EverSolo DMP-A8 with Denafrips Pontus 15th, both have i2S

@pkthesublime  Congrats!  So glad to hear, and Goodonya for going through the effort to try other cables/inputs.  

@pkthesublime No you’re good in NOS.  OS can sound a little brighter, which is why I was asking.  Rooting for some break in magic!

@pkthesublime  I suppose it’s possible the Pontus is just revealing the limitations of those older recordings rather than glossing over their flaws.  If the Pontus sounds better on higher quality recordings it seems you have a decision to make if further break in doesn’t solve the issue.  BTW, are you listening in NOS mode?

@pkthesublime  

I know it is not helping but I'm not sure how much it is hurting because if it was really bad the A8 would sound like ass also, and it sounds really good. 

My bad, you’re absolutely right so probably not worth trying my HDMI cable idea.  Thinking you’re gonna get similar results with the other cables as well but worth a try.  Right now I think we’re back to burn in🤞, and if it’s not more tame after 200 hours I’m honestly perplexed here.  

@pkthesublime  Yeah, the Yammy does not belong between your otherwise nice DAC and amp — it’s a big bottleneck to better performance and is certainly not helping here.  Preamps matter big time, and the pre in your AVR (and almost all AVRs) is garbage relatively speaking. Getting a dedicated stereo pre with an HT bypass should be #1 on your upgrade priority list. And that’s way too long for an i2S cable — not sure how much that’s contributing but in any event it’s not good.  You might want to try this 1 foot cable just for reference purposes as it’s only 7 bucks.  I use something very similar with satisfying results although I’ll be upgrading soon.  Sorry, don’t mean to sound harsh and just trying to help and provide some hopefully useful info.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24187

@pkthesublime  What Yamaha receiver are you using?  That’s a red flag.  Also, how long is the HDMI cable?

I just plugged everything in a few days ago, and i have to say that I find the Pontus too bright for my ears.

@pkthesublime  Give the Pontus at least 200 hours to burn in if it’s new before making any conclusions.  Also, while individual tastes can vary this is a little odd as the Pontus is not considered to be a bright sounding DAC going by both reviews and owner feedback so it may be coming from elsewhere in your system.  One thing is If you’re using i2S make sure you have the optimal pin setting on the Pontus although I kinda doubt that’s the issue but something to check nonetheless.  What’s the rest of your equipment and what cables are you using?

One thing to keep in mind — i2S was not designed to travel distance and the signal degrades rapidly so you want the HDMI cable to be as short as possible.  Optimally it should be no more than a foot, but if you have to go longer go as short as possible.