On paper that should all work together. The RCA outputs on the Ares II are 625 ohms and 2Vrms. The input impedance of the Simaudio 240i is 22,100 ohms with an input sensitivity of 370mV to 3V RMS. On paper that should work. The DAC shouldn't be overloading the input to the Simaudio and the impedance ratio should be OK. On specs I don't see what could be obviously wrong to cause what you're hearing. I don't own a Denafrips DAC. So can't experiment to help diagnose your problem. Hopefully you can figure out what's going on. Frustrating to have audible distortions like that and not know why, when on paper it should work.
@johng123 I don't have the depth of technical knowledge @Ham Sandwich has but, even allowing for that, I too can't see any obvious issues with your setup. Assuming the Ares II isn't faulty (possible but unlucky if so), there is one possibility that is easy to overlook: dodgy cable? It might be worth double checking cable plugs are properly seated and, if they are, trying a different cable to see if the issue repeats - I'm not suggesting it's about a particular cable brand or price point; it's just to see if the cable is ok (interconnect(s) and/or power cord). As others have indicated, I hope it turns out to be an easy fix.
Long story short. After swapping cables, swapping systems, etc. Denafrips sending new DAC. Alvin Chee was VERY helpful. Really terrific customer support.
My Ares II still amazes me, weeks after I hooked it up. I was listening to Joni Mitchell/For The Roses last night (on CD), and it was just so analog-like and engaging. Still making my way through my CD collection, and it keeps surprising me.
I haven't either. To me, that's a testament to how good the Pontus sounds. I'd rather be listening to music than spending that time figuring out how to tweak the Pontus to sound better.
Ditto. Haven't felt any need to play around with the phase, though apparently some earlier recordings may benefit from fiddling.
Hi all. I very recently received my Denafrips Ares II. It’s connected to a Cambridge Audio CXN network player (I use Qobuz) and a Cambridge Audio CXC CD transport via two BJC coax cables. My amplifier is a Arcam SA20. The Ares II sounds fantastic and provides a very noticeable difference to the DACs inside the CXN and SA20. Music sounds less digital and more natural (analog), has more life and is much more satisfying to listen to. However, I do have a problem that occurs with both sources (CXN and CXC). Occasionally when a track is playing there is some sort of random glitch. The music will become muddled for a brief second before continuing on as normal. It seems like some kind of processing error. Any ideas?
I used to have this problem with my Ares II but with a Bluesound Node 2 as streamer. Later on, Bluesound issued a firmware update to include a "timing trim" option which solved the problem. Interestingly, my currrent Pontus II also has a similar problem. A little irritating but it's not often. You might want to check in the Cambridge support pages to see if they have a similar problem.
unfortunately I won't be able to comment on the difference between ares ii and pontus ii. I went straight from the internal dac of the node2i and internal dac of the cd6006 to the pontus ii and it's a huge difference.
Of course not. You should give the L-509X and the SFs a good solid source to maximize their potential.
It's big. The Ares II is okay. The Pontus II is a big step up in resolution, smoothness, pace, soundstaging and presence.
just listened to GO on cd on my Pontus II after listening to the new lp version on Blue Note. even though I usually find the OS mode better this particular cd sounded so much more like the vinyl in NOS mode. with is far preferable to me.
My digital transport has both BNC and RCA SPDIF output. I have an Ares II. Anyone know if there is a SQ penalty for using a BNC to BNC cable with BNC to RCA adapter on one end? Can the Ares II handle the different voltage spec of the BNC cable?
