The vast majority of NOS DACs have an anti-aliasing filter. The anti-aliasing filter gets rid of the ultrasonics. The very few NOS DACs that are filterless have other ways of removing the ultrasonics, but some are sill probably going to get through.
I saw that. But his measurements don't show the impulse response the way I like to see it. His square wave graphs do show if there is pre-ringing or post-ringing. So the info is there. Just not in a form that makes it clear and zoomed in. His square wave measurements show the Denafrips to have post-ringing and no pre-ringing (if I'm interpreting the graph right). So I think the Aries (original Aries) is doing a minimum phase style filter for oversampling. I think. Showing the impulse response the way Stereophile does would make it more clear to me.
Bever, you are right, this is a game changer! First song played, has to be the Stones..... Satisfaction, mono from the SACD hybrid ‘singles collection’. I’ve heard this song a thousand times on many decks, but not like this.......... Soundstage is correct! Jaggers voice is just behind in the mix, but perfectly clear, and for the very first time, I actually heard multiple voices around the microphone during “and I tried, and I tried........”. Unreal, I actually heard multiple voices not mopped together but separate from one another! Amazing. Second, from bass to treble everything fit without anything sticking itself out, and no sign of aural ‘clutter’ at all, totally different from any other dac I’ve heard. And that’s just the beginning. Now onto Dave Brubeck and the first three songs on ‘Time Out’. First up, ‘Blue Rondo’. I’ve heard this also a thousand times but not like this. First time the cymbals don’t sound constrained, real clarity wit mucho air and treble extension that I’ve never experienced with this cd before. Piano and bass close to what I’ve heard before but both sounding un compressed, the leading edges right where they should be with no pretense in their sound. the decay on instruments like I’ve NEVER heard it before, natural to the point of them running into leading edge strikes of keys or strings without any fighting between the two. Strange Meadow Lark....... I love the opening piano part of this song, but you can really hear Dave semi muting the high keys just a bit when he should have let it loose, but that’s where Paul Desmond comes in. When he does, he’s front and center, but the mix doesn’t sound like it’s fighting for space compared to other dac’s, he’s in front but the rest of the band is right behind him, in their own space and NOT fighting him for soundstage position. And all this with NO treble edge, harshness, fatigue of any kind, and remember, this is out of the box, no burn in! Bass is fat but not fat! Lol....... The kind of bass you get off of records, not cds. Ah, now ‘Take Five’........ All I’m going to say is this BREATHES. It sounds like I’m listening for the first time to the master tape, or hell, the band itself. There is NO comparison to all the other decks I’ve listened to, of course, I’m excited, but time will tell and I’ll let you know over the weekend how things progress. What I do know, is that this dac, straight out of the box is worth every penny. And it is indeed different sounding, in a good way, from any other dac, including the ESS 9038 I’ve heard, but again, I’m excited, but that’s because I’m hearing analog sound from my cds. And that’s a really good thing! Beave
Default is the way it sounds best to my ears, OS and sharp filter engaged. Glad you like it ! Enjoy the weekend!
The separation of backing vocals was also one of the first things I noticed. Bass sounds cleaner because it is more defined, less mashed up with bass drum and other instruments. All a result of the better layering imho.
Hello guys, I'm Alvin Chee, owner of Vinshine Audio Singapore. Thank you for your strong support! Do keep the DENAFRIPS DAC powered on 24/7 (either Standby or Powered on). The real magic comes after some 300hrs of burn-in. Another important note, please connect either RCA or XLR output, not both simultaneously. The RCA and XLR output is shared, connecting them simultaneously will degrade the sound quality. Regardless of whether the downstream equipment is on/off, the output signal will still be transmitted to the downstream equipment's input stage. Please use XLR output if possible as it benefits from the fact that the DENAFRIPS DACs are true balanced DAC. Enjoy the music! Many thanks. Yours sincerely, Alvin Chee www.vinshineaudio.com [email protected] p/s: I may not have time to monitor multiple forums. Should you have any inquiry, please drop me an email
Thanks @alvin1118 to chime in here! So there would be no difference soundwise in putting the Ares in standby or leaving it on at night ? I'm still not at the 300hr burn in time I guess, so we'll see if there is more goodness to come !
Ain’t that the truth!! Congratulations to both of us! Just popped on Kind Of Blue........WOW! Just another quick note on Blue Rondo, after the intro, when the band gets the groove going, the ride cymbal I s like I’ve never heard it before, overtones and more overtones that hang in the air, it really is a beautiful thing to hear! And brushes on the snare that were masked before are now right there, I’m hearing TEXTURES I’ve never heard before. And again, no distortions, no muck, just a real easy going clean analog sound! And this on their entry model! You got the monster one! Enjoy! Beave
Alvin! Thank You for joining the Forum! Just remember that there are some here that might come across as confrontational, please use the ignore feature as we wouldn’t want you to feel like your being assaulted ok? I’ve seen it happen too many times before and I don’t want it to happen to you as it is really nice of you to join us! Now, I got the Ares 2, your entry model, and as you can tell right out of the box I really like what I’m hearing! Second, your company got it to me in the Seattle area in 2 days, and that was with free shipping, very impressive! And you now popping in with some good user advice is even more impressive. So thank you again for that and if you ever need a tester for products please keep me in mind! I’m serious. Beave
Bever, that is correct! Just don’t turn it off. One thing that’s nice is that if you say turn off your cd the unit senses it and automatically goes into standby! Great feature! You never have to turn it off manually! Very well engineered! And it looks very smart sitting on the left hand side of my Audiolab 8300! Beave
Are you sure it goes into standby automatically? Because mine doesn't. When you put it into standby manually, the red light is on just above the standby button. Does yours do that or are you just referring to the other lights going out (which is not the same as going into standby) ?
Ah, my bad, I was wrong and your right, just the 44.1 and x1 light go off, it doesn’t automatically go into standby. Beave
The way those lights work is pretty neat, besides 44.1 you also have 48 (which is on when I have the tv playing, connected through optical). Whenever you listen to some higher res files (I have a few 96 and higher files), then the light above 2x or 3x + the light above 48 lights up indicating that you're listening to 96 (2x 48) or whatever higher res it is that is playing.
That’s pretty neat. It’s funny cause if I’m standing up I cannot see the leds at all, but when I’m sitting down listening like I am now, their sharp looking! Really nice too Alvin showed up here! Engaged with his customers, very rare nowadays . Beave
You guys are really F'ing with me. Thinking about about unloading my nib 205 & getting a Terminator. Crap!
Dude if you can unload the 205 for the terminator do it! Or if your in the Seattle area, bring a couple of cds over and hear mine! It’s really stupid good, and I’ve only got the entry model! Nice when you have the volume up a bit and Miles scares the schidt out of you when he starts blowing that horn, THATS scary! Lol. Beave
Ok, so as I just posted in the r2r thread I just played some Beatles from the Please Please Me album, stereo version, impressions are the same, oodles of texture never heard before, even on vinyl, especially George’s voice. Personality to his voice, and texture texture texture! Beave
Wow. Having the owner of V.A.S. pop in and follow up your purchases with technical advice here is awesome customer service! How cool is that? Thank you for sharing your experiences with your new toys! Your excitement is obvious. I look forward to reading your feedback at 300 hours and beyond. Good luck with your DACs and blissful listening.
Good review here on YouTube on the Ares 2. He pretty much nails all the superlatives I couldn’t come up with.... The big thing he says is that unlike a SD dac, you don’t have to close your eyes to try to imagine the soundstage, the dac just envelopes you and that speaks volumes. Beave
