Denafrips Terminator II DAC Review and VS Chord Dave.

#HiFi #Audiophile #Denafrips
My Website: www.stevehuffph...
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Hello! Today I want to talk about the Denafrips Terminator II DAC. How it is built, how it sounds and even compared to the Pontus II and Chord DAVE. The Terminator II DAC is a world class DAC that brings the high end for much less money. Enjoy!
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[@slowestrider4918]

Thank you for another honest and no BS review. Pontus II improved my stereo system no others update provided. DAC is no doubt the major factor for enjoying on music reproduction music whether through CD or streaming.

[@GavinHodgson]

Great review - you’ve helped me a great deal and that I need to stick with Chord DACs. I love the incisiveness.

[@rickkumar2631]

If you’re based in the UK then you might be interested to know that we (Musicraft based in Derby) are a Denafrips Audio and Kinki Studio Audio dealer. We currently have in store and on demo/display the Ares II, Pontus II, Terminator II, IRIS DDC and GAIA DDC as well as other DAC’s from dCS, PrimaLuna and EMM Labs/Meitner Audio and Kinki Studio Audio’s EX-M1+, EX-P27, EX-M7 and EX-B7’s 🙂

[@mikelm222]

Nice review, thanks - I think if sometime in the future you try the I2S via HDMI on the Terminator 2 you will notice a big improvement.

[@khalid969]

I've been waiting for this review. You answered all the questions that I had. Thank you.

[@willmac5642]

You, British Audiophile and 13th Note are killing it atm, great reviews!

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

I really do you have to get around to reviewing this lineup, currently I have the Dave, the TT2, and the may battling it out, it’s absolutely mind-boggling in the digital realm the Dave though seven years old is still keeping up with the May and other high end DACs. Your high reference chain, is a holy Trinity, your drivers, your amplifier, your DAC, and it becomes far more apparent the higher you reach for in this hobby. Synergy and the difference it can make, can become extremely apparent

[@veniceog]

Your description of the Terminator, slightly recessed, warm, beautiful and holographic is exactly what I heard when I slipped in a Kinki EX-M7 power amp into my system. Very interesting.

[@Hypofx]

same here:))) EX-M7 great one

[@kl9941]

I so agree with the DAC making a greater improvement than a pre-amp, amp, or cables. When I purchased the Denafrips Ares II ,and a year and a half later the Pontus II, my older Magnepans sang like never before.

[@philipteater3714]

New to the channel. I like your style; reasonable, balanced and down to earth. Impressive system. I will be tuning in regularly.

[@anonymohipp9097]

Great review. I'd love to hear your take on the Holo May and Bricasti M1SE.

[@michaelmityok1001]

I own this dac and pair it wth the hermes ddc via I2S - amazing value stack, and the Singapore dealer is top notch 👌 to deal with for support/service

[@vaneast411]

DDC's can really help when linking to a computer

[@HoomanR17]

Appreciated your candid review. Couldn't help but think about your comment about the how the terminator is build to last for ever. T2 DAC has close to 200 capacitors. Makes me wonder about a DACs ultimate longevity with so many caps that will degrade over time. Unless there is a microprocessor drift compensation, I imagine in time T2 will sound different in comparison to the Dave which only has a handful of film caps. Would love to hear others opinion about this - perhaps we just need our DACs to outlast our next purchase cycle or exit from the planet..

[@coin777]

Those CAPS are power filtering, drift wont change the sound. Also, modern HiEnd electrolitic caps last over 30Years,.

[@n.lyndley.9889]

built forever

[@bernardstachman3507]

Cool to see world class components comparisons, makes it easier to put things in place when comparing reviews. Thanks

[@dennisvun8863]

Great review. Although I have not heard the Terminator or Dave but I have the Hugo 2 and ARIS II and I AB them all the time. I agree with your evaluation of what the Dave (Chrod) and what the Terminator (Denafrips) house sound brings. Was set on getting a high end Chord DAC but I may now give the Terminator II or Plus a chance due to the cost difference. Thanks again for this sharing.

[@siddharthakataki]

Recently I bought PONTUS II . It is amazing in terms of details , sound stage and gives that clear 4 dimensional perception.

[@vaneast411]

Hard to compete price wise with the quality of audio emerging out of Asia these days

[@coin777]

9:17 Spotify doesn't have CD quality files. Its all MP3

[@zeissiez]

I like Denafrips’ natural house sound for my headphone system as compared to other more analytic DACs. Thanks for the review!

[@edbrumbaugh9202]

Nice review, thank you. I enjoy listening to various reviews, as subjective as they are. Ultimately, it's whatever provides the sound "you" like, that's the fun of the hobby. I'm currently running a Denafrips Venus II and enjoy that paired with a PrimaLuna Evo300 Tube Integrated. As to the Cord Dave, after watching a current AudioScienceReview review of the Cord Dave, you couldn't pay me to own one, especially at that price. Thanks again for the comparison.

[@etm3398]

i ordered the pontus (reminds me of donuts) right after watching your review of it and now this...

[@Coneman3]

You should try an Audio Music DAC/1

[@robertreynolds2212]

Just received my Terminator Plus and it's unreal..

[@Vesohag]

Looks, and probably, sounds noice :0

[@craighartnoll8205]

Try the Chord M Scaler to the Dave using the Wave Fidelity Storm reference BNC cables and you will be blown away even more.

[@QQ-td9id]

I have MScaler and DAVE. But what are those small "sections" on those $1800 Wave Fidelity Storm reference BNC? Must be ferrite cores (LPF)because many reviewers said the cable reduce high frequency noises also reduce small amount -2dB signal on DAVE. You can get those on Amazon for $10 and make the cable yourself.

[@locmanw1583]

Hope you compare Terminator II to Holo May kitsune dac?

[@TipoF129B]

The new denafrips Arce streamer, word clock locked to the T2 12th might be pretty special.

[@ibrahim-alani]

How about review of Holo Audio - May DAC - KTE May I will be very happy about your opinion

[@jlo8775]

I have the Terminator 1, superlative dac. Denafrips really crushes the competition in terms of bang for the buck.

[@rorschachwatchmen8628]

Great review. I use the T2 with the Denafrips GAIA DDC and the TERRA MasterClock (I know it‘s digital overkill…) on a Auralic G1 for Tidal. Perfect sound! ‚Nuff said.

[@morespinach9832]

Most importantly, what speakers? That's the real meat in your chain but you seem besotted with gear :)

[@rorschachwatchmen8628]

@@morespinach9832 actual either the Klipsch Cornwall III or the Buchardt A400 Lim.Ed

[@morespinach9832]

@@rorschachwatchmen8628 Buchardt s400 you mean? A is 500, active.

[@twochaudiomg2578]

Burr, the Lamp DAC & THE tearmanator DAC BOTH ARE worlds apart. NO, TUBES VS SS ? Burr.,, Sure i would have the David If i could. I cant aford it. HAPPY LISTENING

[@thisnameisit]

Great review, have you tried any Audio Note DAC's , your room looks amazing btw 👌

[@keithkrieger7075]

You need to add the chord upscaler to get the full effect.

[@HiFiHuff]

Not true. I had one, preferred it without it in my system. The Mscaler softened things too much for my tastes. It’s all about synergy, room, speakers. There are quite a few who prefer the Dave on its own. See my review of the Dave (which will be staying in my system without question). www.stevehuffphoto.com/2021/12/21/the-chord-dave-dac-a-2021-review/

[@Campbell1.]

60% or so of the retail price of the Dave Dac is the case work

[@GentielioGaming]

Did you have the Dynaudio Heritage Special on this dac? I own the heritage and i found it fast. Could it blur the lines between the dave and terminator?

[@commane21]

Yup. The reality of diminishing returns hits very hard here.

[@connorduke4619]

There are two Dacs that will make you sell your Chord Dave with its digital glare. Both feature: dual separate chassis LPSUs, galvanic isolated inputs, PLL input circuit with femto clock, fully balanced dual mono double R2R ladders, true NOS mode, class A discrete outputs. MSB Reference for $40k and Holo May Audio KTE for $6k. The two best Dacs in the world, in that order. My ears are extremely sensitive to treble harshness and brightness and I've critically listened to multiple high quality renderings of each of the famous (and many less famous) Dac models over youtube and am confident in this conclusion at this time. Veteran audiophiles who buy either of these Dacs are not only throwing away their old Dacs, they are also throwing away their record players.

[@genkifd]

i would love to hear your opinions on other top Chinese DACs like the Musician Pegasus, Audio GD R7HE, etc

[@jagannathghimire3039]

Hi there.. Love your videos.. great..!! Talking of DACs, would you be interested in talking about the Cambridge Audio Magic plus..! Thanks

[@nanduullegaddi2992]

Hi Interested in purchasing the Pontus 2 DAC, snd also looking at Chord. However also looked at all in one streamer /DAC such as Lumin or Goldnote.

[@johnratcliffe6438]

Denafrips Pontus with Iris or Schiit Yggdrasil LiM? Trying to decide...

[@fatdoi003]

wonder how the Term II with the Terra clock and Gaia DDC will sound like

[@chrisrichards2827]

you should try the Wyred4Sound 10th anniversary dac, one of the reviewers put it up against his VPI turntable with a $5,000 Japanese cartridge and he said that the 10th anniversary dac sounded just as analog, I bought one and I totally agree, not cheap it's $4,500 US but Boy does it punch way above its price, Beat the chord and many other dacs in comparison.

[@Stephenwongdirectimaging]

Today I did a great compare with auralic vega 2 , Ps audio direct stream Dac ,Denafrips T2. . My favourite is Denafrips T2 2nd place PS AUDIO . I prefer T2 then chord Dave

[@ivancy1920]

You must try holo audio dacs… spring 3 or may

[@toddhupp]

you are so right about the importance of a quality signal.wonder what you would think of the chord upscaler?

[@HiFiHuff]

www.stevehuffphoto.com/2021/12/21/the-chord-dave-dac-a-2021-review/

[@HiFiHuff]

I had the M Scaler and prefer the DAVE without it in my system. The M Scaler will soften up everything, expand the soundstage even more (which I do not need) and lower the sound output as well. I prefer the DAVE in it's own.

[@rondog5440]

If you are still using the Lumin U1 Mini Streamer, which is excellent on its own… Try adding an S Booster external power supply and see what you think.

[@Dr.Richard_Kimble]

Thinking about the lumin myself. You think it's a noticeable improvement from a Bluesound?

[@rondog5440]

@@Dr.Richard_Kimble I first had the Bluesound and find the Lumin to sound much better overall, and with the external power supply the Lumin separates itself even more. The Lumin software does take a while to get used to, the Bluesound interface is perhaps a bit more intuitive.

[@maartenrib9953]

Audition a mscaler in your system and further on the road update the power supply of the dave you will be blown away…

[@deankim6687]

What about the Venus?

[@mikegoddard7354]

did you do the halo audio may? i dont recall

[@Emilg5]

I'm wondering why you didn't compare the Terminator plus, at least it's almost half the cost of a Dave instead of 1/3rd? Have you upscaled 16/44 to DSD512? I've used the Foobar DSD converter to upscale ripped CDs on the fly fed through USB. It turns the mediocre into near audiophile recordings and there's no need to buy and store high rez files, many existing CDs sound outstanding. What I don't like about the chord is the artificial inflation that leads to artificial "air" and an oversized stage similar to the AKM DACs thinning the images in space. Then there's the forwardness that gets almost shrill on some recordings like the ESS DACs and the price. .

[@mzhouau]

I even like the pontus better than than terminator. The devil lives in mid range.

[@morespinach9832]

Which speakers are those in the background?

[@backrack01]

Is there a written review on this?

[@HiFiHuff]

Yes, I have written reviews of all that I do videos for. www.stevehuffphoto.com/?s=Denafrips

[@geraldford6409]

Always amazes me when I hear "I didn't believe a DAC could make that big a difference" or "Most DACS sound the same"!? From analog guys who gush about stylus, cartridges, tonearms, phono preamps and how all these sound different A turntable converts mechanical grooves on the media representing the waveform to electromagnetic energy at the analog outputs, further amplified and transformed through the phono preamp A DAC box converts the numerical values from the media (stream/stick/disc) representing the waveform to electromagnetic energy at the DAC analog outputs. Why wouldn't common knowledge from the analog days carryover to digital/DACs? Different DACS chips or R2R designs, different isolation methods, different power supply designs and quality, different analog output stage designs in the DAC (caps, circuit topology, noise suppression, galvanic isolation, etc)

[@ChrisTaylor-dz6nk]

16.44k..done properly is all you need.

[@iimv]

Recently … not so long go 😂

[@railwaystationmaster]

As a chord DAVE owner I like to check out the competition ,I enjoyed your comparison however one thing not mentioned is the superior aesthetic design of the DAVE, the DENAFRIPS is clearly made to be hidden , as opposed the the bling bling presentation ensemble stand that is an optional extra with the Chord DAVE to further showcase it's curves .I totally get the 2 driving factors for consideration with such an emotional purchase is cost and performance and to this end the DAVE sets the benchmark others still follow .

[@tfj100]

Or else, you might think that Chord are on drugs and wish they'd just doing something a bit more "normal". Honestly I don't need my DAC to look anything special, I just want it to sound special. Having said all that, the Denafrips options are pretty bland, but better than some of its Chinese competitors

[@ullodea]

Or the look of the Terminator is an advantage over the "I let my untalented 6 year old design it" Dave.

[@rainman3269]

Chord dacs are over priced ...

[@tfj100]

To be fair, if they are manufactured in the UK and you are comparing to a DAC made in China, then Chord might be making less profit per unit than Denafrips...