DAC shopping - Trying to sift through the Hype. Can I trust the reviews these days ??

The Denafrips Pontus II DAC is not hype nor a promotion. It is most likely one of the best selling DACs for at least 3 years, with hundreds and hundreds of positive reviews. I've had mine for 3 years, and it has held it's own as I've upgraded the rest of my system a couple of times (new amps, preamps, speakers, cables, power input, CD tranpsorts, etc.

The Pontus II is one of those special products that hit a grand slam upon release and remains one of the most musical, enjoyable, listenable, and fun DACs I've heard....at an amazing price of $2,000 for the 15th for the current release.....I think I paid $1,450 for mine when I bought it.

It is not the most detailed, the quickest, and is of course not perfect. I will replace mine next year, and move the Pontus II to a second system.....as my system now is good enough for a better DAC. Yes I2S does make a difference, it's the best way to drive the Pontus II (and I'd suspect any DAC that supports it)

An anecdote about how much I like the sound of the Pontus II. I decided to listen to much more expensive DACs over the past two years, because I was curious to figure out what spending a LOT more money in a DAC could get me.

Note as context for my impressions: I listen to a lot of acoustic and vocal music (jazz, classical) so an organic tonal quality is important to me. Detail and resolution is important as well, but secondary to tonal quality and a sound that conveys air and space well.

I listened to the dCS Bartok APEX, dCS Puccini Apex, and the Linn Organik DAC in their Klimax DSM. Of these three network music players that I heard, the only one that I would want to replace the Pontus II regardless of price was the Linn.

1. dCS Bartok APEX, $14.5k: Not only did this not clearly sound better than the Pontus, my impression is that I liked the Pontus for the music I prefer.
2. dCS Puccini APEX, $32k: Really good from an "objective" standpoint on your typical audiophile measures, but didn’t seem to engage me. The tonal quality of the sound also seemed a bit synthetic.
3. Linn Organik DAC in the Linn Klimax DSM: $40k (but Organik DAC is also available in the Selekt DSM unit starting around $20k): Definitely better in all ways than my Pro-ject streamer/ Pontus II DAC, but the improvement in resolution (and tonal quality to a lesser degree) is only a marginal gain.

I am also searching for a DAC/Streamer. I have been looking at the HiFi Rose the model 150 and the model 250A. My equipment is a McIntosh MA 462 power amplifier and a C55 Preamplifier. My C55 has a built in DAC. How good is the DAC in my Preamplifier compared to the HIfi Rose or other DACs? I am open to recommendations, viewpoints, and critical evaluations.

@marquis4099 what streamer / server do you have paired with the McIntosh DAC in your pre?  I haven’t heard the DAC in your Pre but have read posts by others who own Mac gear and have very positive thing to say about the DAC.  I’d get the HiFi Rose 130b which is a streamer only but an outstanding streamer.  Buy it from a dealer with a return / trail period.  If you feel like you want to upgrade the DAC and streamer you can exchange for one of HiFi Roses DAC / Streaming combos.  If you get the 130 you’ll be set up to upgrade your DAC down the road.  Have fun, good luck.

@bunkertoy you’ve got an awesome streamer / server!  I confused your set up with someone else’s in this thread who piggybacked off your initial question.  Have fun with the DAC search!  You have a great system that will highlight the differences.