[rulerofrecords]

Just small question. Thinking to buy DDC now. Is there a big quality jump from USB to via DDC input? May be Singxer SU6, or Topping U90. Not decided yet. So far, I am very happy even with USB from Macbook connection. Now I have another problem to connect all my gears to the DAC. I have Kramer VM-1120 XLR distributer and Tilear xzd-A1 for RCA splitter. But the biggest dilemma do I need to invest in DDC? May Be Denafrips Gaia (because of silver color)?

That question is - as with most things regarding source - not so easy or clear cut to answer. Here is my "amateur" take on the DDC-matter. When your desktop gear has reached a certain stage with stuff costing easily above 1 or 2k per device the cost of admission to the DDC-topic becomes somewhat acceptable/reasonable. So what I'm trying to say is that with some entry DDC-gear from Denafrips, Singer etc. I think it seems "worth" it or "justifiable" to give it a try. In my case I bought the Denafrips DDC to work with my RME-Adi 2 before I had any plans to go for a Dac in the Pontus-Price or Holo range. And yes I think the RME did profit from the Iris. At least so much that I thought that it might be worth going down the source-upgrade-rabbit-hole one step further with a potential Dac upgrade ... But as I said earlier I'm right now trying to evaluate what it is that I'm "dealing with" vs the setup with just the RME feed by the MacBook Air USB ...

 

[sajunky]

Get a DDC with external 10MHz clock input, so in future you can upgrade your gear with a quality clock priced between $200-1k. I2S input in Pontus will benefit the most from such configuration, but also S/PDIF.

 

[rulerofrecords]

Please share your experiences good or bad. Curious to hear your impressions.

Okay, this will take some time as I do seem to have some sort of issue with my current setup that will take some unpleasant back and forth and left and right. It does not sound "right" and far from good - pretty harsh, grainy, messy, stressed. I went all the way back to the RME as standalone Dac = fine. RME + Iris DDC = fine. Pontus II solo out of the MacBook Air with Roon and Qobuz = fine. But Mac > USB > IRIS > I2S (HDMI) > Pontus II > XLR > Cayin Ha-6a > 4.4mm > ZMF VC sounds like xxxxxxxx
Again - this will need some time and straight thinking which I currently find kinda hard. Tomorrow is a new day ...

 

[kimdeug]

Okay, this will take some time as I do seem to have some sort of issue with my current setup that will take some unpleasant back and forth and left and right. It does not sound "right" and far from good - pretty harsh, grainy, messy, stressed. I went all the way back to the RME as standalone Dac = fine. RME + Iris DDC = fine. Pontus II solo out of the MacBook Air with Roon and Qobuz = fine. But Mac > USB > IRIS > I2S (HDMI) > Pontus II > XLR > Cayin Ha-6a > 4.4mm > ZMF VC sounds like xxxxxxxx
Again - this will need some time and straight thinking which I currently find kinda hard. Tomorrow is a new day ...

My quess will be:
1... Try to change phase on Pontus II, os/nos, play with filters.
2... Try not I2S connection from Iris to Pontus, coax or SPDF
3... Check settings on Mac: Aplication +++Utilites+++Audio MIDI setup.app
4....Try simple; Mac++USB++Pontus++CayinHA-6A++ZMF
5.... Try like your last setup, but if possible other amp instead of Cayin
6.... And the most informative IMHO- Look Alvin's video on YouTube how to setup IRIS (Hermes) to Pontus II. I know it is a Hermes not IRIS, but principal should be the same. Link:

 

[rulerofrecords]

My quess will be:
1... Try to change phase on Pontus II, os/nos, play with filters.
2... Try not I2S connection from Iris to Pontus, coax or SPDF
3... Check settings on Mac: Aplication +++Utilites+++Audio MIDI setup.app
4....Try simple; Mac++USB++Pontus++CayinHA-6A++ZMF
5.... Try like your last setup, but if possible other amp instead of Cayin
6.... And the most informative IMHO- Look Alvin's video on YouTube how to setup IRIS (Hermes) to Pontus II. I know it is a Hermes not IRIS, but principal should be the same. Link:

thanx kimdeug. Well apart from sacrificing a goat to the god of system synergy I did all the above. Currently running the Pontus via Usb directly from the Mac. I do currently not have a second, SS-amp to try that. The god news however after trying all possible setups seems to be that none of the individual components seems broken or faulty - me thinks. Must be some strange, setting, synergy, connection issue - hopefully. Or a "bad" HDMI cable, or a crappy tube (starting rolling as well today) or ... - but I will give this set up some time. I actually do like the opportunity to see what the Pontus can do on its own.
Ah, one more thing - what can I actually "do" or adjust in the Mac Midi-Settings. I always was wondering ... ?

 

[viggen]

Just small question. Thinking to buy DDC now. Is there a big quality jump from USB to via DDC input? May be Singxer SU6, or Topping U90. Not decided yet. So far, I am very happy even with USB from Macbook connection. Now I have another problem to connect all my gears to the DAC. I have Kramer VM-1120 XLR distributer and Tilear xzd-A1 for RCA splitter. But the biggest dilemma do I need to invest in DDC? May Be Denafrips Gaia (because of silver color)?

I am not sure what the splitters have to do with DDC. But:
In general, I think it's a good idea to have something between your DAC and PC/MAC. Whatever that something is will have greater influence over the source's sound depending on the quality of the source's input. I came to this conclusion after experimenting with variou DDC/DAC combinations. If you have the time, you should buy a few to try out to come to your own conclusion.

 

[kimdeug]

thanx kimdeug. Well apart from sacrificing a goat to the god of system synergy I did all the above. Currently running the Pontus via Usb directly from the Mac. I do currently not have a second, SS-amp to try that. The god news however after trying all possible setups seems to be that none of the individual components seems broken or faulty - me thinks. Must be some strange, setting, synergy, connection issue - hopefully. Or a "bad" HDMI cable, or a crappy tube (starting rolling as well today) or ... - but I will give this set up some time. I actually do like the opportunity to see what the Pontus can do on its own.
Ah, one more thing - what can I actually "do" or adjust in the Mac Midi-Settings. I always was wondering ... ?

1. On Mac Audio MidiSetup.app you can change the resolution (make it fixed as 190kHz/32 bit). It means your MacBook Air always will send 190kHz/32bit to the Pontus II.
If you running Spotify, Qobuz or Rune streaming service you can select resolution in their menu, witch will change/affect the Midi setup settings too. Just check MidiSetup.app - may be you are running very low resolution all this time.
2. On Alvin's video he has mentioned that you need to setup both units to settings 000. May be try to do what he said step by step.
I have decided to buy Denafrips Gaia, and now looking for I2S (HDMI) cable to connect Pontus II. Any suggestions about a cable? on my photo Pontus and all 4 amps on the bottom shelf has own DAC and all digital inputs, So, from Gaia the I2S will go to the Pontus II, and other 4 digital outputs from Gaia to those 4 amplifiers.

 

[rulerofrecords]

1. On Mac Audio MidiSetup.app you can change the resolution (make it fixed as 190kHz/32 bit). It means your MacBook Air always will send 190kHz/32bit to the Pontus II.
If you running Spotify, Qobuz or Rune streaming service you can select resolution in their menu, witch will change the Midi setup settings. Just check MidiSetup.app - may be you are running very low resolution all this time.
2. On Alvin's video he has mentioned that you need to setup both units to settings 000. May be try to do what he said step by step.
I have decided to buy Denafrips Gaia, and now looking for I2S (HDMI) cable to connect Pontus II. Any suggestions about a cable? on my photo Pontus and all 4 amps on the bottom shelf has own DAC and all digital inputs, So, from Gaia the I2S will go to the Pontus II, and other 4 digital outputs from Gaia to those 4 amplifiers.

the resolution on the Midi-app-screen is not locked - it does change with whatever is going on at the source. The IRIS DDC can not be setup in that way. Only the higher tier DDCs from Denafrips. Alvin send me an email with cable recs, I would assume he is okay with me sharing this info:

Good day.
I am a studio grade cable believer. My cable preference list:

Power:
http://www.gothamaudiousa.com/assemblies/Gotham_illinois_powershieldedACpower.htm

Analog I/C:
RCA: https://shop.sommercable.com/en/Cab...ereo-Paar-Epilogue-QuadCore-HighEnd-EP3F.html
XLR: https://usashop.sommercable.com/en/...ereo-Paar-Epilogue-QuadCore-HighEnd-EPB1.html

Digital I/C:
RCA SPDIF: https://usashop.sommercable.com/en/.../S-PDIF-75-SC-Focusline-MS-Highflex-FSA1.html
BNC SPDIF (Clock): https://usashop.sommercable.com/en/Cable/BNC-Video-Cable/Wordclock-SC-Focusline-L-Highflex-FL59.html
AES/EBU: https://shop.sommercable.com/Kabel/Sonstige/AES-EBU-DMX512-Binary-234-AES-EBU-MKII-B20Q.html
Optical: https://shop.sommercable.com/en/Cab...abel-Polymer-Optische-Faser-POF-HIA-TLTL.html

USB/I2S:
HDMI i2s: https://usashop.sommercable.com/en/Cable/HiFi-Home/Multimediakabel-EXCELSIOR-BlueWater-EBH4.html
USB: https://www.adl-av.com/products/cables/usb/

RJ45:
https://shop.sommercable.com/en/Cab...Netzwerkkabel-SC-Mercator-CAT-7-PUR-P7HS.html

 

[kimdeug]

I am not sure what the splitters have to do with DDC. But:
In general, I think it's a good idea to have something between your DAC and PC/MAC. Whatever that something is will have greater influence over the source's sound depending on the quality of the source's input. I came to this conclusion after experimenting with variou DDC/DAC combinations. If you have the time, you should buy a few to try out to come to your own conclusion.

Alvin suggested to connect Pontus via XLR or RCA only one at the time. So, can not do XLR to one amp and RCA to another. From here I need an XLR and RCA splitters to connect all my amplifiers if I want them sourced from Pontus. Some amps have only RCA input, some both, some none.

 

[kimdeug]

The Gaia has been ordered 2 minutes ago from Vinshine Audio.
Alvin was very helpful.
Thanks Alvin, I know you are watching this thread)
There is no space on my setup. Probably it will go under LaFigaro 339.
Any recommendations for good HDMI I2s cable will be highly appreciated.

Regards from New Zealand,
Kim

 

[rulerofrecords]

The Gaia has been ordered 2 minutes ago from Vinshine Audio.
Alvin was very helpful.
Thanks Alvin, I know you are watching this thread)
There is no space on my setup. Probably it will go under LaFigaro 339.
Any recommendations for good HDMI I2s cable will be highly appreciated.

Regards from New Zealand,
Kim

just click to expand on my previous response to your cable request and you find Alvin cable recommendations incl HDMI

 

[kimdeug]

just click to expand on my previous response to your cable request and you find Alvin cable recommendations incl HDMI

Thanks my Friend.
This is exactly what I need.
Appreciate your sharing.
Lets see what DDC is about.

 

[rulerofrecords]

Thanks my Friend.
This is exactly what I need.
Appreciate your sharing.
Lets see what DDC is about.

You're very welcome! I'm very interested to see how the synergy between DDC and Dac works for you. For the weekend I will keep things simple and stress free here and listen to some music with Pontus II only. Could be worse ...

 

[viggen]

Alvin suggested to connect Pontus via XLR or RCA only one at the time. So, can not do XLR to one amp and RCA to another. From here I need an XLR and RCA splitters to connect all my amplifiers if I want them sourced from Pontus. Some amps have only RCA input, some both, some none.

still nothing to do with ddc unless your amps have digital input.

 

[galileaux]

Hi all,

I'm currently running a Hugo 2 and a Bifrost 2 in two set-ups at home (main amp is the ZMF Pendant SE), and considering buying a higher-end DAC, and the Pontus II is the primary option at the moment. Has anyone compared the Pontus or Pontus II to these other two DACs? Would it be an improvement in this case? (I used to primarily want a wider soundstage, but recently found that having more body and texture to vocals/mid-range ends up making my listening experience more enjoyable than a super-wide soundstage).

In terms of sources, I use a RPi 4 > USB > Bifrost, or the Chord 2Go for the Hugo 2. If I get the Pontus, I'll likely also get a Denafrips DDC as well (Hermes or Iris).

Thanks for any advice/thoughts on this!