We're talking about the same review ....... my comment was meant to suggest that not everything is what it appears with the ARES II. Still ..... sounds great, though the NOS now NOT NOS thing is kind of weird.
It's what we allready did....maybe you guy should read this thread !!!!!!!!! As for NOS not really being NOS, couldn't care less because I bought this dac to use as an OS DAC!
FWIW but good to know : the original Ares 1 didn't even have NOS mode ! So it wasn't a NOS DAC to begin with, only in version 2 the so-called NOS mode was added. Ares 2 is also shipped in standard OS mode. NOS mode appears to be more like some kind of 'flavour' added to it. So calling Ares2 a 'true NOS' dac is just not right to begin with imo.
With regard to the "true" NOS issue, it would be nice if someone would explain what the audible differences might be between it, and the apparently interpolated Denafrips version. I'm quite happy with my Pontus, but am curious.
I tried 4 power cords with the Ares II. Three were loaned to me by a friend & I bought the $15 Tripp-Lite cable. I got the $15 Tripp-Lite cord because I don't believe a more expensive product is necessarily better and I generally like to get a good quality, non-audiophile product as a benchmark for comparison. Note: All cords were broken in by being connected to the DAC in operation for at least 100 hours. Tripp-Lite Heavy Duty: $15 Shunyata Venom V14: $135 Audience F3 Forte: $150 Synergistic Research UEF Blue: $499 My listening notes: Though a $499 power cord probably does not make sense, the Synergistic Research UEF Blue sounded best with the Ares II DAC. I hear a bit of harshness from the Ares and the Synergistic cord does best at tempering that harshness. In addition, the Synergistic cord adds a noticeable degree of transparency versus these other cords. The Shunyata cord was 2nd best and the Tripp-Lite cord was third. These cords were less transparent and harsher in sound than the Synergistic cord. The combination of the Audience cord and the Ares DAC was unbearably harsh sounding to me so I didn't even try to listen to the Audience cord for long. Interestingly, my order of preference was different on the Pontus II DAC. The Synergistic Research cord was quietest but seemed to obscure detail. The Shunyata cable was the best at keeping the sound lively and the resolution high. Best value goes to the $15 Tripp-Lite Heavy Duty cord that also has similar sonic characteristics as the Synergistic and Shunyata cords and produces about 80% of the sound quality of the Synergistic cord. The biggest disappointment was the Audience cord that seems to make the Pontus sound a bit smeared in resolution of details. I've decided to run my Pontus DAC with the Shunyata Venom power cord, but may investigate more expensive power cords at some time in the future.
So I'm really digging my Pontus II DAC. Been playing around with OS and NOS. Right now I'm liking the OS mode with the sharp filter.
It seems to me the overwhelming impression of the Denafrips DACs are that they have a more analogue quality compared to d/s DACs. This may have to do more with their R2R architecture than sampling modes since there seems to plenty of people who prefer the OS modes, which seems to be the case with most professional reviewers. I agree that we should think of it as a "filter" choice and not get perturbed by this NOS/non NOS question. Just enjoy what it is.
As I mentioned a bit back in the thread, I'm listening to OS with the sharp filter on. At first, comin from NOS or OS slow, it seems a bit "etchy" but as it it runs in, it now sounds excellent.
Hi. I have a Denafrips Ares II and I generally love the sound. I have had it for about a month and have recently found that I am getting some high end distortion—almost clipping-like—on certain recordings when the DAC is in OS mode. Or could it possibly be a settings issue in Roon or even the Bluesound? Running Roon(Tidal,Qobuz)>Bluesound Vault>Denafrips Ares II Thank you in advance.
I have not experienced anything like this with my Ares II and my setup is similar: Roon>Tidal>Cambridge CXN V2>Ares II Have you tried NOS and both slow and fast OS?
It is your choice. Here is a link to the details on how to change the modes : https://www.denafrips.com/config-ares
Strange because OS mode sounds bad on some recordings. Like the treble totally breaks up and distorts.
