Do I really Need a Digital to Digital Converter?

@j_andrews All that said, I sold both the Ares II and the Iris and now I’m just running coax Spdif into a Border Patrol dac from my streamer and I’m happy as a clam.

If you could explain a bit more about what you hear and enjoy from the BorderPatrol dac, could help others considering comparable dacs you’ve owned and resold.

I’ve not tried the Denefrips dacs you have, and currently own the BorderPatrol SE-I dac myself. It’s unlike any of my five prior dacs in how it presents music, in its own unique way.

I think depends on source and connection.  I source ethernet to dedicated mac mini  to DAC via USB.  Inserted Iris between mac mini via USB and now I2S to the DACs, Topping L90 and a Pontus II depending on music and mood.  The Iris made a difference to my ears, darker background, more detail, and bigger soundstage.  

I rolled it in and out over two weeks to be sure it wasn’t placebo effect, and concluded there is a worthwhile improvement in SQ. The Iris was “only” $500, adding to Pontus was more cost effective than going up to Venus or Terminator. 

Since your source is Auralic (wifi or ethernet) w linear power to the DAC (via coaxial or optical?) maybe not.  USB from the PC not as clean as coaxial or optical from a high end streaming source, so you may not hear much difference, if any. 

@trivema

I use the Auralic via ethernet but as the router is one floor up from my system I use a TP link powerline adapter to get my ethernet. This set up was left over from a Lumin streamer I was using before that did not do wifi. I connect my Auralic to my DAC via USB although I could use coax, optical or, AES. I agree any of these options are cleaner than USB from a computer.

Soix used a DDC with the same DAC as mine and such first hand experience makes his opinion valuable to me. However, I don’t know what streamer he was using and how much of a factor your streamer plays into what benefit you get from a DDC. Do some streamer incorporate circuitry such that the benefits of a DDC are less than with others? Probably so and that’s why even though the advice we give and get in in this forum community is great, sometimes you just got to take the plunge and buy and try.

Geez.... I miss the old days where brick and mortar dealers were common and would sometimes let you take gear to try out at home before you made a purchase.

@decooney

Ok, not sure if this is the right thread for it, but...

As others have mentioned, the BP is not a very detailed dac. It just isn’t....and yes, sometimes it’s a little soft. And I can totally see why some users move on from it as it probably leaves things on the table. However, in my system, to my ears, I often find myself connecting with music more and thinking about equipment less with it in the chain. I listen to all sorts of music , but have an affinity for real instruments recorded well and above-all, the compositions or song writing is what moves me more than audiophile perfection.

The BP dac, along with the rest of my modest system and my room as it’s configured, throws a realistic and just pleasing image. As I delve more into chamber music, I really appreciate the overall presentation as something that feels more natural to me.

The Ares II (with the updated firmware especially) was really nice. Obviously it’s not the last word in detail either ...but it just had a little sizzle that the BP didn’t ...and that might appeal to others.

I like trying different things and will probably level-up on my dac at some point in the future when funds allow.  Interested in trying some with really nice output stages in the future....Maybe the Bricasti M3 or Alstine digital pre. I don’t think I would sell the BP though.

hope that helps

JS