Denafrips Ares II/Enyo is STILL the best DAC under 1000 euros!

[@carminedesanto6746]

Greetings from Toronto ☕️ I got my Denafrips Ares 12-2 dac a while ago ..and I think my DAC journey is at an end . Great video 👍

[@HIFIDaydreaming]

And with such a great one at that.

[@tessie4204]

You said "I think" :)

[@carminedesanto6746]

@@tessie4204 There’s always something 🤣

[@wazuo8354]

I think the holoaudio cyan 2 might be better for similar sort of money, I have a Hiby FC6 R2R dongle, I'm totally hooked on the R2R sound, great review thanks.

[@TriAmpHiFi]

. Well $1,198 vs $699 isn't really similar. The Cyan 2 is two separate R2R ladders in one chassis. One for PCM and one for DSD. I won't be using any DSD so I don't want to pay for the second ladder. Enyo wins for me, even though I'd rather own the Cyan 2.

[@HIFIDaydreaming]

I have seen a review by mr chibs of cyan 2, he intrigued me, by very positive enthusiastic review. One day hopefully we will cross paths, and I will be able to review it. And thanks for watching it is appriciated.

[@t0nyxgq]

As someone who has both the Ares 2 and Cyan 2, the Cyan 2 is clearly better for my system and to my taste. I got the Ares 2 for like $900 a few years back and got the Cyan 2 for $1400 (gotta pay for shipping to the US). Both are not fatiguing and sounds great but the A2 felt too focused, claustrophobic. Dense would be a good word. The C2 is lighter, airier, faster feeling, bigger yet focused. Soundstage is much bigger in my system. You might miss a bit of thickness but easily adjustable with the cross over on the sub to get some of that back. The main reason I got it was actually for the dual output. XLR to my preamp and RCA to my bottlehead crack which sounded the best it ever sounded with the 6XX and iems.

[@davidbennett3098]

I have this and the Chord Qutest but there is an equal DAC for less and that is the Aune S9c, add the Aune SC1 audio clock and it betters both of them for the same price.

[@HIFIDaydreaming]

I should definitely try this DAC, I have not heard any Aune gear and I think it is a high time to do so.

[@theodoroschronis2966]

Hello from Greece and thank you for your very informative reviews! I would like to ask you a question: At what volume level / "colour" you are putting the line output of the Chord Mojo 2, when you are using it only as a dac with fixed output, to a preamp or intergrated amp, using their volume control ?

[@HIFIDaydreaming]

Thanks for watching man it is appriciated. I kept the volume of chord mojo 2 at max(or little bit bellow max, one full color change) . It is reportedly recommended to keep dac and preamp at max, while your amp is controlling the power levels. As the less volume of your amp, the less is chances of introducing distortions.

[@theodoroschronis2966]

@@HIFIDaydreaming Thank you for your instant response!

[@nicktaylor7680]

Musician Draco would be the closest match and is $100 cheaper.

[@HIFIDaydreaming]

I never heard how musician darco sounds, but would love to hear them in near future.

[@mrpmj00]

Yep, Denafrips Ares II 12th sounds so 3D real. Add the Denafrips Iris 12th and you'll hear an improvement (I use the i2s port and a 1.6' HDMI cable). I liked it so much that I upgraded to the Denafrips Pontus II 12th-1 and it's even better. source=Apple Music lossless

[@HIFIDaydreaming]

I wonder about qutest vs pontus. They are similar in price, and would love sometimes in future to do comparison of both. But yes that amazing soundstage, just surprised me so much when i first heard it, and even after 3 months if having it with me it still continued to amaze me. A great buy. I never used ddc in my life as i never had a need for it. But it is in my to do list to try it once. Thanks for watching!

[@poloo92]

Hi, does the "3D" effect applies to listening at other contents like movies, videogames ? Have you had a chance to compare the enyo to ares 12th ? What would be the difference ?

[@mrpmj00]

@@poloo92 3D affect is noticeable with music. I have not tried with movies because Denafrips is 2 channels stereo, so for movies I use my Arcam AVR to process more than 2 channels. I do not play video games. I don't have the Enyo but it should sound the same as my Ares 12th. However, I also use the DDC Denafrips Iris 12th via i2S port into the Ares which improved the sound, but the Enyo does not have an i2S port. Also I think that the Ares 12th might have a bigger power supply than the Enyos. Here's my video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWWsiJujoLCmrK8

[@mrpmj00]

@@poloo92 Also the buttons are different between the Enyo and Ares 12th (now same as the Denafrips Pontus II 12th), it's much improved to single button presses instead of having to remember to push several buttons to achieve the same functionality.

[@poloo92]

@@mrpmj00 any denafrips products come with a remote ?

[@ysk249]

Can you connect this DAC to the power amp directly? Or does it have to be connected to the pre amp? Thank you.

[@HIFIDaydreaming]

Check does your power amp have any optical, coaxial or balanced connections. If it have yes it can. But if there is none, than answer is sadly no.

[@andreacountry8471]

This is currently my DAC since about 3 years...the problem is the confusion Denafrips has made regarding the firmware update...there are 3 different firmwares that potentially play with 3 different filters, and the sound changes drastically from 'original to the last update...

[@HIFIDaydreaming]

Interesting, i have not updated mine. But sure will do that, if it changes the sound that much.

[@andreacountry8471]

@@HIFIDaydreaming second firmware release in my opinion sound best!

[@andreacountry8471]

@@HIFIDaydreaming kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZ6kZYWBequcmqssi=dkaHOEkPehJm801v

[@andreacountry8471]

@@HIFIDaydreaming kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZ6kZYWBequcmqssi=dkaHOEkPehJm801v

[@justasimplefox]

RCA output connected? Many reviews say RCA output is worse then XLR

[@HIFIDaydreaming]

Yes it is, but i never in review said it is not? It is just I have not tested the xlr out, as none of the amps i have have an xlr input, neither i have sources that have xlr. But xlr is the future of hifi with best bandwidth and stability.