DENAFRIPS 'ARES' R2R discrete ladder DAC - close up view

[szore]

When did 1.8 come out? I upgraded mine before I sold it and can't say I really heard a difference.

Came out like 2 weeks ago.

 

[George Hincapie]

Came out like 2 weeks ago.

Aah...OK. I had a previous version.

 

[billqs]

I purchased the Ares II /Enyo second hand and thought it was good, but not outstanding. But then I got the most recent July firmware update and now it's incredibly musical! I can see why everybody raves about this now!

 

[Chodi]

I feel rather foolish having to ask this question but here goes. I have the original Ares II and it has been used in 230V since purchase. I am moving back to the USA in 2 weeks and taking my dac with me. It has a voltage switch on the bottom so I expect all I would have to do is flip the switch to 110v and possibly change the fuse. There is no mention of the fuse in the manual? I cannot find what value fuse I should change for 110V USA voltage? Anyone have that information? All I need is the correct fuse value for 110V. I would be grateful if anyone knows the answer.

I phoned Alvin at Vinshine Audio. He remembered me by name. That shocked me. Very personal service. He said there is no need to change the fuse. Only change the voltage switch on the bottom to 110v. Rather surprising but he knows what he is talking about so I shall do as he advised.

 

[Jared2500]

I have always been curious to hear how the Ares II sounds in comparison to the Pontus II. I recently sold my Pontus II, but I will miss it. It's a spectacular sounding DAC, especially when using HQPlayer to upsample to DSD.

 

[dfarina]

I have an Ares II,would the Iris make a nice improvement being fed from a dedicated streamer?My Ares II would have to be fed via coax from the Iris (no I2S input),read that the coax connection is not as good?

 

[Hyde00]

I have an Ares II,would the Iris make a nice improvement being fed from a dedicated streamer?My Ares II would have to be fed via coax from the Iris (no I2S input),read that the coax connection is not as good?

From my experience Ares II USB isn't as good as Coax or Optical.

Coax has highest quality but a bit "crisper" sounding while Optical a bit less resolution but a bit more warmer / organic sounding.

So I think having Iris definitely would help. I've never used I²S connection but it's said to be better than Optical and Coax. But Ares II doesn't have it unless you get the Ares 12th.

 

[NoNameNPC]

I have an Ares II,would the Iris make a nice improvement being fed from a dedicated streamer?My Ares II would have to be fed via coax from the Iris (no I2S input),read that the coax connection is not as good?

https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1661303924/1
Maybe this help you.

 

[dfarina]

Thanks,yea I might have 2 benefits using the Iris.The unit itself as well as using the coax input on my Ares as opposed to its USB input which I also heard wasn't as musical as the coax.

 

[Getafix]

I feel rather foolish having to ask this question but here goes. I have the original Ares II and it has been used in 230V since purchase. I am moving back to the USA in 2 weeks and taking my dac with me. It has a voltage switch on the bottom so I expect all I would have to do is flip the switch to 110v and possibly change the fuse. There is no mention of the fuse in the manual? I cannot find what value fuse I should change for 110V USA voltage? Anyone have that information? All I need is the correct fuse value for 110V. I would be grateful if anyone knows the answer.

I phoned Alvin at Vinshine Audio. He remembered me by name. That shocked me. Very personal service. He said there is no need to change the fuse. Only change the voltage switch on the bottom to 110v. Rather surprising but he knows what he is talking about so I shall do as he advised.

Unfortunately almost all Chifi brands recommend equal amperage for 230 and 110 V. They do it for convenience but create a problem for the high voltage regions which naturally should use smaller fuses.

 

[dfarina]

I ended up finding an Iris on the used market,nice upgrade to my system even with the coax output.Overall it sounds more detailed without sounding harsh,actually smoother!The bass extends a little deeper and cleaner,maybe not quite as present as before but hits when it’s supposed to.Overall satisfied.

 

[Tlaudio]

I have ares ii and pontus ii side by side and have been comparing them for the past month.

Has anyone gone back to ares from pontus?
The performance is definitely improved, but I sometimes miss the ares and can't seem to let it go.

I would like to hear the decisions and opinions of those who have chosen ares.

 

[Hyde00]

I have ares ii and pontus ii side by side and have been comparing them for the past month.

Has anyone gone back to ares from pontus?
The performance is definitely improved, but I sometimes miss the ares and can't seem to let it go.

I would like to hear the decisions and opinions of those who have chosen ares.

I've bought then sold/returned Denafrips Ares II, Musician Draco, Soekris 1541, and borrowed Schiit Bifrost 2.

Then I went back to Drop SDAC LOL.

I think upgrading gear is often resolution vs sound signature. Quite often resolution go up but sound signature went down (preference).

So I'm forever sidegrading and rarely upgrading.

 

[Tlaudio]

I've bought then sold/returned Denafrips Ares II, Musician Draco, Soekris 1541, and borrowed Schiit Bifrost 2.

Then I went back to Drop SDAC LOL.

I think upgrading gear is often resolution vs sound signature. Quite often resolution go up but sound signature went down (preference).

So I'm forever sidegrading and rarely upgrading.

thx.

may return to ares.

 

[Hyde00]

thx.

may return to ares.

I've been told the best of both worlds is to get the higher resolution DAC then use EQ to get the presentation we want.

But I'm against EQ (ok maybe not against..... maybe more like lazy) so your mileage may vary LOL.

So I'd rather just use the DAC with the presentation I like.