Denafrips ARES II USB R2R DAC Review

[maty]

The Ares II is their cheapest DAC- user Maty found it was the only one of their lineup that got his toe tapping.

Make of that what you will.

Cheapest R2R, at least from Denafrips.

BTW, in my second audio system I use an old ODAC (ten years old) modded by me, I do not need other for now.

ODAC Update

ODAC PROGRESS: As my articles have slowed to a trickle lately, hopefully these 5000+ words will be welcome news. After lots of professional...

nwavguy.blogspot.com

 

[sjeesjie]

The Ares II is their cheapest DAC- user Maty found it was the only one of their lineup that got his toe tapping.

Make of that what you will.

Ah I see, the missing of punctuation got me offguard there
Wonder what caused the toe-tapping then. Maybe just a good mood.

 

[Killingbeans]

Denafrips Ares II conveys more emotion.

I think your emotions are messing with you

 

[maty]

I think your emotions are messing with you

You are right. Music without emotion is... bored?

Now I listen to this old album:

Wagner - Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg

https://www.discogs.com/release/159...era-Munich-Joseph-Keilberth-Die-Meistersinger

 

[zepplock]

You are right. Music without emotion is... bored?

Now I listen to this old album:

Wagner - Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg

https://www.discogs.com/release/159...era-Munich-Joseph-Keilberth-Die-Meistersinger

View attachment 226550

maybe it's time to stop posting *pictures* of *records* in a DAC thread

 

[Killingbeans]

You are right. Music without emotion is... bored?

That's a given. But your Hi-Fi gear doesn't have emotions. Only you, the listener, and the people performing/producing the music does.

And the emotions of the listener changes depending on thousands of things not realted to the actual music, making "earwitness" accounts incredibly unreliable

Emotions are vital for having pleasurable experiences, but they work against you, when you try to figure out what's causing the experience.

 

[raif71]

 

[maty]

That's a given. But your Hi-Fi gear doesn't have emotions. Only you, the listener, and the people performing/producing the music does...

If I listen to the same song in a few minutes on the same equipment but in which the DACs are changed -> if I move my feet with the rhythm only with the Ares II, something indicates.

There are others who get excited and spend money on their equipment, dissatisfied with the sound they have, thinking that everything can be fixed by spending money and more money instead of trying to optimize the equipment first, eliminating the bottlenecks that they limit it.

 

[Veri]

The only bottlenecks are either incompatibilities or serious malfunction/defects. And then there's the ones you make up in your mind as you go....
If you're really dissatisfied with your set-up in general I would suggest looking into new speakers first and foremost.

 

[maty]

Typical bottleneck: few hard are immune to the increasingly noisy present at electrical current from grid. Many designers did not pay due attention.

 

[Killingbeans]

If I listen to the same song in a few minutes on the same equipment but in which the DACs are changed -> if I move my feet with the rhythm only with the Ares II, something indicates.

Causality. When an audio product seems to do something magical, with all likelihood it's being caused by bias in the listener. Visual bias or bias from subconscious preconceived notions. You have no way of knowing for sure without going through tedious blind tests.

To me, the things you tell about feet tapping is just a story. It's not indicative of anything, other than the audiophile hobby being a smorgasbord for people who are into psychology

An no, I'm not saying you're crazy. Just human... like me and everybody else.

 

[CyBorek]

Hi! What is the sound lag on ares II? Is it good enough for gaming and movies/V?

 

[Veri]

Is it good enough for gaming and movies/V?

It's definitely not recommended for gaming.

 

[Angsty]

Typical bottleneck: few hard are immune to the increasingly noisy present at electrical current from grid. Many designers did not pay due attention.

I think it’s been established in multiple tests that grid noise will have a negligible impact on DACs, unless there are glaring design problems.

Impact of AC Distortion & Noise on Audio Equipment

This is an ASR research project to see what impact AC noise and distortion has on performance of audio equipment. I have been wanting to write this article some three years ago and finally getting a chance to do the testing and release it. As you will see, the heart of this study is a special...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Ja1man]

Still, apparent performance no better than $90 D10, and arguably (imo) not much better - if any - than the $9 Apple dongle.. Look at all that grass! Why would anyone in their right mind pay $680 for this thing???

It sounds more like vinyl. Also has a better spatial presentation than delta sigma. More 3 dimensional, visceral and real.

 

[Angsty]

It sounds more like vinyl. Also has a better spatial presentation than delta sigma. More 3 dimensional, visceral and real.

This thread has run so long that just about everything to be said about this DAC, subjective or objective, has been said. Anyone with new, factual insights?

 

[zepplock]

It sounds more like vinyl. Also has a better spatial presentation than delta sigma. More 3 dimensional, visceral and real.

Is this sarcasm or a real statement? I can no longer tell. If it IS a real statement - why would you want your CD to sound like vinyl? Raise noise level to -60db? Poor channel imbalance/crosstalk? Uneven frequency response? Why value all these things and alter what the actual musician intended his music to be? It's like making a black and white copy of the Mona Lisa and claiming it's more vintage than the original painting.

 

[Ja1man]

Idk about all these specs that you are mentioning or how they actually relate to the real world, try it if you get a chance. It sounds more real. It sounds more visceral. It sounds more like Vinyl in the sense of being less harsh and grating. What do you want me to say I've tried both, in my hand, I don't really have a reason to lie right? I gain nothing. I'd love to live in a world where a delta-sigma product could replace R2R but from my exploration, it can't.

 

[zepplock]

Idk about all that bro, try it if you get a chance. It sounds more real. It sounds more visceral. It sounds more like Vinyl in the sense of being less harsh and grating. What do you want me to say I've tried both, in my hand, I don't really have a reason to lie right? I gain nothing. I'd love to live in a world where a deltasigma product could replace R2R but from my exploration, it can't.

If you don't know - maybe you should learn more about the subject. If I had to guess, you are used to poorly mastered audio or poor sound system or an untreated room, with rolled-off highs and/or a boosted bass. That will make a proper sound system sound harsh because of proper higher frequencies. In reality, it sounds like it was intended. But that is just my guess.

 

[zepplock]

I have nothing about your ideology (religion? cult?). But "vinyl", "visceral and real","spatial presentation" is not something that can be used to distinguish audio gear. It's just your unfounded feelings, since (I'm guessing) you didn't even do a proper test (blind, matched levels with a voltmeter or a calibrated microphone).