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Denafrips ARES II USB R2R DAC Review

AllenW said:
My vinyl is pristine. I Clean it with a Vpi record Clean before and after I play it. I Even go as far as only buying vintage vinyl from Japan because they take such good care of their records.
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That's really funny as well since Japanese records often had deep frequencies removed so the neighbors in a house wouldn't be bothered so much.

Thats way U.S. releases where so popular in Japan.
 
Mansinthe86 said:
That's really funny as well since Japanese records often had deep frequencies removed so the neighbors in a house wouldn't be bothered so much.

Thats way U.S. releases where so popular in Japan.
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Really? How many Japanese records do you own? Mine sound excellent. The only difference I've noticed is they have nearly zero wear on them.
 
AllenW said:
Really? How many Japanese records do you own? Mine sound excellent. The only difference I've noticed is they have nearly zero wear on them.
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Don't own any records at all. You don't seem to understand that you like distortion or that you prefer the limitations of a medium. There is nothing wrong with that.
 
Mansinthe86 said:
That's really funny as well since Japanese records often had deep frequencies removed so the neighbors in a house wouldn't be bothered so much.

Thats way U.S. releases where so popular in Japan.
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In fact the only records I've heard that are as good from a sonic standpoint are London records.
 
I guess if there is distortion it's below what I can hear. I'm not saying there isn't any but if I Can't hear it does it matter?
Mansinthe86 said:
Don't own any records at all. You don't seem to understand that you like distortion or that you prefer the limitations of a medium. There is nothing wrong with that.
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Mansinthe86 said:
Don't own any records at all. You don't seem to understand that you like distortion or that you prefer the limitations of a medium. There is nothing wrong with that.
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I guess if realistic = distortion then yes I Prefer distortion.
 
AllenW said:
I guess if there is distortion it's below what I can hear. I'm not saying there isn't any but if I Can't hear it does it matter?
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you contradict yourself, please stop. You are saying you hear Denafrips is different from absolutely flat Topping. What you like (and hear) is distortion. And now you are saying you can't hear it. Which one is it?

Also, it's not realistic cause it's not there, in the original sound produced by musicians/engineers. If they wanted more of it, they would add it in the studio.
 
zepplock said:
you contradict yourself, please stop. You are saying you hear Denafrips is different from absolutely flat Topping. What you like (and hear) is distortion. And now you are saying you can't hear it. Which one is it?

Also, it's not realistic cause it's not there, in the original sound produced by musicians/engineers. If they wanted more of it, they would add it in the studio.
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Maybe you should get a Denafrips and listen to it then maybe you could argue from an informed perspective. Otherwise you're just trolling.
 
AllenW said:
Maybe you should get a Denafrips and listen to it then maybe you could argue from an informed perspective. Otherwise you're just trolling.
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I have one, I second everything zeppie says :D
 
FWIW...........

I had the Denafrips ARES II in my system/room and found it a little dull/muddy regardless of settings.
I had the Topping D90MQA in my system/room and found it very detailed and ultra quiet but a little thin and flat.

I have since moved on to a Gustard X26Pro and am now very happy.

I believe it's just a case of finding the best DAC you can afford which suits your system/room regardless of how it measures.
For example............in a bright, harder sounding system the ARES II would probably be a godsend.
 
I may as well chime in :)

I started off with a DAC HAT on a raspberry pi as one of my main listening sources (feeding a TVC preamp, and a 2a3 amplifier), which I enjoyed very much, for quite a while. I eventually purchased a Topping D70s for desktop listening, which i also enjoy. For the hell of it, I put the D70s in my main listening setup (via USB), and realised what I was missing. Everything sounded bigger, clearer - the imaging and positioning was what I noticed first of all. Really gave me a taste of what a good DAC could do.
The D70 was always going to be for desktop listening, as I'd already ordered an Ares II. And I really love this thing. Great stage and imaging. I feel like I get more depth too.

However, I still massively prefer my vinyl setup (which includes a DIY phono preamp). Take the things that I love about the Ares 2 - imaging, width, depth, and just amplify them.

This is purely an objective point of view!!! I'll accept that everything measures, and therefore sounds differently. I've made my preferences based on what I enjoy, and will continue to do so.
 
Have you lads done some level matched fast A/B switching? Even that might make the differences a little less apparent and requires less to set up than a real blind test.
 
helom said:
Go put a Sony CDP-101 on a test bench and then tell me it’s no different from an Ares. Geezus, some here are absolutely clueless.
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The old Sony chips offer >96dB resolution and they measure surprisingly well, really. Isn't it you that's clueless?
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...rum-anniversary-tda-1541-my-diy-replica.9939/

index.php


VS Ares
index.php
 
helom said:
I appreciate both objectivity and subjectivity. I don’t understand why there can’t be room for both here. I wouldn’t have bought an Ares if not for the mostly good measurements it produced for Amir and Stereophile. Same can be said for the D90 I owned. My initial reservations in trying an Ares was the likelihood it would have major flaws given the design choices. This forum helped put those concerns to rest.

Subjectively speaking, I enjoy it more than the D90, and by a landslide. It’s not as though I strain to hear the improvement, as was the case in my comparison of the Pro-Ject PreBox and Chord Qutest. I have no problem confessing that I may be enjoying a form of “coloration” the Ares is producing. But so what? I can’t share here that I actually prefer it to the D90? Maybe the large number of those who prefer this R2R DAC to a good delta-sigma suggests there are further experiments we should conduct on listener preferences, at least where DACs are concerned — that maybe someone should setup a large ABX trial between such DACs. Seems to me there are more questions that need answered when it comes to listener preferences in audio playback. After all, part of science is determining whether we’re asking the right questions, and continuing to ask questions.
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I suspect what people are trying to suggest is that what you enjoy about the Ares is less "coloration" (there shouldnt be any) and more the mythology and hype that surrounds the DAC and the tech underpinning it. But I agree, proper controlled testing is the answer. Take the D90 and the Ares as test subjects. For the hell of it throw in the latest Topping/ SMSL sub $200 chart topper . Voltage match them, apply whichever filters behave the closest on each, cover them up and put a switching box in front of the amp and lets see firstly who can reliably pick A, from B from C and then lets work out which is preferred.

There are people on here that would put up good money saying the vast majority wont be able to discern the difference and even less will have a preference. I'll not rule out the odd human bat being able to discern some small differences at the very edge of the scale if the playback chain is good enough to go plenty loud.
 
Given the large number of reports of the Ares II sounding less forward than some of the cleaner measuring DACs I tend to think there’s something to it. At the same time I don’t think it’s worth the expense as you can get much of the same effect and better results with mild EQ in front of say a Topping D10s at a fraction of the cost.
 
gvl said:
Given the large number of reports of the Ares II sounding less forward than some of the cleaner measuring DACs I tend to think there’s something to it. At the same time I don’t think it’s worth the expense as you can get much of the same effect and better results with mild EQ in front of say a Topping D10s at a fraction of the cost.
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Genuine question. What properties of a dac might lead to that?
 
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