Im comparing the Pontus 2 to my Orchid Dac right now. Pontus 2 needs alot of break in time. Been listening for a few days and needed to give my ears a break for a few days then go back and reevaluate. Both have there strengths amd weaknesses. Pontus 2 has alot of Clarity and no fatigue but the Orchid has great tone and not as clear. Will come down to which is more important to me
Auralic Vega G2 or Denafrips Pontus II 12th + streamer?
I'm looking to add digital to my system as a supplement to vinyl (my main listening avenue), but I've been debating whether to go with a very capable combo unit like the Vega G2 or separates for some time. My main concern is longer term support re: various streaming service apps, etc that might make built-in streaming capabilities outdated in a few years in combo units.
I had a thought that maybe investing in a great DAC separate that will outlast changes in streaming tech where I could just upgrade separate streamers in the future if necessary might be a better approach, but I don't know.
I like the idea of keeping it simple with a combo unit a la Vega G2 or Hifi Rose or something, but I'm also not interested in anything that might be a brick in a couple years. Not interested in having the 'smartphone' experience of needing to upgrade every few years, especially at a multi-thousand dollar price point.
Having an excellent control app is 100% required for any streaming solution I consider as it needs to be very simple to use (will be controlled by family occasionally as well via an iPad most likely, which is mostly why).
I'd like to stick to under $5k total (used is fine). A used Vega G2 tends to sit at about $4500-5k on the market from what I've seen, so this would be the tip top end of what I could consider.
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@evank - what does the rest of your gear look like? Do you use tube amplification or SS? I was a little concerned with the Orchid given I'm going to be running it through tubes. I feel like it might get a little too warm sounding overall. |
@mmcgill829 im using a Schiit Freya + for a preamp.and the Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra for amplification |
That sounds like a very valid concern and may be a good argument for the Pontus, but in the end it’s all personal taste and system dependent. If I had tubes downstream I’d go with the Pontus, but that’s just me. |
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