[sygnus21]

The video review is "Denafrips Ares II R2R DAC Review - Do R2R DACs really sound better?"
at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66wb3D_kaCM&t=1s
and seemed like a positive review to me until you read some of his replies to comments where I get the impression he doesn't especially like R2R DACs. Anyway the "2/3 second" comment came from @andersonsampaio5133

I'm not putting any stock in that comment; And especially one without any relevancy. That's me

BTW, I trust Lachlan's (Passion for Sound) videos, and also, the reason I'm interested in the Denafrips Atemis Headphone amp.

 

[Melorin]

Have anyone tried Ares 12th I2S input if it really accepts only DSP64 DoP?

 

[audiot]

Ares 12th-1 ordered. I fell asleep on the couch last night, woke up after midnight and went into a sort of automatic mode. I got up and got my credit card, placed the order and went to bed. A "thank you" email from Alvin was waiting for me this morning.

 

[GiFi]

ahahahhahahahaha
Nice Job!

 

[JerryLeeds]

Is there anyone from America who has purchased something from Magna HiFi? (Located in Europe). Did you get zapped having to pay extra for custom fees to the shipper?

I’ve ordered quite a few things from China without getting hit with this extra charge.

 

[audiot]

My silver Ares 12th-1 arrived via FedEx today just 8 days after I placed the order. I had some new Blue Jeans XLR cables ready to plug into my Parasound Halo amp and got it plugged in and fired up pretty quickly. I used Audirvana software on my Mac mini to play CD rips from my own library via USB. The initial sound was a little harsh but the Ares was still cold from 50's F outside temperature. The sound quickly improved as the DAC warmed up and pretty soon Led Z's "Whole Lotta Love" was swishing around the room like I never heard it before. I went through my CD rips and played all kinds of music. Sonic balance is very, very good and I was able to play music loud for several hours without ear fatigue. That is something my ears could never tolerate before. At one point I was marveling at how realistic a snare drum sounded, then how easy it was to understand some lyrics that used to be a bit mushy. Mary Gauthier's voice, already a bit forward in the mix, was right in front of my face singing "Mercy Now" bringing tears to me eyes once I overcame the fear of this new found intimacy. In other words, yes, yes, yes! And they say it gets better after a week or two. Wow!

 

[ctrlm]

My silver Ares 12th-1 arrived via FedEx today just 8 days after I placed the order. I had some new Blue Jeans XLR cables ready to plug into my Parasound Halo amp and got it plugged in and fired up pretty quickly. I used Audirvana software on my Mac mini to play CD rips from my own library via USB. The initial sound was a little harsh but the Ares was still cold from 50's F outside temperature. The sound quickly improved as the DAC warmed up and pretty soon Led Z's "Whole Lotta Love" was swishing around the room like I never heard it before. I went through my CD rips and played all kinds of music. Sonic balance is very, very good and I was able to play music loud for several hours without ear fatigue. That is something my ears could never tolerate before. At one point I was marveling at how realistic a snare drum sounded, then how easy it was to understand some lyrics that used to be a bit mushy. Mary Gauthier's voice, already a bit forward in the mix, was right in front of my face singing "Mercy Now" bringing tears to me eyes once I overcame the fear of this new found intimacy. In other words, yes, yes, yes! And they say it gets better after a week or two. Wow!

Thanks!

Are you using NOS or OS? Have you tried both?

 

[David A Silva]

My silver Ares 12th-1 arrived via FedEx today just 8 days after I placed the order. I had some new Blue Jeans XLR cables ready to plug into my Parasound Halo amp and got it plugged in and fired up pretty quickly. I used Audirvana software on my Mac mini to play CD rips from my own library via USB. The initial sound was a little harsh but the Ares was still cold from 50's F outside temperature. The sound quickly improved as the DAC warmed up and pretty soon Led Z's "Whole Lotta Love" was swishing around the room like I never heard it before. I went through my CD rips and played all kinds of music. Sonic balance is very, very good and I was able to play music loud for several hours without ear fatigue. That is something my ears could never tolerate before. At one point I was marveling at how realistic a snare drum sounded, then how easy it was to understand some lyrics that used to be a bit mushy. Mary Gauthier's voice, already a bit forward in the mix, was right in front of my face singing "Mercy Now" bringing tears to me eyes once I overcame the fear of this new found intimacy. In other words, yes, yes, yes! And they say it gets better after a week or two. Wow!

And it will continue improving for the next few weeks after that. Congrats on your purchase, and enjoy your tunes!

 

[audiot]

Thanks!

Are you using NOS or OS? Have you tried both?

I'm using the default which I think is OS fast. I was so excited to get the Ares and try it out that I didn't even think about OS/NOS. I've got some old Stones "Factory Girl" on now. Before that The Notting Hillbillies sounded fantastic, before that Shaggy, and some classical. I have quite an eclectic taste. I'll move on to playing with the OS filter and NOS later but for now I'm too busy enjoying my new toy straight out of the box.

 

[Marlowe]

My silver Ares 12th-1 arrived via FedEx today just 8 days after I placed the order.

Coincidentally, my black Ares 12th-1 also arrived today via FedEx, but my shipping was much faster. Where do you live? I ordered it last Wednesday from Vinshine in Singapore and it shipped on Friday, within the 1-2 day window as promised but not from Singapore as I expected but from Guangzhou, China (I assume directly from Denafrips, which is located there). It was delivered this morning (Monday) in New Jersey. Can't argue with that. It probably helps that I live only a few miles from Newark Airport.

I've been listening through the day with the Hifiman Arya Stealth through the Monolith Liquid Platinum (which I plan to replace in a few months--I'm saving), streaming Qobuz from my laptop through USB. I listened to some of my favorite albums that I know very well: The Who's Who's Next, Joni Mitchell's Blue, Van Morrison's Moondance, Lou Reed's Transformer, Echo & The Bunnymen's Heaven Up Here. FWIW, I think these were all 24-bit versions. (I didn't listen to Whole Lotta Love, but almost got to Led Zeppelin IV, but we'll do that one tomorrow.) I'm not good at describing sound, and it certainly wasn't (and I didn't expect) a night and day difference from the pretty decent delta sigma Topping D90 (OG AKM 4499 version) that it replaced. There did seem to be a bit better separation and depth in the soundstage and it seemed to add a tiny bit of welcome warmth to the Arya Stealth and bass guitars were just slightly more present. Which is good since a lack of bass quantity is one of the very few nits I can pick with the Arya (though bass quality is wonderful).

 

[audiot]

Coincidentally, my black Ares 12th-1 also arrived today via FedEx, but my shipping was much faster. Where do you live? I ordered it last Wednesday from Vinshine in Singapore and it shipped on Friday, within the 1-2 day window as promised but not from Singapore as I expected but from Guangzhou, China (I assume directly from Denafrips, which is located there). It was delivered this morning (Monday) in New Jersey. Can't argue with that. It probably helps that I live only a few miles from Newark Airport.

I've been listening through the day with the Hifiman Arya Stealth through the Monolith Liquid Platinum (which I plan to replace in a few months--I'm saving), streaming Qobuz from my laptop through USB. I listened to some of my favorite albums that I know very well: The Who's Who's Next, Joni Mitchell's Blue, Van Morrison's Moondance, Lou Reed's Transformer, Echo & The Bunnymen's Heaven Up Here. FWIW, I think these were all 24-bit versions. (I didn't listen to Whole Lotta Love, but almost got to Led Zeppelin IV, but we'll do that one tomorrow.) I'm not good at describing sound, and it certainly wasn't (and I didn't expect) a night and day difference from the pretty decent delta sigma Topping D90 (OG AKM 4499 version) that it replaced. There did seem to be a bit better separation and depth in the soundstage and it seemed to add a tiny bit of welcome warmth to the Arya Stealth and bass guitars were just slightly more present. Which is good since a lack of bass quantity is one of the very few nits I can pick with the Arya (though bass quality is wonderful).

Congrats on your new Ares! Mine sat in Guangzhou, China for 2 days waiting for a FedEx pickup. The next day it was in Oakland, CA, next day Portland, OR, Sunday nothing happened, and then delivery to my small Oregon town on Monday. Sometimes shippers take an extra day just to get stuff to my little town but I was lucky this time.

For me there was a HUGE difference between my old $100 DAC (Schiit original modi) compared to the Ares so it really was a night and day difference. In a way I was fortunate to have been deprived of great sound because it made the upgrade that much more exciting. I'm sorry that you already had a decent DAC! LOL! I haven't listened to my Hifiman Sundaras yet, only to my Salk HT2-TL tower speakers (love the sound). I've only been playing my ripped CD files but I'll try some actual CDs today using the coax input. I stream from Qobuz a lot but I first wanted to hear old pre "loudness wars" music, and that is getting harder to find on Qobuz as the old stuff keeps getting replaced by compressed remasters, but that is a topic for some other discussion in a different thread. Happy listening!

 

[audiot]

To answer my own question from Sept. 17, there is no audio delay when using the optical input from a TV to the Ares 12th-1. In fact there is not even a bit of echo effect when both the TV and the Ares are producing sound, so there is no delay in case anyone was wondering.

 

[jazzzy]

I grabbed mine slightly used like new and it came two yesterday. I am waiting for proper cables to connect my preamp but right now even running from RCA-SE 3.5 it does sound very spacious and not so compressed as delta sigma. New headphones are 'burning' so soon will get more pleasure from listening.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Is there anyone from America who has purchased something from Magna HiFi? (Located in Europe). Did you get zapped having to pay extra for custom fees to the shipper?

I’ve ordered quite a few things from China without getting hit with this extra charge.

You could ask in the Audio-gd threads, a lot of American guys have bought from Magna.

 

[jazzzy]

what amp/preamp would you recommend for IEMs ?