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DENAFRIPS DAC ---- Owner Impressions, Feedback, General Discussion, Questions and more....

Thread for OWNER IMPRESSIONS, FEEDBACK, QUESTIONS, ETC. regarding DENAFRIPS DACs.

DENAFRIPS lists the following R2R DACs:

Ares, Pontus, Venus, and Terminator (in increasing price order).

"DENAFRIPS incorporated in year 2012, focus in developing high end audio equipment at a very affordable price. Throughout the years of intense Research & Development, and continuous improvement of the product lines, DENAFRIPS had finally settled with the current product range equipped with R-2R ladder DAC technology. The reason behind this is the designer strongly believe that R-2R DAC is the best way to reproduce music.

The name, DENAFRIPS, stand for:

D-ynamic
E-xquisite
N-atural
A-ttractive
F-idelity
R-efined
I-ntoxicating
P-ure
S-ophisticated

This mean a lot and it is the house-sound of all DENAFRIPS products." [Copied From Denafrips About Us section]
david_ten
david_ten OP
5,480 posts
 
Srajan Ebaen’s 6Moons review and 'Realization Awarded' Denafrips Terminator New DSP Board:

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/denafrips4/
saleh84's avatar
saleh84
42 posts
 
Hi @david_ten ,
it was my quick 10 hours mark over view at head fi. I did realize that sound might change during break in, but the findings were exciting that I had to share them :)
also,  DT caps and ladder dac resistors were already broken in. i assume the effect of the DSP components will be minimal compared to the whole unit break in, which as I recall was a bit long - I stopped hearing changes in sound back then at about 1000 hours mark!

well for the new DSP, its past 300 hours mark for sure, more like 350 hours. 
I can't add much beside that I'm loving my terminator even more and glad that I made this choice over other options at that time, the DSP board dissipated any doubts I had about DT technical abilities, which it was in the back of my head at times.

what I did actually notice compared to what I remember at that 10 hours mark, there was a slight hint of harshness that I usually associate with most new components. its completely gone now. all good things that we got more of with the new DSP, like 3D, separation, tonality and transparency remain same if not improved ever so slightly. honestly I was very happy with results out of box that i was not on a mission to focus on day to day changes, so this is probably my only comments that I'm sure off. things became smoother with initial "slight" harshness/sharpness completely gone.

worth mentioning that I have added during this time an AQ thunderbird bass cable, for a true bi-wire. it is said that this should enhance the purity of highs and mids, with less distortion over all. so I can't tell for sure (like 100% sure) if the cable had nothing to do with the additional smoothness I witnessed. 

please note, I use AES, in NOS mode only.   
david_ten OP
5,480 posts
 
Hi @saleh84  Thanks for the additional information and clarification. I understand the excitement...believe me... The new DSP board is excitement inducing...  : )  

Importantly, Mr. Ebaen concurs with your findings! 

I ran into a problem last night when I ran Optical Out (for the first time) from my TV to the Terminator. I've discussed it with Alvin and he is having Denafrips investigate and address.

I'll be swapping in the former board (this evening) which will allow for my first A/B. This will be at 50 hours of runtime on the board via the USB input. 

[Note: I've been evaluating the new board via the USB input only, with the exception of the one time via Optical]
saleh84's avatar
saleh84
42 posts
 
I have a Samsung tv on a wheeled stand and I bring it in the middle sometime to watch TV using my main stereo system, of course using optical. Its working 100% with new DSP. I don't know your problem exactly, but from experience, DT will only decode stereo. If output from your TV was not set to PCM you might hear loud crackling noises if i remember correctly. If its another issue, might be related specifically to the board you have in hand. My experience has been flawless

david_ten OP
5,480 posts
 
One other customer has reported the same to Alvin. I also use a Samsung (a 2018 flagship model) and it is set to PCM, as it was with the former board. I immediately checked audio output settings once I heard the problem. I also checked different sources via Optical, same issue. At this point, it appears to be isolated to some boards. I will re-test prior to swapping out the board. My concern is driver damage at the speakers. Putting the old board back in will inform as well.

Denafrips is looking into it.
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