Denafrips FPGA Firmware Update

Yeah…I luckily have another decent DAC to compare the updated Pontus to side-by-side. 

My Marantz SACD 30n has a Burr/Brown chip based DAC/streamer which is on the warm side. Unusual for a chip-based DAC, but true. It can lack detail though in that warm ness. I am definitely getting a colder rendering by my Pontus now. It used to reveal more detail than my Marantz..and never sounded synthetic or edgy like it can now.

I have the Marantz 6006CD and one of things I like most about it is the warm tone but it does lack some detail so your ears are not playing tricks on you.I perfer to use it stand alone,most of my CD’s are jazz and vocal and I perfer the warmer sound playing directly from the Marantz and bypassing my Ares II in the system it is built around. Burr/Brown chips in some componets still have the "magic" if you like a smooth sound.

Thanks for the confirmation. I am getting a little buggy with all of this listening.

Glad to hear that you have the same perceptions as me. Seems that there are a lot of us hearing this synthetic, glassy sound in the highs. Perhaps some systems do not resolves enough to perceive what we are hearing. I am not buying that as my system is VERY on the warm side. ...but who knows. LOL!

Yes...you have me thinking..what do the new DACs (12ths) sound like now.

This gives me pause.

I updated the firmware 3 days ago and it sounded much better than before. The tonal balance is much better from top to bottom. The bass used to be a little heavy comparing to my other dacs, Chord TT2 and Merason Frerot (BB chip based). I am very happy with the new firmware upgrade. The detail and sound stage have also improved noticeably. 

As far as the synthetic, glassy sound in the highs, I do not experience that. It is maybe due to the warm sounding of my tube preamp, tube power amp, and speakers.

My front end: LHY SW-8 -> Lumin U2 mini (via Roon) -> Titan Helen (via Wireworld Platinum Coaxial) -> Pontus II (via Wireworld Platinum I2S)