Denafrips Terminator Plus Review - A Tasteful Alteration to Your Music

The Denafrips Terminator Plus is a high performance, unique sounding R2R DAC offering a signature that I think many people will really enjoy. This DAC is changing your music, and might not fit purists or those seeking a strictly 'accurate' presentation, but wow it puts a smile on my face!
www.vinshineaudio.com/product...
This unit was purchased independently for review and re-sold prior to this video being uploaded.
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Terminator Plus Measurements: goldensound.audio/2021/10/07/...
Gaia Measurements: goldensound.audio/2021/10/04/...
Content and analysis sponsored by headphones.com and patreon supporters on / goldensound
Testing Tracks:
Someone Else's Dream (Slenderbodies Remix) - Absofacto - song.link/gb/i/1594948999
6's to 9's [Analog Sessions] - Big Wild - song.link/gb/i/1479456384
BAD BAD News - Tai Verdes - song.link/gb/i/1565280576
Path of the Wind - Grissini Project - song.link/gb/i/1517760853
No Tomorrow [Red Bull Symphonic Rework] - Camo & Krooked & Mefjus - song.link/gb/i/1548660010
Romeo - Jungle - song.link/gb/i/1555318021
0:00 - Intro
1:35 - Build and Design
4:03 - Internal
3:54 - Build Quality
6:17 - IO and Controls
6:42 - Sound
21:34 - T+ with the Gaia
23:29 - Conclusion
24:17 - Patrons
The GoldenSound youtube channel, and all content is created and owned by GoldenSound LTD

[@wildturkey1230]

Brilliant review! This is exactly the kind of information that I needed to decide on my next DAC.

[@JWForce1059]

I missed your reviews quite a bit during your hiatus. Very happy to have some new content to binge.

[@WillieBloom]

Thanks for the review. You definitely helped me in my search for an R2R DAC.

[@wouterkolkman]

Thank you for your review - you played and referred to classical music this time! I have been using the T+ for well over a year now and enjoy every second listening to it - mainly classical music:-)

[@bootsarmstrong8421]

Thank you for the honest review. I watched other reviews and no one mentioned any of the negatives you did. I was seriously thinking about buying this dac but I'll look for something else. You have a new subscriber.

[@klaymoon1]

I love your way of review!

[@amplifyaudioreviews]

Best audio reviewer on the internet. Ethical, accurate and interesting as always.

[@MartinHAndersen]

Want to thank you for all the great reviews AND recommending Big Wild. Have been playing none stop 😊 On my beloved KTE May

[@aceofspades6667]

whoa great review, good stuff indeed!

[@kuglepen64]

Paraphrasing “It sounds close when there is only a voice, and far away when there is more instruments … ” That is the sound of compression. Either mix-down bus compression or a compressor in the mastering stage.

[@cjay2]

Your last choice is the issue here on this video. All of the selections except for the classical one at 17.30 are compressed. You can see it easily by opening up the sound track of this video on any audio editor (I use Audition 3 and iZotopeRX) and look at those selections. The one at 8.30 is seriously compressed just after that 2-3second 'intro', and that rap thing at 20.00 is not only compressed but also bass-ducked, rendering it unlistenable to my ears. It's the mastering stage where this crap is occurring and it makes the 'music' boring and tedious. ALL corporate output has been compressed and often clipping since about 1995, and practically ALL 'remasters' done by corporate interests are completely brick-walled and clipped from that time out. The only way to get natural sounding music is to go back to the original vinyls, CDs from before 1995-ish, or buy CDs and SACDs done ONLY by independent re-issuers such as DCC, Analog Sounds, and MFSL.

[@TheCangle]

2 videos in 1 day!

[@klaymoon1]

Great review!!

[@lmikek]

very clear presentation of the dac's "presentation"...:-)

[@hermanvisser4034]

Your reviews are so good and so informative. Never knew it was not a NOS DAC. Missing output buffer also not great for such an expensive DAC.

[@peterlarkin762]

No output buffer is for me, an advantage. The preamp input buffer does the work, so your not tied to the factory output opamp circuit.

[@phixitless]

This is brilliant. After so many years hunting through the audio extremes . A clear and concise combination of how technology can affect what you hear. Maybe a white paper in the future? You are making a difference.

[@razisn]

Excellent review, good work. Please try to get your hands on a Tambaqui at the high end and a Hugo TT2.

[@jimfarrell4635]

Well I bought it, and am very, very, very happy indeed. I was listening to Will Oldham last night and the timbre and detail of his voice made me feel like I was crouched inside his larynx. Which was sticky but great. I used to have issues with sibilance and a degree of smearing and confusion when things got loud and complex. All gone. Everything separate, everything in the right place all the time. The DAC conveys emotion in music like nothing I have ever heard and has shown me the true potential of my 15 year old Zingali speakers for the very first time. So thanks ! I do agree about the feet and the interface, both of which are pants. I have a friend whose wife kindly made up a laminated card that he can keep beside his Denafrips DAC to remind him what to do ! Hey, Carlos !

[@carlitomelon4610]

Hey Jim!! I use the phase button pretty often....for a different perspective. Not all recordings are phase coherent. Wish my Ares2 had a remote . Maybe my wife can make me a rubber tipped 10ft stick? 🎶🤔🎶

[@michaelwright1602]

Having the exact same experience with the Ares II and Iris DDC. I am finally, after many years, enjoying music! Thank you Denafrips!

[@ciprian1073]

@@michaelwright1602 Hi. How did you connect the Iris DDC to the Ares 2? I'd buy an Iris DDC but my ares 2 is used between a PC and integrated amp and i don't know if i can conect the Iris to the Ares 2...

[@Mestre_tainha]

@@ciprian1073 pc -> ddc -> dac -> integrated amp

[@dontcare563]

Thanks for this review! I would also love to see a review on the Musetec Audio (LKS Audio) MH-DA005.

[@SteveT0000]

Love your reviews and especially enjoy listening to your test tracks on my own system. Great way to discover new music! Have you considered reviewing a Gungnir multibit with Unison USB?

[@MarkWilliams-dh8wo]

Thanks for these dac reviews. They really are very good. In one of your reviews you mention you will be reviewing the Tambaqui. May I ask when? Also do you use a dedicated streamer and do you plan on reviewing any? Thanks again.

[@Subsonic-cd2en]

Interesting about the metal flakes internally. I had a Pontus 2 which I loved, but I had to get rid of it because it had a weird quirk where touching it with any static build up (extremely common in dry winters) would scramble the DAC - it would change inputs, change settings, or simply turn off as a result of "shocking" it. I'm no electrical engineer, but that seems to be a major design flaw - should that not be properly grounded to prevent that? Also, a REMOTE would negate the need to be touching it all the time!

[@robvandendolder3157]

Good to see you finally review this flagship DAC by Denafrips, especially since you have the Holo Audio May KTE and regard it very highly. You certainly gave it a thorough review and I expected it review as good but different to the KTE. I like your channel as you are thorough, analytical and say it as it is. Thank you 😎👍

[@shanestephenson8423]

I really enjoyed this review I'm considering either a Terminator plus or a May kte at the moment. I have had the opportunity to audition the Terminator plus, and l own a Gaia. Pick it up quite cheaply on the second-hand market. This is one of these questions that I think I know the answer to before I asked it. But I assume you will say you like the May over the Terminator plus for the reasons that I like, a good DAC, with authenticity in its presentation. I'd be interested in your thoughts regarding running the Gaia with the May kte would it make a difference to the presentation of the May. I love your videos and never miss one of them. Great job here with this review.🎧👍🙂

[@mastaboog749]

These are crazy dacs, I did get a nice new job this year and maybe down the road I can get a rich guy dac but the D1SE or something similar should work for me for now

[@susokraut3169]

No needfor this, nowadyas DACs starting from $100 are already transparent and no upgrade will bring any audible improvement, if not distortion via stupid R2R DACs.

[@darrellross8609]

All most didn't play this video. I would have missed some great tracks, thanks. I have Jotunheim 2 , Soncoz $200 model dac, and some "Yes cables matter" cables. Best, D.

[@leyander87]

great review! it would be great if You could review another very interesting Chinese product the Audio gd R7 it would be very interesting among all the r2r dac reviews to include the R7!

[@ohadschwartz4798]

Great review Indeed. There is a big gap in price between ares and terminator . What we are missing now to see the whole picture is a review of the Pontus II and a comparison of the 3 of them the get the sweet point in terms of diminishing return money/sound wise. Thanks

[@michaelwright1602]

Ares II here, along with the Iris DDC… I have not enjoyed actually LISTENING to music in YEARS! I have the Ares II feeding the Denafrips Hades and Thallo amplifiers. Speakers are KLH Model 5. I’m using the newest Bluesond Node and my old OPPO BDP-83 for SACD and CD. I cannot get over how good this all sounds. With the chip DACs, listening for more than an hour, forget it. Walk out to the car and slam your hand in the door. It was that bad with a variety of DACs and other chipped based gear. No more of that, Denafrips was the perfect cure for my ears. I have thought about upgrading to the Pontus II, I don’t know if the outlay will be worth it, diminishing returns and all of that… I guess anything can be improved, but by how much and at what cost? For now, the Ares II is staying.

[@mothershiphip]

@@michaelwright1602 I have the Ares II and Iris DDC as well and I whole-heartedly agree with your post. Yes, yes and yes!

[@davidpeterkin1237]

I agree, a review of the Pontus II would be great to have - particularly if it could include I2S from say an OPPO 203/205 HDMI output using one of those Chinese HDMI/MHL To I2S IIS adapters. A lot to ask for I know, but I guess I'm not the only one who would like to know how good such combination is. I like the idea that the adapter works without having to change the pin output from the way Denafrips have set up the pins.

[@CalvinPurnomo]

Fantastic review as usual! Also, what's that cheeky Pink Panther statue doing over there? ;)

[@dbrodbro1]

There is only ONE Golden Sound. It all rings TRUE. Always learn something; thx

[@shared29]

golden, I've been looking for a good budget r2r dac and I found the cayin ru6 that claims to be NOS. It would be interesting if you did a review of the ru6, as it is I think the most affordable r2r dac in the market.

[@larsschorling]

Thank you for your great reviews. I do have a different question - what cable are you using with your Susvaras?

[@robertreynolds2212]

Personally own one w/ a Gaia. Started with the Ares II & upgraded stepwise to the top. The amount of fun I had doing so reminded me why I fell in love with this hobby.

[@barrybrennan2135]

Where do you feel the sweet spot is? Thanks.

[@roybanks8709]

Thanks for excellent review which I really enjoyed. I think it was good to point out the flaws. How does the Yggdrasil stack up at half the price ?

[@ericstefko4852]

Glad I bought the Holo Audio May KTE :)

[@aceofspades6667]

Aqua La Voce S3 crew

[@verbatim_transfer]

what is your full system? any tubed gear?

[@ericstefko4852]

@@verbatim_transfer The speakers are Meadowlark Blue Herons, the amp is a Luxman L-590AXII, the source is a Sony scd-xa5400es

[@V1ralB1ack]

@@ericstefko4852 Jeez what's your career CEO or lawyer?

[@brendanliddell240]

Thanks for the review. Do you plan to review the Musician Audio Pegasus DAC? Wonder how it compares to the Denafrips Ares II.

[@orrman5]

Is the part about buffer clock true for all Denafrips DACs?

[@rajnishcmohan]

Hi there,I own a venus2 dac from denafrips.what will be the best digital interface to accompany it. Chord mscaler or a digital to digital converter like the geaya

[@drdreidel101]

Denafrips DACs and R2R DACs in general have certainly piqued my interest, but I need one without a super noticeable audio delay for video. Does anyone have a suggestion? Thanks!

[@peterlarkin762]

I think r2r circuits would always be higher latency than delta sigma. Open to correction..

[@ericstefko4852]

Does this DAC convert DSD to PCM and send it to the R2R ladder of does it have a separate DSD DAC to play dsd natively

[@vinnyfromvenus8188]

this has nothing to do with the DAC itself, I just wanna say that you have immaculate music taste my friend 👌 (not only from the music selection in this video but your "wall of albums" have some great records)

[@anderm1598]

He clearly states that it is a great listening experience on the one hand but not a very faithful or truthful representation on the other hand. He recommends it for enjoyment but not for his personal use case, which is reviewing. It seemed pretty consistent to me, as always:)

[@momtazularefin]

You're absolutely spot on with the review of the Denafrips DACs. I have a somewhat minimalist audiophile setup with Elac Navis ARB-51 active speakers, Denafrips Pontus II DAC and Signalyst HQPlayer. Some observations - i) Onboard oversampling of Denafrips is pretty average. Makes the sound somewhat like delta sigma DACs, a little thin, treble focused. Slow and fast roll-off filters make little difference. ii) In NOS mode the sound lacks a little detail, there is some high frequency attenuation and the sound becomes gritty. The true capability of the DAC is much greater but sadly subdued by average processing up front. I could have only found that with the help of HQPlayer. I upsample in HQPlayer to the highest supported by the DAC, 44.1 KHz -> 1,411.2 KHz and 48 KHz -> 1,536 KHz and then use NOS in the DAC. The resulting sound is very accurate and at the same time what I would say organic. It's detailed and warm without loosing anything in treble. I understand this bypasses the DAC's internal processing altogether as the signal is already at the highest sampling rate the linear interpolation that you've mentioned is no longer used.

[@johnratcliffe6438]

You don't buy a NOS DAC to oversample. OMFG *rollseyes*

[@nespressoman]

There is no NOS mode on the Denafrips DACS. They lied.

[@kinkias]

So according to your testing and experience, what is the most realistic sounding dac you have tried? Thanks!

[@susokraut3169]

Starting from JDS Lab DAc + for $100, over Topping E30 for $150 to the SMSL VMV D1se for $700. All have no specific sound, as it should be, and are transparent to the source.

[@Shoaibexpert]

Gteat review. I got the D1SE on you recommendation and with it's Tube 3 sound color setting, it easily surpasses any other SMSL DAC I've heard. Could never buy an Ares II as with these devices, you need to have a preamp always and the one I can afford and own (Topping Pre90), due to Denafrips Output impedence which does not work with that Preamp (with an input impedence of 2.2K Ohms)...

[@OzSteve]

Great review. Also, where'd you get the wall art? looks good

[@carlitomelon4610]

I know that my friend Jim F was excitedly waiting for this review to drop. He bought the review unit! Happy listening Jim you've got a classic!!! Apparently Denafrips should have called it a DSP DAC. I Have the Ares2 and love it. 🎶🙂🎶

[@JB-ol3xo]

Notice that I seem to share many of your opinions on items you’ve reviewed that I’ve owned or listened to. From what I see you also enjoy a lot of the same music. Wondering if you would recommend a DAC for desktop headphone listening. Right now I’m switching between a Qutest and an Ares ii paired with a GSX Mini. Ideally looking for something R2R to replace the Ares as an upgrade while keeping the Qutest, price wise trying to keep it under $2k-$2.25k US.

[@bradpankow1112]

Pontus2 fits the bill and works wonderfully out here.

[@aabuahro]

Why won't you answer questions regarding the may dac in comparison to termi?

[@tfoksieloy]

That Pink Panther is hilarious. Now get one without a head.

[@soundsokok]

what is the best r2r dac so far you tried ? thks !

[@ScottoGrotto]

It might be good to put your favorite reference real sounding dac in the description of your dac reviews? We’d like to know :) Great review! It’s the paradox of measurements vs what sounds good to us :)

[@pascaljean2333]

It would be great to hear how you would compare this to the ares 2

[@ivanmelkner7704]

Hello, not sure if I missed something or it is missing. Comparison with May DAC and some signal measurements NOS etc. Thank you

[@ivanmelkner7704]

Taking back :)

[@gerihifi]

Thanks a lot for your awesome, detailed reviews - I LOVE IT! I would be very, very curious if you check this DAC/Streamer combis as well, like Cary Audio DSM 650 or Linn products (no one ever does, besides pure sponsored ones), Weiss DAC 501/503 or Auqa Accoustic LinQ - THANKS!

[@veniceog]

That comment regarding the change in positioning of the vocals between simple and complex passages sound like the effect of a compressor/limiter processor in recording/mastering. I hear it a lot even on vinyl.

[@jamesj9728]

Outstanding work. Thank you! I am in the market for a DAC and taking my sweet time. Your reviews are narrowing the field for me. Curious if you will ever review DACs that are part of a streamer solution like the Lumin X1 or new P1, or the Esoteric N-05XD? These are on my list because my current streamer is the latest Bluesound Node, which I read I can improve with a separate power supply and board. Knowing I could do so, add the May and finally "be there" is perhaps my answer, but I will always wonder if a one box solution could be more to my liking.

[@connorduke4619]

The Holo May will blast any streamer inbuilt Dac into smithereens. It is at a level streamer Dacs can no longer compete with.

[@jiyadas]

@@connorduke4619 I am really interested in the Holo May Kte but recently got the Matrix Audio X-SABRE 3 and its so good, so not sure which direction to take.

[@connorduke4619]

@@jiyadas Matrix Audio X-SABRE 3 is very good for a Delta-Sigma Dac, but Holo May is the best Dac of any type under $40k. So if you don't have the spare cash enjoy what you have, if you do have the spare cash, Holo May is definitely a step up.

[@jiyadas]

@@connorduke4619 I would still need a streamer and the Matrix doesn't have a digital output, not sure but maybe I could use the I2S to stream Roon to the Holo May? Cash is not the issue but I would be curious how much of a difference it would make. I may go for it as initially I was planning to get the Holo

[@connorduke4619]

@@jiyadas Exactly how/if to connect Matrix to Holo May, you should really confirm with Matrix customer support. With respect to Holo May Dac the sound difference will be very noticeable as it is a completely different Dac design and offers for the price (or anywhere it) an unparalleled realistic 3D soundstage. You should still listen to some demo's to see if you like it. Some people prefer something more scratchy and in their face like many Chord Dacs; the Holo May soundstage is behind the speakers and smoother with a 3D presentation rather than an in-your-face one. I personally (greatly) prefer the May but your own ears need to be happy. Here are some May demo's: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h53dpoKrrNONZpI , kzbin.info/www/bejne/iGPXpHWsjKmZeM0 , kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6ibemprndh2d6c , kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnyxio2uiayGg5o , kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4Gqh4CLhbiod6s , kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4bWdoeaqN-Io5I , kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6uqmGCfqt97qtE , kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHrZlahmhs6qoZo , kzbin.info/www/bejne/a16vdoysaMiEjMU

[@ericharrelson2045]

Are the factory metal feet removable? How was is it with the WA33 and AB1266 Phi TC, I'm considering this combo?

[@GoldenSound]

Nope they're not removeable as far as I could tell. Unfortunately you basically need a 2nd person to help you set this up

[@prabinpaudel5572]

Best wishes with your purchase. For that money I'd get weiss dac 502 and gsx mini for 1266 I think.. But I won't buy those things anytime soon so my wishes doesn't mean much lol. 😂 Check those out too tho. ☺

[@robertreynolds2212]

I managed to remove my feet & put some new ones. There’s some glue/paste you need to pull off.

[@ericharrelson2045]

@@robertreynolds2212 What kind of feet did you use?

[@ericharrelson2045]

@@prabinpaudel5572 Thanks for the advice. I already own the Terminator Plus DAC and Gaia DDC for my home setup but still need to add HP Amp and cans.

[@brianwood5220]

Loved this video as always packed with plenty of info. Can i request you to review a headphone amp. it's the SparkoS Labs, Aries. Andrew Sparko is always looking for people to review his products. Please do reach out to him. Once again, thanks for sharing.

[@d_dude_is_here]

Why no Sonnet Morpheus review yet ?

[@KuroshKhalili]

How do you compare it to Rockna Wavedream?

[@NeilBlanchard]

Absolute phase does need to be used when you are playing a recording that has inverted absolute phase. Music is asymmetrical as I'm sure you know, and it is easy enough to have it be inverted somewhere along the line. Now the lack of a remote (?) make the phase switch (much) less convenient. I assume it has dual power supply - one for digital input side, and one for the R2R output side?

[@GoldenSound]

That's true but also not something that you can necessarily know. Lots of tracks are inverted phase but unless it's explicitly documented somewhere it's not easy to check. Also quite a lot of music will have some aspects in inverted phase and others not. Unfortunately inverted phase is one of those things that's kinda impossible to have correct 100% of the time

[@NeilBlanchard]

@@GoldenSound Inverted absolute polarity sounds wrong - percussive instruments sound "blunted", and vocals have more sibilance while fricatives sound like they are being inhaled, rather than "popping" out. And it is easy to check in something like Audacity - the initial wave should always be upward. The *only* instrument that has an initial downward wave (aka a rarification) is a timpani drum. Virtually everything else *always* begins with a pressurization. I have found that hearing absolute phase is relatively easy to hear with an analog source, like LPs, and it is harder to hear with digital recordings. But some recordings are inverted, and that is why the phase button is there. Maybe these days it is harder to accidentally invert the polarity? If a recording is digital from the beginning, then maybe it can't be inverted accidentally?

[@drod491]

Great review! How would you compare this to the Aries 2? Is it worth 6times than the Res 2? TIA

[@pascaljean2333]

Also interested. I had ares 2, great dac

[@aceofspades6667]

You do know of the law of diminishing marginal returns correct? The curve is logarithmic not linear.

[@latheofheaven]

@@aceofspades6667 Well, THAT is a big help! 😁

[@latheofheaven]

Actually, I was quite curious about that too! WAY closer to my level of financial reality 😊

[@Sebastian_Athea]

Oh crap RebelAmp and Singxer in the same room, can you hear them buzzing at each other?

[@mehmetcamat4458]

how would you compare it to Holo May?

[@kumarsaurav9905]

Well I had similar experience with Sonnet Morpheus, simple Vocals with acoustic is in your head via headphone and complex songs will be more out of head

[@jim_wicks]

I want a DAC for my TEAC CD-P650 CD player into my vintage Pioneer hifi system. A DAC that punches above its price. Any DAC suggestions?

[@prabinpaudel5572]

Budget?

[@jim_wicks]

@@prabinpaudel5572 I have been considering the Cambridge DacMagic 100. So, under $300 is my budget. A DAC for the CD player and my iPad for streaming.

[@prabinpaudel5572]

@@jim_wicks smsl d300 could be a good buy.. It seems to have garnered pretty positive review. At least I'd buy that if I was in market for one.

[@prabinpaudel5572]

@@jim_wicks also in us audio mart pre box s1 of pro-ject is selling for 350. That's a good deal.

[@fatdoi003]

maybe the lower model Terminator 2 with Gaia and Terra clock will be the go?

[@aceofspades6667]

Would love for you to review the Aqua La Voce S3, Mola Mola Tambaqui, nagra Dac, Berkeley reference 1, ares cerat kassandra, Totaldac D1- and Audio Note DAC 5

[@verbatim_transfer]

a kassandra and dac 5 review would be bad ass. i'd only pair a dac 5 with other audio note gear tho. uh, if i was rich of course.

[@varindersingh7309]

Add Netherlands based ecdesigns 1200 Euro Power DAC R ( requiring no fancy streamer and power supply and even preamp) .. will be as good .. May outclass all these

[@verbatim_transfer]

@@varindersingh7309 i'll take a look into this power dac r. i've never heard of them.

[@michaelmityok1001]

Grest review thanks, have the Terminator II and when synched to a Hermes DDC via I2S it sounds better than USB straight but will check the channel swap lol, thanks for the tip 😀

[@arghadeepmisra7865]

What is NOS , Non Oversampling ? And how it is related to R2R ?

[@GoldenSound]

NOS means Non-Oversampling, which is the ability to play the audio at the native sample rate. This is something only R2R dacs can do. This is because R2R can convert at the native 16 or 24 bit depth, whereas Delta Sigma DACs cannot, usually having a converter that runs at between 1-5 bits. Basically, if the max output of your DAC was 1V, and a sample called for 80% or 0.8V output; - An R2R dac would simply output 0.8V, done. - A 1-bit delta sigma DAC would oversample and switch itself on/off a few thousand times, with it being 'on' about 80% of the time, so that when put through a capacitor/low-pass filter, it averages out to 0.8V Delta sigma cannot run without oversampling because it relies on speed for accuracy, and cannot convert natively at 16/24 bit

[@arghadeepmisra7865]

@@GoldenSound Thank you so much to taking your time out to explain.

[@Accuaro]

Pls review the Abyss Diana TC!

[@ScottoGrotto]

Great review! So what is a dac that you hear as “real” sounding? Not sure about the dsp being a reason not to compare the sound of one dac to another? They are boxes that convert digital to analog? Up sampling is dsp? Isn’t an FPGA essentially a software dac or dsp? I for one am open to hearing how this compares :) I’m personally often not a fan of how unnatural dsp can sound, though done very very well where it isn’t audibly detracting, I could accept it. Up sampling sounded so degrading or unnatural to me for a long time, like repeating bits that I’ve already heard? Or artificially interpolating something that is also not real. Maybe up sampling has improved? Your explanation of a problem with NOS on the T+ is interesting. I’m generally a fan of NOS. I’ve heard the Aries up sampling sounds better than it’s NOS mode too. A number of presenters at SoCal CanJam were using May stacks, they sounded good. I heard a Bartock Apex with and without a Lina clock with both ZMF Auteur Blackwoods and a Caldera. The difference with and without the clock was substantial on the dCS stack. Without the Lina clock the images are smaller with more apparent space and a bit of fiz in the spaces. Lina clock images are larger, more substantive, space is smaller between images, and space is blacker. Inspiring discussion is good :)

[@carminedesanto6746]

I’m listening to you on Olina IEM’s on the IFI Go Blue 🥳

[@arghadeepmisra7865]

By any chance can you tell me if you like the IFI sound on Olina ? & if you tried Apple 3.5mm Dac with it ? I modded the olina , the midrange lost all its flavour so I ditched the mod.

[@carminedesanto6746]

@@arghadeepmisra7865 I drive the Olina’s in balanced of the IFI Go Blue and it drives it really well. I modded the IEM’s..it was meh ( then again I’m almost 60 …so the hearing reflects it 🤣

[@arghadeepmisra7865]

@@carminedesanto6746 Do you think buying a Portable DAC is necessary with Olina ? I have apple 3.5 mm dac and its almost gets 80-85% volume level

[@carminedesanto6746]

@@arghadeepmisra7865 I run the IFI Go Blue in Bluetooth mode ( even on BT ) it sounds freaking awesome. As for the iPhone ( yes, I run an older 7+) and have found on many IEM’s it works ok..but I hate having to have my phone always on me. That’s why I run the IFI and it’s so damned convenient to use .

[@abhik6503]

Please review Gustard R26 R2R

[@10ozGold]

I have the Terminator II and also heard the Plus. It's very smooth...spacious, holographic, detailed, not ear fatiguing. How does Holo May's bass punchiness compared to the TPlus?

[@susokraut3169]

All these sound more distorted than a SOTA DAC for $100.

[@nespressoman]

@@susokraut3169 Prove it.

[@susokraut3169]

@@nespressoman Well measurements of many DACs, even as cheap as $100, show that they are transparent to the source. On the other hand, measurements of many R2R Dacs show that they are full of distortion. End of proof.

[@nespressoman]

@@susokraut3169 Aha. Have you heard the Holo Audio DACS or are you an armchair critic?

[@susokraut3169]

@@nespressoman In all the DACs I have have listened to, I could no discern any audible difference and I did some AB tests. Furthermore, theoretical reasoning tells you, if you have SNR below 96db, low noise and distortion as well as a linear frequency response, there is simply no room for sonic differences. I have seen measurements from the Holo DAC, which, surprisingly for an R2R DAC, has a very high SINAD rating, but still it will not sound better than any (much cheaper) competent DAC. If you are looking for audible improvements, got to the source (recording), the speakers (headphones) and room treatment, DACs and amps basically all sound the same.

[@eternalfantasy86]

The powdery white substance is not metal dust. They are abrasives from the sand blasting process that got trapped inside the screw holes that were not properly cleaned up.

[@hansbogaert4582]

Recently I have sold my Ares 2 model and moved up the ladder to a Venus ( just below the Terminater) So yes I like their DAC sound. My feedback is on the comments made that it doesn't make sense to add a Gaia because of the buffering in the Terminator. I have discussed this topic with Denafrips a few months ago and Alvin convinced me that even with the buffering in the DAC a more stable clock feeding the DAC does matter. Using a Raspberry PI to feed the Venus I added some modules from IAN canada to it ( I2S and reclocker). And while my brain still doesn't understand why, the reclocker does make a difference like Alvin claimed it would do. So there's something else we are bot overlooking ?

[@bradpankow1112]

The essence, in theory, is 'offshoring' of the reprocessing of misaligned clocks (source and DAC). Instead of two referees having a stopwatch to determine the final results of a race: there is an additional 'master' referee brokering the sound timing between both 'players.' Stake no claims to the benefit nor do I own a DDC (yet). Just an EE sharing an analogous thought of what a DDC should be supposedly accomplishing.

[@hansbogaert4582]

@@bradpankow1112 It's been 7 months after my comment. Thanks to Hans Beekhuizen and Guido Tent from Grim Audio I have gained more insight on this topic. It's the clock jitter in the audible frequency range that makes the difference, not the absolute clock stability ( femto) . If the decision moment to detect if a bit is 1 or 0 is shifted due to the jitter it will result in audible changes. Based on their info I have swapped my clocks with very low jitter clock modules.

[@bradpankow1112]

@@hansbogaert4582 Ah, the individual clock jitter that is audible. Makes sense. What type of device did you add? A change to the source? Or?

[@hansbogaert4582]

@@bradpankow1112 Changes were made on the streamer side. I have replaced my accusilicon clocks ( board mounted) for Neutrino clocks ( Danish brand, external modules ).

[@bradpankow1112]

@@hansbogaert4582 neat info- mind sharing brand? Was just aiming to add an external clock myself to PC streamer source as well. A USB PCE card made by Matrix. Noticeable gains since upgrade?

[@ppheanix]

Phase change should be at the rear. Just as other equipment; i.e. WiFi Routers, etc.

[@mobcrusher4193]

When is the atrium review coming?

[@matthewjoy1864]

I settled on a Spring 3 KTE w/preamp module largely based on your calculatedly thorough review. I look forward to its arrival. I like your reviews in spite of the fact that the only word one needs to describe goldensound's musical taste is vomit.

[@joshuabrain9751]

Lol I like some of his songs. Be prepared for 500 hours of burn in that’s with music playing not just unit in for the Spring 3 to become truly amazing.

[@dieterho]

I normally LOVE all your reviews but this one kept me being confused. For most parts you criticized this unit for several flaws but then constantly adding "if you buy this you will love it". This in my eyes and ears is not a good review, sorry. Even after watching all of it I was not sure either way. And then there were no comparisons to any other DACs. Is the Holo Spring 3 for example better/worse/equal ? This DAC is a very expensive 8500 and saying "i cannot compare it to anything else" does not really make sense, of course you could if you wanted to.

[@papapapaw]

I feel exactly the same.

[@robertreynolds2212]

I was waiting for his comparison with the May KTE, even though he’ll probably pick the May over it. Personally feel the T+ is a superior DAC & ultimately went with it after A/B testing w/ some Susvaras.

[@joshuabrain9751]

I mean he does compare aspects of them several times. The take away here is that the Terminator in his opinion is not a reference dac but is still very high performing and has a sound that’s very enjoyable.

[@peeper6785]

It's not difficult to grasp his logic - watch the review again. The T+ sounds great but it is not neutral hence not good for his reviewing purposes. In his opinion the less than textbook measurements cause the less than neutral sound. I think he describes the qualities of the T plus in enough detail to enable the viewer to make qualitative judgements for himself. If you watch the HMkte review you will see that it appears to be neutral and it obviously sounds great, in his opinion. It also measures extremely well. Watch both reviews and read between the lines. I suggest you also watch the Spring 3 kte review which compares it to the HMkte. I have the HS3kte and can confirm it is a great dac and in Hifi terms a great bargain. Good luck

[@OCDHIFiGuy]

$8500??? Direct from mainland China ? Are the buyers completely bonkers ? Meitner MA3 costs the same and he is a Digital Music Pioneer ! Don't be fools !! China poineers NOTHING in HiFi....! It's all copy cat junk...Wow...

[@O_D_O_U4YA]

Really appreciate your attempt at being honest and transparent, however, I feel that you’re glowing report of this device may be subconsciously biased by the fact that you need to sell it. Please don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that it is biased just start it maybe…

[@peeper6785]

That issue is addressed the review - he sold the dac before publishing the review

[@kingjongun7295]

terminator+ does weird but really good brrrrr

[@HungryEatNow]

You used serene as preamp wow wow, it must just be the holo magic lol...

[@wonderboy7768]

Are you crazy :D? A non-warmed up yggy?

[@turboking8229]

With all due respect- you are obviously a very sharp guy and do great, enjoyable reviews. But it is NOS. It just takes advantage of internal high speed architecture to interpolate and draw a straight line between (original) data points, rather than the traditional looking stair step waveform. The data points are not oversampled and there's nothing wrong with doing that. I built a 4x TDA1543 DAC years ago that did similar with 90 deg delays between DAC chips that each contributed 1/4 current to the output which drew a smaller step line between points basically. NOT oversampled, and not a big deal. It does move the ultrasonics around, which can be a good thing. And no, doing so doesn't introduce distortion in NOS mode. BTW your left side NOS image is NOT a true impulse, obviously.. And it doesn't matter where it came from. The Denafrips output is closer to a true impulse. A very high output impedance, well sort of. It's inline with pro audio specs actually, ~ 600R single ended. Just FYI, as an experiment I have attached a mu-metal core transformer output stage to the Tplus.. It didn't improve the sound. Feel free to try a buffer. However if you think about it, the preamp is the buffer basically, separated by the cable which does have impact of course (but either way, it's there). I also took that opportunity to measure the Zout. It was exactly as Denafrips stated. The Tplus is always smooth (doesn't shout at you) and in control. It's very nice. I listen to and compare to many excellent DACs. I don't hear any significant alterations in the music by the Tplus. They all sound different, very different in fact. I agree about the "outie" sharp feet. Denafrips has started to put the "innie" feet on instead, thankfully. They're easy to change out. Your comments about stage and such are also totally impacted by your preamp, amp not to mention the DAC supporting circuits as well (eg, output buffer, jitter, ..). Many DACs use op amps to create the voltage out. You can't just state its all attributable to the DAC topology, R2R vs Delta Sigma. And scr*w the usual measurements- they mean ~ nothing sonically.

[@YTjuanchicod]

A Delta sigma DAC with R2R holographicness??

[@davidpilon9433]

What do you think of this statement? Rob Watts said “It's absolutely impossible to cancel resistor mismatch as resistors age and have significant temperature coefficients too. Remember that to get -301dB 0.001dB amplitude accuracy you need matching to 400 dB that's0.00000000000000000001 % accuracy. Completely impossible to do this with R2R from matching POV - let alone the issue of signal correlated switching noise, which is another huge problem. There are plenty of people who prefer NOS and R2R DACs - but they are simply "enjoying" distortion.”

[@MMRSean]

That’s really interesting. So he’s essentially saying eventually all R2R dac’s will “break down”? Do you have a link to this I’d actually really love to read on it.

[@davidpilon9433]

@@MMRSean yes go at Headfi Hugo TT 2 by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread Page 952 Jun 22, 2021 at 6:12 AM Post #14,280 of 16,052

[@hansbogaert4582]

I have read the comments made in this thread , when my hearing is able to go to a level of -301 dB 0.001 Amplitude I will reconsider :-) I like the FPGA concept to, but it's also not perfect. just think, If it's perfect ....then why the need for software upgrades ? Regarding aging on resistors, yes they do age. But so do all electronic components in a device. Capacitors and tubes are known degrading components. There's theory and there's practice. All vendors build their devices on a certain lifespan. As long as the aging of the components falls in that timespan we're good. Conclusion. this is a bit of R2R DAC bashing to me.

[@keeferdog5617]

If you like “kick drums” listen to Train’s cover of Moby Dick. Killer drum solo. Kick drums and cymbals are mastered excellently. They cover the complete album of Led Zeppelin ll. You can thank me later…

[@coin777]

A month to late. The price went up 25%

[@pjlett1754]

I don’t agree it is better then the David or anything close in price

[@RossKyle95]

Much R2R brrrt

[@chrisp.916]

If you buy an expensive DAC, you need to consult

[@lesarnolfinis6775]

I fail to follow his logic. R2R dacs introduce distortion (aliasing in the frequency domain) for a perfect impulse response and he likes them. I think it is indeed a valid trade off. I love them too. MQA does the same thing pretty much but suddenly, it is unacceptable by principle; no listening test required. He gives a chance listening to the R2R dac so why could he not do a listening review of MQA and talk about what it sounds like.

[@GoldenSound]

The aliasing is not related to R2R DACs. This is related to the oversampling/reconstruction filter. R2R DACs are capable of operating with no oversampling which does cause aliasing so it's a common misconception but it's not r2r itself. An R2R DAC with a proper oversampling filter will have no aliasing. And many delta sigma DACs as well will have a filter that will cause aliasing. As to MQA, the issue there is that their marketing claims are false and misleading. It's a malicious business practice. From a sound quality standpoint I find mqa is usually either almost identical to or slightly poorer than lossless. But WAYYYY better than MP3.

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

no subtitles make me a Sad Panda bew hew hew T_T

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

hey all right, subtitles! thank you Golden-Man

[@labalo5]

“…unless your catalog is entirely positive…”. Steve Huff. He won’t review anything he “doesn’t like”. (Kind of like how many dealers say they only sell the best. Facepalm. ) Ever notice how he has SO MANY gear to review? Manufactures love sending him stuff. And laughing all the way to the bank. He wasn’t making that much on photo reviews so go to the next game. This channel is complete opposite of all them.

[@latheofheaven]

Yep, don't particularly care for him either...

[@yellow_noise3]

Thank you for great review. You didnt tell this but I will... KTE May Dac is >3k$ cheaper then this. And sounds better in all aspects. And measures better. And NOS is real NOS. Thank you.

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

Well there is a brand new terminator now, so he really should of reviewed that.

[@backrack01]

@@enjoshi-godrez8775 when did they come out with a brand new Terminator?

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

@@backrack01 no idea but steave Gutenberg reviewed it recently.

[@cjay2]

All of the selections except for the classical one at 17.30 are compressed. You can see it easily by opening up the sound track of this video on any audio editor (I use Audition 3 and iZotopeRX7) and look at those selections. The one at 8.30 is seriously compressed just after that 3 second 'intro', and that rap thing at 20.00 is not only compressed but also bass-ducked, rendering it unlistenable to my ears. It's the mastering stage where this crap is occurring and it makes the 'music' boring and tedious. ALL corporate-music output has been compressed and often clipping since about 1995, and practically ALL 'remasters' done by corporate interests are completely brick-walled and clipped from that time out. They call it 'the loudness wars', but that is BS, they're doing it on purpose. The only way to get natural sounding music is to go back to the original vinyls, CDs issued from before 1995-ish, or buy CDs and SACDs done ONLY by independent re-issuers such as DCC, Analog Sounds, and MFSL. The only selection worthy of evaluating this DAC is that classical selection. The rest are faulty from the start. Just saying.

[@verbatim_transfer]

It sucks what they have done to the music! Bastards.

[@carminedesanto6746]

You sound great ..but that first musical demo 🤢

[@mrpmj00]

I love my Denafrips Ares II 12th so much that I added the Denafrips Iris 12th. I decided to keep going and upgraded from the Ares to the Denafrips Pontus II 12th-1 and use it with the Iris 12th. Apple Music lossless My video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWWsiJujoLCmrK8