In standby, does the dac turn on automatically upon receiving input signal? Thank you for your kind reply, I am actually considerino the purchase of the ares 2, but need to know this big little detail
Awesome insightful review 👍 You might remember I mentioned I own a couple of SMSL 300mkll DACs (since I own more than one system) ... I ended up buying in a black Friday sale the SMSL 400 ... It's now being used in my main system. It is better in some areas i.e. soundstage is deeper and bass notes are a little more defined, but once the brain adapts, you just start enjoying the music. I will call it a day on DACs unless something mind blowing comes out. As always, fidelity starts with the recording.
Absolutely excellent review, Tarun. Just the right amount of technical background to understand why this sounds as it does over a normal delta-sigma design, a great assessment of the build quality and features, too. This led us into a meaningful description of its ability to replay music and left any discussion of distortion or chip performance back on paper where it belongs. You make one key point totally agree with. DACs and the vast majority of digital components are closer to the consumable side of a hifi purchase rather than the capital value of speakers and amps.The chips used in a DAC cost only a couple of pounds and the IC manufacturers bring out a better performing version every couple of years - while an amp's transistors, caps and other far more conventional component electrickery have the same longevity as bricks and mortar, so will be a great investment good for years of use. A DAC will almost certainly be bettered both in performance and price by the time your credit-card statement arrives. NEVER buy a hyper-expensive DAC because in a very short time, it will be bettered just like a mobile phone or TV loses its performance lead so quickly.
Might be better dacs doesn't mean what you have suddenly sounds bad though. Also really what is there left to improve which isn't just a colouration preference on sound?
@@peterwood2633 I’m streaming from a 2020 iPad Pro through a Topping D10s in to 20 year old Classe preamp-amp separates. Speakers are 20 year old B&W 804s. I don’t know how it could sound better? But I’m curious so I ordered an Ares ii. It checks a lot of boxes in terms of design and really does seem like good value! The reviews are all great. I “plan” to stay under $1000 for external DACs.
As I am considering buying an Ares II I have watched all of the reviews available on RU-vid, and this is the best done: clear, informative, and thorough. I have just subscribed to this channel and look forward to learning more from this gentleman.
Best review yet on Ares II that I've seen. I like how you explain the innards and the why it sounds the way it does. Gives it a lot of credibility. I finally understand the hype.
Even if this thing has been reviewed to death, you chiming in always brings the added benefit of your trademark deep dive into the technical nitty gritty. 👍
@Click Bait The room and the speaker (in particular it’s positioning) it the most influential part of getting a system to sound right. SNR, THD+N and linear frequency response are not the only things that influence sound quality. But I have feeling that you have made your mind up about this. Thank you for watching 😉
I was under the impression that the 'digital' sound that most of us hated in the early days.....sterile, and harsh was due to jitter, but you never used that term. Am I wrong about this idea? Is what you call digital noise the real culprit? Or is digital noise jitter by another name. Thanks for any clarification. Great channel, just subscribed.
Really great overview... Sure, plenty of other RU-vid reviewer have produced review content surrounding Denafrips DACs..... Still, doesn't lessen the appeal of having another opinion..... 👌🏻
One of your best videos excellently done! Just enough technical details to make it interesting although maybe consider a follow up part II where you get into more of the nuances between delta-sigma and R2R?
Yeah seriously man. These are some of the best reviews put there, period. Audiophile or no. Much respect, and thanks for putting these videos out there.
I'm gonna say something outrageous : i recently put back my smsl m100 in my system 2. I put some dynamat inside of the dac for damping the box and the pcb board. I changed a capacitor for a way better quality one, Elna silmic 2 rfs. I added a ifi ipower X on it et voilà ! The thing sounds Analog. Fuller and more details. It can't cast the same soundstage, less dynamic than my chord mojo but it's more analog. Fuller, heavier, more solid with a black background. I'm starting to think the biggest enemy of hifi is noise. And because this dac sounds so good and smooth I'm starting to think there is a lot of noise in my vinyl set up, I'm hearing the ssss now. Paying more attention to noise. I did an AB test with the dac, it's not in my head. Without upgrade listening to Conan by basil poledouris I can only ear 70% of what was inside the recording. Now I feel like it's 90%. I know the album very well, I've listen with my headphones (sennheiser hd 660s, hifiman sundara, focal clear,....) Plus now I can ear when something is coming from the back to the front slowly, depth I presume? Voices too, they sound more real and blasphemy realer than my mojo (i have to buy your power supply now Tarun 😂) My guess is since the basic design is good enough the power supply is really everything for the sound.
Thank for sharing Yannick. Very interesting. Removing noise is very important. Manufacturers go to great lengths to reduce it as the cost of components goes up. 😉
I listened. I simply do not accept that you or anyone else can tell the difference between this DAC and one measuring well at $100.00 price tag unless and until you can show ability to instantly tell tHe difference between them in blind tests. Auditory memory is not valid to say this sounds more resolving than that.
Peter, auditory memory in the short term is not reliable. You need to listen for long periods. For those who can’t tell the difference, they should stick with a $100 DAC 😊
Another brilliant presentation. Your channel is on another level Tarun. So much of this great hobby is subjective, but you do it in such an objective manner.
Nice job. Best review of Ares II, which I own, that I’ve heard. At some point, you might want to do a review of DACS for different streaming services. For examples, does it make sense to have a good DAC if you are using Spotify, vs a lossless streaming service? My sense is yes, but there is so much chatter about lossy, vs lossless vs high res, vs what really matters is the quality of the recording, that it would be good to have your insights.
Thank you for watching and sharing your experiences Brad. I appreciate the suggestion. The bottom line in hifi is that everything makes a difference but not to the same extent 😉👍
Thanks. Since one of my digital sources is a Sonos port, feeding into the Areas 2, I tried adding an ifi spdif ipurifier 2. It made a nice improvement to the ares 2, by which I assume that the port is putting out some jitter, as did the connect before it. Definitely worth trying for those who are using external DACS. Imaging improved noticeably with the iFi in the chain, and as you know the Ares 2 is already quite nice at imaging.
Like so many, I’ve enjoyed your reviews. What has eluded me is why. And then, this morning while all is quiet, it came to me: your sincerity, your calmness and your attention to presenting a factual review. Your reviews are well, bespoke. Like no others. The Brioni of reviewers.
You remind me some of my good teachers and you do your reviews like a lectures not like a promo for a particular product. it is too bad we don't have Denafrips distributors here in Canada for listening before buying it, but I ordered one from Singapore because of your review. would you please post a video about what are the matching Amps and speakers for R2R DACs. Thank you.
Thank you Ramesh. Very kind of you to say. That DAC is exceptionally well balanced. It will work with a wide range of amplifiers/ speaker combinations 😊👍
Hooray, another video from Tarun, and another home run (a six? Two countries separated by a common language). Great technical explanation and even better a great explanation of the sound of this DAC. So glad to hear of a company designing products for sound before technical specs. I have to say how much I like you reviewing style, like a friend or favorite teacher explaining complex topics, and glad to see the ProAcs back.
Thank you brown-eyed-man for watching and all the support and encouragement you have given me this year. I missed the ProAcs too. I don’t get to listen to them as often as I would like these days. Love the baseball/cricket reference 😊👍👍
Your reviews are absolutely amazing! Thank you so much! Have you heard the RME's ADI-2 FS? If so, how do you think the Denafrips Ares II compares to the RME?
Excellent review! I have this DAC and love it. It would be so great if you could review the Denafrips Hestia/Hyperion pre-amp/amp combination. The reviews that are available are not well done at all.
The level of technicality in this video was over my head, but you delivered it in such a thoughtful manner that I managed to keep up and maybe learn a thing or two. Thanks! I'll be checking out more of your videos soon
I'm wondering how long it will take SMSL, Topping, Gustard and the other quality Chinese Co's to come out with their own 'budget' R2R dac's, they must be observing all this hype and excitement about R2R's and wanting to get in on it. I know that SMSL have already released one, but it's very expensive, so I reckon it's only a matter of time before we see more affordable ones coming.
Hi Tarun I am checking website and the price is DENAFRIPS ARES II R2R DAC S$1,028.00Price is this the same dac? Great review by the way as usual great information and details to your review. thanks,
Thanks for your succinct explanation of the basic differences between Delta Sigma and R2R DACs, from which a novice like me learned a lot. My entry level setup comprises the Willsenton R8 tube amp, Topping E50 DAC, Triangle Borea BR03 speakers and the vintage Denon flagship DCD3500RG CD player, used as a transport. Not that I'm unhappy with it but if I upgrade to the Denafrips Ares II would there be appreciable improvements in the overall sonic quality of the system ? Of course I would love to get the Pontus II but that would be out of my budget and be an overkill in my modest system.
Thank you Feizai, I would upgrade speakers first then change the DAC. The Pontus II may be worth it depending on the speaker you get. I haven’t heard the E50 but I would expect the Ares II to have much better sound staging and natural tonality whilst maintaining clarity 👍😊👍
On order... You're partly responsible, Sir Tarun🤔 Time for me to find out what improvement in DAC performance has been wrought since my Musical Fidelity X-DAC/ X-PSU/ X-10v3 came out in the naughties....
@@abritishaudiophile7314 I love it! The Ares2 reveals more depth and recorded hall ambience and the decay of notes. Tonally the Mu-Fi 3 box DAC is still satisfying and the difference is subtle. My friend actually preferred the creamier sound of the Mu-Fi x10d coming straight out of a blue sound node 2. I have two of these v3 DAC combos. The one in my living room system has to stay because the Denafrips is buffered so I can't use it for the TV 🤔 Recent Goldensound reviews of the Denafrips Terminator have revealed that it is a tastefully contrived DSP-DAC 😲 The Ares2 also. NOS isn't. It's a DSP algorithm. Very clever... Well well... So I've gone from improving/processing my digital through tubes to doing it in the digital domain! Whatever. The music is well served and sounds glorious! 🎶🤫🎶 PS my friend Jim in Scotland bought the review sample of the T+ and couldn't be happier. End game for him!
Hi Tarun nice work I too own a Hegel h160 If I would like to go for ares 2 dac How is this comparable to the integrated dac in the Hegel I play my music via an optical connection from my source player OPPO BD 103 lastly sorry to ask but are you from india as your name is more common in india
Hi Vissu, the Ares II has a much more natural tonality than the internal DAC in my H160. This is the main benefit but fidelity is better too. You are right, I am of Indian ethnicity 😉👍
FPGA is indeed used in PS Audio DSD and many others - like Chord, Benchmark etc. My view is that designers that go to the trouble of designing and implementing their own FPGA are indeed trying to build a better mouse trap than what is simply available on a small commercial DAC chip that come with built in filters.
I recently saw some tweak videos here on RU-vid by HEADquarter Audio, on the Ares II (basically loosening the screws). Is this just rubbish or is there some grounds to the tweaks. I dropped a mail to Alvin to ask, but thought you may have an idea if this does change anything with it. I just purchased one this morning (replaces my BlueStream cheap DAC) as part of the upgrades this year. Can't wait!
Thank you so much for the wonderful review. I am an admirer of your channel. I hope you will also make a review on Soekris R2R ladder DAC from Denmark. I would also like to request you to make a comparison on Tannoy Cheviot vintage vs Legacy. I won a Tannoy Cheviot Legacy, but I heard that Tannoy Cheviot vintage sounds better than Legacy.
Hi Tarun - easily the best review of this dac on RU-vid. I am looking at this versus the Burson Composer 3X for my Nova 300 amp into Martin Logan Motion 35txi bookshelf speakers. No problem if you can’t comment but I thought I would ask. Also in terms of your fabulous Proacs - is the direct descendant of what you have the Proactive Response D1 bookshelf speakers (thinking of buying a pair of bookshelf speakers that I could hand onto my daughter who is also deeply into recorded music). If so, have you ever had an opportunity to compare them? - thanks again for your well researched and accessible reviews of moderately priced mid tier stereo equipment - cheers Paul
Thank you Paul. I appreciate your kind words of support. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard the Burson or the Nova 300 so can’t help there. I did hear the ProAc D1s many years ago. ProAc struggled with that speaker which came after my 1SC. From what I recall it didn’t have the same midrange magic. The current DB1s may be a safer bet 😊👍
What is the unused connector on the inside mainboard labeled A4 used for? Also why are 3 of the Capacitors blue instead of Black like the rest? Did they just mix and match capacitors or did those have a different function?
@Gilbert short question: Is the last chosen input stored, even after „complete“ power off? That would be important for me because of missing remote control. Thanks for your reply.
People seem to like NOS mode the most. OS measures better, but fast roll off(sharp) is the best to eliminate ringing in the above 20KHz audio range. Pre-ringing and excess of 20Khz artifacts are useless digital noise in the chain.
I thoroughly enjoy your reviews. I don't know if you'll have time to respond to this, but I sometimes find that my impression of products are quite different from the vast majority of reviewers. For instance, I wouldn't listen to music if I had to listen to the KEF LS50 Metas, yet I really like their q350s. I currently have the Denafrips Ares II in my system and had the Chord Qutest before that. I like the Qutest, but there was something artificial sounding to me in the higher frequencies. The Ares II, on the other hand, just kind of sounds flat to me. I'm happy with my system, just can't seem to get the DAC right. I know there's nothing objective about my opinions. It just seems strange that they vary so much from conventional wisdom.
Hi Los, your room and the rest of the system are just tow of many factors that influence how a system sounds. The Ares II is a very natural sounding DAC and offers exceptional value for money. Review and reviewers that you trust can at best only be used as a guide. The only option that truly matters in the end is yours. If the system works for you then I wouldn’t change it 😊👍
FGPA DACs are pure software. A firmware update gets you a completely different DAC. Audiobyte's Hydra Vox knocks anything Denafrips has out of the park.
Dear Touran You are voice of professionalism , erudition and rationality in the sea of audio reviews . They are fact based rather than subjective . Your reviews are stellar . Thank you so much for all your factual research .
You may be last to the party on the review however you still imparted more valuable information than the others managed. In particular the fact that the sound was improved using the counter-intuitive settings. The online manual is very limited in scope with no editorial opinion on these settings. Kudos for sharing the new info on methodology. I bought one direct from Vinishine which was delivered on Monday 10 days after ordered. My cost was $750 US. The 3 year warranty is also worth mentioning-Did I miss that? Best $750 I have spent on audio. Replaced an Oppo 205. Major SQ move up. Now I am wondering about their next model up. In the US these sell same day used for nearly the original ticket price. In other words folks, what are you waiting for? A 2021 price increase??? Crack the wallet and have a Merry Christmas!!
Excellent review. Great mix of introductory information and then moving onto the "experience". I generally watch all the reviews from the most subjective to the anal retentives at audiosciencereview. One of the important things I've learned is that the map (tool used to analyze) is not the territory. Often there are tools not used to measure the item, most critically the one between your ears. You hit that sweet spot where you're thinking with all the tools. I'm actually very interested in R2R dacs and the Ares is the most powerful competitor here. Even audioscience gives it a "yeah its okay" review. One thing I'd like to see is a remote, slightly larger LEDs, and a small alphanumeric display. It's occurred to me that a really great DAC with that many inputs gets very close to a traditional preamp and not having any remote is kind of sad. Something like the ARES with a remote, the improvements I mentioned, one analog input (for a turntable?) would be the killer digital preamp.
Thank you. Much appreciated. One day Denafrips might provide an all-in-one digital front end solution. For now they are adhering to a purist approach, only adding features that affect sound quality 😊👍
Hi Tarun you have been clear and professional in describing this wonderful Dac that I have just purchased, your reviews are perfect, I will always follow you! THANK YOU
Great explanation !, just one question, I am getting close to using / building NUC-USB + Daphile OS, what kind of compatibility should I check before buying it?
Loved your review I was looking to for a dac this one could be perfect. It’s small and as you say it’s very high quality. I have a Cambridge audio setup about £3k thx
@@abritishaudiophile7314 hopefully next year I will get this DAC. Iv been watching you now for a bit. Remember the video you done with the the power cables I made them. 👍🏻
Excellent review. A massive improvement to the dac in my MF CD player and tame some of the inherent brightness of my B&W's. Next upgrade for me? ProAcs? ; )
Thanks for the great review Tarun, I always enjoy your explanations. I would like to offer an opposing opinion regarding the Nos/Os settings. I have had the Aries 2 dac for over a year now and love it but for me I still prefer the NOS setting over the OS setting having double checked again after watching this video. I’m no expert or engineer like yourself and this is only my humble opinion. Also our rigs and our rooms are completely different, as are our musical tastes. When I first got the Aries 2 there was no explanation of the settings so I contacted Alvin at Vinshine Audio and he explained the difference to me...he said the NOS was “more analog, purist, true to source” and the OS “made the music more fun”. I find in the OS mode with slow filter the lows and the highs are slightly boosted and slightly higher in volume, similar to if I were to turn up the bass and treble tone controls. To me if there is more bass and treble and it’s louder my brain will always think it sounds better. As for the soundstage the Boston Audiophile said it sounded wider in OS and I think you referred the same. Now my rig already has a nice wide soundstage so I didn’t see a difference that way but the soundstage did get “bigger”. By that I mean the instruments seemed to get bigger, the vocalist grew a few feet taller, the mandolin was now big as a guitar. I have heard this referred to as “big head effect” where instruments are un-naturally bigger than life. When I switched to NOS the band went back to a reasonable image and the frequency range was more balanced. So to me the OS setting seems a little more exaggerated, definitely makes the music a little more fun but the purist in me prefers the NOS setting. Cheers Marc L.
Thank you for watching Marc. At the end of the day you have to trust your ears. If it sounds better in NOS mode in your system and room, then you should stick with that mode. I tried it with 3 amps and 3 different speakers and in each case in NOS mode the soundstage shrunk, the transients weren’t as cleanly defined, the bass was thicker and the highs rolled off. However, it did have a warmer sound. I suspect that tonal balance is more suited to your room, system and tastes. Thank you for sharing your experiences, viewer’s will find them useful 😊👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Thank you for your reply, nice hearing from you. It’s cool having this hobby where there is no right or wrong, just what sounds good to you. Cheers.
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Hi again Tarun. I couldn’t help but wonder why I seemed like the only one not convinced the OS setting sounded better? Then I came across this other review I hadn’t seen before and he made a comment which suddenly made sense to me regarding the soundstage. He mentioned in OS the musicians sounded like they were right there in the room with you, up close and personal and in NOS it was more like they were in the place where the recording was made, or on the stage in front of you. That explains why I thought things sounded bigger in OS. I was used to having the band out front but now they are in the room with me and when I think of it this way I rather like it. Having listened to more in OS mode today I can now hear there is more detail in the upper registers as well. I think I may come over to the OS side after all 😱. Thank you for helping to enlighten me... That other review is here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TiJpt6wgwfs.html
Thanks for that and all you need now is a nice Christmas jumper to wrap it all up.....projector hunting this next few weeks, perhaps I may find a Denafrips under the tree....I wish!
Thank you, by far the best review of the Ares II I've seen. I purchased one and paired it with the Denafrips IRIS DDC ... great combination. Planning to step ups to the Pontus II though as my DAC feeds a PrimaLuna Evo300 Tube Integrated Amp and I want to now step up the DAC a bit. Thanks again, great detail on the DAC and the added insight from Denafrips was invaluable.
I started research on DACs, stumbled upon devices costing over 2,000 euros, and thought damn what's all that about. This, however, looks like money well spent by both manufacturer in their no-frills approach and owner like me looking for an effective audio system upgrade within reasonable budget. Thanks for the clear review 😊
Apparently, the Ares II does in fact use 8X linear interpolation in what they call NOS mode. I like my Ares II, but I am curious about why they did this. And almost universally folks prefer it in the OS mode. And most of those like the Slow filter. For me in my system, however, I like it in OS/Sharp mode. The Slow mode put a slightly nasal quality on some vocals, almost like the older microphones used to sound. As I mentioned on another of your videos, we now have an R2R DAC called Musician Pegasus, that appears to be made in the same factory as the Denafrips, that may be significantly better than the Ares II - and it does that in NOS mode.
I wish my direct stream dac was as cheap as this tarun but hey ho you pays yours monies & makes your choices, I’m happy enough with the network bridge installed giving me a streaming dac it sounds great & I had a NDS/555 before that. Great review again glad to see your subs going up still, I recommended you on the next best thing channel as the most honest reviewer out there hopefully it’ll keep increasing to the 100’000s. Happy Holidays
Thank you for all you support this year Madds. It is very much appreciated. As good as the Ares II, I suspect your PS Audio Direct Stream will take things to the next level. I hope to find out for myself at some point. Happy holidays to you and your loved ones my friend 🥳👍👍
Thank you for this well rounded and insightful review, as always. You and Steve Guttenberg have convinced me, and I ordered one yesterday. One thing has been weighing on my mind though; should I be worried about electrical safety? This item is not formally imported and sold here in Canada. I don't know whether it meets the Canadian electrical safety codes and standards. Should I be worried about it burning my house down or anything like that? I have never bought anything like this.
Hi Raaj, that is an excellent question. There is nothing in the design that I encountered being a particular issue. I would double check with Alvin at Vinshine Audio (global distributor) to ask what electrical safety standards the product adheres to. I hope you enjoy it when it arrives 😊👍
Another amazing review and technical info dissemination. However the price point is my stumbling point and not having an Ares II to test against, I will remain oblivious to the possible benefits my personal system may gain until I save up a bit more. Thank you as always.
Thank you Tarun for this wonderful review. Despite sharing so much of technical specifications, sharing your personal experience on it's sonic qualities were spot on. I am convinced to buy this 😀. Thanks from India
lm so happy you did this review lm in the never ending ordeal of UPGRADE MANIA looking for a dac to connect to my cyrus cdi you have nailed all points others failed to do love your cool smooth delivery top favourite youtube voyuer
Hello from Singapore. Land of the Denafrips! Alvin is always ready to help and answer questions. I’m sure he will be happy to give you the Pontus for a review which I think offers the best bang for the buck in the Denafrips line. Chord suddenly looks like overpriced for what it does. The Pontus vs Holo Spring 2 is the comparison most people in the R2R game want to see. I wonder who is going to give them that fight. Cheers Tarun.
Thank you Kieran. They are both good on this unit but my preference is USB. It is asynchronous which means that the DAC takes over timing duties for information to arrive as opposed to the streamer. This helps to reduce jitter. 😊👍
The type and level of this review was as superb as it seems the Denafrips is. Extremely clear. This kind of thing is now making me think that my £100 DAC needs upgrading for sure, bearing in mind it must now be the weakest link in my otherwise top end sound system.
Not only Silmic 2 caps - Silmic 2 caps actually from Japan - whenever I buy them I get brown ones which are made in Thailand. The black and gold jackets are the ones made in japan and intended for the domestic market and while they are apparently both the same, the black gold ones look better and I reckon have a bit of snake oil in them too :)
Thank you for your review. It's really nice that you opened it up and took pictures of the insides. I wish more people did that. Some of your technical explanation is off. Every value in the R2R doesn't double the pattern repeats. This is what makes the R2R dac such a ingenious architecture. The idea of having a volume is interesting but you should know the delta sigma dacs do this in the dac it's self because it's easy and cost nothing to implement. I have never thought this to sound right when you start attenuating (full disclosure: I have not heard the Chord only the ESS dacs), all my best sounding systems always had an analog attenuation setup. With R2R you have insufficient bits for this and making the latter longer becomes very expensive because the tolerance of all the resistors needs to go up. So if one resistor costs $20 and you need over 400 of them and there is a few X markup on that it starts to approach the price of a car. At some number of bits you start to need active temperature regulation to fractions of a degree and thereafter more bits become impossible to manufacture. This is why r2r dacs almost never have built in attenuation, but almost all delta sigma dacs offer it. Like you said it has to be a separate module. In which case it may as well be a separate module. Thank you again for the review. We need more real people doing real reviews of equipment!
I have a Parasound integrated amplifier with a internal ESS Sabre32 Reference DAC and KEF LS50 speakers. Would you recommend bypassing the internal DAC with the ARES II and XLR balanced outputs?
Not surprised you liked it with OS on. There is a lot of mis-information out there on the sonic merits of non OS vs OS and all that fuss about it somewhat predisposes people. If you eschew OS, in the manner prescribed in many audio fora, what you'll get is electronic garbage above 22kHz (assuming you're listening to a CD). Now that garbage may or may not be completely filtered by your amp - crossover - tweeter chain and may or may not be re-introduced into your amp causing other problems (sonic or otherwise). The latter effect is quite hard to analyse as it depends on first understanding the former. To understand the former you need to have attended at least a basic course on DSP and frankly, quite a lot of simplistic explanations out there on the function of non OS gloss over the sizable amount of mathematics involved or simply state fallacies. In addition, one has to bear in mind that, even the mathematical underpinnings of the OS/ non OS analysis rest on an *ideal case* set of assumptions which may or may not closely match the situation in reality. In other words, pseudo-mathematical analyses on the merits of non OS must be taken with a grain of salt by most of us lacking that rather specialized knowledge. Now if your tweeter extends above 22KHz (quite rare but there are systems with super tweeters) please be mindful of your pets (if you have any) when you play music- chances are they'll be able to hear the supersonic garbage while you won't.
@@abritishaudiophile7314Right, I'm not aware of how manufacturers use filters, esp. digital ones in these dacs. The whole point of OS is to enable the designer to use cheap (ie. easy to make) filters by shifting the rubbish away from the audio content in the frequency spectrum. Taking the OS out means you're back to having to add impossible to make (sharp cut-off but linear etc.) filters. The diy trend - which was (and still is?) the natural habitat of these dacs - called for not bothering with any filters at all: just let the rest of the audio chain and especially the limited frequency extension of the tweeter and the human ear. No-one has measured the actual effectiveness of these implementations as far as I am aware - by that I mean stick a mike in front of the speaker and compare the non OS vs the OS version of an otherwise the same dac In other words, normal electronic filters (digital or analog) are not effective at all (again, depending on your criteria but let's assume we're talking hifi here) at removing the supersonic rubbish.
Thanks for such a great review. Wondering if i could pair this as a stand alone DAC with my Senn HDV820 HP Amp?? Source is MacBook Pro or iPad with Apple Music and I use HD 660S Cans....would prefer Balanced output. Thanks again for such a great review - I'm learning a lot from your channel :) Cheers!
Thanks for the great review Tarun. I dont have the DAC but have the Denafrips Hyperon and Hestia , amp and pre. It sounds fantastic. I just want to say that Vinshine Audio were a pleasure to deal with and every question i sent to Alvin Chee the owner , were always answered straight away , even on Sundays!! I am very impressed.
Great review! Thank you new sub! Quick question. If I’m using a Blue sound Node2i (using app to control volume) with Elac Navis Active Speaker and want to connect a Denafrips Aries II, I would need a pre amp?
Thank you for watching and the sub. I believe the Navis has an analogue volume control. Please double check. If it does then you won’t need a pre amp 😊👍
