[robmano]

Hi, has anyone actually compared Pegasus dac vs denafrips Ares 2?

 

[VintageAudio]

Hi, has anyone actually compared Pegasus dac vs denafrips Ares 2?

Yes I have. I owned both at same time. And compared them through a Bakoon Amp-13R and Topping A90 amps with hifiman susvara headphones and an A/B switch.

In my opinion, Pegasus was noticably better. Both have great soundstage, were warm, euphonic and musical. What I expect from R2R dacs vs Delta Sigma. I found on top of that Pegasus was just a tad more clear and resolving so I kept it and sold the Ares II.

Ares II is no slouch. Was easily able to notice what it brings vs an RME-ADI-2 DAC or other pretty good Delta-Sigma dacs. Great price and nice small desktop footprint.

 

[sajunky]

Yes I have. I owned both at same time. And compared them through a Bakoon Amp-13R and Topping A90 amps with hifiman susvara headphones and an A/B switch.

A90 is a poor impedance match, it shouldn't be used with Denafrips nor Pegasus. Did you notice a difference when driving a Bakoon?

 

[VintageAudio]

A90 is a poor impedance match, it shouldn't be used with Denafrips nor Pegasus. Did you notice a difference when driving a Bakoon?

It sounded pretty good actually, but I also tried going from DAC > A90 as a pre-amp > Bakoon which was my favourite sound. A90 was very clear but a little sterile and Bakoon is more organic and natural. I know - very subjective description but I don't know better way to describe it.

In the end though - I wanted a more simple setup - less boxes - so I parted with the A90 and sold it.

 

[sajunky]

It sounded pretty good actually, but I also tried going from DAC > A90 as a pre-amp > Bakoon which was my favourite sound. A90 was very clear but a little sterile and Bakoon is more organic and natural. I know - very subjective description but I don't know better way to describe it.

Not subjective, clinical sterile sound is confirmed by many. It is a type of sound you can expect from nested-loopback design, similar to THX789. Let Delta-Sigma DAC users enjoy it...
R2R user have better options to explore natural sound, by example Audio GD A2 or NFB-1Amp.
US new dealer!

 

[duranxv]

Has anyone compared the Pegasus to the Denafrips Pontus II?

 

[sajunky]

Has anyone compared the Pegasus to the Denafrips Pontus II?

Pontus is in a different league, due to the power supply in a separate enclosure. Pegasus power supply is similar to Ares, made a cheap way.

 

[duranxv]

Pontus is in a different league, due to the power supply in a separate enclosure. Pegasus power supply is similar to Ares, made a cheap way.

What about the rest of the components though?

Also, I heard that Denafrips DAC's have a delay (at least through USB), so if you use them for anything other than music (i.e. some gaming on the side), they're not ideal from a versatility standpoint - at least that's what I heard for the Ares II. Is there truth to that?

 

[ManKli]

Hi Guys, i use the Musician Pagasus with my MacBook Pro with Audirvana and a Jcat USB Isolator.The Pagasus is a D/A Device. No Preamp functionality whatsoever. As a Hedphone Amp i use a Auris Audio HA - 2SF. The Auris has several Impedance settings and a Remote Control for convenience. So each Device does what it does best. I never felt the need the to adjust Volume in Audirvana. With the RC from Auris Audio it is easy/intuitive. Works great in my setup.

 

[sajunky]

What about the rest of the components though?

Also, I heard that Denafrips DAC's have a delay (at least through USB), so if you use them for anything other than music (i.e. some gaming on the side), they're not ideal from a versatility standpoint - at least that's what I heard for the Ares II. Is there truth to that?

Difficult to say, as Denafrips marketing is a solid European type, while Musicians is full of unsupported claims. In meantime Ares II had some PC-board improvements making it more similar to Pegasus. Peagus too, even having error rendering I2S port inoperational. It is the only things differentiating from Ares II - and didn't work. Some users who complained about had the entire unit replaced. On one side it shows how serious problem was, on the other side it gives a point to a support. [EDIT] I2S port is still useless, problem fixed, but not better than AES.

As for a delay, it is typical for Denafrips as they use FIFO for a clock synchronisation, also on the USB port, while it could be avoided. However I think that Pegasus does the same. It can change with a firmware upgrade, just ask. If you want it now, then all Audio GD DACs 2021 version do not use reclocking on the USB port anymore. There will be still some delay on the USB receiver, it is due to the packet nature of USB transfers.

 

[john57]

I wanted to say that the Musician Pegasus that I received from Amazon was a dud. It will overheat in a few hours and the outputs will then cut off. IF I let the equipment cool off, it will work again for a few minutes and quit again. The company did not want me to use the Amazon E-mail system, but I use it anyway. I ended up returning it back. This was somewhat similar to Zeos issue 7 months ago.

 

[VintageAudio]

I wanted to say that the Musician Pegasus that I received from Amazon was a dud. It will overheat in a few hours and the outputs will then cut off. IF I let the equipment cool off, it will work again for a few minutes and quit again. The company did not want me to use the Amazon E-mail system, but I use it anyway. I ended up returning it back. This was somewhat similar to Zeos issue 7 months ago.

That's unfortunate. I ordered mine from Amazon too and the have received really good service from the seller. I had ordered a unit when it first launched but there was a bit of delay in receiving it. The seller kept me informed and updated the entire time during the delay and I eventually got it and it worked great.

Fast forwards, and I could not get I2S working. They had updated later units from the original and despite my Pegasus being past return period and being an older one, if I covered shipping - seller offered to have my unit upgraded to get I2S working with most implementations out there. It cost me around $260 CAD to ship it there and back, but they kept good communication and I was able to get I2S working with the Douk Audio as well as a Raspberry Pie with the PIE2AES shield.

I2S output on either produces a noticeable improvement over COAX which is what I normally use. The sound is cleaner, punchier, better instrument separation, layering and imaging.

 

[JoeTho]

Yes I have. I owned both at same time. And compared them through a Bakoon Amp-13R and Topping A90 amps with hifiman susvara headphones and an A/B switch.

In my opinion, Pegasus was noticably better. Both have great soundstage, were warm, euphonic and musical. What I expect from R2R dacs vs Delta Sigma. I found on top of that Pegasus was just a tad more clear and resolving so I kept it and sold the Ares II.

Ares II is no slouch. Was easily able to notice what it brings vs an RME-ADI-2 DAC or other pretty good Delta-Sigma dacs. Great price and nice small desktop footprint.

Did you have any problems getting the Ares II and the A90 to play nice?

 

[T 1000]

Wow,
that's nice
thanks

 

[viggen]

I do wonder whether the unit I ordered on BFD in 2020 was an earlier iteration. I didn't have the same positive experience as those who posted in the Pegasus thread. The sound was just soso.