Denafrips 'Pontus' R2R ladder DAC - close up view

[sygnus21]

Thanks I think you mentioned that difference before and was helpfull. Thinking in my system the 15th might work out better. I’m using both a tube preamp and tube amp so can always use different tubes to get where it sounds best.

Bear in mind I have the luxury of having both DACs so this is side by side to each other. On their own, you're not going wrong with either, but I would get the 15th since it's basically last year's Venus 12th-1, meaning you're getting a Venus for the price of a Pontus. "I" just really liked the soulfulness of the 12th-1.

I still need to order a power cord so any suggestions on that would be much appreciated. I also have install new outlet and been holding off to do it till the Pontus 15 arrives.

Like all things cable, you are going to get a million suggestions. All I can say is I'm using the Supra LoRAD copper-based power cord on my Pontus, and the Supra LoRAD silver-based cord on my Denafrips Headphone amp. For me, I get good bass/extension, and great soundstage and micro-detail.

But you can experiment with 10 different combinations and fall in love with half, so it's really a matter of what you prefer most based on your most beloved genre. I prefer jazz, so thick heavy bass isn't my thing more so than staging and detail without being too much. Also depends on your favorite listening tool - headphones? Speakers?

This is long winded 38 minutes), but he does a good job of explaining things here for the Supra Power Cords....

I did get some feedback from denafrips about status of the Pontus 15’s and was told there doing a relaunch of it on March 10. I asked them if there is any changes to them but haven't received a response back. Will post more when Denafrips responds.

"If" Denafrips changes things, would be interesting to see/hear some thoughts on these changes. Personally, I think they just ran out of stock seeing now you can get a Venus for a Pontus price, and a Terminator for a Venus price. And we already know Denafrips' DACs are still very popular even with Alvin parting ways with them.

 

[Roybenz]

Hi. What streamer should I buy for my Pontus 2? Budget up to $1500-2000 max. It needs to be roon compatible.

Can I use a Normal HDMI cable for i2S? I’ve always used a wireworld usb from iMac.

Edit. Don’t need i2S. Will use xlr out.

 

[sygnus21]

Can I use a Normal HDMI cable for i2S? I’ve always used a wireworld usb from iMac.

Yes, you can use an HDMI cable (it's what I use for I2S). It just needs to be at least HMDI 2.0 compliant which most are today.

Hi. What streamer with i2S should I buy for my Pontus 2? Budget up to $1500-2000 max. It needs to be roon compatible.

I don't use streamers, so I've no suggestions here.

________________________________________________________________________________________________​

Anyway, regarding burn-in and the Pontus 15th....

Someone once asked when you would know when something is burned in and my response was when you have that wow moment a month or two in. Tonight, while listening to some CDs, I got that wow moment, and it was great. So great it way past my bedtime, and I'm still listening to music. It's like this high you don't want to end.

This is what the Pontus 15th doing and is now more enjoyable than my Pontus 12th-1. See > this post for reference.

The combination of the Teac VRDS CD player feeding into the Pontus, which feeds into the Denafrips Artemis headphone amp feeding either the Hifiman HE1000-SE or Sennheiser HD800 S phones is just a beautiful sound full of detail and lusciousness. I love hearing my CDs played on this system, way more than listening to my FLAC files ripped from the same CDs. The CD player just pushes a tad more micro-detail and staging. Not a night and day difference but you notice after awhile.

Honestly, I don't know if I could ever have anything but an R2R DAC in my system. Heck I'm not even sure if it could be anything but Denafrips. I'm certainly not going to call this an end game setup cause we all change gear at some point, but I can say I won't be looking to upgrade anything anytime soon (which for me isn't unusual).

So yeah, the 15th is the better of the 12th-1. It just does everything better. Mind you the 12th-1 is a Pontus, but the 15th is a Venus with a Pontus nameplate

Peace

 

[shafat777]

Can anyone please confirm if the New Pontus 15th or the Venus 15th are limited to just one simultaneous output (rca or XLR) like previous generations? I am looking for a dac that i can use to connect two amps at the same time without signal degradation. My original pontus 2 suffers from audible volume and Sq loss when both xlr and rca output is used at the same time.

 

[sajunky]

Can anyone please confirm if the New Pontus 15th or the Venus 15th are limited to just one simultaneous output (rca or XLR) like previous generations? I am looking for a dac that i can use to connect two amps at the same time without signal degradation. My original pontus 2 suffers from audible volume and Sq loss when both xlr and rca output is used at the same time.

All Denafrips are passive output design, no active buffering, so you can't use both outputs simultaneously, sorry.

If it is important, look in the Audio GD range starting from $900. All fully balanced including a ladder (which is in Denafrips territory a Pontus level). I do recommend R-28 Mk3, it has additionally pre-amp and headphone amplifier for a price of a DAC alone. For other reasons too, even if you don't use HPA.

 

[sygnus21]

@shafat777 post above is a double post and has already been addressed > here. They said they pulled the trigger on a Holo Spring KTE DAC.

 

[Ufanco]

Just got confirmation that my Pontus 15 has been built and in the process of the 100 hour factory burn in. Hoping to get it soon been a long wait.
Was wondering if it is safe to place another piece of equipment on top of the Pontus 15?

 

[Blindranger]

Just got confirmation that my Pontus 15 has been built and in the process of the 100 hour factory burn in. Hoping to get it soon been a long wait.
Was wondering if it is safe to place another piece of equipment on top of the Pontus 15?

The Pontus 15th is built like a tank, I am pretty confident you could stand on it and not hurt anything except your floor.

 

[sygnus21]

Just got confirmation that my Pontus 15 has been built and in the process of the 100 hour factory burn in. Hoping to get it soon been a long wait.
Was wondering if it is safe to place another piece of equipment on top of the Pontus 15?

I can tell you, having two Pontus DACs, they don't get that hot (you can place your hand on top without any worry) so it should be fine. That said, if the component sitting on tops gets overly hot, then you might reconsider.

I was going to stack my setup, but I didn't like the look (my CD player is rack size). You could get something like this Monolith 4 Tier Audio Stand XL. It's adjustable (via chosen post length), and you don't need to use all the shelves. With my setup I'm just using two shelves...

Enjoy your new DAC when it arrives. If you have the nerves, you could open the top and post photos. Want to see if anything physically has changed from my post > here.

 

[Ufanco]

I can tell you, having two Pontus DACs, they don't get that hot (you can place your hand on top without any worry) so it should be fine. That said, if the component sitting on tops gets overly hot, then you might reconsider.

I was going to stack my setup, but I didn't like the look (my CD player is rack size). You could get something like this Monolith 4 Tier Audio Stand XL. It's adjustable (via chosen post length), and you don't need to use all the shelves. With my setup I'm just using two shelves...



Enjoy your new DAC when it arrives. If you have the nerves, you could open the top and post photos. Want to see if anything physically has changed from my post > here.

Found out the delay was waiting for the copper wire they use in the Pontus 15. Just a stock part shortage, it shouldn’t affect sound quality in anyway.

 

[sygnus21]

Found out the delay was waiting for the copper wire they use in the Pontus 15. Just a stock part shortage, it shouldn’t affect sound quality in anyway.

Got it. Thanks. You're going to love that Pontus (Venus) after it settles in. Lots of detail and definition. Outstanding spatial-ness.

At first, it's going to sound dull and lifeless (at least it was for me coming from the Pontus 12th-1), but after settling in (I've had mine since Dec), it surpasses the 12th-1. The 12th-1 is a good sounding DAC, but the 15th just ups the game a little more. Sort of like what you would get moving from a Pontus to a Venus

 

[Ufanco]

I'm still waiting on Xlr cable, had to switch from my regular WBC with Neutrik to a different WBC cable where the end connections is Amphenol. Both are using Canare L-4E6S.

For power cord going use a Pangea Audio AC 14 XL MKII.

Since I got my shipping confirmation I should have ithe Pontus 15 next Tuesday.

 

[sygnus21]

I'm still waiting on Xlr cable, had to switch from my regular WBC with Neutrik to a different WBC cable where the end connections is Amphenol. Both are using Canare L-4E6S.

I think were using the same WBC cable, though mine is using the Neutrik connectors. Zero issues there, and I love what I'm getting out of them when listening to my headphone, which is fed from the Pontus using said cables. This > the ones I use. Great cable for the $32 dollar price I paid for them.

Now they're hard to come by, and it looks like you can only get them in a 6-inch 4-pack set for $63 bucks.

For power cord going use a Pangea Audio AC 14 XL MKII.

I'm using the Supra LoRAD silver Power cord on the DAC. Copper based Supra LoRAD power cords on the rest of the system.

Since I got my shipping confirmation I should have ithe Pontus 15 next Tuesday.

Good luck. I know that wait period had to be killer.

 

[Ufanco]

Yes, it looks like it’s WBC pro cable is using there own in-house quad wiring and a Neutrik connectors.
Edit,

Pontus 15 in house early impression is it’s much better than the Ares 2 out of the box. According to the inspection card was inspected on 3/12/2025 and arrived 2/17/2025.

 

[sygnus21]

What is the world is that huge unit on top? Kind of hard to read the writing case the image is out of focus.