Mola Mola Tambaqui or Denafrips Terminator Plus?


I need to pull the trigger, but there’s no opportunity to audition them. So far my thinking is:

Terminator Plus $6,700
+ Good reviews, lots of them
+ DAC only, no budget wasted on volume control, remote, etc.
+ Buy direct from distributor, no dealer mark-up
+ Tambaqui is 40% more expensive
- Less well-know Chinese manufacturer

Tambaqui $9,500
+ Good reviews, but fewer than Terminator Plus
+ Relatively cheap in my market
+ Very reputable manufacturer
- Sold through dealer network, increased mark-up
- Comes with volume control, pre amp, ethernet, bluetooth and remote which I don’t use

I’ve considered the dCS Bartok, but the Tambaqui seems to beat it while being 30% cheaper.

I listen to Tidal through a Roon Nucleus. Two channel, no headphones.
Amp: Dan D’Agostino Momentum Integrated. Speakers: Focal Stella Utopia Evo.

Anyone heard both? Any help with this decision is much appreciated.

P.S. In the next few years I’ll try to audition a more "end game" DAC to match the rest of the system. For now it’s Tambaqui or Terminator Plus.
robert1976
@luisma31 - I don't think 73max compared the Terminator II with the Terminator Plus but I could be wrong. The Terminator II has barely begun shipping, and 73max did not mention the Terminator II. 

I had a Terminator and purchased a Terminator Plus. I found the Terminator, particularly when connected through the Gaia, to be an outstanding DAC. But I still prefer the Terminator Plus sound - a bit more detail and air with a more focused sound stage. 

As I understand it, the Terminator II and the Terminator Plus are essentially the same DAC, with the Terminator Plus using a hand-selected OCXO clock and R2R board. In other words, the R2R boards and clock modules that test the best are sorted for these DACs. Whether that's worth the extra ~$2K I can't say. I haven't heard the T2.

It took quite a while for the both the Terminator and Terminator Plus to break in. I think the Terminator Plus took even longer than the Terminator which I suspect is because of the change to supercapacitors. I'm not sure how long 73max gave the T+ to break in, but it was a couple of months of 24/7 operation before it really reached it's peak for me. In the first 2-3 weeks, I thought my Terminator sounded better. 
@jaytor

I don't think 73max compared the Terminator II with the Terminator Plus but I could be wrong

 You are correct, there is no mentioning of the T2, my bad I mixed up both.
But I thought it was particularly interesting from his comment that he tested both Gaia + Terminators and was close for him, you on the other hand have a different but yet valid perspective which validates the obvious that the + sounds better than the non plus model, I missed your earlier post with your comments, allowing enough time for the caps to break is important.

I can only speak for the Terminator (original model) which later I upgraded with the second DSP board. Note I preferred the Amanero board sound over the upgraded board during its first few firmware iterations, then around October 2019 the firmware update (think it was 3.3.2) was released and that improved the sound of the new board over the old Amanero. At some point I am planning to get either the 2 or the + but that's onhold for me now.

In other words, the R2R boards and clock modules that test the best are sorted for these DACs. Whether that's worth the extra ~$2K I can't say. I haven't heard the T2
Yeah this is a good topic, I think it could, this is all related with production batches, resistor drift and linearity and the such which is all related for these ladder resistor DAC's.




Hello @robert1976, I’m trying to find a DAC that matches my Focal Scala (Very tempting to your Stellia). And I consider the Mola Mola Tambaqui for a month (I’m using Chord Hugo TT2 as DAC at the moment). How do you feel about Mola & Focal combo? Could you share some of the insight about the Tambaqui and a little of your thought 😁. 

Hope this comment find you soon.

@darkknight8586 The Tambaqui is a great combo with Focal. It's a very neutral DAC and definitely not bright.