Musician pegasus DAC or Denafrips Aries 2

I want to hear all aspects about both DACs built, service, who to buy from, and most imp. sound quality. Not interested in hearsay. I have read about both products. Made in the same manufacturing building, not unusual for China. compared to this and that. Also about reviewers been paid for a good article. Maybe @soix can chine about that. But what interest me more is real experience and comparisons. And BTW I'm using my Node 2i as streamer vs replacing the Node with a streamer/DAC unit.

@soix 

Well, your DAC may be "built like a brick sh*thouse" and it may sound OK.  But as for your ridiculous comparison with the Denafrips Pontus, I'll just inform you that for one thing the Pontus has a far more serious power supply, really supplies.  The Pontus has DUAL O-ring transformers.  One is part of the digital power supply; one is part of the analog power supply keeping those two very different systems completely separate.  This compares to the single transformer in the Pegasus serving all circuits digital and analog.  Moreover, in the Pontus these transformers are completely screened from the sensitive electronics in the upper chamber.  The transformer in the Pegasus, by contrast, is open and in proximity to all the circuits.  I could tell you more, but if you didn't even know this, and it's very easy to know, and value the difference I'd be wasting my time.

As for reviews, I usually have little use for them.  But as for Vitalie reviews in Soundnews.net, I was once convinced to waste my time reading his 8000 word "The One to Beat: Gustard X26 PRO DAC Review" wherein he claimed this is the world's best DAC.  It wasn't then; it isn't now.  Perhaps he says this about every DAC.  I don't regard Vitalie or his one-man rag to be a serious factor in the audio world.

As for the ethical failure in giving DACs to reviewers to keep, and the lack of support even to reviewers, you might have a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH0MY044X8Q&t=3s.  These guys really know their stuff.

Now tell me @soix, really--just between us, what were you smoking?
 

You might find this video interesting. If it were my money I’d go with Ares for the stellar reputation of Vinshine Audio and the amazing resale value of Denafrips dacs. I’ve been trying to buy a used Ares 2 for my home office. Even the ones listed at only $50 less than retail are snapped up in less than a day. Sometimes the used market speaks more truth than any reviewer Just sayin’

Well @melm, I’ll give you the power supply, but the Pegasus benefits from using the same resistor ladder that’s found in the considerably more expensive Venus and Terminator DACs. Oh yeah, and the Pegasus is $700 cheaper than the Pontus ll. I can’t speak to the YouTuber’s experience, but if you read the feedback from people who actually bought the DAC and needed service, Aoshida (the importer) has been very responsive and has received very high marks.

As far as the Soundnews.net review, as far as I see he never called the Gustard the world’s best DAC nor is it the highest rated DAC he’s reviewed, so you’re just misstating facts here. “The one to beat” was only used in the tag line, and if you read the review that pertains more to oversampling delta-sigma DACs at the price and not DACs overall. Regardless, trying to discredit his reviews on this one minor point is just silly and indicative of you not knowing a rigorous and useful review when you read one. You obviously have never written a professional review, so I wouldn’t expect that you’d know a good one when you read it. Plus, the OP is looking for people who’ve actually heard/used the products in question. Have you?

As far as paid reviews, that’s non-existent as far as I know. Having written reviews for over 15 years for the Soundstage Network I’ve never heard of such a thing. If I ever got a review product for free I didn’t know about it until after the review. I’m not thrilled that Musician offered those Youtube yahoos a free sample (I’ve seen their reviews, and if you buy anything based on their so-called “reviews” you deserve what you get), but the fact is that a reviewer’s hard-earned reputation is paramount, and I highly doubt many would sacrifice that for a “free” product. That’s the bottom-line reality of it. Those who think product reviews are largely corrupt are, in my experience, sorely mistaken. We do it because we love listening to fun gear and writing hopefully useful reviews, not to get free samples.

@soix 

Yes, the Pegasus is cheaper than the Pontus because it's made cheaper.  Much cheaper.  Half the cabinetry.  Half the power supply.  Just for openers.  And as for the resister ladder: Is it the same?  How do you know?  Just because they look the same?  Did you put a meter on each of the resistors?  Could the resister ladder be Denafrips rejects?  Is the FPGA programming that controls the conversion exactly the same?  Are the clocks identical?  What do the analog sections look like?  Are they identical?  And exactly what is the exposed transformer radiating?

The reason I pay such little attention to reviews is that they are written by people like you.  People who know little about what's actually going on inside a component.  And if you're any example they are willing to overlook what is a clear breach of ethical standards.  I give you clear evidence of a payoff and you ignore it.  Finally, most commercial reviews these days are simply recitations of multiple audio platitudes.  To me that boils down to: "This week I really like this one."  

Looks like you're still smoking from the same stash.