So, I have a Musician Pegasus that shares a lot of DNA with the Pontus ll. I got a Denafrips Iris to be able to take advantage of the i2S input, and there was a vast improvement over using USB, and that was using a cheap 6” HDMI cable from Monoprice. It’s not a cheap upgrade but totally worth it given the sonic improvements. Just my $0.02 FWIW.
Denafrips Pontus 12th Anniversary
Greetings
I’ve been considering moving up from my Ares ii to a Pontus ii and there have been a few of them coming up on the pre-owned market lately.
Now I’m seeing that Vinshine is offering the Pontus 12th version and there’s not a whole lot of info about what is improved on it.
Sounds like some power supply improvements and also some gold plated screws?
Has anyone heard the new Pontus 12th or know any specifics about how it compares to the Pontus ii? What are the improvements, if any?
Pre-owned Pontus ii’s are selling for about $250 less than a brand new 12th. (At least in the U.S.) So not a huge savings. Plus there’s shipping .., I can’t remember if Vinshine charges shipping.
Thanks in advance
JS
Showing 4 responses by soix
Background became much clearer, and imaging separation and soundstage improved. In general, clarity went up significantly and haze I didn’t know was there was removed. It was not a small improvement. This was compared to SPDIF BTW — I didn’t get to try AES/EBU. |
Agree with @fthompson251 about the Hermes if it’s in the budget, or alternatively you could look at the Musician Leo that’s very similar but like $600 less expensive. Still, the Iris or Musician Pisces will still make big improvements if you don’t need the SPDIF input of the pricier options. |