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)?
