Part 01 - Denafrips Pontus II & Iris Review - worth the upgrade?

[@johnratcliffe6438]

This is exactly the combination I am thinking about for my headphone station. Trying to decide between this and the new Schiit Yggdrassil LiM.

[@keeferdog5617]

THE PONTUS II IS SIMPLY THE BEST “DAC FOR THE JACK”

[@ColocasiaCorm]

Great analogies! Liked your review very much thanks!

[@ColocasiaCorm]

Gettin one today if usps can keep their shit together

[@darrenburtoft1792]

Nice review, thanks 👍🏻

[@johntan7405]

How come your unit has four feet? Mine has three.

[@SmartCaster]

mine too

[@johnratcliffe6438]

Early version. All current versions have 3 feet.

[@kerryvanderkamp5051]

Another great review on equipment I’m looking at. Your channel seems to have the highest hit rate for me in that regard and I’ve been a long time subscriber as a result. I also appreciate the collabs you’ve done with MrAyrit and the tips on buying/selling equipment. In that vein, any chance you’ll be parting ways with this DAC in the near/medium term and looking for a potential buyer? I might be able to save you the PayPal fees if it works out. 🙂

[@SineCraftAudio]

Hey Kerry, thanks for the kind words! Let's get connected, are you on Head-fi or any other community?

[@johnratcliffe6438]

Great upload, thanks. Subbed.

[@joeldouris9418]

Great review. I had the Border Patrol SE-i and the Pontus II at the same time last year. Ended up sticking with the Border Patrol because I liked the warmth/texture of the bass better. But it was a tough call for me. Interested if you have thoughts between those two DACs?

[@SineCraftAudio]

Thanks Joel! Yes, I actually compared them sides as well and ultimately decided that I preferred that Pontus. As you know I'm a huge fan of the BP (and it does have great bass presentation) but that added resolution from the Pontus won me over. I'm not sure that I would recommend one over the other universally, as with all thing in this hobby it depends on personal taste, budget, and most importantly equipment synergy. What headphones and amp are you running primarily.

[@yaniv-nos-tubes]

just got the bp se i ,2 weeks ago, sounds great ,i almost bought the ares 12th +iris but guttenberg saved me and i'm very happy he did. can you even remotely compare those designs? the se i is beautiful ,handwired in usa by the designer himself and it looks like a high end component because it is. the pontus is an ugly generic big box meant to make you upgrade in a few months. the decision between a warm lush rich tone that makes me happy to a brighter dac with more resolution was a no brianer but since youtube is such a chi fi mecca... the se i is my endgame dac i love the sound through my buchardts, through my nighthawks and hd 700 headphones.

[@djradman6794]

Nice!! What is source you are pairing with this?

[@SineCraftAudio]

Qobuz primarily

[@djradman6794]

Ahh ok, what streamer do you have with the pontus? I currently have the bluesound Node2i with the ares ii n thinking of upgrading to the pontus. With the pontus would u feel it can be an end dac without having to upgrade in the future? I don’t wanna spend over $2k

[@SpaceEncounter]

How does the Pontus compare to the RME ADI-2 DAC?

[@SineCraftAudio]

I'm team R2R al day. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4exZ2tor9epfLs

[@juneguts]

Interested in seeing a comparison between this and an mhdt pagoda with 6922 tubes (about the same price as the pontus) i haven't seen any direct comparisons and i think it would be a fascinating apples to apples comparison whereas when people compare pontus and mhdt orchid it really feels like a pontus vs bordercontrol comparison which is more of a flavor difference before you get into the tech

[@davidfriedman5154]

I too have have a pagoda single ended with Ericsson tube. Love that the Mhdt is sweet and great low end bass but after one year listening I feel I'm missing resolution.

[@juneguts]

@@davidfriedman5154 Interesting thank you

[@davidfriedman5154]

I since sold pagoda, tried Pontus and didn't love it (single ended on Pontus is suboptimal) and am currently enjoying a chord Qutest. The Pagoda was sweeeet but the Qutest is more resolving and tighter bass. Better than Pontus or Pagoda, for me and my system.

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

daaaaaaaamn he really said "aluminium"

[@PhotographyInFlight4183]

Calm down son.

[@SmartCaster]

I have it, but with 3 legs on the bottom

[@random_ramblings]

Popped my cherry. 1st view, 1st comment, 1st like!😊

[@falcogol3451]

pls compare it to border patrol and chord stuff. thanks

[@SineCraftAudio]

Major oversimplification but I'd say the Chord stuff offers the more resolution and definition and Border Patrol has the greatest sense of fluidity and naturalness. Pontus is in the middle. More detail than BP, less ridged than Chord.

[@falcogol3451]

@@SineCraftAudio very insightful 👌

[@rhodey2952]

What amp did you use?

[@SineCraftAudio]

I tried it with several amps. Tubes and solid state.