DENAFRIPS DAC ---- Owner Impressions, Feedback, General Discussion, Questions and more....
Thread for OWNER IMPRESSIONS, FEEDBACK, QUESTIONS, ETC. regarding DENAFRIPS DACs.
DENAFRIPS lists the following R2R DACs:
Ares, Pontus, Venus, and Terminator (in increasing price order).
"DENAFRIPS incorporated in year 2012, focus in developing high end audio equipment at a very affordable price. Throughout the years of intense Research & Development, and continuous improvement of the product lines, DENAFRIPS had finally settled with the current product range equipped with R-2R ladder DAC technology. The reason behind this is the designer strongly believe that R-2R DAC is the best way to reproduce music.
It's a worthwhile 20 minutes as he offers a balanced view of his opinion of the sound of the 4 DACs he compared letting you decide on your own which suits your taste
@lalitk , its a studio grade AES cable that I'm using atm tbh. I've experienced with Gotham cable first, then the same guy who built my power amps sent sent me a german AES cable he terminated himself, also "studio" grade. both sound almost similar but I sensed more openness and slightly more controlled bass while using the German made cable, so I kept it. I have tried an "audiophile" AES cable in my system (800 USD worth), it did sound a bit different, tonality wise but i couldn't tell which I do prefer even after experimenting for days. so I simply I sent it back. I'm certain different cables do sound different - even digital ones. but does more expensive always equal better? I don't think so. placebo plays a huge role. also those crazy price tags for cables makes us feel they are something to look up to even before we listen. I have also tried some audiophile expensive analog interconnects from the same brand (2 pairs of XLR, worth 2000+ USD) vs my current Pioneer reference pair (roughly 270 USD for both - awesome XLR btw), and the difference was shockingly negligible. is such 1-2% enhancement worth such price difference? I think this money should be spent on a better component that makes a serious difference, such as a DAC, sever, Preamp, etc. sorry for such long answer but I could not resist to write down my view on cables :))) @anwar I have been told that around 1000 hours the terminator should be fully broken in, but its possible that more hours would make things even better, I guess time would tell :) with Aurender N10 via AES, only DSD64 is possible (DoP), due to bandwidth limitation of the AES cable. Aurender N10 is capable of playing native DSD up to DSD128, via USB, but by doing that you skip the n10's OCXO clock which is not recommended. the Denafrips terminator can handle up to DSD256, via USB from a capable source. what I learned, its not the size of the DSD file, its the source which is playing it what really matters. DSD64 will sound better out of N10 via AES (or any of the n10's spdif out in general) vs DSD256 from a noisy laptop via USB. some DACs accept twin AES input, like some DCS Dacs. with Aurender W20, which has dual AES out, with such setup you can play up to DSD128 (DoP) as each channel has the whole bandwidth of one AES cable. I was wondering out of curiosity if the terminator has the same capability, but these two AES inputs are simply for two different sources. in addition to that, I honestly don't see myself getting a 17k USD Aurender W20, like ever! its too expensive for a "source". but who knows :) in my humble opinion, DSD64 played from Aurender n10 to Terminator via AES sounds amazing to my ears, I cant imagine anything could sound better. but I have not heard many other high end server/dacs combos, so that statement is subjective. however I can say, there was no sharpness/ brightness that I heard its an attribute of DSD64 is present by any means... just bags of detail, a magical holographic presentation, and an expansive, huge sound stage with pinpoint accuracy. decent CD rips sound almost equally good. Tidal Steaming (depending on how good the recording is) sound very good as well! whatever you through at this combo, it sounds fantastic :)
I just spent an hour reading this thread, instead of working. I am interested in how people would connect the DT to a music server via the 12S connection.
In my current rig I have a powerful desktop computer running ROON, my music server. I send the music bits via Ethernet to my Sonare microRendu and from there, via a USB cable, to my Benchmark DAC3L. This same approach would work for the DT via USB.
If I wanted to add the DT to my system, how would I connect the DT via I2S cable? Is there anything that takes Ethernet music bits and converts to an I2S format that the DT understands?
@yyzsantabarbara Reach out to Alvin, who will be able to share the various I2S components paired with the Terminator. He'll also be able to provide the pin settings (should adjustments be required).
My personal preference would be to go USB into the Terminator OVER inserting an I2S convertor into the chain. For me, this defeats the purpose. I'd choose I2S direct only.
The other reason is around cabling. (Offhand, I don't recall where you fall with respect to cables) but there are far more options, and Quality USB options, than with I2S.
For those that may not know, there is a robust Facebook group for the Terminator. It's a great site to ask questions, especially if you frame them in Italian. : )
@david_ten Thanks for the info. I also do not want to do any conversions from USB to I2S. I was hoping for something that did Ethernet-to-I2S directly. Maybe the folks at Sonare read this and come up with a new Rendu offering? I am going to email them today.
@yyzsantabarbara A Sonore I2S streamer would be really cool.
Currently, with USB into the Terminator via the Sonore Signature Rendu SE ... my system performance (for me) is exquisite. There are a number of factors that have contributed to this. The SR PowerCell 12 SE has done wonders across the system and the recent addition of the ethernet bridged Small Green Computer Server has also elevated performance.
Mentioning this because, even without going to I2S, the Terminator continues to scale upwards.
Has anyone heard the Terminator sound better after being on for more than a couple days? I recently heard it for a number of days and thought I noticed better sound by a tangible margin after a few days from it’s last turn on.
A couple of days is not enough. After about 2 months, I heard no more improvement. Please don't remove the AC power but you can put the Terminator on standby.
Yes. One can only (fully) power down by removing the power cord.
I put it in 'Standby' every night and it remains so for about 8 hours. It comes back to 'performance' fairly quickly. I usually start listening about a half hour after the Terminator and my T+A amp are back on.
canibefrank , if cost is a concern give the Denafrips Pontus a listen. It's head and shoulders above you're other choice. There are no slouches in the Denafrips line. I own the Pontus and have no complaints.
@smodtactical if within your budget, why not consider Marantz SA-10 which has built-in, good quality headphone amp? It’s a reference-class CD/SACD player with USB (Type A and B) and SPDIF inputs. You need to read more about SA-10 DAC-less conversion. It’s hard for me to go back to Terminator after listening to SA-10. I still have both.
I have been using a Denafrips Terminator for a few months now and to say I am pleased is an understatement.
Up until I bought the Denafrips, I was using a Metrum Octave Mk II R2R DAC and I liked it but it was the weak link in my system. It was the least expensive piece, even my speaker cables cost more, so it wasn't up to the level of the rest of my system. In my quest for a new DAC a Denafrips came up for sale and it was a few hours away and the reviews were good so I went and purchased it. It wasn't possible to audition so I went on faith.
Brought it home and hooked it up and the difference between the Metrum was night and day. To me, the music just opened up, it was good before but now I knew I could never go back. To be fair the price difference between the DAC's is at least three fold if not more. It was at this point where I finally could say I was finished the search for audio equipment. Truly I am done.
Others have described the sound of this DAC in more detail and I am not one of those guys that can do that. It either sounds right or it doesn't. I don't need hours to make that determination. The Terminator was one of those pieces that just sounded right.
For those who are interest my system is as follows: Aurender N100H music server, Denafrips Terminator, Herron Line Stage, Herron Mono Blocks, Tetra 606 speakers. Cabling and power cords by Audio Sensibility Statement series, TEO Game Changer IC's and Audio Quest Cinnamon USB. I also use Audio Points under my speakers. Argentum Acoustic Power Bar and Hubble receptacle. Focal Elear headphones and Lehmann Audio headphone amplifier.
Seems like the Venus product is a combination of a Terminator DAC front end with a rewired Terminator face plate put into a Pontus chassis case with a Pontus power supply. The Terminator has 2 more I2S inputs than the Pontus/Venus. The Pontus/Venus share a common weight of 8.5kG and common S/N ratio and dynamic range, whereas the Terminator has a weight of 19kG and better S/N ratio and dynamic range specs. Terminator seems to have a better chassis and far beefier P/S.
And why the company opted to use the word “Reserval” instead of “Phase” for the Pontus/Venus face plates is a mystery.
I've been using the Denafrips Terminator in a new 'system' chain for the past month.
I have to admit I'm now in the 'amazed' camp in terms of how impressed I am with it's continued upward (performance) mobility and how well it continues to scale.
New speakers. New amp. New preamp. New analog cables.
I have to admit I'm now in the 'amazed' camp in terms of how impressed I am with it's continued upward (performance) mobility and how well it continues to scale.
All traits of R2R Multibit dac conversion with PCM. We were really led astray when they stopped making them because of cost. And in place introduced far cheaper to make 1 bit, bitstream, Mash, ect ect ect all Delta Sigma dacs and able to convert sacd and dsd.
I think sacd came out not long after the demise of R2R dacs that couldn't convert it. Was this more a marketing exercise to get rid of expensive to produce R2R and introducing cheaper Delta Sigma???
I love the review and video, Steve G. is a class-act; calm and collected. Unlike some reviewers on YouTube, who can’t seem to keep their emotions in check 🤪
Ares is an incredible value for anyone considering a solid performer under $1K.
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I saw both Steve's video and read the High Fidelity review and was surprised on how taken both were with the Ares. High Fidelity gave it a Red Fingerprint award which indicates high value for the price.
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