[CalvinandHobbes2020]

Curious, what mode are you using, NOS or OS (slow or fast) and what is your source player if you don't mind me asking?

OS Slow for me. NOS mode seems to convey more grain and texture. OS mode seems to be smoother. I didn't like OS Fast mode at all. It seems harsh without the extra texture that NOS mode conveys.

That said, I have just left my DAC in OS Slow mode and don't have any great motivation to switch for specific recordings.

 

[CalvinandHobbes2020]

>If you like laid back, relaxing sound, here is Denafrips.
I agree.
The Pontus is the most relaxing DAC I own.

I will say that I have found the Pontus to be capable of being both relaxed and upbeat. The range of emotion that it can convey is unusual compared to other DACs I've heard and not something I've heard before from other DACs.

 

[Smoothstereo]

I find myself lately preferring the OS slow filter as like you mentioned it's a bit smoother. Maybe a tad more relaxed as well. Ever since I got the Pontus 2, I have been using NOS and letting my music player upsample to 352.8khz and preferred that over the OS slow filter back then. It's a bit more raw and sometimes can be too intense on certain songs. So it's nice to have choices to dial it in.

 

[prima186]

Curious, what mode are you using, NOS or OS (slow or fast) and what is your source player if you don't mind me asking?

I am using nos mode.
Pontus12th and Schiit Freya go well together.
No unpleasant sounds,really smooth.

However, matching Schiit Freya tubes is expensive.
I spent about the same amount as buying the main unit.

 

[prima186]

I will say that I have found the Pontus to be capable of being both relaxed and upbeat. The range of emotion that it can convey is unusual compared to other DACs I've heard and not something I've heard before from other DACs.

It's hard to express how good pontus is.
Sound field feeling, sound image, not such a detailed part,
feel very natural.

equipment I own.
SMSL D-1, Schiit Yggdrasill_GS

 

[Smoothstereo]

I am using nos mode.
Pontus12th and Schiit Freya go well together.
No unpleasant sounds,really smooth.

However, matching Schiit Freya tubes is expensive.
I spent about the same amount as buying the main unit.

Nice, I have a similar setup. Im using Pontus 2 with Schiit Freya N tube preamp/buffer. How does your Pontus 12th compare to the Yggy GS and SMSL D1 dacs?

 

[prima186]

Nice, I have a similar setup. Im using Pontus 2 with Schiit Freya N tube preamp/buffer. How does your Pontus 12th compare to the Yggy GS and SMSL D1 dacs?

>How does your Pontus 12th compare to the Yggy GS and SMSL D1 dacs?
SMSL D-1 is no longer connected.
I hear Yggy_GS occasionally.
Yggy_GS is also smooth and good equipment.
But Pontus suits my taste better.

 

[centuriones]

New Thesycon USB v. 5.57.0 drivers released

 

[dermott]

Another thing that stood out, if just using RCA output from Pontus2, there is a noticeable loss of SQ fidelity vs using only the XLR output. In my view and setup, Pontus2 really shines in balance out and that's how it should be used. Of course YMMV.

Is this the consensus for the Pontus II/12th? I want to try a R2R DAC and my amp only accepts RCA input (Violectric V340). It sounds like XLR superiority over RCA comes up more often than the statement of "both outputs are excellent".

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Is this the consensus for the Pontus II/12th? I want to try a R2R DAC and my amp only accepts RCA input (Violectric V340). It sounds like XLR superiority over RCA comes up more often than the statement of "both outputs are excellent".

I ran a parallel test with my Pontus II and Woo Audio WA5-LE, connecting both XLR and RCA cables and honestly heard NO difference between the two. If it didn't already own there XLR's, I would consider running RCA's.

Btw, my Pontus II is for sale if you're interested...

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/denafrips-pontus-ii-silver.42917/

 

[Anton 106]

I've got a Pontus II (12th) last week and I'm beginning to like using the NOS mode. Incredible sound, way beyond my expectations. Clean, natural and detailed in resolution, but without any kind of harshness in the upper range I noticed with other DACs. A pleasent pairing with tubes.

A question to all Pontus owners: Denafrips is saying in the manual, that you shouldn't use both RCA and XLR outputs simultaneously (shared output). I would like to use this DAC with two amps - one at a time - so not simultaneously. What is the worst case scenario here in case two amps could be powered for short periods of time? Is anyone using this kind of setup, maybe even simultaneously? I would like to understand how this limitation will affect the output.

 

[prima186]

DENAFRIPS 12th FPGA Firmware Update
https://www.vinshineaudio.com/post/denafrips-12th-fpga-firmware-update

>We will be rolling out the firmware by stages, starting with the Ares II / Enyo DAC.
>Note: Firmware(s) for the Pontus / Venus / Terminator II/Plus will be rolled out at a later date.

 

[shafat777]

I've got a Pontus II (12th) last week and I'm beginning to like using the NOS mode. Incredible sound, way beyond my expectations. Clean, natural and detailed in resolution, but without any kind of harshness in the upper range I noticed with other DACs. A pleasent pairing with tubes.

A question to all Pontus owners: Denafrips is saying in the manual, that you shouldn't use both RCA and XLR outputs simultaneously (shared output). I would like to use this DAC with two amps - one at a time - so not simultaneously. What is the worst case scenario here in case two amps could be powered for short periods of time? Is anyone using this kind of setup, maybe even simultaneously? I would like to understand how this limitation will affect the output.

Reduced sound quality. Outputs will have lower voltage and will sound muffled

 

[jlemaster1957]

I know you posed this question in the summer, but it's an issue I'm dealing with right now. I had in my possession, a few months ago, a Schiit Yggdrasil LIM. It was simply magnificent in terms of presenting a more analog sound that I forgot about years ago. The three-dimensionality, the indescribable warmth that you felt somewhere between your chest and throat, the inability to stop playing music. I just didn't want to turn the music off. That's a good DAC.
I thought well this R2R thing is the way to go. The reason I let the Yggdrasil go was its inability to play some of the DSD and higher res files I have. I would go to put on an album and find that it wouldn't play and that covers a lot of what I have in my music files. Fast forward, R2R fans in the online audio world lost their minds for the Pontus 2. None of them spoke about the Yggy. So, I order the Denafrips. The Denafrips isn't coming anywhere near that magic that I got out of the Yggy LIM. It's extremely good, and a slight bit better though not nearly as flexible as my former favorite DAC, the Auralic Vega (and it's wonderful remote). I think the Vega is probably the greatest audiophile (now) bargain DAC in the world, but I digress. I've broken in the Denafrips, I'm now playing with the options available on its front panel to try and see if perhaps I'm missing the R2R magic in the settings somewhere, however all I had to do was plug the Yggy LIM in. At this point, I'm thinking I can do the turnaround and figure out how to simplify my files to get that magic back in my living room. I've been in this hobby since the very early 90s, outside of marveling at the instant loveliness of the California Audio Labs Sigma tube DAC and the joy that NOS 50s tubes can bring to digital, no DAC has ever so drastically changed the sound coming out of my speakers like the LIM. I'm eventually going to find my way back there, but I'm going to make sure that I've explored every option with the Pontus2, again, a very fine DAC, but perhaps it just lacks the synergy with the rest of my system.

@Broadwaychris - I wandered over to this thread because I’ve been debating just this decision -Pontus 2 vs Yggy LIM. My setup is different, I’m a Susvara Headphone user, and don’t have the big DSD or hi res collection, though with my current DAC (D90SE) I stream DSD and hires PCM to it via Roon.

All I am reading on Head-fi but even more on impressions over on superbestaudiofriends confirm what you are saying about the Yggy LIM. I wondered if maybe the Pontus II/12th might do a better job with soundstage but people who’ve actually had the LIM rave about its realism in terms of imaging/layering. Reading impressions like yours help me to stop messing around over here, ‘just go for the LIM’ and don’t look back.

 

[CalvinandHobbes2020]

@Broadwaychris - I wandered over to this thread because I’ve been debating just this decision -Pontus 2 vs Yggy LIM. My setup is different, I’m a Susvara Headphone user, and don’t have the big DSD or hi res collection, though with my current DAC (D90SE) I stream DSD and hires PCM to it via Roon.

All I am reading on Head-fi but even more on impressions over on superbestaudiofriends confirm what you are saying about the Yggy LIM. I wondered if maybe the Pontus II/12th might do a better job with soundstage but people who’ve actually had the LIM rave about its realism in terms of imaging/layering. Reading impressions like yours help me to stop messing around over here, ‘just go for the LIM’ and don’t look back.

This is my perspective on the Pontus II vs Yggy LIM. I have the Pontus II. A friend has the Yggy LIM. I loaned him my Pontus so we listened to both in his system:

• The Pontus communicates more tonal color. The Pontus is better at presenting all parts of the music with balance. The Pontus also presents with more reverb.
• The Yggy is more emphatic in how it conveys pace. The Pontus seems more realistic in its pace.
• The Pontus sounds more relaxed and laid back in its presentation, but has a greater range than the Yggy in being able to convey more or less pace or vary its presentation in line with the emotional intensity of the music being played