Denafrips Ares II

i certainly felt the pontus is a significant step up from ares 2 - much better control of sibilance in my experience while maintaining a similarly organic full yet lively sound

+1 to the Pontus II being a big step up from the Ares II.

Ok thanks guys!😊

I suggest giving these a look before purchasing any dac... pre... amp

https://www.underwoodhifi.com/products/audio-gd

Having more hrs on the Ares I found the "S" sounds maybe a smidgen not as clean as Qutest. But not bright or grainy. Maybe Ares a smidgen sunnier. But surprisingly Ares sounds more analog & less like bits strung together.
Subtle differences. Great bargain for sure. Highly recommended 😊