The DAC Scam?

The differences are pretty obvious right in the chips? Some are shouty, some lack resolution - at least these things don't seem hard to identify.
Differences, yes.
But which one prefers is totally subjective
I discovered I don’t like those that retrieve every last bit of detail. But others may want just that
 
But which one prefers is totally subjective
I discovered I don’t like those that retrieve every last bit of detail. But others may want just that
I realized that pretty much,
Moved to R2R and never looked back, ironically as you go higher up in chain in denafrips R2R, The resolution goes on increasing.
Being happy with Ares2 might have been a good idea, reached denafrips v2 now.
Or AudioNote seems like a good option to consider.
 
I bought Denafrips dac and sold it in a week. It was as if someone was sitting on singers chest and controlling how much air he should blow while artist is singing
 
I bought Denafrips dac and sold it in a week. It was as if someone was sitting on singers chest and controlling how much air he should blow while artist is singing
The dacs are too soft. Also there are other issues. The NOS claims about the dac have been proven/exposed as false. Some may actually like the soft sound, but there are many in this forum have tried to resell the DAC after purchasing it.
 
The Holo audio Cyan 2 maybe preferred by some. (NoS, R2R and so on.)
The 1K USD price it dispenses with displays, switches, knobs and headphone sockets.
Switching between inputs is glitchy, but since I only stream not a bother for me.
After three or four months I can still not bored with its sound character.
 
The Holo audio Cyan 2 maybe preferred by some. (NoS, R2R and so on.)
The 1K USD price it dispenses with displays, switches, knobs and headphone sockets.
Switching between inputs is glitchy, but since I only stream not a bother for me.
After three or four months I can still not bored with its sound character.
I just bought one for my headphone rig. Waiting to get my hands on it by month end. How has your experience been? Got it for a price that isn't much different from the toppings and SMSLs.

I agree with folks calling the Denafrips soft. I have a Pontus 12-1 sitting with me in a box. It has a very mushy sound that I couldn't tolerate. Maybe the top of the line terminator might be better but this ain't my cup of tea.
 
The dacs are too soft. Also there are other issues. The NOS claims about the dac have been proven/exposed as false. Some may actually like the soft sound, but there are many in this forum have tried to resell the DAC after purchasing it.
I just upgraded from an SMSL D300 dac to Ares 12 ( Enyo 15). I dislike it because it is not as soft and smooth like D300. D300 is so smooth that Denafrips feels like harsh. To each his own :)
 
In my experience it does everything I want fairly well. Excels at nothing. So good for a wide range of genres I listen to.
It doesn’t have the seductive warmth of the Lampizator Amber 4 or the soundstage width of the Lumin S1 (recent past experiences)
What I observe/hear is decent imaging, sound stage width, depth. Good details, slightly warm, lush, weighty nuanced bass. I am happy with it so far.
 
I just upgraded from an SMSL D300 dac to Ares 12 ( Enyo 15). I dislike it because it is not as soft and smooth like D300. D300 is so smooth that Denafrips feels like harsh. To each his own :)
I'm surprised that no one makes a high end Rohm dac other than Luxman. My hunch is a well designed Rohm dac would sound fantastic.
 
I'm surprised that no one makes a high end Rohm dac other than Luxman. My hunch is a well designed Rohm dac would sound fantastic.
SMSL has one in VMV lineup.
 
I just bought one for my headphone rig. Waiting to get my hands on it by month end. How has your experience been? Got it for a price that isn't much different from the toppings and SMSLs.

I agree with folks calling the Denafrips soft. I have a Pontus 12-1 sitting with me in a box. It has a very mushy sound that I couldn't tolerate. Maybe the top of the line terminator might be better but this ain't my cup of tea.
You should try Aqua hifi if you get a chance. One of the few in the industry that do R2R digital filterless right but don't charge a bomb for their products.
 
I bought Denafrips dac and sold it in a week. It was as if someone was sitting on singers chest and controlling how much air he should blow while artist is singing
Also include the model you are referring to. We can’t generalise a personal opinion on all DACs of the brand if you only listened to one of them. As @drkrack mentioned their higher end models like the Terminator Plus or newer versions combined with a good DDC can reproduce much of the details.
 
Unfortunately no one has one here. Would be interesting to listen to for sure!
Out of curiosity, have you tried slightly higher models from the audionote lineup ? Dac 3x and above ? I really like them. I have a feeling it is a preference for a filterless sound that somehow for some people resembles the natural sound. Just like the preference for vinyl.

Aqua La Scala MK3 is a really nice balance of natural sound tone and detail resolving capabilities. I have not heard their top of the line Formula xHD.

I have heard the terminator a few times and it sounded quite nice to me although I prefer Aqua lineup.
 
Out of curiosity, have you tried slightly higher models from the audionote lineup ? Dac 3x and above ? I really like them. I have a feeling it is a preference for a filterless sound that somehow for some people resembles the natural sound. Just like the preference for vinyl.

Aqua La Scala MK3 is a really nice balance of natural sound tone and detail resolving capabilities. I have not heard their top of the line Formula xHD.

I have heard the terminator a few times and it sounded quite nice to me although I prefer Aqua lineup.
Have heard the 2.x signature in my system. It didn't completely float my boat. It was better in same ways, worse in others.

AN 3.x might have been better but was completely beyond budget. I was looking to spend around 5 lacs and the T+A I ended up getting just was on a completely different league compared to the 2.x signature.
 
Have heard the 2.x signature in my system. It didn't completely float my boat. It was better in same ways, worse in others.

AN 3.x might have been better but was completely beyond budget. I was looking to spend around 5 lacs and the T+A I ended up getting just was on a completely different league compared to the 2.x signature.
T+A is just brilliant. There is this friend of mine in the US who works with a big audio retailer. He is mostly into T+A and just loves almost all their products. Till now, I have not heard even one of their products.
 
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