Yes, I got that alert too. It was just a little more than 48 hours later that I got the tracking number. It still shows as waiting on the package, but based on my previous experience (Ares) the data isn’t updated in real time like we’ve come to expect. The Ares arrived in 3 days- several days ahead of the projected delivery date, quite unexpectedly. I got like 2 hours notice that it was out for delivery. I bet yours will be delivered in a few days.
Thanks for sharing your prior experience for the ares! I just got the tracking# from Alvin earlier and looks like mine is coming via DHL from Shen Zhen in China, is yours also from Shen Zhen?
This is all my fault. I pushed back against WildPhydeaux's polite criticism only because it seemed designed to minimize my contribution. I thought he was way off and throwing out all my hard work on a weak charge that I wasn't "professional" enough for his taste. I BEGAN my reply by noting that of course, the guy WAS correct. Then I tried to be a comedian. I mocked him---and MYSELF---thinking to keep it all light hearted yet settle his hash at the same time. Apparently what I did was come off sounding churlish. Hey I can DO churlish with the best of them. But this was NOT what I was going for. I was going for class but instead came across as ass. Sorry guys. I'll try to clean it up in the future. My bad. Everybody CHEER UP. We are supposed to be having FUN. Again, I apologize. It's a lovely day and time to get out and grab some fresh air. Meanwhile I am really digging the little ARESII in my nearfield setup. It replaced that darn Topping D50s and the tone just jumped up enormously to the better. Who else is digging these products? Go Denafrips!
Yes it’s coming from Shenzhen but via FedEx apparently. It’s still not showing any movement. It would be easier to not know anything than have a tracking number showing that it hasn’t been shipped.
haha yeah I hear you on it. I think mine is via dhl because I'm in canada. Fingers cross it starts sailing out of ShenZhen soon. This wait may actually align well with the fact I'm also waiting for my cullen power cable.
The negativity was brought upon by him, maybe you didn't see this quote from him : "...But I happen to generally enjoy the discussions here at SH forums and there are a ton of really sharp and avid audiophiles to learn from. Perhaps slightly less so here, as I apparently have stumbled onto a Denefrips love nest." Would you call this respectfull ?! I responded to his 'valid points' by providing a link which adressed these points but apparently that was not to his liking.
My Ares II came via FedEx and there weren't many tracking updates. It actually arrived 4 or 5 days ahead of the quoted date which was a nice surprise as it arrived on my birthday.
Anybody notice the Absolute Sound has just completely ignored the ARESII? "Best DACs under $1000" and it isn't mentioned. Wow. Just wow. Meanwhile here is another well written review on the subject. It may have already been posted and I missed it but anyway what a good read!: High Fidelity
To be fair to @WildPhydeaux that response was in reply to your less than respectful post to him in the first place.
I think folks need to be a bit nicer to each other here. it's sometimes hard to gauge when you only see words on the screen.
Very hard to gauge tone in short written snippets. When in doubt, always apply the most charitable interpretation.
I agree and if my first post came across as not respectfull I apologize. But it's sometimes hard, when you are passionate about something, to just ignore the nay-sayers (what I should have done in the first place).
It is you and others who have helped me pick the right DAC! I am so thankful and greatful for all of your inputs! I am enjoying my Denafrips! Bob
Thanks for sharing that Polish review. Frustrating that the reviewer never said whether he was using NOS or OS mode. For me, there was a noticeable difference between the two. I prefer OS/Slow.
And so do I. Prefer OS/Slow. What a coincidence. And so does Herb over at Stereophile. and yet. I also prefer NOS. It's like it is two completely different DACs in one package. One wild crazy "youth" full of loud boisterous energy. Then you kick on oversampling and slow filtering and the kid suddenly "grows up" right in front of your eyes. More mature. A certain level of sophistication about him. Confident. And yet...that "something" about the "kid" was so---compelling! He was crazier, wasn't he? Before they ruined him and made him get all growed up! Yeah. Crazy man. Perhaps it is best to simply say at this point it is clearly Sean C wearing a Rolex S. Sure it is a manly man's dac-a-roony and sure to please the women too.
Yes there is a noticeable difference,especially when your speakers are in the right place in the room, just where they need to be. I also started out preferring OS/Slow. But just a few tweaks to my speaker positioning made me prefer NOS mode, as it suddenly sounded very 'in your face' and 'bloomy' at the same time. Switching back to OS/Slow and everything is turned down a notch and soundstage of the music seems to be pushed back a few rows. But this is usefull for some recordings that have a few 'warts'. Like a few Diana Krall albums where her voice is not recorded so great and there is too much SSSibilance to her voice (songs like 'Peel Me a Grape' or 'Stop This World'), switch to OS/Slow and her voice is less in your face and the sibilance is dialed back too. It's surprising how big a change these settings on the Ares2 make. 'PRO'reviewers not noticing these changes or not even mentioning these might not have an optimal speaker setup imho.
This thread was originally about DACs but Denafrips has added DDC since then. Can someone walk me through the differences in their DDC offerings? Currently using a network bridge but was thinking of looking into network to I2S. Not sure if anyone does that. Short of that, what's the advantage of using USB to I2S in the Hermes over the IRIS? I'm trying to figure that out looking at the spec sheets but not getting anywhere.
While on the subject of Denafrips other products... Does anybody on here have the Avatar cd transport? If so I would like to hear your thoughts on it, thanks.
How does the Pontus II listening experience compare to listening to vinyl? Been auditioning speakers (Triangle , Elac ) with some old digital gear (which doesn't sound bad) in anticipation of upgrading to a good dac, but when I take a break and listen to my modest analog set up, its just a richer sound and more relaxed. Wondering whether the Pontus II is a game changer in this regard.
I cannot speak for the PontusII but the main reason for me to get the AresII was just exactly what you stated, to get the same kind of experience from my digital setup as I got from my analog setup.
MOST entry level Delta-Sigma DACs use $10 chips to do the heavy lifting! Many that are under $500 have only $100 worth of parts inside the DAC! With the ARESII you are buying at half off (direct from manufacturer with no markup). It's like $1500 worth of gear. And there is a heck of a lot more money being spent on parts inside the box for it to do its job... With good recordings on my own setups the ARESII sounds like a great $500 phono preamp and a great $500 cartridge with a good $1000 turntable. Until you put 24/192 through it. Then it is amazing period and will BEST my $3000 vinyl setup when fed 24/96 and particularly 24/192. In other words it tends to play AS GOOD AS THE LEVEL OF DIGITAL SIGNAL played through it. So it sounds dull at 128kbps internet radio, better with 320kbps Spotify---even BETTER with 1411 kbps CD signals and then fabulous with 24/192 at 9216kbps! My point is that the greater richness of vinyl seems linked to going through richer sounding PHONO PREAMPS and the use of higher resolution cartridges. And the truly great sounding phono preamps and cartridges usually cost good money. I can't think of too many cheap as dirt cartridges and cheap as dirt phono preamps that will send you into orbit sonically---can YOU? Maybe AT95? Budgie? Still not the last word in fabulous sound--just GOOD. The ARESII with 24/192 is simply stunning. BETTER than vinyl in my experience. Then I bought the PontusII and it took it to an even higher level which is ridiculous.
