Musician pegasus DAC or Denafrips Aries 2

My Pontus II was better than every DAC up to $6,000 that I tested or heard.....including the more expensive Venus II. 

@vthokie83  Yeah, I recognize there are some superior parts/design advantages of the Pontus ll over the Pegasus (not to mention resale value) and would have preferred it, but alas it just wasn’t in the budget so I had to compromise.  I think running a Pontus ll with their DDC and using the i2s input would be absolutely sublime.

Soix,

I understand, I too own a Pontus II instead of the Terminator Plus or the Holo Audio May DAC Kitsune edition, in large part because I am a "bang for the buck" guy, without unlimited resources.

Funny you should mention the DDC with Pontus II, I have a Denafrips Iris DDC ($550) in my possession that I have not yet installed.....but will in a couple of weeks. Right now am burning in a couple of HDMI cables (Audioquest Vodka 48 8K and Supra 2.1 8K), before attempting to add the DDC into the mix. I will try to update here with what journey.

@vthokie83 Please do update.  I’d be very interested, and frankly I’d be surprised if this doesn’t produce a relatively large improvement that results in near end-game performance.  But that’s just a guess. 

Alvin at Vinshine hinted at such. I've got a complete Denafrips stack; Pontus II DAC, Hades Pre-Amp, and Thallo amplifier......all connected via Morrow Audio MA4 XLR cables that I LOVE, but he thought this might take it to the next level. Will report back in a few wees

@vthokie83 How’s the Iris? Worth the five bills?  Have been considering a Pontus II but only if it doesn't "need" a DDC