[Nickol]

Any good fully balanced preamp suggestions guys, What is everyone using to drive their Ares II?

I use it with Violectric V200

 

[Sound Eq]

is there any comparison between ares to hugo2 or qutest

 

[Chik0240]

So I am puzzled, does anyone know the original ares is equivalent to what OS mode in the II? and anyone can comment what setting is more neutral

 

[Sound Eq]

is there any comparison between ares to hugo2 or qutest

any help to the above

 

[asebastian0]

A note for those who are using the Ares II on a mac with JRiver:

If the red light for DSD is showing up above the "8x" button instead of the "DSD" button and the DSD playback sounds veiled, generally unbalanced. Setting this option fixed the DSD indicator light and sound quality issues:

- Tools -> Options -> Audio -> Bitstreaming -> Yes (DSD)

I also enabled integer mode but it's not clear whether this is actually doing anything when playing a DSD file.

I've tried DSD 1x and 2x files with the new settings and the Ares II sounds great now. This might be obvious to some but I'm used to standalone sources with minimal or no configuration options.

 

[matti55]

Just got this dac, wanted to try R2R. Really liking it so far. I have a couple of noob questions regarding volume control.

I have it plugged in with USB, and so far have tested it with a Gilmore Lite MK2 as well as a JDS Atom, and I'm very surprised at how low I need set the amp volume for the sound to not be unbearably loud. With the Atom, on low gain, setting the volume know to 7/8 o clock is plenty loud, and anything at 12+ is way too loud. Same story with the Gilmore. As far as I can tell there's no way to lower the volume via the USB connection and supposedly this is by design to achieve optimal sound quality.

So I'm wondering if this is to be expected. Is there anything I can do to comfortably get more granularity for the amp volume control? I'm currently using the Auteur (300 ohm impedance), so I'm guessing this will be even more exaggerated on a lower impedance headphone?

 

[Bonddam]

Just got this dac, wanted to try R2R. Really liking it so far. I have a couple of noob questions regarding volume control.

I have it plugged in with USB, and so far have tested it with a Gilmore Lite MK2 as well as a JDS Atom, and I'm very surprised at how low I need set the amp volume for the sound to not be unbearably loud. With the Atom, on low gain, setting the volume know to 7/8 o clock is plenty loud, and anything at 12+ is way too loud. Same story with the Gilmore. As far as I can tell there's no way to lower the volume via the USB connection and supposedly this is by design to achieve optimal sound quality.

So I'm wondering if this is to be expected. Is there anything I can do to comfortably get more granularity for the amp volume control? I'm currently using the Auteur (300 ohm impedance), so I'm guessing this will be even more exaggerated on a lower impedance headphone?

I'm in different boat I get great volume control out of the gsx-mini. 9 oclock is nice low volume high around 1 oclock.

 

[funkle II]

A question for people who have bought this DAC: I notice there are resellers in the US and on eBay selling this DAC for 800-1000. But it is possible to purchase direct from the official distributor vinshineaudio in Singapore for around $760 (depending on the exchange rate at that moment). Even used examples are selling for more. Is there a reason to avoid vinshine, or are people unaware of this option?

 

[Bonddam]

I bought mine on drop for about 870 after tax.

 

[snafu1]

A question for people who have bought this DAC: I notice there are resellers in the US and on eBay selling this DAC for 800-1000. But it is possible to purchase direct from the official distributor vinshineaudio in Singapore for around $760 (depending on the exchange rate at that moment). Even used examples are selling for more. Is there a reason to avoid vinshine, or are people unaware of this option?

That's strange that used ones are selling for more.
No, there's no reason to avoid vinshineaudio. I've read many posts from Alvin of vinshineaudio and he has been very helpful. I've also read posts from other customers who mentioned very good things about Alvin. My purchase from them was shipped promptly and I received it in good condition.

The only thing that would I would think twice about is their policy of no returns. Once you bought it, it's yours (except for manufacturer defects). I wish they allowed a period of when you could return it. It's such an awesome DAC, I can't see returns of unsatisfied customers being a potential issue.

 

[Lord Rexter]

Well I think Denafrips Ares II was on Drop (perviously Massdrop) for $800ish I had missed that so I bought mine from Amazon USA for around $850 including tax. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07TNJ548L) so you might want to get in touch with the seller to work out a deal, they are super helpful. The DAC comes with one year warranty just that you know.

 

[snafu1]

Well I think Denafrips Ares II was on Drop (perviously Massdrop) for $800ish I had missed that so I bought mine from Amazon USA for around $850 including tax. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07TNJ548L) so you might want to get in touch with the seller to work out a deal, they are super helpful. The DAC comes with one year warranty just that you know.

I don't know about the Amazon seller, but vineshineaudio is the only authorized reseller and they offer a 3 year warranty, not 1 year like the other seller.

 

[Bonddam]

Even though your saving money on Amazon there’s something about it I don’t trust. The other thing is ship arrival date for the Terminator was feb-March. That’s just like buying it on drop.

 

[Lord Rexter]

I don't know about the Amazon seller, but vineshineaudio is the only authorized reseller and they offer a 3 year warranty, not 1 year like the other seller.

My bad I just checked it's 36 months of warranty, thank you for pointing it out

 

[willsw]

A question for people who have bought this DAC: I notice there are resellers in the US and on eBay selling this DAC for 800-1000. But it is possible to purchase direct from the official distributor vinshineaudio in Singapore for around $760 (depending on the exchange rate at that moment). Even used examples are selling for more. Is there a reason to avoid vinshine, or are people unaware of this option?

I've had a lot of experience dealing with Alvin from Vinshine, including purchasing and dealing with warranties, and have always had excellent experiences and quick shipping. I'd recommend ordering directly from Vinshine over anything else.