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Denafrips ARES II USB R2R DAC Review

Veri

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Of course I didn't. If whatever requirement you have is met by several options, the cheaper alternative is generally considered better.
woops. I didn't direct that at you, mansr. I agree of course.
 

mykeldg

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Since this is a well measuring R2R dac -- does this mean it now sounds indistinguishable from DS DACs? My understanding is R2R and Multibit get their 'euphonic' traits from harmonic distortion?
 

Baron Slater

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"I guess you don't understand how amplifiers work either."

Sure I do. Feedback cures everything.
Measurements tell us what we should like.

Unfortunately what sound realistic to the scope does not sound realistic to everyone.
 

BDWoody

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Since this is a well measuring R2R dac -- does this mean it now sounds indistinguishable from DS DACs? My understanding is R2R and Multibit get their 'euphonic' traits from harmonic distortion?

That would be correct. It is doing its job properly, and is effectively transparent in your audio chain.
 

Veri

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Since this is a well measuring R2R dac -- does this mean it now sounds indistinguishable from DS DACs? My understanding is R2R and Multibit get their 'euphonic' traits from harmonic distortion?
If there's no euphonic presentation to speak of (harmonics below -120dB). Then yes, they would should sound the exact same, at the exact same output level. That is, unless you disable the oversampling filter and enable NOS mode. Then it could sound different.
 
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amirm

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Unfortunately what sound realistic to the scope does not sound realistic to everyone.
We don't use a scope. We perform spectral analysis and compare the spurious tones and noise to psychoacoustic research which is based on listening tests. So our method is completely based on listening tests. The proper one you know. Not the ones audiophiles tend to do where they substitute their brain and eye for what they hear.
 

solderdude

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Unfortunately what sound realistic to the scope does not sound realistic to everyone

Not everyone likes 'accurate reproduction' for sure or would not recognize it if it bit them in the ...
Many people prefer 'colored in some way'.
What they prefer may sound 'better / more realistic / natural' to them but may well not be 'better' in a technical sense.
ASR is about the 'better' in a technical sense.
This is what a lot of members here prefer / strive for.
Others do not, good for them.
 

Baron Slater

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Not everyone likes 'accurate reproduction' for sure or would not recognize it if it bit them in the ...
Many people prefer 'colored in some way'.
What they prefer may sound 'better / more realistic / natural' to them but may well not be 'better' in a technical sense.
ASR is about the 'better' in a technical sense.
This is what a lot of members here prefer / strive for.
Others do not, good for them.
Makes sense. Nothing wrong either way.
 

mocenigo

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you can also just do the coloration on other parts of the chain

My approach is to remove as much coloration as possible by choosing proper DAC and amplifier. Then I can do room correction and, if I really wanted to, add distortion, but all in the digital domain. The problem with coloured active components is that you cannot properly undo their nonlinearities. Speakers (and room), with current technology are hopeless, so one has to act there trying to do the best correction possible, knowing that something will be lost anyway.
 
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decoRyder

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Great DAC, just bought one. Spending a lot of time right now comparing it to my Toppings (D10, D30, D50s) and a bunch of R2R/NOS/Multibit DAC's I bought recently.
 

Voo

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I own this dac...boy would a remote control be nice to play with settings/features while sitting in mlp.

also, when I pulled up this review under link of all dac reviews it says not recommended by amirm. I use mine with coax...would be nice to see reviews with usb and spdif results.
 

Angsty

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Eye candy for sure. One has to wonder if all that is overkill for a DAC and line level output.

R2R DACs appear to consume more power than most comparable delta-sigma DACs. The power spec is <= 20W.
 

Angsty

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No. What makes them sound different is your brain. The DACS will all sound the same regardless of want preamp you use. It’s psychoacoustics. It’s also possible they aren’t level matched and your brain interpreting a louder volume as sounding better. Heck, the brain is so indesisive when it comes to music, it might actually think the less loud one sounds better!


This is absolute hogwash. There are practical reasons to have a preamp between the dac and the an easy way to control volume for one. But adding one isn’t going to make it more “musical” that is once again psychoacoustics at work. You are imagining that your music sounds better.


Given that rationale, the sound of a tube preamp should be indistinguishable from a solid state preamp. Throw out SINAD, IMD and all the other measurements.

No; well-designed analog sections can be as meaningful to sonic output as the digital section. But, well-designed does not have to mean expensive.
 
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aranido

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I got one this morning. I have now a Topping DX7s and Denafrips Ares II. I configured Ares II with oversampling and slow filter as suggested.
Too early to say, but strings sound more natural to me (I play guitar). But there is a passage in the song "I Don't Want to Talk About It" from the album "Temptation" by "Chantal Chamberland" where the violin in the minute 1:00 sound in "Topping DX7s" upfront while in Ares II sound in the background. I'm not sure what was the original intention during the mixing of this song, but I just wanted to pointed out.

I feel a better stereo imaging with Ares II, but I'm still not 100% sure, I will probably report in a week of listening.

Using Audirvana without oversampling, ADAM A7X monitors and PS Audio Stellar Power Plan 3.
 

shumi

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I have the Ares II fed by an RPI4 via USB streaming Tidal from Volumio. After 100 hours at OS-slow, today I decided to flip to NOS. I noticed a subtle difference in the high frequencies, a bit smoother, no hint of any glare on any tracks, where the OS would on rare occasions and on some tracks show a bit of an edge. Again, very subtle and a matter of personal preference. I will leave it set to NOS for a while. Amazing DAC for the money and a perfect match for my pre-amp (Schiit Freya Plus) and my speakers (Magnepan 3.6).

room.JPG
 

Veri

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I have the Ares II fed by an RPI4 via USB streaming Tidal from Volumio. After 100 hours at OS-slow, today I decided to flip to NOS. I noticed a subtle difference in the high frequencies, a bit smoother
Well it makes sense that NOS will smoother the high frequencies at lower sample rates, because it will roll off the frequency response.
PS that's a nice man-cave (if that's what that room is) :D
 
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