Just about to pull the trigger on Pontus 15th ...

@lanx0003 I just wanted to add to this thread about my personal experience with the 15th. The dac did indeed clear up its sound for me Still not bright or fatiguing in any way but a level of clarity opened up. Like that old saying..a veil had been lifted. Which helps & improved the overall sound stage. 

@mattw73  Thank you for the update. Approximately how many hours of break-in did it take before you noticed the change? That’s good news. How about the separation within the soundstage—do the edges become more clearly defined as the 'veil' is lifted? I mostly listen to classical and Jazz.  Thx.

@lanx0003 about 160-170 hours in when I was watching/listening to TV thru the dac when voices & conversation just become clear & crisp. Watching a movie & a phone rang off screen in another room & the ringing came from wide outside my left speaker & more 3 dimensional than anytime before with this dac. It wasn't I think things became clearer but a definite noticeable moment. 

I had emailed Denafrips to maybe suggest something was wrong with my unit. They didn't really respond to that but just mentioned that they "break in" the dac for 200 hours & usually after 100 hours on our end the dac should be good. I had been running the dac 8 days but it had been shut off a few times here & there. Maybe closer to 180hrs on my end. 

It just finally opened up to a clarity of sound that I'm used to. Like any decent dac should sound in that department. And yes, with the clarity came the more defined edges..less smearing of instruments. With busier music or multiple instruments playing there is better separation when comparing to my previous dac. Easier to discern when a drummer is going higher & lower on a drum kit..the spacing between the drums is more defined (Money-Pink Floyd) Or visualizing fingers going up & down a harp is more focused (Comme un Tango-Belanger & Bisson)

I really haven't been able to do hours of critical listening as we haven't been home since early Friday. The little time I've had with it since it opened up I realize I need to reposition my speakers. Having a TV between the speakers & not being able to pull the speakers way out into the room I really am missing a lot of the spatial cues the DAC has to offer. Pulling the speakers further out for a couple tracks really showed off what the dac is capable of as far as placement & depth of instruments. In a more open or dedicated listening room I could more appreciate the nuances of this dac.

Listening for a short period last Friday made it very apparent my living room is not set up for the finest side of audio listening. I have a spare room I used to listen to vinyl in, I may need to reconsider using that room again. Or at least stop spending money in my living room. I can only get so much out of this listening space..no better quality of gear can improve it. 

I went off sideways again from the question you asked. The "new" clarity did improve all things. The edges & separation are all there. Without that hardness or glare I've spoken of. Still not vinyl with my digital source. Sounds like a regular good dac but with better stage & depth & imaging. Does not sound overly warm like R2R's had been described to me. As far as just the clarity & things of that nature I probably couldn't tell it apart from a chip dac. It's all those other perceptions & lack of glare/hardness that makes it different from what I was using. Which if you know your system well you would probably be able to pick the R2R out in comparisons with your set up.  My opinion anyway. 

@mattw73  Still not vinyl with my digital source. Sounds like a regular good dac but with better stage & depth & imaging. Does not sound overly warm like R2R’s had been described to me. As far as just the clarity & things of that nature I probably couldn’t tell it apart from a chip dac. It’s all those other perceptions & lack of glare/hardness that makes it different from what I was using.

Thank you for your honesty. Many people exaggerate their experiences to justify the cost of pricier gear. These days, as you know, it’s actually quite hard to find a bad or even mediocre DAC at any price point. I mentioned before that I couldn’t tell the difference between a very affordable SMSL DAC and the much-hyped Gustard R26 on my humble system — and yet both it and my ears have been capable of revealing flaws in, and retiring, several mid-tier DACs I’ve owned over the past few years.

One more review just came out yesterday on the Harmony micro DAC. The reviewer highly praises it over several other candidates on my shortlist, including the Chord Qutest, Denafrips Pontus 12th, Topping D90 (or was it the Centaurus?), and others. He also mentions that adding the matching micro DDC takes the experience to another level up with Harmony DAC.  Very interesting. I say that because the Chief Engineer and designer of Harmony DDC mentioned that it makes only a subtle difference. These days, it's hard to know what to believe or what to expect anymore.

It seems like there are enough positive reviews for the Harmony micro dac that it's worth rolling the dice and trying one.  It's nice that the ddc could take it to another level if you ever got the upgrade bug. 

I took a chance on my current dac based on a couple of reviews that I hoped were accurate and honest.  There was a return option that would have cost me about $150 but I ended up keeping it.