[xats62]

I had to sell my Ares II because of the "clicks and pops" it produced. I was hoping that the new firmware would solve the problem, unfortunately, although the clicks and pops were less noticeable (but still present), I had "micro-skids" whenever I played CDs. I am so sad, because I really liked the sound of the Ares II. I firmly believe this is a hardware problem (FIFO) that cannot be fixed with software. So, I have a question for you: do you know of a DAC that has more or less the same sound signature as the Ares II (and that hopefully can play CDs without hiccups)? I listened to the Gustard R26; it's nice, but I don't get the same feeling: the Ares II had the knack of pulling me in with the musicians, so to speak. Thank you.

 

[Baten]

I had to sell my Ares II because of the "clicks and pops" it produced. I was hoping that the new firmware would solve the problem, unfortunately, although the clicks and pops were less noticeable (but still present), I had "micro-skids" whenever I played CDs. I am so sad, because I really liked the sound of the Ares II. I firmly believe this is a hardware problem (FIFO) that cannot be fixed with software. So, I have a question for you: do you know of a DAC that has more or less the same sound signature as the Ares II (and that hopefully can play CDs without hiccups)? I listened to the Gustard R26; it's nice, but I don't get the same feeling: the Ares II had the knack of pulling me in with the musicians, so to speak. Thank you.

You might not like the price.. but.. holo audio spring 2 / spring 3 .

 

[sajunky]

I listened to the Gustard R26; it's nice, but I don't get the same feeling: the Ares II had the knack of pulling me in with the musicians, so to speak. Thank you.

Yip, Ares has its own magic. Sometime ago I decided to buy it, but while collecting money I got a deal for second-hand Audio GD which at the moment was selling new for $350. For that price it was a real bargain, so I wanted to try a second hand unit and immediately it found a new home. It has even more magic, it is a true NOS DAC, more expensive models have in addition selectable x2/x4/x8 oversampling.

A current price for mk2 model is $670, but it has no muting control, so there will be small clicks during changing PCM sampling rate or even louder when changing tracks during playing DSD/SACD. However not random popups breaking stream, when you get those, there is something wrong.

 

[screwdriver]

finally i was able to snag an ares 2 for $535 .
i flashed it to the newer firmware and used it for 36 hours bt i like the older one better so i re flashed it back
im loving this dac .
this and the smsl vmv d1se2 dac combo covers everything for me

 

[xats62]

Yip, Ares has its own magic. A sometine ago I decided to buy it, but while collecting money I got a deal for second-hand Audio GD which at the moment was selling new for $350. For that price it was a real bargain, so I wanted to try a second hand unit and immediately it found a new home. It has even more magic, it is a true NOS DAC, more expensive models have in addition selectable x2/x4/x8 oversampling.

A current price for mk2 model is $670, but it has no muting control, so there will be small clicks during changing PCM sampling rate or even louder when changing tracks during playing DSD/SACD. However not random popups breaking stream, when you get those, there is something wrong.

Thank you for your input. But which Audio GD model are you referring to exactly? I can see a mk3, but it's nowhere near $670.

 

[sajunky]

Thank you for your input. But which Audio GD model are you referring to exactly? I can see a mk3, but it's nowhere near $670.

You can wait maybe Denafrips will fix breaking a stream by firmware upgrade.

R-8 Mk3 is a high-end model. I meant R2R-11 Mk2 $599 or $678 with fem-to second clocks option AIO. There is no basic model sans HPA. A current version brings beefed up power supply and stepped digital attenuator, it justified price increase, but the old one was a real bargain.

I would also recommend R-1 $889, but currently out of stock. A fully balanced DAC including ladder, you need Denafrips Pontus for this feature. An equivalent of R-1 with pre-amp and headphone amplifier is R-28.

 

[Ufanco]

I had to sell my Ares II because of the "clicks and pops" it produced. I was hoping that the new firmware would solve the problem, unfortunately, although the clicks and pops were less noticeable (but still present), I had "micro-skids" whenever I played CDs. I am so sad, because I really liked the sound of the Ares II. I firmly believe this is a hardware problem (FIFO) that cannot be fixed with software. So, I have a question for you: do you know of a DAC that has more or less the same sound signature as the Ares II (and that hopefully can play CDs without hiccups)? I listened to the Gustard R26; it's nice, but I don't get the same feeling: the Ares II had the knack of pulling me in with the musicians, so to speak. Thank you.

I hope you informed the new buyer about the clicks and pops before sale. Really be a crappie thing to do to someone if you didn’t. I would never sell someone a piece of gear if it had a know problem.

 

[xats62]

I hope you informed the new buyer about the clicks and pops before sale. Really be a crappie thing to do to someone if you didn’t. I would never sell someone a piece of gear if it had a know problem.

But of course I did! It was a non-issue for him because the problem was only present when using my CD player and the buyer does not use a CD player.

 

[LeonidK]

Has anyone compared Ares II to Mojo 2? I wonder if that would be an upgrade at all.

 

[HiFiVee]

I had to sell my Ares II because of the "clicks and pops" it produced. I was hoping that the new firmware would solve the problem, unfortunately, although the clicks and pops were less noticeable (but still present), I had "micro-skids" whenever I played CDs. I am so sad, because I really liked the sound of the Ares II. I firmly believe this is a hardware problem (FIFO) that cannot be fixed with software. So, I have a question for you: do you know of a DAC that has more or less the same sound signature as the Ares II (and that hopefully can play CDs without hiccups)? I listened to the Gustard R26; it's nice, but I don't get the same feeling: the Ares II had the knack of pulling me in with the musicians, so to speak. Thank you.

I never experienced "clicks or pops", before or after the v1.6 FPGA update - use it in a rig that streams via an Iris DDC connected to my laptop.

However, Denafrips has since released a new FPGA update (v1.8) for the Ares II - excerpt below from the v1.8 release notes. Looks like the issue was noted and a fix supplied.
-------------------------------------------
Enyo v1.3/ Ares II v1.8 (July 6, 2023)
-------------------------------------------

• Reduce sampling rate change/switching noise with certain transport/streamer
• Fine-tune the sound quality in the mid-range and lower octave of the bass, to achieve a balanced, organic, analog-like sound signature that is characteristic of Denafrips

 

[Hyde00]

Has anyone compared Ares II to Mojo 2? I wonder if that would be an upgrade at all.

I'd imagine it would be dependent of your amp. Personally I like the tonal balance of Mojo 2 more, piano sounded VERY GOOD. But for whatever reason my unit sounded a bit flat in terms of layering and soundstage.

So I would think depending on amp but I think Ares II + another amp you'd get better technicality. Though I've never had them side by side to compare.

 

[LeonidK]

I'd imagine it would be dependent of your amp. Personally I like the tonal balance of Mojo 2 more, piano sounded VERY GOOD. But for whatever reason my unit sounded a bit flat in terms of layering and soundstage.

So I would think depending on amp but I think Ares II + another amp you'd get better technicality. Though I've never had them side by side to compare.

I'm using Hegel H200 with Kef LS50 Meta, Hegel is neutral, natural sounding with very good resolution and staging. It doesn't add much to the timbre, that's why I much prefer slightly warm and smooth Mojo 2 to the RME ADI-2, it also has wider and deeper soundstage than RME, but I think more can be done about that, hence my thoughts towards Denafrips. How is the stage depth compared to the Mojo? Is it also pushed in your face so much?

 

[Hyde00]

I'm using Hegel H200 with Kef LS50 Meta, Hegel is neutral, natural sounding with very good resolution and staging. It doesn't add much to the timbre, that's why I much prefer slightly warm and smooth Mojo 2 to the RME ADI-2, it also has wider and deeper soundstage than RME, but I think more can be done about that, hence my thoughts towards Denafrips. How is the stage depth compared to the Mojo? Is it also pushed in your face so much?

Oh you're using speaker. I've heard people have very good results with Ares II on speakers. As for stage, I think Ares II isn't that huge, but it has good layering. I think Ares II is probably what I'd call "medium size" LOL.

Out of the devices I tried, from small to large stage:

Small -> Medium -> Large -> Huge
Chord Mojo 2 -> Denafrips Ares II -> Musician Draco -> Soekris 1541

Conversely it's the same with vocal, as the stage gets bigger and bigger you start to lose that vocal intimacy. I like in your face vocal so Mojo 2 was good. But I have skewed preference LOL. The guy who I sold my Ares II to really enjoyed it with his speaker setup.

In general I find people seem to recommend Ares II more for speakers rather than headphone setup. If you find Mojo 2 too in your face you could give Ares II a try, or if you want even bigger/wider more relaxed signature (less treble/warmer than Ares II) and vocal even pushed back a bit more you could try Musician Draco.

EDIT: I never owned RME ADI-2, but I tried it at the store and indeed it's very squeaky clean / lean sounding to me. So any of the Mojo 2 / Ares II / Draco would all sound very rich / colored in comparison.

 

[WorksUnit]

Has anyone compared Ares II to Mojo 2? I wonder if that would be an upgrade at all.

Lived with both, Headphones only...
Form factor, and EQ Is on the Mojo 2 side.
I tended to gravitate toward a combination of OG Mojo and Ares2 for contrast, so Mojo2 got sold.

I agree with @Hyde00 regarding the staging...

 

[]eep]

I'm using the Ares II with speakers. There's no need to use HP for me. You can skip to the last paragraph if you don't care.

I just upgraded my amp for my new Magnepan 0.7's. I was using an Amp60 and I moved up to the AMP-150. The former brand Audience.Cn (€300) and the latter a Gato from Danmark (€4500). Yeah ok I bought it 2ndH for €3000. It's an upgrade that is worthwhile yet not earthshattering. It has very much the same character, it's just a little better at everything. Exactly what I was looking for and what I hoped for. It doesn't mean the Gato isn't good, it's mindblowingly good.

When I was looking for the Maggie's I read everywhere it needs big solid capable powerful amps, the bigger the better. Then I went to listen to the new (in EU!) LRS+ and it sounded just great, with my own 40W amp with a tiny bit of stress at high levels. I asked for the Nuprime AMG combo (class D with class A pre-amp stage) but that sounded super fast verging on strident. Then I listened to the 0.7 and the Nuprime bit the dust. No synergy. My little 40W@8-70W@4ohm translinear current amp however did impossible things. Yeah the VU-meter was imitating a windscreen wiper in a rainstorm, but man... Bass, speed, mids of honey, and space! It had no right sounding this good. Absolute synergy. FYI I played Infected Mushroom - Army of Musrooms LOUD. That struck out the Nuprime for my 'ultimate' list.

I enjoyed the 0.7 but that nagging notion... N e e d... more... pow e r... So I was saving up and reading up. I like the Steve Huff photo & Hifi channel. I really liked the Billie Amp. Then recently he reviewed the Gato DIA-400s all-in-one digital amp. I just loved it. So did he. He answered my question in the comments how it compared to the Billie 2 amp. I had some hesitation about ice-modules. And class-D, since vinyl is my mainstay. So I found the first model the Amp-150 which is all analog. I have no need for digital inputs (pcm1793 iirc however well implemented).

The Maggie's sound great now. But that 'power hungry' story baffles me. It's simply bogus. I tried a infineon Merus class D and it sounds just great. HOWEVER. The crossover is sub-parr. It limits detail, air and sense of 3D. My self-made 1½ way, dipole fullrange +AMT supertweeter give me more transparency and depth, more pinpoint imaging. Especially with vinyl I'm missing a lot of that extra 'realness'. The Maggie's make cable quality a non topic because the filter just erases all micro detail.


So, back on-topic. I have a much more refined amp now. Beyond all doubt. So I can judge differences better. I still enjoy the Ares II. Using the Rose rs250 as source to USB.

I was listening to some classical music: Stravinsky - Sacre du Printemps by Aenima Eterna- Teodor Currentzis. Sense of space is just eerie. It is so exact, so defined. I could just hear the space, the walls, the size. This hall isn't huge. Not like the Concertgebouw of where the Berliner Philharmoniker play.
I also player Eddy Reader, a Scottish singer (Fairground Attraction). She sounds beautiful. So clear and detailed. So smooth and lovely. I remember the reviewer in Hifi News & RR long ago, saying: "I'd marry the woman just to hear her sing in the shower". This makes you believe it.