Denafrips R2R DAC

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by GanGreinke, Feb 1, 2017.

  1. alvin1118

    alvin1118 MOT - VINSHINE AUDIO

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    @Torq , yep it's delayed to mid of May'17. By then we will have healthy stock of Pontus DAC. I will contact you again.
     
  2. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    I think when MOTs participate on here, they should know what they are getting into.
     
  3. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

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    Sorry, had to read this twice. First time I translated the "T" as "Tribe", but then realized it was "Trade"! That made a lot more sense, and was less politically/religiously charged...

    Cheers
     
  4. powermatic

    powermatic Friend

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    You mean an honest appraisal of a product by a discerning, accomplished listener with no ulterior motives or financial incentives, as opposed to a "review" by a fan-boy with limited experience in both equipment evaluation and writing, but who is nonetheless hoping to jump on the swag gravy train by never speaking badly of a component? ;)
     
  5. willsw

    willsw Friend

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    Having a group to give you feedback who doesn't care about your ego is an invaluable thing. Having more than one group is even better, as groups are groups for a reason.

    I have a Denafrips Ares that I bought from someone local who gave it about 15 hours and bought a Spring. At 15 hours, at a meet, I preferred the MHDT Stockholm V2 to it, but was getting better bass and a blacker background from the Ares, so I hoped that the slightly harsh sound would flower into something beautiful. It's probably fully burned in now and I am really enjoying my home speaker system but can't say too much about the DAC, as I've changed other components recently. After Axpona I'll try to organize a session with the local guys' Yggdrasil, Spring Lvl. 3, and whatever else is around. Maybe someone around here has another Schiit multibit.
     
  6. Perri

    Perri New

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    Any results ?
     
  7. willsw

    willsw Friend

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    I did some comparisons in the last few days with a Wavelength Brick and a Chord 2qute, both of which were superior in instrument separation and a realistic sense of space. The NOS Brick didn't have the same bass impact as the Ares, but when compared with the 2qute the Ares was less detailed in the lower frequencies. After these, I don't really think a comparison with the Spring or Yggdrasil would be very interesting, but at an upcoming meet I'll hope to compare it to the more relevant Bifrost Multibit.
    In most cases the Ares has been very close if not equal, and I still have been enjoying it. In its price range new, it seems like a good option.
     
  8. Perri

    Perri New

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    It would be interesting to audition the Spring against the Ares to stop suggestions that they are comparable in audio quality performance for potential buyers .
     
  9. willsw

    willsw Friend

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    I believe there are now two Springs in my area owned by people who carry components around in the spirit of comparison (one person is who I bought the Ares from), so it's likely that chance will be there. If I remember to, I'll also propose that they're welcome to take the Dfrips home with them for a comparison on their own time.
     
  10. Perri

    Perri New

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    willsw : Has the slightly harsh sound gone after more hours of use of the Ares as people are mentioning the harshness goes after 150 hours or so of use as well as more detail coming through after this time .

    Sounds like the Ares might be a good piece of DIY kit even though a tad pricey for such endeavors .

    I have impulse bought a DAC 68 to DIY play with .
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2017
  11. Sqveak

    Sqveak Friend

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    Do you mean that as in something to modify?
     
  12. Perri

    Perri New

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  13. Sqveak

    Sqveak Friend

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    What did you have in mind?
     
  14. Perri

    Perri New

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    Not sure have to see schematic and unit first .
    Hopefully a simple NOS first and then go on from there .
     
  15. Plusco

    Plusco New

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    hello friend! i was browsing DENAFRIPS website, Ares is not NOS ? The website shows the higher end model like Pontus support NOS/OS switching?
    Anyone can confirm that? I am about to buy the Ares.
     
  16. willsw

    willsw Friend

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    The Ares is not NOS. From the manual:

    Depending on the sampling rate of the input signal, the Ares automatically converts it to the most suitable sampling rate of the R‐2R DAC for decoding. Although the R‐2R DAC can decode almost all the sampling rate of the audio signals, but in fact, the actual R‐2R architecture and circuitry design, decided the best sampling rate to sound best that it shall decode. The use of up‐sampling processing converts all digital audio input signal to the predefined sampling rate, so to ensure all kind of audio format can be decoded with the best sound performance.
     
  17. Plusco

    Plusco New

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    Thank you willsw. I might go for the Pontus for sake of trying out the NOS and OS. Many good words on NOS sounds superior that OS.
     
  18. ChrisWP

    ChrisWP New

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    A friend was part of a dac shootout which included the Schitt Yggdrasil drasil and some other heavyweight dacs. The group there rated the Ares second only to the Schitt. See results below. You can see detailed discussion on AVSA forum https://www.avforums.co.za/index.php/topic,62698.0.html

    My personal experience has also been totally positive -
    It has been one of the best audio purchases I ever made. It has turned the hi res digital source into a musical presentation that presents the detail, emotion and also the musicality in a layered and three dimensional soundstage. In short the music is enjoyable without the need for adjustment. The ARES dac has an accurate presentation tonally and realistic scale of presentation. It’s a great product which my friends agree has done wonders for my hi –res collection including DSD.
    As a bonus this ARES dac has turned my old CD player into a great source. I have run my Yamaha CDX 1110 through the dac via optical cable. It’s a beautiful presentation of music, balanced and no digital glare normally associated with some CD players and which mine had. I will try it with co-ax later and report soon.
    It’s a great product and really working for me. My speakers (Yamaha NS 1000M) are good at reproducing micro detail and I am hearing so much more with this dac including overtones of piano and decay of symbols etc. The one character I like very much is that the instruments are nicely separated but the music still presented as a whole.
     
  19. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    Still interested to hear this stuff ...

    However, it's been almost four months since it was brought up and almost two since there was any comment on availability. And, for me at least, it is coming up on the busiest (and least predictable) period for my recreational travel. So, at this point, I'm skeptical that it'll happen.
     
  20. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    How did the Hex get such high markings? I mean, I like the thing, but can they not hear it glossing over all the micro details?
     

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