Owned: Areas 12th-1 so far; this has kept my Cen Grand DSDAC 1.0 Super Clock off my rack for 6 weeks, and I don't feel like I'll be changing this anytime soon. The Cen Grand is 3x the cost of the Ares, but it doesn't come close to sheer enjoyment compared the the Ares. This is of course my subjective observation in my system, my room, my humble ears.
For £1k+, the Ares12th-1 is a monster