Denafrips Pontus II Clicks Or Static?

@atp001

I’m no engineer, but again, everything about this saga thus far suggests that it was/is fundamentally a hardware problem, and that it has yet to be fully resolved.

Again, Denfrips said recently that the firmware:

• Reduced the effect of Buffer overrun/underrun due to the Source’s Clock and the DAC’s Clock differences

which is a not so tacit admission that it is a hardware problem, as further underscored by the Cisco definition.

Given that, at least to my knowledge, this problem does not occur in the vast majority, if not all DACs produced by other high-end manufacturers, the obvious implication is that there is a hardware/clock problem with the Denefrips design that is simply not found elsewhere.

Put another way, if every other manufacturer of high-end DACs can say with confidence that such buffer overruns are not an issue, while Denfrips remains unable to do so, is it credible to argue that they alone are unable to develop good enough, associated software?

So along these lines: I question why on my 2010 MacBook Air, Audio Devices, when I go to set/match sample rates why is the Pontus II always showing a 32 bit rate?

Also I'm disappointed with the technical requirements for the firmware update.  My laptop "Hi Sierra" OS has not been tested (it is last possible OS update) and one must use Terminal commands to accomplish the procedure...never done this.  Also my 2019 iMac is running the latests OS, also not tested. 

I have heard "soft" pops very occasionally, using i2S from an OPPO player... not an issue for me and I love the excellent sound from the Pontus II, especially SACD.

After listening to various thread inputs, and after nearly 300 break in hours with my new Pontus II 12th (I have not heard a single click or pop) - it would appear that it is a minority who are experiencing the click and pop issue.  If the Denafrips DAC hardware was "fundamentally" at fault, there would likely be at least a majority of users experiencing the problem.  It is more likely that this may be the result of DAC hardware/firmware interactions with particular digital sources and circumstances.  And I note that there are reports from users that the problem disappeared after they installed the latest firmware update. In the meantime my new Pontus continues to produce a very fine sound.

I'm waiting for the file to apply the firmware to my Pontus II.

I have owned this DACs for over 3 weeks and have not experienced any pops or clicks while streaming music. I'm in-between owning a CD transport. However, like my Ares II (SOLD), I've experienced a split-second 'drop-out' or minute skip in the music. It's so small, that its over before you realize. Never in more than one place in a single song, and always at the beginning of a track. And lately, it hasn't occurred at all in a week of (75-100 hours) listening. I just hope this glitch goes away for all of Us. 

I have an Ares 2 and a Pontus 2.  The only time I’ve had static or popping sounds was with the Ares 2 connected to a Bluesound Node N130 via USB.  Using coax was fine.  I then swapped out the Node for an iFi Zen Stream via USB and never had a problem after that.  Using that same setup with Pontus 2 and never had an issue.

I updated the firmware on both DACs today and it was very easy. Used a MacBook Pro and had no issues.  The instructions were very clear and easy to follow.

Both DACs sound a little better to my ears after the update.  Was definitely worth doing.