[Smoothstereo]

I think that there is too much bass due to the copper plugs.
I thought if it is more loud than pontus ii (non-12th) I could bring that back.

I asked vinshine about it but they said it would be challenging.
I may look for a used one.

Hmm, if you think too much bass, some good quality silver cables should tighten that up.

 

[sygnus21]

I think that there is too much bass due to the copper plugs.

What he said....

Hmm, if you think too much bass, some good quality silver cables should tighten that up.

Tighten up as in provide more upper range while toning down the bottom a little. In effect making the amp a little brighter.

I added a Supra LoRad copper power-cord to my Pontus 12th-1 and bass notes became less "fluffy" and harder hitting. With the silver Supra LoRad power cord, the sound was airier and more spacious, but the bass become lighter and fluffier.

It just depends on what you want. I prefer a harder hitting bottom. This is where silver vs. copper does make a difference.

 

[Roybenz]

Considering update to 3.14 (12th) software.

Could anyone that had 3.12 contribute what the changes will be going to 3.14 software. Thanks.

 

[JacquesCustodian]

Hi folks,
I met a local dealer willing to sell me his Pontus 2 (non anniversary/OG version) for around 1100$.

I had a chance to try it with my setup. It was stunning in every way, except for one. Somehow it seemed more fatiguing with singer sibilance not being as controlled as I've heard on AKM-based or Chord Dacs. This was the exact opposite of what I imagined a Pontus would do, thinking it would tame sibilance.
-Might you know what could've been wrong here?

I listened to it hooked up to my MacBook Pro M2, running Audirvana, via USB. The Pontus was set to NOS and had the 1.0 firmware.

Ps. Is the newer Pontus 2 12th revision better via its USB input? I would hopefully prefer to have a good a performance via USB as to avoid acquiring a DDC also.

 

[joseG86]

Hi folks,
I met a local dealer willing to sell me his Pontus 2 (non anniversary/OG version) for around 1100$.

I had a chance to try it with my setup. It was stunning in every way, except for one. Somehow it seemed more fatiguing with singer sibilance not being as controlled as I've heard on AKM-based or Chord Dacs. This was the exact opposite of what I imagined a Pontus would do, thinking it would tame sibilance.
-Might you know what could've been wrong here?

I listened to it hooked up to my MacBook Pro M2, running Audirvana, via USB. The Pontus was set to NOS and had the 1.0 firmware.

Ps. Is the newer Pontus 2 12th revision better via its USB input? I would hopefully prefer to have a good a performance via USB as to avoid acquiring a DDC also.

My honest opinion:

Keep it on 2 weeks 24/7 playing music, I had EXACTLY the same experience with it being super aggressive sounding and within 2 weeks it became my endgame DAC and at $1100 it is simply a steal (NOS/OS slow 1.0)

Good luck ^^

 

[JacquesCustodian]

My honest opinion:

Keep it on 2 weeks 24/7 playing music, I had EXACTLY the same experience with it being super aggressive sounding and within 2 weeks it became my endgame DAC and at $1100 it is simply a steal (NOS/OS slow 1.0)

Good luck ^^

Thanks heaps for answering. The seller is the second owner. He doesn't know how long the first owner had it. He himself 'only' put 100-150 hours on it.

Anything else to keep in mind in terms of steering clear of sibilance? Will using USB make the sound harsher, or simply slightly less high resolution as compared to I2S via an DDC?

Also, it seems from the wave Theory review on the Ares 12th that the USB implementation got better vs. on the Ares 22. Is that the case, and the same for the Pontus 12th vs. Pontus 2?

 

[Smoothstereo]

Hi folks,
I met a local dealer willing to sell me his Pontus 2 (non anniversary/OG version) for around 1100$.

I had a chance to try it with my setup. It was stunning in every way, except for one. Somehow it seemed more fatiguing with singer sibilance not being as controlled as I've heard on AKM-based or Chord Dacs. This was the exact opposite of what I imagined a Pontus would do, thinking it would tame sibilance.
-Might you know what could've been wrong here?

I listened to it hooked up to my MacBook Pro M2, running Audirvana, via USB. The Pontus was set to NOS and had the 1.0 firmware.

Ps. Is the newer Pontus 2 12th revision better via its USB input? I would hopefully prefer to have a good a performance via USB as to avoid acquiring a DDC also.

Based on your gear and cabling, I think you might have non optimal synergy. I recall Supra Excalibur USB is on the neutral/bright side. Phonitor XE and Hifiman HE1000 are also on the neutral/bright side from what I understand. The Pontus2 (to my ears) is neutral-ish warm. You might need to inject some smoothness and warmth in your chain. I would recommend looking at a more warmer/smoother USB cable as a first step, assuming the Pontus2 is fully burned in.

A change in power cable on the Pontus2 can also help.

 

[sygnus21]

Hi folks,
I met a local dealer willing to sell me his Pontus 2 (non anniversary/OG version) for around 1100$.

I had a chance to try it with my setup. It was stunning in every way, except for one. Somehow it seemed more fatiguing with singer sibilance not being as controlled as I've heard on AKM-based or Chord Dacs. This was the exact opposite of what I imagined a Pontus would do, thinking it would tame sibilance.
-Might you know what could've been wrong here?

I listened to it hooked up to my MacBook Pro M2, running Audirvana, via USB. The Pontus was set to NOS and had the 1.0 firmware.

Ps. Is the newer Pontus 2 12th revision better via its USB input? I would hopefully prefer to have a good a performance via USB as to avoid acquiring a DDC also.

My honest opinion:

Keep it on 2 weeks 24/7 playing music, I had EXACTLY the same experience with it being super aggressive sounding and within 2 weeks it became my endgame DAC and at $1100 it is simply a steal (NOS/OS slow 1.0)

Good luck ^^

Your question and experience entails a lot of things so to be quite frank it's impossible to nail what you hear down to a post.

That said, while I do recommend giving it a week's playtime, I'm not a fan of "Keep it on 2 weeks 24/7 playing music". I certainly didn't do that with mine. And I got a brand-new Pontus 12th-1 direct from Denafrips. I might leave it on for a few hours a day as I listened to music, but certainly not overnight, and with music playing. That's me.

Anyway, one thing I found is cables matter - silver based cables tend to bring out the upper range with more detail, whereas copper-based cables tend to favor the bottom end and make things a little tighter and closer. If you can try out different cables to see what works for you. Same with power cords.

I have my Pontus connected to a Denafrips Iris DDC via Supra HDMI cable (I2S connection). The DAC then feeds into a Denafrips Artemis headphone amp pushing a pair Sennheiser HD800S headphones. I also run in full balanced mode to include the headphones using a 4-pin balanced XLR cable. I don't get the sibilance you describe.

BTW, the Iris is connected to my PC vis the Supra Excalibur USB cable, which is an excellent cable. But it's not like I have any other cable to compare it to other than my old $9.99 Belkin USB cable.

At the end of the day my system and setup is totally diffeent from yours, so hard to compare. Again, give it a week's run time, play with different cables and go from there. Also, as a side note. as the DAC has presumably been in operation by the previous owner, I doubt you need a ton of burn in time.

Good luck.

 

[sygnus21]

Based on your gear and cabling, I think you might have non optimal synergy. I recall Supra Excalibur USB is on the neutral/bright side.

Interesting you say that as I don't get that at all with my setup(s). And as you know, I'm using the Excalibur USB cable to the Iris. The Iris than feeds both my Pontus Teac UD-503 DAC via coxial cable, while also feeding the Pontus DAC via HDMI cable (I2S) connection. There's certainly nothing overly bright on either system. In fact, both systems are on the warm side, which I most definitely prefer.

Even Laclen (Passion for Sound guy) never mentioned the cable as being bright

 

[Monsterzero]

If anyone wants an amazing, smooth, warm and holographic USB cable, drop me a DM. I'm selling my FTA Callisto USB cable. I've moved away from USBs in general so it's looking for a new home.

 

[sajunky]

Anything else to keep in mind in terms of steering clear of sibilance? Will using USB make the sound harsher, or simply slightly less high resolution as compared to I2S via an DDC?

Pontus has a passive output, there is no way it can generate sibilance. Such behaviour can only be triggered on the active amp that generate overshots or even short burst of ultrasonic oscillations. Nonstandard output impedance of Denafrips DAC can make your amp running unstable. I suggest to try preamp, it might stabilize the amp pulse response. It is also a workaround for a limitation that both SE and balanced outputs cannot be used in the same time.

For the harshness. A DAC that hasn't been used regularly also needs burning. Give it two weeks continously on power to make sure you won't miss great sound coming out. Delay any decision on which connection is the best till sound is stabilised.

In meantime you can open enclosure and inspect visually inside. Check for possible burning spots in the power regulators area and bulged capacitors. Badcaps website provide examples how it looks like.

 

[JacquesCustodian]

Based on your gear and cabling, I think you might have non optimal synergy.

My thought also, which is unfortunate. But hey, learning as I go into this crazy hobby.
The thing that confuses me is that by replacing the AKM-based internal dac for the Pontus I actually experienced more sibilance. Which was just odd to me. But might be that the roughly 200 hours playtime the Pontus had was not enough, as @joseG86 said. Or something else, which I do not know what could be.

Will try not to derail the Pontus thread too much, but since you are addressing it I thought I might type my synergi considerations in here.
In an effort to strike a more optimal synergy I am thinking either..

1. Upgrade from my AKM-based internal Phonitor dac to the Pontus 2 AND switch from the Hifiman He1000 V2 to the Tungsten DS (which is supposedly similar, but warmer and non-fatiguing). And then keep the Phonitor XE (which an amazing amplifier for displaying what is within your source and chain).
   1. It would be a real shame to let go of the He1000 V2. It renders vocals and acoustic singer-songwriter (that is my main genre) in an absolutely stunning, stellar way.
   2. The Phonitor XE should supposedly fit the Modhouse Tungsten well with its capability of pumping massive voltage. So that's a consideration for synergy in that setup.
   3. This would be essentially 'warm dac' (Pontus) to 'neutral amp' (Phonitor) to 'warm headphone' (Tungsten).
2. Alternatively, switch out the Phonitor XE for another dac & amp combo to complement the He1000 V2.
   1. This could be the Pontus 2, plus another amp.
   2. Or a warm dac amp combo. Something like the Audio-gd AIOs.

Very difficult to know where to go from here not having the possibility to audition much gear, where I live. Keen to hear if you have any thoughts @Smoothstereo (having an Arya). Also, you mention USB cables. Any ideas for an inexpensive cable that is significantly warmer than my Supra Excalibur?

 

[ColSaulTigh]

I haven't seen anyone mention it yet, but I'll throw my $.02 worth into the mix - change the firmware. Each version of the Pontus II firmware seems to bring different characteristics. Some are more bass-heavy and not as crisp, others are very cutting and airy, lacking some warmth. a 5-minute firmware change can (IMO) change the sound of that DAC pretty dramatically.

 

[sygnus21]

Based on what others have also said about firmware updates changing the sound, that's also an option. I would add this for owners of newly released units....

Being I bought the latest version (Pontus II 12th-1), with the latest firmware installed, I'm not willing to chance putting an older firmware version on a newly released model.

With that said, I have mine directly connected to Denafrips' Artemis headphone amp, which is a colored amp to begin with so for me, this is perfect as that's what I was after anyway, when I bought the headphone amp, which also helps with a bright headphone like the Sennheiser HD800S's.

Having the Pontus paired here sounds wonderful with the HD800S phones. It makes them sound full, warm, and detailed while still maintaining that wide soundstage. I'm actually very happy with the sound, and thus this further confirms why I wouldn't move to an older firmware on my Pontus. But that's also the cables and power cords used as those too can alter the sound, so....

But that's my setup and my ears. YMMV.

 

[Smoothstereo]

My thought also, which is unfortunate. But hey, learning as I go into this crazy hobby.
The thing that confuses me is that by replacing the AKM-based internal dac for the Pontus I actually experienced more sibilance. Which was just odd to me. But might be that the roughly 200 hours playtime the Pontus had was not enough, as @joseG86 said. Or something else, which I do not know what could be.

Will try not to derail the Pontus thread too much, but since you are addressing it I thought I might type my synergi considerations in here.
In an effort to strike a more optimal synergy I am thinking either..

1. Upgrade from my AKM-based internal Phonitor dac to the Pontus 2 AND switch from the Hifiman He1000 V2 to the Tungsten DS (which is supposedly similar, but warmer and non-fatiguing). And then keep the Phonitor XE (which an amazing amplifier for displaying what is within your source and chain).
   1. It would be a real shame to let go of the He1000 V2. It renders vocals and acoustic singer-songwriter (that is my main genre) in an absolutely stunning, stellar way.
   2. The Phonitor XE should supposedly fit the Modhouse Tungsten well with its capability of pumping massive voltage. So that's a consideration for synergy in that setup.
   3. This would be essentially 'warm dac' (Pontus) to 'neutral amp' (Phonitor) to 'warm headphone' (Tungsten).
2. Alternatively, switch out the Phonitor XE for another dac & amp combo to complement the He1000 V2.
   1. This could be the Pontus 2, plus another amp.
   2. Or a warm dac amp combo. Something like the Audio-gd AIOs.

Very difficult to know where to go from here not having the possibility to audition much gear, where I live. Keen to hear if you have any thoughts @Smoothstereo (having an Arya). Also, you mention USB cables. Any ideas for an inexpensive cable that is significantly warmer than my Supra Excalibur?

If you like the gear you have now and just want to tame the sibilance, trying out different cables like interconnects, USB cable, power cords ,etc might be the more cost effective way than flipping thru different gear.

As for warm(er) USB cable, i can't say I have tried a lot but ones I have are Audioquest Carbon and Coffee. The Carbon has some warmth to it. It's mostly copper with 5% silver.

I think in general, cables made out of Ultra Pure Ohno Continuous Cast copper (UPOCC) seeems to have warm flavor and smoother sound.