Denafrips Pontus 12th Anniversary

@backgroundblur Be patient, my Venus II took 500 hours at least until the magic happened. (It sounded edgy and highly detailed until it warmed in the midrange and the edginess disappeared, bass got much better too.) If getting a DDC I suggest the Hermes, more options for future inputs, better clock. I run a Venus II and Hermes with Intusik Argentus I2S.

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. 

@fthompson251 yeah, I was geared up for a long break in.  I figured on 300 hours, but what’s another week and a half? :)

I’m at about 200 hours, and today it sounds really good.  Better than yesterday.  Bringing back memories of the original Pontus I heard, but with better top end, and firmer bass.  We’ll see what it sounds like tomorrow.

@fthompson251 ​​​​@soix   what I’m curious about with DDC’s, is did either of you notice a change in tonality?  Did music get brighter, darker, lose or gain density?  I’ve read from users that they unanimously agree that seperation and staging improve, but does this improvement come at any cost to density, tone, or overall balance?

It (Hermes) just makes it better, no detriment at all. Better bass, deeper, wider soundstage.

IME there was no downside to using i2S, only big upside.  No loss of tonality, etc., just a big increase in overall transparency and clarity.