Why are people selling their Denafrips Ares 2 DACs
- Thread starter Amarendra
- Start date
ryanrulez4ever
Active Member
Well depends on how much you're willing to spend, I'd pick an ares II over pontus II anyday for a headphones chain and use the extra funds to get some high end headphones maybe from zmf or use that extra funds on an amp (this would provide a better ROI).
It's about value for money, vs 5% improvement at twice the price!
What surprises me most is that most of us have supporting audio gear which is more expensive than our speakers!
Speakers such as the QA3050i are forgiving, and sound absolutely pleasant with a wide variety of gear. They'll not respond to a slight change or nuance in the chain.
When one is investing in introducing a certain "quality" in the chain one needs to have "decently" resolving speakers to begin with.
Most of us here have our basics misplaced.
So how does the sound presentation of Ares II differs from Pontus II and what exactly in that sound presentation makes you favour an Ares II for headphones while Pontus II for speakers ?
I have personally not heard both of these DACs so asking it as a genuine query.
ryanrulez4ever
Active Member
The chain is intel 11th gen Nuc (roon (both tidal and qobuz)) -> ares II (upgrading in less than a week which is why it's being sold) - > Conrad Johnson cav50 ( willsenton r8 is inbound and will be making a Second chain with it ) -> blumenhofer big fun 17Thats very true! The fact that something has been put up for sale does not necessarily suggest that the product is not competent. Unfortunately for most of us, its a dart in the dark! If it works, we stick to it, else, the classifieds it is!
It'd be great if you could share your experience with the Ares II and the chain you have deployed. That way, people hoping to climb the R2R ladder (see what I did there?) would have a better idea about whether the device will have synergy with their components.
Speaker cables: WSS platin , power cord : Murthy sir's.
Auditions due this week : Kef R3 and F7 (SS power amp)
Perhaps OP is not as sophisticated as the Ares or the Pontus………..
Resolution, As you Go Higher in the Denafrips Chain; Resolution, Spacing of instruments, Micro Dynamics, Better Handling of Very Complicated Pieces Like Orchestra and Scale increases. The other Traits of Denafrips Dacs Like Very Low sibilance, Unnoticeable Digital Glare, Near Analog Tonality improves very Marginally.
Its Still not that simple, Because as Always If your Rest of electronics don't compliment the upgrade its hardly worth it, You're better off investing it somewhere else. But, Yes in a decent setup Pontus2 is quite an upgrade.
Absolutely, Once You hear it You feel like getting More and More of It, I sold my Ares2 Long back, Upgraded to Terminator.
Yes Qutest is more resolving than Ares2 and probably more clinical ; but the tonality of R2R is quite addictive (Especially for people upgrading to digital with their fond analog setup memories). Not Only Qutest, Any Current Gen Topping or SMSL with dual ESS 9038 Chipset may outperform Terminator on Resolution front ; but the presentation leaves you unsatisfied and prefer the Denafrips. I recently Bought & Sold (Within a Month) Topping D90 , it was resolving enough but not at all desirable tonality and presentation.
After Speakers and Amp, DAC has a huge impact on Overall fidelity of the hifi setup, so I don't think investing in an expensive DAC is a total waste of money. Also the Previous Flagships do have a great VFM choice as always. Of course YMMV.
To eliminate or reduce the digital glare i added a tube buffer to the chain. It made the music more analog. When I say analog i am comparing the same track played by my TT vs played via Apple hires through Audioquest DAC. Details wise the TT couldn’t beat the Audioquest but tonality wise I preferred the TT. So as an experiment I added a tube buffer. I feel It brings some goodness of the TT to a good resolving DAC without breaking the bank.
I think there is a big price difference between Qutest and Terminator. Also to me, chip based DAC's (especially ESS ones) sound quite clinical - Prefer AKM/wolfson any day over ESS. Chord and few others do not use off the shelf chips, they use FGPA technology. Not well versed on the technology but these sound quite different from the chip as well as R2R versions. Then there are NOS (non over sampling designs) which some people claim are the best.
NOS DAC. Non-Oversampling DAC [Advantages, Disadvantages]
NOS DAC (non-oversampling DAC) is a digital-to-analog converter without an oversampler. Sometimes, the converter doesn't include an analog filter (filterless). Read why NOS DAC is used, its types, advantages and disadvantages, oversampling vs non-oversampling DAC
samplerateconverter.com
Cheers,
Sid
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If anyone‘s interested, below is a link to a back-to-back review of all four Denafrips DACs.
The reviewer does a deep dive into the sonic attributes of each, and the value proposition as one goes up the (cough) ladder.
www.hifi-advice.com
The reviewer does a deep dive into the sonic attributes of each, and the value proposition as one goes up the (cough) ladder.
Denafrips Ares II, Pontus II, Venus II, and Terminator Plus
Ever wonder what spending extra on the next level DAC from the same company gets you? Let's find out by directly comparing all the DACs that Denafrips currently has on offer.
www.hifi-advice.com
Today tried with ares2 with coaxial input, not happy with the loss of hf extension, feel some blanket covering my speakers, the buyer is also along with me. We spent 3hrs happily and he carry his dac along with him while leaving.i feel muddy and dull sound in my system, for me it not suitable
Btw i used luminT1, auralic altair, chord hugo TT, so i have some little understanding of different sound signatures of dacs.
Btw i used luminT1, auralic altair, chord hugo TT, so i have some little understanding of different sound signatures of dacs.
Tried with different geners, not happy with any, somehow its not matching, the amp is krell ksa 100s and speakers are jbl L300, pre used is cary.
Expected a lot and got nothing. Happy that the seller agreed to test in my system(please dont ask the seller details)
Expected a lot and got nothing. Happy that the seller agreed to test in my system(please dont ask the seller details)
I had the other day connected my WD 225 D as my mains which my Quad S2s reign prime. I was happily listening to music the next day little realising that I was listening to a speaker costing 1/4 of the Quads.
This is not the worst either. I have listened to music on my TV for a good half hour before realising that something was not right.
This. after listening to music for over a period of 40 years. I find it amusing and at the same time, glad that these days, ears and grey matter have evolved enough to tell the difference between DACs.
On the subject matter, I think that we should all create threads praising our equipment to lofty standards before putting it up for sale. Duh.
This is not the worst either. I have listened to music on my TV for a good half hour before realising that something was not right.
This. after listening to music for over a period of 40 years. I find it amusing and at the same time, glad that these days, ears and grey matter have evolved enough to tell the difference between DACs.
On the subject matter, I think that we should all create threads praising our equipment to lofty standards before putting it up for sale. Duh.
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Another amusing bit , when praising the flagship model of any component , be that a DAC or an amp or a streamer - the highest praise seems to be - it sounds ‘analog’.
If reaching an analog sound seems to be highest goal , apparently, why go down the digital path at all ?
The MOFI controversy on top of it all has exposed the hypocrisy and delusion of ‘golden-ears’ of audiophiles as well .
If reaching an analog sound seems to be highest goal , apparently, why go down the digital path at all ?
The MOFI controversy on top of it all has exposed the hypocrisy and delusion of ‘golden-ears’ of audiophiles as well .
Convenience.
Hehe, for me, the magic potion is getting expensive.
I feel that since we are discussing why FMs are willing to let go of their Ares II, two very relevant corollary questions to the thread header could well be these ........
BUYER SIDE
1. "Is it OK (cost benefit wise) for someone to pick up a practically new A II from an ex owner for about 75% of the MRP?"
In my opinion, the answer is a resounding YES, provided he has a reasonably resolving system.
The A II is really really good. I had it for about 5/6 months, so I know.
SELLER SIDE
2. "Does it make sense for an Ares II owner to sell (dump
) it and move up to the Pontus II (or even higher) ?"This was my answer 4 months ago :
Any Denafrips dealer in India.
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...
www.hifivision.com
Hope this puts things in better perspective for the fence sitters (both buyers and sellers).
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