I never had the popping or clicking issue on my Denafrips Area II, but finally took it apart yesterday, photographed the chip, sent in the form, and got the update last evening.
Took the time this morning and carefully followed the instructions provided by Alvin. Turned out to be straight forward as I worked my way through, step by step, even though I am on the newest Mac OS…..easy to figure out.
It is a very nice performance upgrade for the Ares II, I must say. Well worth the upgrade regardless of any past issues, or not.
Thanks to Alvin and Vinshine for this update, pretty unexpected and adds new life to the Ares. 👍