Denafrips Pontus *15th* ?

@fynnegan you could well be right; I wouldn't rule anything out at this stage, with no official word or info on the full change log from Denafrips/Vinshine

All the Denfrips Dacs on the Vinshine site are " Out of Stock".

 @painter24 you are fortunate to have received the 15th version. Per Mike at Denafrips, "the Pontus15 can reach the level of the Venus12th". I, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. I received my silver Pontus II 12th-1 last Thursday from Vinshine Audio, the day I discovered your post here. Long story short, I managed to get $300 off the retail price for receiving a late-model Pontus from Vinshine. I just wished there was more transparency upfront. I would have happily paid the full retail price for the latest model. Lesson learned. 

@pc527 

I don't understand what's happening with Denafrips. I emailed Vinshine over the weekend; Alvin replied yesterday and basically said Vinshine are waiting for a public announcement by Denafrips, and that the 15th were released in an "unplanned manner"

I agree with you, the lack of transparency is very frustrating. What's happening is confusing; I've had the 15th for 2 weeks now, so the fact that customers are receiving 12th-1 models on later orders, with still no official word on the launch of 15th is disgruntling 

Just to add; I've just checked Vinshine's site and all the DDC's are showing as out of stock too 🤔

JMHO but I think Dinafrips is dumping Vinshine and going it on their own. Vinshine is out of stock on every Dinafrips component they sell, DAC, Pre and Power Amps. clocks, DDC’s etc.

@fthompson251 this did cross my mind too to be honest, as you can "Shop" and check out via the Denafrips site still

I had been interested in upgrading my Pontus 2 to the Terminator 2 12th, listed at $4,914.47 on the Vinshine site (now listed as "Out of Stock). The Terminator 15th is listed on the Denafrips site at $6,099.00 - a 24% increase.

This may explain why, in a recent e-mail correspondence with Alvin (Chee) re: upgrading my Denafrips Pontus II, he recommended I look into the Laiv Harmony DAC.

@tds3371 Wow! That is odd. Isn't the guy who started Laiv an ex-Denafrips man? Or have I imagined that?

@painter24 I thought so, too - but Alvin has always been a straight shooter with me when it comes to audio. I sense he’s as interested in helping fellow audiophiles as he is making a sale (he’s dissuaded me from purchasing a DDC - said the benefits wouldn’t be worth the expenditure in my set-up). Incidentally, I AM looking into the Laiv Harmony.

Very sad news because Alvin has been instrumental to the success of Denafrips.

Re: the guy who started Laiv; just read he was Alvin's lieutenant at Vinshine, not a Denafrips employee as per my earlier post.

@classic8 I agree wholeheartedly, but we maybe jumping the gun. The signs are ominous, but it's just speculation at this point. 

True - it is speculation at this point.

Below is the email reply from Alvin which I received yesterday. I highlighted how the current lack of transparency over the 15th situation was not doing either Denafrips or Vinshine any favours, or words to that affect:

Good day.
Indeed, I understand that the current situation is not ideal for Vinshine Audio. DENAFRIPS released the 15th in an unplanned manner. We could only wait for the public announcement from DENAFRIPS.

@tds3371 Me as well.

I think it’s pretty obvious that something is going on behind the seen at Vineshine and Denafrips. But, at this point it’s only rumors. We can continue to speculate all we want but until some sort of formal announcement is made it remains speculation, which we all know easily gets out of hand on Audiogon (and other sites.) If you’re planning to buy a Denafrips product or sell one that you already have, it’s probably best to just wait until the dust settles.

Check out the Laiv Harmony DAC review.  The Harmony bested the Terminator Plus and Terminator Plus 12th at half the cost.  It is today's Giant-Slayer that the original Terminator was when it first arrived many years ago.  

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/laiv-audio-harmony-dac/

FWIW, the people that have bought this Laiv DAC are not corroborating those claims, yes they say it's a good DAC but not a giant killer like some reviewers have claimed.  

not the one calling the shots at Denafrips, he knows most likely this is not recieved well by Westerners, but FYI culturally it's common practice in China

Don't you have some new TV, phone, etc model every year Westerner? It seems you are not that culturally different from Chinese guys.

The Terminator 15th is listed on the Denafrips site at $6,099.00 - a 24% increase.

They should have given it a new name this time..the Penetrator dac, new and improved....Costs 24%more, but comes with more girth and length...the Penetrator...the d..d...d...dac you've always wanted. Oh yeah...

I am more concerned why they changed the warranty from three years to one year.

@otherworld74 I agree this is a concern; is this an indication that they are going to cut corners?

I've still no idea what is going on with Denafrips/Vinshine; I'm not sure if there actually is a parting of ways, as down in the shipping notes on the Denafrips site, the notes reference Vinshine several times re: EU and UK VAT/Duty, so nope, no idea what's going on.

Regardless, the Pontus II 15th is a lovely, lovely sounding piece of kit. I won't go into hyperbole, except to say it gives everything the Ares 12th-1 did, but much more if it.

The DAC the Ares and now Pontus has kept off my rack since Jan/Feb is the Cen Grand DSDAC 1.0 Super Clock, which converts all PCM to DSD, up to DSD 1024 and a fine DAC, which was almost twice the price of the Pontus; but the Pontus is just streets ahead in terms of emotional engagement compared to the Cen Grand.

I've never owned a previous Pontus version, so can't compare, but the 15th is staying put; no complaints at all 👍