Any Denafrips dealer in India.

[ranojoy]

Not

That's a Great Move by HPZ, this kind of adaptability is a very good practice for a good dealership, considering 66k that I paid for Ares2 while importing directly , 80k seems reasonable though 75k would have been ideal. 80k is appropriate, If they're stocking it instead of back ordering it IMHO.

Hi how much import duty did you pay for the Ares II ? I could not understand the duty markup amount.
As per SGD to INR conversion rates, price paid to Vinshine would have been around 54/55 K, right ?
Does that mean that the import duty was only 11K (i.e. around 20% only) ???

 

[drkrack]

Hi how much import duty did you pay for the Ares II ? I could not understand the duty markup amount.
As per SGD to INR conversion rates, price paid to Vinshine would have been around 54/55 K, right ?
Does that mean that the import duty was only 11K (i.e. around 20% only) ???

yes , 65k total with customs, But again I paid another 1k for Credit card transaction in SGD currency.

 

[ranojoy]

yes , 65k total with customs, But again I paid another 1k for Credit card transaction in SGD currency.

Sorry to bother you again ... just wanted to understand the process as I have never ordered electronic hardware from abroad.
I guess you ordered on Vinshine site and paid the SGD equivalent thru Credit card, right ?
After that, can you track the shipment from SG right upto your own city in India ?
Did you have to visit the customs office to pay the duty or did the courier collect it from home at the time of delivery ?

And I'm really surprised at the amount of duty they charged ........

 

[ranojoy]

Does anyone else have any experience of importing Denafrips products directly from Vinshine Audio ?
I'm specifically interested in whether importing from Singapore will save some money compared to buying in India from HPZ.

As the prices are going to go up shortly, the decision window is very small ....

 

[Credoh]

Sorry to bother you again ... just wanted to understand the process as I have never ordered electronic hardware from abroad.
I guess you ordered on Vinshine site and paid the SGD equivalent thru Credit card, right ?
After that, can you track the shipment from SG right upto your own city in India ?
Did you have to visit the customs office to pay the duty or did the courier collect it from home at the time of delivery ?

And I'm really surprised at the amount of duty they charged ........

I would very much like to know as well. @drkrack please do share

 

[drkrack]

I would very much like to know as well. @drkrack please do share

It was sent via DHL AFAIK

I paid in SGD on Vinshine site and it was easily track able.
Reached customs and they gave me a call to pay the amount via NEFT to a agent company for DHL and rest was handled by them.

This was before lock down and the customs was lower before the Pandemic.

 

[Credoh]

It was sent via DHL AFAIK

I paid in SGD on Vinshine site and it was easily track able.
Reached customs and they gave me a call to pay the amount via NEFT to a agent company for DHL and rest was handled by them.

This was before lock down and the customs was lower before the Pandemic.

Thanks for the update. 65k for the Ares just sounds like awesome value. Dont think it's possible to get it anywhere close to that figure now post the price increase and increase in customs. Not sure if its still as enticing a proposition at almost 90k landed

 

[ranojoy]

Thanks for the update. 65k for the Ares just sounds like awesome value. Dont think it's possible to get it anywhere close to that figure now post the price increase and increase in customs. Not sure if its still as enticing a proposition at almost 90k landed

As a current user of the Ares II, I would still go for it at 90K due to the sheer magic that it can do.
Yes, 90K is painful for sure, but even at that price, I think its still worth it.
In fact, around 6 months of listening to the Ares II convinced me to book the Pontus II.
That's how good it is.....

 

[drkrack]

As a current user of the Ares II, I would still go for it at 90K due to the sheer magic that it can do.
Yes, 90K is painful for sure, but even at that price, I think its still worth it.
In fact, around 6 months of listening to the Ares II convinced me to book the Pontus II.
That's how good it is.....

Agree to this opinion word by word ; when I heard Ares2 at my home for audition (with Gungnir Multibit by side, Ares2 Not even burnt in, was to be delivered to someone else in a week), I felt that I got the SQ signature I'm looking for in DACs. I even offered to buy it at a premium, it was quite impressive ; very few component auditions have given this unstoppable urge to buy immediately. Next I ordered directly without bothering about Customs!!

Finally a year later Upgraded to Terminator and upgrade paths are quite sorted out for DACs, at least for now

 

[Credoh]

I wrote to Denafrips and their only authorized channel in India is now hfv. The Ares bug has bitten me as well but it just seems astronomical and downright unfair to pay 90k for something that is listed at 65k with shipping in Singapore. If anyone has decided to let their Ares go please PM.

 

[ranojoy]

If anyone has decided to let their Ares go please PM.

Just received the Pontus II, so my Ares II will have to go. Will put it up for sale after a week or so.

 

[jmascreen]

Just received the Pontus II, so my Ares II will have to go. Will put it up for sale after a week or so.

How is Pontus II compared to Ares II?

 

[ranojoy]

How is Pontus II compared to Ares II?

I had mentioned in an earlier thread that I would have been happy to pay 90K for the Ares II.
Long story short ... I'm happy to have paid double that amount for the Pontus II.

Reviewers generally speak about 3 or 4 distinct upgrades that the Pontus II brings to the table vis-a-vis the Ares II.
Whatever I'm saying below is after about 130-140 hours break in.

• Sound stage - left to right - Ares II is W-I-D-E but Pontus II is much W I D E R. Basically, the walls disappear.
• Sound stage - front to back - P-II has more depth than A-II, yes, but the difference is not as stark as the left to right width. Maybe it'll improve further after I hit 200 hours. One thing is sure .... I can now make out the location of each sound source much better than I could earlier.
• Air and decay - This is a big gain. BIG. The sound of the individual instruments seem to have been lovingly wrapped in a muslin cloth before they come out of the speakers.
• Bass control - better, but not way better.
• Acoustic instruments - again, a BIG step up. The sound is kind of lilting, if you know what I mean. I could make out the sound of the individual guitar strings with the A-II but now the separation is significantly better.
• Clarity - the A-II is very good at this. The P-II is more incisive, more crisp, more real.
• Build quality - a tank would be ashamed if it was compared to the P-II. You'll need a hammer to break into it.

Whatever I've written above, the A-II can do all of it quite well. Its just that the P-II does all of it better.
I'm sure the V-II / T-II would be even better, but then one has to adjust for the divorce risk too.
Seriously thinking of adding a Hermes now. The improved clock and isolation should ideally elevate everything.

Last but not the least, I had caught myself smiling quite a few times while listening to the A-II.
Now, I smile all the time.

 

[jmascreen]

I had mentioned in an earlier thread that I would have been happy to pay 90K for the Ares II.
Long story short ... I'm happy to have paid double that amount for the Pontus II.

Reviewers generally speak about 3 or 4 distinct upgrades that the Pontus II brings to the table vis-a-vis the Ares II.
Whatever I'm saying below is after about 130-140 hours break in.

• Sound stage - left to right - Ares II is W-I-D-E but Pontus II is much W I D E R. Basically, the walls disappear.
• Sound stage - front to back - P-II has more depth than A-II, yes, but the difference is not as stark as the left to right width. Maybe it'll improve further after I hit 200 hours. One thing is sure .... I can now make out the location of each sound source much better than I could earlier.
• Air and decay - This is a big gain. BIG. The sound of the individual instruments seem to have been lovingly wrapped in a muslin cloth before they come out of the speakers.
• Bass control - better, but not way better.
• Acoustic instruments - again, a BIG step up. The sound is kind of lilting, if you know what I mean. I could make out the sound of the individual guitar strings with the A-II but now the separation is significantly better.
• Clarity - the A-II is very good at this. The P-II is more incisive, more crisp, more real.
• Build quality - a tank would be ashamed if it was compared to the P-II. You'll need a hammer to break into it.

Whatever I've written above, the A-II can do all of it quite well. Its just that the P-II does all of it better.
I'm sure the V-II / T-II would be even better, but then one has to adjust for the divorce risk too.
Seriously thinking of adding a Hermes now. The improved clock and isolation should ideally elevate everything.

Last but not the least, I had caught myself smiling quite a few times while listening to the A-II.
Now, I smile all the time.

Thanks very much for the detailed review.. appreciated

 

[Nishant Rastogi]

I had mentioned in an earlier thread that I would have been happy to pay 90K for the Ares II.
Long story short ... I'm happy to have paid double that amount for the Pontus II.

Reviewers generally speak about 3 or 4 distinct upgrades that the Pontus II brings to the table vis-a-vis the Ares II.
Whatever I'm saying below is after about 130-140 hours break in.

• Sound stage - left to right - Ares II is W-I-D-E but Pontus II is much W I D E R. Basically, the walls disappear.
• Sound stage - front to back - P-II has more depth than A-II, yes, but the difference is not as stark as the left to right width. Maybe it'll improve further after I hit 200 hours. One thing is sure .... I can now make out the location of each sound source much better than I could earlier.
• Air and decay - This is a big gain. BIG. The sound of the individual instruments seem to have been lovingly wrapped in a muslin cloth before they come out of the speakers.
• Bass control - better, but not way better.
• Acoustic instruments - again, a BIG step up. The sound is kind of lilting, if you know what I mean. I could make out the sound of the individual guitar strings with the A-II but now the separation is significantly better.
• Clarity - the A-II is very good at this. The P-II is more incisive, more crisp, more real.
• Build quality - a tank would be ashamed if it was compared to the P-II. You'll need a hammer to break into it.

Whatever I've written above, the A-II can do all of it quite well. Its just that the P-II does all of it better.
I'm sure the V-II / T-II would be even better, but then one has to adjust for the divorce risk too.
Seriously thinking of adding a Hermes now. The improved clock and isolation should ideally elevate everything.

Last but not the least, I had caught myself smiling quite a few times while listening to the A-II.
Now, I smile all the time.

Nice explanation of your experience

 

[shuv]

@ranojoy I'll patiently wait for the Pontus to hit the classifieds