Denarips and Vinshine split

@pindac Thanks for sharing. I wish I could hear both the Laiv Harmony and Denafrips Venus. I noticed Denafrips reduced their warranty period from 3 years to 1 - I hope this does not mean the quality of the new units will be lower.

@pindac Yes, I have similar thoughts.  Some reviewers claim the Laiv Harmony comes close to the Terminator II; if so it would seem the Harmony is a better value because apparently there is a big difference between the Venus and Terminator. Another consideration for me is that Denafrips units play native DSD vs the Harmony which converts to PCM - in practice do not know if this is an issue or not.

@pindac Any new thoughts regarding LAiV Harmony vs Venus II 12th-1? I noticed the Pontus II 15th uses the same resistor ladder as the Venus, and the main difference between the units is the clock.  So I wonder how different the sound would be between Pontus II 15th vs Venus II 12th-1 vs LAiV Harmony? Denafrips has a 10% sale through August 10, so wondering if the Pontus II 15th is the best value right now?

Yes, I am also learning, and I think you are correct. Many users have reported sound improvement using external clocks and DDCs.  Maybe the Venus II 12th-1’s superior clock justifies the price differential.  It would be interesting if Denafrips released a Venus II 15th.