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

Alvin is well aware that there are issues with connections to Tidal and Quboz via the Blusound Node 2i. I bought a Pontus dac with the new DSP board from Alvin and Vinshine Audio in October 2019 and have been messaging him monthly about firmware updates that he's promised from Denafrips. Sorry to air my dirty laundry.

From the beginning I was getting constant skipping and dropouts via a SPDIF cable between the dac and Node. Quoting a message from Alvin in November 2019:

"The issue of skip in split second was due to fifo buffer clock sync with source's clock mismatch by split second, hence the dac skip.This doesnt happen to all source, some sources clock has larger different with denafrips dac, so it will skip when the time sync is out.
I am pushing a firmware fix to address this​"​

​Alvin seems to be like a great guy to deal with but saying its a network issue seems disingenuous. I use a direct ethernet cable connection to the Node and have 200mb/s download speed. It's not Alvin's fault, but him being Denafrips only dealer, there should be a firmware update after 6+ months. I wonder what my system could sound like without all the skipping and dropouts. Skipping happens with every listening session and dropouts have to be resolved by turning the dac off then back on. 

What helped with the skipping and dropouts was me going out the first week and getting an iFi SPDIF iPurifier reclocker. I shouldn't have needed to do that. But the issue still persist on a smaller scale and we still need a firmware update as promised. Hopefully others with the same issue can voice it here.

The following explanation is based on my understanding of how the Denafrips DACs work from reading their documentation and other postings. I could be wrong in my understanding of the issue.

The Denafrips DACs use an internal reclocker when the DAC is connected using SPDIF or AES, which uses a small FIFO to buffer the PCM samples before they are clocked out using the internal clock to the R2R DAC. 

SPDIF (and AES/EBU) assume that the source controls the clock, but as we all know this can introduce jitter resulting in poor performance. By buffering the data and reclocking it, the DAC can all but eliminate the issues with jitter, but this only works well if the source clock is close enough in frequency to the DACs reference clock such that the FIFO can handle the timing differences for the duration of the stream.

If the source clock is operating at a significantly different frequency from DAC clock, or the time between resetting the buffer is too long, the FIFO will either overflow or run out of samples and you'll get a drop out or stutter. 

The iPurifier is doing essentially the same thing, but it probably has a deeper buffer than the Denafrips DAC, and/or is smarter about how it uses its buffer. It also likely has a better clock than the Node 2i (or at least is matched better to the DACs internal clock) so the DAC is not having the same issue buffering the data in its internal reclocker.

There may be ways to improve the problem in the DAC's firmware by being smarter about how the FIFO is used (starting the reclocking sooner or later depending on whether the source clock is faster or slower than the DACs reference clock), or perhaps there is a way to increase the FIFO size (if it's implemented in RAM) if the clocks are significantly off. 

Assuming this is the issue, this problem will not occur when connecting the DAC over USB since the DAC is in control of the timing in this case instead of the source. 

But I also think in @snafujg's case, it's more likely an internet/Tidal issue since he didn't have problems streaming local content and the internet has seen significantly increased streaming demand over the past several weeks due to so many people sheltering at home. 

I just received my Ares II yesterday and although it sounds great, there is an issue playing MQA content from Tidal. This was not an issue with my previous dac (Simaudio Moon 100D).CD quality from Tidal plays just fine, but when an MQA quality track plays all I get is a few random clicks and pops, but no music. Kind of like listening to Yoko Ono. I am curious if anyone else has had similar issues. I am running the digital output from a Bluesound Node 2 via coaxial cable to the Ares II.

@jerseytrain, my apologies for the delay. It has been a challenging time, unprecedented. As soon as i have an update from DENAFRIPS.

@jaytor , spot on! You explained it much better than i do. Much appreciated!

@tony1954, DENAFRIPS DAC doesn't support MQA. Can you disable this in the Bluesound?

Stay safe,
Alvin

Last week, I decided to take the plunge and order a Terminator to replace my Yggdrasil (A2 Gen5 USB) that I've had in my system for a little over two years. I've had a chance to compare the Yggy with a few other DACs (similar and lower priced than the Yggy) and to my ears and in my system, the Yggy always came out the clear winner.

I've been listening to my system a LOT more in the past several weeks since I've got my home office set up in the same room as my 2-channel system. I've really been enjoying what it can do, but like most audiophiles, I'm always looking for ways to improve it. 

There wasn't anything in particular that I felt was missing with the Yggy. On good recordings, it sounds spectacular. Perhaps the only thing that bugged me was that lower quality recordings were considerably less enjoyable, and there is a lot of classic rock that just doesn't sound that great. I'm not sure if the Terminator is going to help, but we shall see. 

The Terminator arrived yesterday afternoon, so I don't have many hours on it yet. I'm hesitant to give any impressions at this point since it is barely warmed up, let along broken in. But right out of the box, I noticed more solidity and impact in the bass, even from my office chair listening position. I have not done any critical listening yet. 

I'm hoping to get some feedback from current or previous owners. I currently have my DAC connected to my Bryston BDP-2 over AES/EBU. I have a NUC8i7 running Roon ROCK in another room. I'm considering putting the NUC in an Akasa fanless case with a good linear PS and connecting it via USB to the DAC. This would require investment in a good PS (which I will probably do anyway) and a good USB cable. 

Has anyone tried both AES (or SPDIF) and USB and found USB to be better with the Terminator (or other Denafrips DACs)?