Denafrips game changing Ares DAC gets closer to analog bliss than most  

Thanks Francisco! Enjoy the music!

Ralp, did you get yours already? I love this Denafrips. The price is very reasonable too. Even though, I have money, but I am not that willing to spend 4K for a DAC.

Pono

Thanks, Tom. Enjoy the music!

@@VinshineAudio You are quite welcome. Thank you! There is one downside to this experience. I am now interested in the 3 higher performance Denafrips DACs, which range from $1,693 to $4,418 based on current exchange rates. I have often wished that reviewers would review an entire line of a manufacturer's product so that consumers can identify the sweet spot in terms of price/performance.

@@tlhuffman I have been asking Steve to review the Pontus DAC. It might be my sweetspot.

Byron, I was so impressed by this Denafrips. I can say that it is the best $738 USD that I spent on an audio component. The service is amazing too. I sent an email, they will reply within a day the most. They are very responsive.

I've replaced my RME ADI-2 DAC with the Denafrips Ares II. Using loudspeakers, the difference is night and day. I am hearing things I never heard before with the RME or, if I did, weren't as "alive" as they are with the ARES. The RME was dry, like a bell made of a lead alloy, the Ares is like a finely tuned bell, without the lead, just sweet and lively in the highs, and more robust in the mids and lows. I'm still undecided as to whether I will keep the RME and relegate it to IEM/HP use only, or sell it and the ARES and upgrade to the Denafrips Terminator or Holo May. I can't afford any of this, but now that I've discovered that I can realize the true potential of my system with a better DAC, I can't resist.

damn, i have that audio-gd on my desk and i am thinking about the Ares :D

Ares 1 or Ares II? Can u eloborate on how it compares to r2r11.... I prefer warm analogue sound...so I just want to know if ares is better than the audio-gd in that area. Thnx

@@ruffandruff I have the Gen 1 Ares, so can't really comment on the Gen 2. It's always difficult to express sound characteristics empirically, and of course, listening preferences are obviously *highly* individual and subjective... With all that said, I actually find the Audio-gd to be a bit "warmer" sounding - slightly slower/more relaxed bass response and less airy mid-high range. The Ares produces a slightly wider soundstage and a bit "faster" low end. I absolutely *love* the Ares for jazz, classical, electronic, and ambient. Slightly prefer the Audio-gd for folk, female vocals, acoustic instruments, and spoken word. So, long story short - if you like the warm analog sound profile, you might be better served to stick with the R2R. For the money, really hard to go wrong with either IMO.

I can't seem to find many used denafrips online (save for the ares, which is often sold when people upgrade to the higher end denafrips dac). Speaks to the quality of this brand I suppose?

What about the Pontus? Have you listened to it?

What about the Pontus 2?

Marc L hi 👋. How is your experience with the Ares. thanks 🙏

Hi Del, So I've had it about 1 week now after waiting for the 4 week back order. Alvin posted it and it was on my doorstep 2 days later, that Alvin doesn't fool around. Turns out Denafrips has updated and it is now the Ares 2 that I received, and apparently for new orders it will cost something like $150 Singapore more, they incorporated some tech from the Terminator model to improve it but don't ask me about the technical details because that's just over my head. I paid the old price since I had already placed my order but I will say (spoiler alert) now that I've heard it I would be happy to pay the new price. I haven't had much time to really give it a good listen and I'm no expert but I immediately knew it sounded special. Everything sounded airy and was packed with detail, really lively and energetic. I've been listening mostly to folk and bluegrass lately and the acoustic instruments sound very life like with rich harmonics, the attack and decay of say a plucked string is lush sounding. Female and Male vocals are warm sounding, gone is the slight nasally sound I have been used to. The imaging is really great, as good as or better than my current dac, you can hear the band spread out across the room in front, you can pinpoint each instrument, to me that's one of the most important details I listen for. My digital set up includes a homebrew Single Ended Tube amp I built, some Klipsch towers same as the ones Steve likes and JDS Labs El Dac (now replaced by Ares) with my laptop using Foobar2000 playing Flac and Mp3 320 files. The Ares is great looking although simple, build is very solid. A few features I still have to figure out are you can choose NOS or OS, there is an adjust for Slow Filter or Sharp Filter and there is a Phase button I'm not sure how it should be set yet. So far I'm super happy with my decision to get the Ares, it has taken my system to a new level. Many thanks to Steve for sharing his thoughts about the Ares with us. Marc.

Marc L Thanks so much for the very detailed impression of the Ares2. I am convinced that the ares is better than my Bifrost. And although I can’t afford it , I am waiting for Steves’s coming terminator review :)

Same goes for myself. Based on Steve's recommendation and other online reviews I purchased the Ares II. It does have a terrific sound. Though lacking a remote, I wish it had an automatic standby mode.

@@tjp444 I would prefer some sort of gain control. It has too much gain coming out of it.

Thanks! Hope you like the Ares :)

Could you name all your components ? Thanks in advance 🍻

Do you know the different between the Ares and Ares II?

@@cau8365 From Denafrips: "We're happy to announce the tiny mighty ARES was upgraded to ARES II. The DSP portion of the ARES II shared much similarity to the Terminator DSP board launched recently... Digital Signal Processing via FPGA instead of CPLD DSD1024, PCM1536 Supports On USB Input - Proprietary USB Audio Solution via STM32F446 Advanced AMR Based MCU - Licensed Thesycon USB Driver For Windows Platform - Driver-less On Mac & Linux - Sampling Mode: NOS / OS - Filter Selection: Slow / Sharp "

What kind of silver cable and power supply did you get? I'm about to buy an Ares 2 and I'd like to know what to purchase to upgrade it. Thank you

This has been issue since the 80s at least. Not sure why now its a big deal.

@@scottyo64 Because Sound United is buying up most of the AV receiver companies and perhaps they can lead the industry with honesty in the power numbers for a change.

The best one is Schiit Modi 2 I think. On Amazon $50. Sounds wonderful. And with the update you'll be happy. I think

@@y.k.9705 it's possible, but i've never heard of a DAC that sounds 'analogue' at this price. I've always had the same problem as Steve, whereby digital just sounds a bit uninspiring next to a good analogue source, so this made my ears twitch. Hehe :)

Chris Forsythe did you get the Ares 2?

Ditto

lightfusegetaway I think the goal is to enjoy music! Accuracy? No one truly knows what’s in the recording, even the engineers that made it, because it sounds different on every speaker and every headphone.So the goal is still enjoyment, but if you want to fool yourself to thinking that by having the most accurate system, sure, knock yourself out.

My guess is that with complexe scenes it produces less intermodular distortions. Well I know it measures like an r2r but the way it images cannot lie, instruments are cut within space and the brain even put textures on top. This is not a tweak of the equalizer or the introduction of some harmonics, its precision. it doesnt have a flavour other then its palpable, substanciated, materialized. Its producing a vivid effect on listening. there are cues that the brain uses to locate the instruments that just seems to come out and work with this dac.

I’ve tried both and prefer the Ares II. More natural sounding, the Bifrost is a little more analytical and the highs can be sharp on certain tracks. The Ares might not have the same fidelity, but it’s more analog sounding.

Cheap audio man has reviewed these two in a DAC attack video he made a few months ago.

I know!! And the hilarious part is that people won't stop saying they measure horrible and they are full of distortion. Oh well... It's up to them to miss such magic. We luckily might have our ears broken or something. To me there is no return after R2R.

Would have been nice if he had replied

Ryan Schipp Mac mini, Oppo 203, pass hpa 1 as a preamp, pass xa25 amp, klipsch forte 111

@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac thanks Steve I'm sure this will help guide people give them more reference

Very presumptive incorrect statement

@ alan connelly - It’s Bills opinion Alan.

Check audioquest's dragonfly series

It's not R2R, it's NOS.

ANY manufacturer/distributor or an establishment doing business on internet that is NOT willing to post their physical address/location on their website should raise flags in a reasonably thinking individual. www.denafrips.com/ www.vinshineaudio.com/about-us

What was the name of the cd and vinyl album you used for the test.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lzRvSWPZQYk.html

@@madanielk6526 Are you saying you'd go to China to set things right? I bought my Kinki Studio EX-M1 from Alvin of vinshineaudio.com and couldn't be happier. In fact, it's the last integrated I'll ever buy: it's that good. Read the reviews which have the foreground info on the company. That, and it's relatively easy to find their exact location with an online search. No need to raise red flags as you know what you're getting into right from the start.

" it's relatively easy to find their exact location with an online search".... ??? so the location is NOT clearly stated on their website? And if so, exactly where is it listed? I've checked vinshineaudio.com for physical address, not visible on the website. ...

My turntable is a SME 15, with an Ortofon Cadenza Blue.

That's very kind of you sir. We will ship your Terminator soonest possible :)

@@timgenardo265 Thank you

@@y.k.9705 Thank you for not labeling me as a troll! I simply want people to have the most information they can gather before buying any electronic product whether it be PCs, GPU, or audio equipment.

@@timgenardo265 I didn't know about this sight. Thank you for this info.

It's not a dominate trend, but it's been around for awhile. I haven't heard the new PL one, but I have heard a few that I enjoyed. Musical Paradise comes to mind.

I'm with Carl Ryan. Tubes don't convert a digital signal to analog. You need a microchip or in the case of the Ares an array or ladder of resistors, hence a ladder DAC.

Very good to know! I just received my new Ares ii last week. Thank you!

@@LeoRousseau i have my ares 2 for abt half a year, you have to run in this dac. as the low end would become much more palpable and authoritative, it was amazing!

Xlr connection simply adds 6 db compared to rca....that is your percieved WOW.

@@ryanschipp8513 do you own one? Have you listened to one through a fully balanced system for a meaningful time?

@@veniceog I do not own one. Just pointing out that all XLR connections boost level 6db. This is an engineering fact. That's all. When the human ear hears louder...we often convey that is better sounding or a wow factor. If heard it in my balanced gear. For what it is worth I have 3 rigs in my place...not saying I know all facets of hifi but I am very versed. Look up xlr versus rca and you will see the consensus.

@@ryanschipp8513 Ah. Moving on. Life is about experiences. Expertise from the intermet? Hard pass.

@@veniceog ok. I guess you know better than audio engineers. Dont educate yourself. That's your choice.