I don’t know how (Denafrips with) the Pontus 2 work this magic of convincing the audio world that this is the most phenomenal DAC in the hobby today. If you go online and check all the obvious influencers/reviewers and you’ll find they are tripping over themselves to tell you that this is Product of the Year material. Truth be told, they’re really excellent DACs and they’re certainly priced competitively. However, if I’m telling the truth there’s not a lot of sonic difference from other R2R units available for audition (like Mytek, for example) . I’ve had both the LIM and the Pontus in my home for good, long serious auditions. I’ve had the brilliant Auralic Vega in and out of my system for a good couple of years and it never failed to impress me given its purchase price. Imagine my disappointment to purchase and find that the Pontus 2 was pretty much the same with a very slight dimensional edge over the (Swiss Army knife of DACs) Auralic’s Vega. All I can say is, there’s a lot of questionable hype or group-think out there surrounding this Denafrips favorite.
The Pontus 2 over the Schiit Yggy LIM? I put a lot of thought and time into both of these units. While the Pontus offers great clarity and excellent soundstaging, it lacks the sheer, inexplicable magic offered with what’s coming out of the (the less format agile) Yggdrasil LIM. All the dimensionality along with the air is there, the bass is deeply exquisite and the playback somehow brings me a breathlessly analog feel, unlike any other playback I’ve had for the entire time (over 30 years) I’ve been playing with digital media. It bears mentioning that the Yggy LIM is the only Schiit Yggdrasil I’ve ever heard. I have not heard the ’OG’ or the ’MIL’ or any of the USB iterations. They may very well be better than the LIM, but I know enough to leave well enough alone when I find something is good and I can’t remember being this impressed with any DAC since the first CAL Sigma (tube) came out back in the early ’90s and that was wonderful with an endless supply of cheap, magical 1950s & 60s NOS tubes you could roll with, but I digress...
As they say, ’your mileage may vary’. Best thing you could do is dig a little deep if you cab & you’re serious about this and audition everything you want to hear.
