[Jcraigh]

Completely agree with your assessment re “essy”. Things are a

Just to be clear, you spent 50 UK pounds on the fuse for your Ares II? I just want to be clear on that point.

What is OS Slow on 12th please?

Mute > Optical > Light off = slow?

lot shinier, which is good on certain tracks and not so on

What is OS Slow on 12th please?

Mute > Optical > Light off = slow?

I have the Enyo. I’m not sure if its the same however,
Mute>Optical 1>Light Off
=OS Mode
Mute> Optical 2>Light On
=Slow Filter

 

[Majors]

Pontus 2 firmware is out.

 

[szore]

Yep crazy what some of these fuse cost 50 UK is on the low price compared to others. @szore did you notice any improvement with the fuse?

https://www.tweekgeek.com/quantum-science-audio-5-x-20mm-slow-blow-fuse/

There‘s also these plug enhancers

https://www.tweekgeek.com/qsa-powerjitter-power-conditioner-gold/

Kinda amazing people spend this much cash on tweaks.

silver fuse, hear more clarity and resolution.

 

[CAJames]

Pontus 2 firmware is out.

Apparently you can also buy a new DSP card with the updated FPGA if you DAC is too old to flash, or you don't want to mess with it.

 

[DrCal]

Pontus II upgrade is available now. Would love to hear PII owners feedback. Thanks!

 

[joseG86]

Pontus II upgrade is available now. Would love to hear PII owners feedback. Thanks!

Just updated my Pontus 2, so far the audio-video sync is perfect and that is a very interesting thing to keep in mind

Will give more info after a few hours of listening, upgrade was very easy with the instructions provided.

Thanks @alvin1118

 

[Nada]

..... But, but female vocals and high frequencies generally come off sounding glassy and shrill. It has physically made me wince in some cases.

The overall character of the sound has gone from the trade mark “warm” to bright and edgy. This sounds more like a delta sigma DAC.

I’ve left it on for a few days playing and come back to it a few times, but I’m just not feeling it.

I will roll it back when I get the old firmware from Alvin, and give it another go in a few months.

Thanks for your comments on the new sound signature. I hate edgy. The organic sound of the original Denafrips is special. Did you roll back to the original firmware?

 

[joseG86]

I wonder if we can just roll back and downgrade to the older firmware in case we don't enjoy the new one by following the same instructions, can we @alvin1118?

 

[JjB067]

I bought a Pontus II 12th edition DAC late Jan 2023 and wondered whether the 12th ed FPGA update just released would be required. After a few emails with Vinshine Audio, they said that most of the FPGA update features were already inside my purchased DAC, but not all. So after some thought with worries about bricking my kit etc, I decided to proceed with the update anyway. The updated USB driver install went fine and the download of the Config Driver ditto. However the process to enable install of unsigned drivers on my Windows 10 laptop threw a curveball in that the Bitlocker encryption system reared its head just at the crucial point. Now Alvin and his colleagues did mention about Bitlocker in their windows guide, but I assumed since I had never heard of this before that it would not activate or apply to me. However it did so and demanded I enter a 48 digit key to proceed with altering the startup behaviour to get around the use of unsigned drivers. Having no prior knowledge of this Windows safeguarding system, I was at a loss. It took a login to my Windows account on a separate laptop device along with an authorisation code delivered via my smartphone to display what this 48 digit code for the laptop consisted of. So 3 electronic devices in play to get this info, modern world a bit too complex for me maybe ! If Windows is going to encrypt drives for protection, perhaps they should have told the user when this was happening in the first place and where the encryption key digits could be found. So Windows users doing the 12th ed FPGA upgrade should prepare themselves for this Bitlocker issue before diving in, I was certainly not prepared.

However restarting the unsigned drivers procedure and entering the 48 digit key did eventually allow the installation of the Config Driver. So at last I could proceed with the actual firmware upgrade using the FUT tool and link sent by Vinshine Audio for my particular model and FPGA chip. Accessing the firmware package needs the password also supplied by Vinshine, I thought the field you type this password into could have done with a "seeing eye" tool as there is no way to check what you have typed in before hitting enter. However the actual firmware flashing step into the DAC itself proceeded with no issues, just one Windows warning flashed up just before the console window appears. I had to confirm that I did indeed want to proceed, this was not mentioned in the guide provided. The flashing only took about 30 secs, I then power recycled the DAC and reconnected via USB. The USB Audio device now gives a V3.12 P6F1.3 status, which Vinshine tell me indicates successful firmware upgrade for my Pontus II 12th ed. Hurray!

So overall many thanks to Alvin and his colleagues for the quick response to emails and the very useful guides to the upgrade process itself. Only the Windows Bitlocker stuff was unpleasant as I was unprepared. I had to reset the I2S pinout and OS filter type after the firmware upgrade but that was expected. So how does it sound ? Well after about an hour or so burn-in, it sounded very good indeed. I was very relieved that the glorious Pontus II sound had returned to my system, deep soundstage with lots of layers and details. It sounds very like what it was before the upgrade but possibly slightly extra punch and clarity, small percentages here I think. It sounds really really good.

 

[DKUSA]

I am a happy owner of Ares II and Pontus II DAC's. I've updated the FPGA code on Ares II in March, and right after the update I was able to feel the difference.

I was a bit skeptical about the update, and I was thinking that I would not feel much difference if compared to the original FPGA firmware that came with the Ares II. I was wrong!! The new firmware improved the sound quality, and now I can hear more details from the music. Clearer high's and better vocals.

I was considering selling my Ares II, but with the updated FPGA code, I have decided keeping it with me.

The update for the Pontus II became available 2 days ago, and I've installed it. Like in my Ares II the sound quality improvement was easily noticeable. Bass is more firm and solid, at a point that I had to lower the volume in my sub. Vocals are nicer. It became a bit brighter, but not at a point that it is fatigue, and because of that, some people might not like it. According to Vinshine, it is recommended to perform a burn in due to the new logic in the FPGA. Overall, I am happy with the new FPGA code, and I would do it again if I had a Pontus II with the original FPGA code version. Several fixes were implemented and I don't which one improved the soundstage; it is more precise and wider now.
To be honest, my impression is that the sound improvement got better on Ares II, than on Pontus II, maybe because Pontus with the original FPGA code is already an exceptional DAC.

Just a small note, the update instruction for Mac, provided by Vinshine is based on an older version of iOS, and users who have the latest version Ventura, the pictures don't match, but it is not difficult to figure out how to proceed with it.

Thanks for the exceptional support from Alvin and Vinshine !! Excellent post sales support, which is rare nowadays.

 

[Baten]

According to Vinshine, it is recommended to perform a burn in due to the new logic in the FPGA.

Well that seems rather ridiculous.

 

[George Hincapie]

I am a happy owner of Ares II and Pontus II DAC's. I've updated the FPGA code on Ares II in March, and right after the update I was able to feel the difference.

I was a bit skeptical about the update, and I was thinking that I would not feel much difference if compared to the original FPGA firmware that came with the Ares II. I was wrong!! The new firmware improved the sound quality, and now I can hear more details from the music. Clearer high's and better vocals.

I was considering selling my Ares II, but with the updated FPGA code, I have decided keeping it with me.

The update for the Pontus II became available 2 days ago, and I've installed it. Like in my Ares II the sound quality improvement was easily noticeable. Bass is more firm and solid, at a point that I had to lower the volume in my sub. Vocals are nicer. It became a bit brighter, but not at a point that it is fatigue, and because of that, some people might not like it. According to Vinshine, it is recommended to perform a burn in due to the new logic in the FPGA. Overall, I am happy with the new FPGA code, and I would do it again if I had a Pontus II with the original FPGA code version. Several fixes were implemented and I don't which one improved the soundstage; it is more precise and wider now.
To be honest, my impression is that the sound improvement got better on Ares II, than on Pontus II, maybe because Pontus with the original FPGA code is already an exceptional DAC.

Just a small note, the update instruction for Mac, provided by Vinshine is based on an older version of iOS, and users who have the latest version Ventura, the pictures don't match, but it is not difficult to figure out how to proceed with it.

Thanks for the exceptional support from Alvin and Vinshine !! Excellent post sales support, which is rare nowadays.

I bought Ares II, upgraded to Pontus II 12th, sold it, bought other DACs, then returned with Ares II 12th.

The difference between Ares II and Pontus II 12th was non-existent for me. I actually felt Pontus lost some of the musicality that Ares had. It was a disappointing upgrade. When I read other experiences with Pontus it makes me wonder how we can be hearing such different things.

The new Ares II 12th is an exceptional DAC. Mine was provided with the upgraded FPGA by Alvin. It sounds amazing. And it sounded amazing from the off. No month long burn in before decent SQ per my first Ares II. Really, very good. I am using Iris.

I guess my experience has me wondering whether I will get any benefit from buying May KTE, and my Pontus experience particularly has me wondering whether moving further up the Denafrips line is worthwhile.

It's all a journey!

 

[jmascreen]

I have upgraded the firmware on my pontus ii and vinshine confirmed its successful however i didnt need to reconfigure the i2s or filters. Just wonders why its different in my case

 

[CAJames]

I have upgraded the firmware on my pontus ii and vinshine confirmed its successful however i didnt need to reconfigure the i2s or filters. Just wonders why its different in my case

Each FPGA has different firmware, maybe yours doesn't reset. Or your settings are the default after the upgrade?

 

[jmascreen]

Each FPGA has different firmware, maybe yours doesn't reset. Or your settings are the default after the upgrade?

Not default I had changed the i2s to 111 and after firmware update it stayed the same.

Anyways its sounding great amazing soundstage and low end which was bit lacking earlier