Denafrips Venus II DAC Review and vs. Pontus II & Ares II, which one should you buy?

Other Reviews:

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Preamp & Power Amplifiers

Source: Bluesound Node 2i
(all music is hi-res streamed from Tidal)

DAC: Denafrips Ares II or Venus2

Speaker & Power Cables: Maze Audio Ref4
(rest in peace Kent)

Interconnect Cables:
Analysis Plus Oval One RCA
Oyaide Tunami Terzo XX V2 XLR

Network Switch:

Your results may vary based on your ears, room, and associated equipment:

[giovannitirado]

VERY useful video. Not going over what has already been reviewed many times, but concentrating on the matching of each DAC to a specific system is an excellent approach. Thanks.

[connorduke]

The new Gustard R26 dac has caused some initial waves, would be great to hear your take on it. Cheaper than Pontus but a worthy competitor to it is the initial feedback.

[Felicianov]

You have become one of my favorite, YouTube channels for audio.

[CharlesHoop]

I can’t believe you don’t have five or ten times more subscribers. Consistently good content.

[toddt]

Excellent and thorough analysis! I have both the Ares 2 and Pontus 2, with a Denafrips Hermes DDC feeding the Pontus via I2S for all digital sources. Hermes has more different types of inputs than the Iris, so I can hook up CD transport, streamer, and TV for improved sound. It has proven to be an excellent combination. Considered the Venus, but ended up going with Pontus plus DDC for practically the same money. The Hermes DDC reclocks all the inputs using an even higher quality clock (OCXO) than what is found in the Venus, so hopefully overall I'm close to or exceeding what the Venus alone would have offered me... The rest of my system includes the Denafrips Athena preamp and Apollo amp driving Tekton double impacts. Insane performance!

[Dracayala]

Thanks for the info and advice you give, it's well appreciated. Also I totally understand what you are saying about price point on audio equipment. People should understand that 1 high end component is not going to take you directly to the next level without out the other pieces of the puzzle like speakers, amps, wires and cabled . But there's no shame in owning a budget system especially if it makes you happy.

[IrenESorius]

Clear as water as usually Nemo. A Masterclass on how to speak about audiogear. ⭐
Thanks and Cheers, , 🍻😎👍‍‍👍‍‍

[michaelwright]

Well, listening to my Venus II 12th right now... Been playing with it for days. I am using the Pi2 Mercury V2 streamer, all hard wired into my network. I am using the outstanding and rock solid RoPieeeXL OS on the Mercury. Cables do matter with this combination, and I am sure others. I found Gotham digital cables, AES and RCA, beat the snot out of both Mogami and Audioquest Cinnamon. I think I paid around $30 for the Gotham AES on Amazon. i2s, I called Tarun, The British Audiophile, asked which cable he is using, the British made QED HDMI cable is what he is using. I found the US distributor, $40, really opened up the sound and no more bloated bass. I am using an Oyaide Black Mamba v2 power cable, direct from Japan. No clue if it makes a difference, I heard no difference over the Pangea cords I have, but it looks cool. Hope this helps someone.

[joshdekubber]

Oh my God love the ending of this video bro!!!

[homerjones]

If you can, avoid the incremental upgrades; you’ll save money in the long run. After wanting to try something better than the Bluesound DAC streamer I went for the Ares II but should’ve gone directly to the Pontus II. Would recommend bypassing the Iris and getting the Hermes so you’ll have multiple inputs, if you’re considering a DDC.

[carmelovillena]

Pontius is just fine with my hifi setup consisting of konzert 506 and bose acoustimust speaker and hollygrail the sound is boombastic

[AngryChineseWoman]

I've owned the Pontus II and now own the Venus II, your comparison is spot on. The Venus II is superior, but at first when I listened to it I missed the little warmth in the vocals that I loved with the Pontus II

[keepingupwiththejones]

18:03 Nemo: I'd like to apologize ... to absolutely fu*king nobody. The subwoofer champ does what the fu*k he wants 😭😅

[rangerscoach]

The Venus is for a very high end system, it will sound better, I have the Pontus it just had a bit more connectivity than the ares dac. The ares dac is an amazing dac and probably the one you should get. It was so good I had a friend come to test it and 30 minutes later we had finished a bottle of wine and had music everywhere

[mrpmj]

I have 2 Denafrips DACs (Pontus II 12th-1 and Ares II 12th).
The Denafrips Iris 12th makes the sound even better with either DAC.

The Cardas Clear USB cable sounds even better than the already great freebie cable from my Eversolo DMP-A6.
The Cardas Parsec RCA cable sounds even better than my already great WorldsBestCable (using Mogami 2549 and Neutrik connector).

streaming source=Apple Music lossless.

[keepingupwiththejones]

Who is a $2950 Dac For? That is the title. Great job as always.

[billwillard]

It’s good for viewers to latch onto reviewers that are in the approximately same neighborhood of funding as they are; all of the pieces work together and it does no good to be top heavy on one component and way lower level on another. Sometimes instead of buying a $3k DAC or $1k cables you probably should get every piece to a comparable quality/resolution level, like maybe better speakers. An exception I think is if you’re committed to going substantially higher up the line it’s OK to leapfrog ahead a few levels, because you’ll save money in the long run by not buying/selling at a loss/buying one step up.

[carbon_wavelight]

This approach is actually super helpful. A lot of reviewers say something along the lines of "you can check your audiophile boxes. Soundstaging, imaging, detail, it's all there." Which is not super helpful if you have no idea what a product at that price point is supposed to sound like. Especially considering they'll say the same thing about a product in a different tier, tacking on the "for this price point"!

Well done.

[robertwang]

Yes I have the Iris and Pontus combo with Kef LS50 metas and Rel T5X powered by Willsenton R800i ( rolled tubes ). If I upgrade to the V2 or T2, I wld have to upgrade my spkrs first and that wld be pretty expensive. I’m pretty happy with this set up. Wld need a big windfall to spend another 15-20k - Focal Sopra 1 x Venus or T2 or Holo May Kit.

[slidetek]

Well, after much deliberation and being just inches away from a Venus II, and then a Kitsune Spring 3, and then a Terminator II, I pulled the trigger on a Gustard R26. 😉 What can I say, I'm a cheapskate. Super impressed with Aoshida, I ordered on Thursday and it was here Wednesday. That's faster than some CONUS orders - and no CA sales tax which I'd have paid through Amazon or eBay. The finish isn't _quite_ as nice as my Aurender, but looks great sitting next to it. It's exciting that something this well stuck together with quality parts is available for under $2k. That just means the big boys will have to up their game. So far, I'm just floored at the performance which seems to have the best qualities of a SABRE and R2R right out of the box. My new phono stage and PS is here Friday, so it'll be entertaining to have an analogue vs digital showdown over the weekend. Too bad my carts still need breaking in. 😕