Mola Mola Tambaqui

@kw6

what is it you want improved over the sound you hear from your ares?

if you want the same basic sound signature, with more refinement in the treble (my problem with the ares was the sibilance) and more dimensionality and bass impact, the pontus would be the natural move - the improvement is pretty substantial

if you want more sweetness of tone and subtlety and bloom, you would head in the direction of some tubed dacs

Ok thanks jjss49! I was thinking of Musician Draco. Audio Note kits 2.1!

Pontus II is definitely a possibility as well!

@kw6

i have not heard the musician draco, but i would advise doing considerable research into the musician brand - their pegasus dac has had some documented issues... be wise to look very carefully on this one before you leap

i have also not heard the audio note dac 2.1, i know one is offered for sale on the used sites currently... i will say that i have the big brother 4.1 and it is a wonderful, wonderful dac... very vivid, yet beautifully saturated, a notch above the dena dacs in 'analog-ness' of the presentation imo

good luck, and enjoy the hunt!

Ok thanks jjss49! I didn't know you owned the AN 4.1 dac. That's out of my budget. I might inquire about the SW1x dac that are similar to to AN. Btw from Ares II to Pontus II do you lose warmth of Ares for Pontus resolution? Or is Pontus more of everything that Ares offers including a better treble performance?

@kw6

pontus has a slightly warmer tone than ares and also better clarity - it is the warmest of the dena dacs in midrange and midbass that i have tried (ares, term, pontus - i have not yet tried a venus) the terminator provides more deep bass and a forward but still refined treble, the ares has the least clean treble, a problematic sibilance no matter what mode and what filter is used, and a somewhat ill-defined bass compared to the better ones - thus i have kept the pontus which is my favorite among the dena dacs

one other thing to note is that the pontus dacs received running changes over cy 2020 and 2021 before they officially marketed it as a version ii unit in spring 2021 ... thus many that are not marked as pontus ii on the faceplate have the ’version 2’ upgrades -- wima caps in power supply, new dsp board, tripod feet denote the pontus 2 essentials