Denafrips Venus 1 vs Venus 2

I think the main differences are (but it's worth checking with Alvin):

Improved temperature controlled crystal oscillator. 
Clock outputs to work with Denafrips Digital-to-Digital converters.
Power supply improvements using higher quality filter caps. 

Earlier this year, I upgraded from a Terminator (first gen version) to a Terminator Plus and added the Gaia DDC. Using the Gaia with an i2s connection to the DAC resulted in a very noticeable improvement. 

Even if you are only looking at the DAC right now, having the ability to add a DDC with synchronized clocks gives you a nice upgrade path for the future. 

but seriously -- they have 4-5 dacs in the line, spaced out carefully by price tier

now they roll out ’improved’ versions... i would suspect the improvement are very very marginal

i wouldn’t hesitate to get a used ’dot 1’ version and save a few bucks if one is available

seems like the western world marketing grist windmill turns on the lights in southern china too!

I have looked on the website and it does list the features but it doesn't compare or list the differences from the original Venus.  

please report back and let us know what alvin tells you... 

i have his reply when i asked for what differentiated a pontus v1 vs v2 a few months back... i will let you get his direct answer on the venus version update

Per Alvin,

The Venus II is very close to the Terminator reviewed by NRD (https://www.vinshineaudio.com/so/2fNLJQpyD#/main)

Venus II comes close due to the following upgrades done recently:
1. TCXO - Temperature-Compensated Crystal Oscillator. This is the prime performance improvement that brings the Venus sonic performance very close to the Terminator DAC
2. MU Metal Shielding between the PSU and Main DAC board, like one found in the Terminator DAC. A metal sheet is added in between.
3. EVOX MMK caps (White)
4. Germany Film Caps WIMA
5. Upgraded DSP board to support PCM1536, DSD1024 over USB/I2S

My recommendation goes to the Venus II DAC for mid/high end systems.  
Having said that, it also depends on the resolution of your system, and how attentive you listen to the music.