Anyone have experience with Denafips?

[quattroll2]

I have been feeding my urge to try a Denafrips by watching too many videos on YouTube. It seems that there has been little of that hype here. I’ve seen some talk about Topping and SMSL products, but nothing really on ladder dacs. I’m wondering if an Ares II would be a worthwhile improvement over my DC-1.

I have two DC-1 setups:
CD or streamer to DC-1 to PA-1s to Era Design D14.
CD or streamer to DC-1 to XPA1L to Magnepan .7

Both systems can sound excellent in mostly near field listening with the right tracks, not too big of a space, generally a 6-8 foot triangle arrangement. Neither is outright better, they each have their strengths. The Era setup is punchy and rich with more precise locational detail. The .7 setup is more open, and has a deeper soundstage with that Magnepan “air”..

Anyway, I’ve played a lot with cables and swapping amps so that I can spot real improvements right away. An example is I tried the Micca speaker wires that Steve Huff liked on the PA-1s to the Eras and it was a pretty big change over the older thick Emotiva wires I had been using. The emotiva wires had a plumper but flatter presentation vs the Micca which seemed more open, detailed and with more speed and depth. Seriously guys, flame suit on here!

So if anyone thinks adding a dac to my system like the Ares Ii or the next one up, I’d love to hear from you. I think the DC-1 analog in is very good and sometimes I play my Erc-3 to it that way. Thanks everyone.

[cawgijoe]

I bought a Denafrips Ares II a few months back from a friend who decided to buy the next model up, the Pontus II.

I can't tell you whether the Denafrips will be better than what you have now, however I think it sounds wonderful. It's beautifully built and I believe achieved a Stereophile Class B rating if I recall correctly, and for what that is worth. I did read reviews and went to my friend's house to listen. The internal DAC on the Emotiva XMC-2 is also very good, but I do hear improvements with the Denafrips. Just need to make sure whatever DAC is added that you go as "straight" as possible to avoid additional processing.

If you do decide to purchase, go with the newer model "ARES 12TH". The face controls are improved as well as additional sound improvements. Go to their website for details. The Pontus II is a ral beast and super impressive looking...I'm hoping to get over to his house for some critical listening maybe over Christmas.

[Boomzilla]

I've heard & reviewed the Denafrips products and thought them EXCELLENT.

[quattroll2]

Good comments, thank you guys. Boom - love the review, I’m excited to try all those tracks and listen for the cues. I’ve sold a few unused items, and I wanted to redeploy the $$, I can see how it’s a stab in the dark with Denafrips though. I think no tax and free shipping?

If anyone has any reasonably comparable alternatives, I’d like to hear about them.

[Boomzilla]

The Audio Science Review website has given comparative performance raves to DACs from the Chinese manufacturers Topping & SMSL. I currently own a Topping D10s and find its performance heavily dependent on the quality of the USB buss from which it draws its power. When I had my Topping DAC plugged directly into my Mac mini ( along with two external USB drives, a printer, plus a CD drive, mouse, & keyboard), the DAC sounded thin and dry. But when I plugged the Topping into a self-powered USB hub, the sound became both clean and dynamic.

The Chinese DACs may not have the features you want, but I’d say they’re a bargain at their price.

Glenn

[vcautokid]

Denafrips is about doing it well. The R2R is not your Delta Sigma DAC. Not upset about that in the least. My most favorite DACS are R2R. I would love to try an Aries some day.