DENAFRIPS DAC ---- Owner Impressions, Feedback, General Discussion, Questions and more....

Last week, I decided to take the plunge and order a Terminator to replace my Yggdrasil (A2 Gen5 USB) that I've had in my system for a little over two years. I've had a chance to compare the Yggy with a few other DACs (similar and lower priced than the Yggy) and to my ears and in my system, the Yggy always came out the clear winner.

I've been listening to my system a LOT more in the past several weeks since I've got my home office set up in the same room as my 2-channel system. I've really been enjoying what it can do, but like most audiophiles, I'm always looking for ways to improve it. 

There wasn't anything in particular that I felt was missing with the Yggy. On good recordings, it sounds spectacular. Perhaps the only thing that bugged me was that lower quality recordings were considerably less enjoyable, and there is a lot of classic rock that just doesn't sound that great. I'm not sure if the Terminator is going to help, but we shall see. 

The Terminator arrived yesterday afternoon, so I don't have many hours on it yet. I'm hesitant to give any impressions at this point since it is barely warmed up, let along broken in. But right out of the box, I noticed more solidity and impact in the bass, even from my office chair listening position. I have not done any critical listening yet. 

I'm hoping to get some feedback from current or previous owners. I currently have my DAC connected to my Bryston BDP-2 over AES/EBU. I have a NUC8i7 running Roon ROCK in another room. I'm considering putting the NUC in an Akasa fanless case with a good linear PS and connecting it via USB to the DAC. This would require investment in a good PS (which I will probably do anyway) and a good USB cable. 

Has anyone tried both AES (or SPDIF) and USB and found USB to be better with the Terminator (or other Denafrips DACs)?

I have tried the USB connected directly to a fanless low powered endpoint and the results on the USB are outstanding, note internally the DAC will buffer and reclock the signal, that added to the excellent built in power supply of this DAC makes the system "less dependant" on external factors like USB quality, Linear Power supplies for the equipment etc.
That said using good USB cables, LPS powered NUCs (I have a Nuc like yours with a JS2) etc. will improve thngs

Alvin,
Thanks for the response. Bluesound does not have that option, but Tidal does. Let me explore a bit and see what I can do. Regardless, I can use the MQA output from the Node 2 for my headphones and the Ares for CD quality and as a replacement for the dac in my Oppo.

For you denafrips owners, what other dacs did you find the denafrips performed better than? Either at a similar level or more pricey?

did not listen to all dacs, but did compare to scarlatti which was better, but also a lot more cash.

even at 2x-3x  the price  point for each of the respective denafrips dacs, you are not going to beat them.