Am I Spending $1800 on a DAC! Denafrips Pontus 2 Review

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Subs

[notguilty]

Hi Randy, for those of us who are truly on a tight budget, the price difference between a Gishelli J2 AKM vs the Denafrips Ares II is substantial. I understand that there are definitive differences between the chip delta sigma construct vs the R2R. That said, both you and almost all other content creators rave over the Gishelli J2 AKM matching or exceeding their $1, 000 delta sigma counterparts. And, you comment in this video that the Gishelli is your second favorite DAC to the Ares II. So, is it possible you could do a dac to dac review between the two explaining why or why not the $500 price difference might be justified to us working audiophiles who need to hear it from the cheapaudioman? Thanks

[sleepyf]

Welcome down the rabbit hole Randy! I agree, you can get very good performance for not a lot of money. But when you start going high end, you get benefits such as detail without graininess, smooth even. Thats when music start to become special.

[Felicianov]

Great review, I appreciate this as a Ares II owner. I like how you review more expensive gear from time to time to have more experience to be able to recommend cheaper alternatives.

[tablameister]

I bought the Denafrips Ares II (based in part on your review) and love it.

[SparksFun]

Agree the Pontus 2 is for better for higher end 2 channel systems.
The I2S connection handles SACD as native DSD rather than PCM so if you have I2S outputs from your SACD player you will get DSD playback as the SACD signal is fully exposed.

[RetroResurrectionAI]

Thanks! Hey Randy great video as always, just FYI you can get a BNC to RCA adapter on Amazon for just a few bucks. Also if your using an RPI streamer you can get I2S from the 40 pin connector, so there you go just salved two of your connector issues LOL.

[rehanamutlagh]

I got Pontus 2 with Hermes ddc and I can say when I listen to my music I’m on heaven with my kefR11 speakers insane details
Cheers buddy:)

[salmonline]

I paid $830 last week for the Aries ii. Got it 4 days later. Love the thing.

[ThayneHardy]

I have had the Denafrips Pontus II for 8 months now. It's been wonderful. I have it hooked up to a Soundaware D300 streamer (Roon endpoint) via the I2S (HDMI) cable. The pinout is compatible. This combination works so well sonically. It's wonderful detail in the upper registers with rich full bass in the lower end.

[gregbartley]

“Hi value” can apply to not so cheap equipment. You do you Randy, I appreciate your reviews for any and all components.

[Mad.Maxx.]

I owned the Pontus II for about 6 months (Sept 2021 - March 2022). In all honesty, I couldn't tell any difference between it and my Topping D90 (non-MQA)... except for the price. I tried all kinds of tweaks, but nothing ever really made a difference to my ears. A few reviewers told me the real benefits of the P2 could be heard with headphones. After 5 years working in talk radio, I can't stand those things clamped on my dome now. I ended up selling both my P2 and D90. I bought the FiiO K9 Pro ESS and have been quite pleased with it. I think I'm done with dac shopping for a few years. Excellent video, mate!!

[michaelwright]

Great review Randy! The Ares II was also a game changer for myself. The chip DACs were killing my ears. Yes, they sounded great, but after an hour or so, or even less, my ears were bleeding... They all sounded the same to me... And then I said screw it, I need to hear this Denafrips DAC everyone is raving about... It is magical, it allowed me to finally sit and enjoy my music. I enjoyed the Ares II so much, I bought their Iris DDC, Hades preamp and Thallo amplifier to go with my KLH Model 5 speakers. Time to upgrade to the Pontus II, and then my audio journey should be over. At least for awhile. Your take on the connections was spot on too, something folks should take into consideration. Keep up the GREAT work!

[Keithwithfever]

I went to Denafrips to buy the Ares II after watching your review a while ago. It was out of stock so I stepped up to the Pontus II. Holy schiit! My jaw was dropped and stayed on the floor for a month at least. I was using the DAC in the Bluesound Node with NAD C298 power amp and KEF LS50. The difference Pontus II made was even bigger than my last speakers upgrade (from Elac Debut Reference). I had no idea DAC can make big differences like this. But I agree with your take on the available inputs. They should take out at least one AES input for another optical.

[lazzzzze]

19:28 There is a "Ares III" now called the Ares 12th. Look forward to hear your opinion on it.

[joshuaschneck]

Nice review. Your British Audiophile buddy recommends I2S inputs coupled with a digital re-clocker like Denafrips Iris for best sound.

[robk]

Just ordered an ares 2, thanks to you my man!

[Brian_Romska]

Good job randy! I definitely have no interest in a dac that costs more than a few hundred bucks, but still nice to get your take on it, thanks again!

[legrandgroves]

I bought based on your ares 2 video, cost is 800+ USD for a while now. Very happy! Stopping here for now….😁

[goahead]

I absolutely love my Pontus II. It's a game changer in my system.
It replaced my Cambridge CXN v2.

[DavidArcher]

The Ares II has made me spend so much money on hifi. I like it more than other dacs. I like it more than the dacs in AVRs. So I have made a separate home theatre system and separate music listening system as a way to compromise and not get rid of my ares II dac. I like the noise elimination of the XLR connections so naturally I made a purifi amp to go with my lovely Ares II. All these separates and HT systems in the same area have given me a ground loop that I have finally solved but when it comes down to it I can make up reasons why I can change everything else except the Ares II dac. It makes my 15 year old paradigm monitor 7s sound so good.