.
What
struck me first:
1) When
hearing the PONTUS for the first time, I was instantly reminded how good the
entry level ARES really is ! PONTUS just
improves on all the goodness of the ARES.
You definitely know they are from the same lineage, it just that the PONTUS
does everything the ARES does, only better !
Even better bass definition, better dynamics, smoother midrange, and a
high end that is sweeter, yet with even more detail.
2) PONTUS
Technical prowess is a cut above. Being an
Electrical Engineer I was most excited about the way the PONTUS handles the incoming
digital bit-stream as compared to the ARES. I think this has quite a bit to do
with the differences I heard. You see
one of the bugaboos about digital to analog conversion has to do with clock
jitter (i.e. phase noise). In a perfect world the spacing in time between each
clock pulse would be identical, in the real world this spacing moves back and
forth a bit, known as jitter. With this
jitter the conversion is not perfect, and the result is an output signal which
has sidebands, not exactly conducive to good sounding music ! This is why so much is made about clock
stability in a good DAC design. The
Pontus greatly reduces this jitter by incorporating a FIFO (First In First Out)
design. The data goes into the FIFO with
the clock that comes with the data, but is output from the FIFO with a highly stable
internal clock. This jitter reduction
means an even cleaner output signal resulting in all those characteristics we
audiophiles love, bass definition, layering, sound-stage, micro-detail,
etc. Here the PONTUS does not
disappoint, just beautiful music !
Extended
listening observations:
I started with my “comfort food”
tracks and was never wanting for anything, it was that good. The ease with
which the music flowed was quite a bit better than the ARES, and way better
than anything I had ever heard from a digital instrument. With the PONTUS you relax in your listening
room in a way that I had not experienced before.
A couple of analogies are in order here:
1) Remember
the first time you drove a car with a powerful motor, a big V-8 in my
case. When you came to that big hill in
your neighborhood the car just went up and over it, no muss, no fuss, like it
wasn’t even there ! Or how easily it merged into traffic on the freeway. That
is the feeling the Pontus gives you, not unlike a powerful amplifier with
plenty of reserve, nothing phases it. From small details to loud passages, the
PONTUS just works to keep you engaged.
The cleaner, tighter bass results in uncovering even more detail in
tracks, handclaps that take on an uncanny realism, percussion that sounds like
it is in the room, ah how sweet it is .
2) Secondly
there is the phenomenon of listener fatigue.
I ride motorcycles and can tell you that a small irritant across a long
time becomes a BIG one. One of my cycles
has a really cushy seat that on first sitting on it seems so comfortable that it
should be good all day, WRONG ! Like a mattress
that is too soft it doesn’t offer the proper support, and in the long run is a
real pain in the a$$ ! Like Vinshine
Audio, the PONTUS has the right support, your ear-brain interface remains delighted
even across long listening sessions. So
much so that I find myself listening into the wee hours of the morning without even
realizing it.
Listening to “not my favorite tracks” revealed
nothing really new. Although the few tracks that I found worth adding to my
normal playlist with the ARES, were even more enjoyable with the Pontus. The Pontus cannot make a terribly recorded
track sound great, but it usually sounds better . After full break-in I will try even more of
my previously left behind tracks and report in on my observations .
. .
Lastly
there is the ability to listen at low levels without diminished
resolution. Some systems only sound “good”
when played loud, not so with my system and Mr. PONTUS in the mix. Even at night when my wife has gone to bed,
and I need to lower the volume I still find the experience very rewarding and
worthwhile. Of course there is the
consummate loss of some bass response ( even the mighty PONTUS can’t reverse the laws of physics), but
still the heart of the music comes through and makes me smile. Here the PONTUS shines a bit brighter than
the ARES. The micro-details come through
a bit clearer and better resolved no matter what the listening level.
So that wraps up my early
observations of the Denafrips PONTUS. Like his smaller brother the ARES, the
PONTUS is a value leader in his price range.
I can’t say enough about what he brings to the party. When he shows up in your system just let him take
control, sit back and enjoy the ride, and what a sweet ride it is .
danasam
