Banchmark DAC3B vs. Denafrips Pontus II (12th Aniv.)

I had the Pontus and Hestia preamp and tired of their house sound, a personal thing. I moved to the DAC3B and LA4 and could not be happier. It is my endgame system.

Have not heard those, but the Gustard R26 is a very good sounding R2R that I thoroughly enjoy, especially for tracks that are more… “musical” rather than gut punching rock etc..  I find the fast delta sigma to sound better for 24/192 tracks of “busy” songs blasted at, probably too, high SPL.

Sorry if I don’t have all the jargon or terminology down pat.. just saying.. the R26 sounds better than the delta sigma(it is an smsl su-10)  for some music and the delta sigma sounds better for others.

You are comparing a DACs at uneven MSRPs.

If you buy an Ares 2-Had one for a week- you can resell

it for nearly what you paid.  Warranty transfers.

Out of curiosity, why is no remote a deal breaker? When I eventually purchase a standalone dac I want it to be a dac only, without any preamp and other extras, including remote, so it’s as simple and ‘pure’ as possible. 

Pontus ll 12th here as well. Have never heard a pop or click and quite happy with the SQ. Can’t imagine why a remote would be needed. The only interface is when changing from one digital source (CDP) to another (streamer). Lots of great choices out there.