I cant claim golden ears or any definitive last word on DACS but I purchased an Ares and liked it. I also auditioned a MSL400 Also good but with a remote, a viewing screen and more filter option. I sold the Ares to a guy who went nuts for it and returned the MSL 400. These were both good units but I wound up with a Schiit Gugnier Multibit. Nice DAC and I'm happy. I use an Audiolab CDT 6000 transport and after going through a bunch of COAX cables, I like the Kimber 30 for a reasonable $95. It is easier to listen to than my silver Kimber D60 that retails for $450. So all in My digital front end is right at $2k. About the max what I want to spend. I've been doing the audiophile thing for over 40 years and I have to put the brakes on equipment creep. Pretty soon the cost of my system would double and I would not sure how I got there or if it is really any better than what I had before.
DENAFRIPS DAC ---- Owner Impressions, Feedback, General Discussion, Questions and more....
Thread for OWNER IMPRESSIONS, FEEDBACK, QUESTIONS, ETC. regarding DENAFRIPS DACs.
DENAFRIPS lists the following R2R DACs:
Ares, Pontus, Venus, and Terminator (in increasing price order).
"DENAFRIPS incorporated in year 2012, focus in developing high end audio equipment at a very affordable price. Throughout the years of intense Research & Development, and continuous improvement of the product lines, DENAFRIPS had finally settled with the current product range equipped with R-2R ladder DAC technology. The reason behind this is the designer strongly believe that R-2R DAC is the best way to reproduce music.
The name, DENAFRIPS, stand for:
D-ynamic
E-xquisite
N-atural
A-ttractive
F-idelity
R-efined
I-ntoxicating
P-ure
S-ophisticated
This mean a lot and it is the house-sound of all DENAFRIPS products." [Copied From Denafrips About Us section]
DENAFRIPS lists the following R2R DACs:
Ares, Pontus, Venus, and Terminator (in increasing price order).
"DENAFRIPS incorporated in year 2012, focus in developing high end audio equipment at a very affordable price. Throughout the years of intense Research & Development, and continuous improvement of the product lines, DENAFRIPS had finally settled with the current product range equipped with R-2R ladder DAC technology. The reason behind this is the designer strongly believe that R-2R DAC is the best way to reproduce music.
The name, DENAFRIPS, stand for:
D-ynamic
E-xquisite
N-atural
A-ttractive
F-idelity
R-efined
I-ntoxicating
P-ure
S-ophisticated
This mean a lot and it is the house-sound of all DENAFRIPS products." [Copied From Denafrips About Us section]
- ...
- 571 posts total
i am interested in the Pontus, but noticed that a power cord is not included? how can this be? anyway what after market cords are recommended. Rega makes a good one. i also have a Rega Brio amplifier and Rega RS1 speakers. wonder if this DAC would be overkill for my current system. will replace a NAD D1050 DAC that still sound very good even though its 7 years old. |
Yep, we decided not to include the generic power cord as most of the audiophiles would have their preferred power cord to use already. The generic power will likely end up in trash instead.
We've published the basic setup guides for PC/Mac computer audiophiles who use DENAFRIPS DAC via the USB input, feel free to check it out: Cheers, Alvin Chee |
Hans Beekhuyzen video review of the Terminator-Plus R-2R ladder DAC Impressive!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xS8_iWwtCs |
Will make this short and sweet. Have had my Ares II for a couple weeks now, and am incredibly pleased. Some say analog-like. Not quite sure about that, but it is incredibly engaging to listen through, and does not sound ‘digital’ either. Soundstage and imaging is wonderful. Not something I said about my previous DAC. Good, but not like the Ares. Now, like almost everyone else who has purchased the Ares, perhaps I should have sprung for the Pontus instead. But, no regrets. Easy and quick to sell if I decide to do that. |
- 571 posts total