Good to hear, Jay. Awesome! Enjoy the new sound!
I am a visual guy, picture paints a thousand words
I am a visual guy, picture paints a thousand words
Denafrips product owners please fall in
- Thread starter Abyss Man
- Start date
Hi all. Here is my small review of Venus II DAC:
First, let me explain why I decided to try Venus II. I was quite happy with my previous DAC in my setup (Simaudio Moon 380D dsd), but when I added Denafrips Gaia as DDC between Moon and Aurender streamer last year, something happened. I was aware of fact, that DDC can improve sound quality (as my former DDC Matrix audio X-SPDIF2), but this time it was GREAT update sonically, not subtle as with Matrix. For details see my review of GAIA on Denafrips web (Nov 9, 2020 post). After good experience with GAIA I was very curious what Denafrips DAC could do with sound of my setup. I decided to try Venus II model, which seemed to be not fair rival to twice as priced Moon 380D, but who knows…
Built quality:
Built quality of Venus II is great (and I expected this as GAIA owner). Aluminum housing is nicely finished with no sharp edges and minimum visible screws, quite hefty for the size. Front panel buttons have accurate, firm tactile feel. Brightness of LEDs on the front panel is just right. Number of inputs is great, I do like two AES/EBU inputs, as this is my preferred input so far and I have bunch of decent quality AES/EBU cables to test... The only feature I am missing is remote control.
Sound quality:
As always, my critical listening and comparison began after I was sure that unit is properly burned-in, which, in this case took about three weeks of non-stop playback. All my evaluation of sound quality applies to NOS mode, balanced output to amp and AES/EBU input from GAIA (I do have brand new I2S HDMI cable, but it is not burned in yet, so it would be not fair comparison to other inputs).
Sound is very detailed, micro and macro dynamic are great, soundstage is believable wide and 3D rendering of good recordings is best I have ever heard in my listening room. Timbre of acoustic instruments is accurate, human voices are very natural with real focus. Bass is controlled and goes very deep. Mids. are sweet (although not as sweet as on Moon DAC) and high frequencies are detailed and crisp but not harsh. Overall sound character in my setup is quite neutral, not too bright or too soft. Just right. Or take it this way. Bright recording sounds bright, dull recording sounds dull, but good recording sounds unbelievable real!
Comparison to Moon 380D dsd:
Moon 380D dsd is great DAC with almost no apparent flaw, but overall sound is quite soft compared to Venus II. In fact, after several weeks of listening to Venus, too soft. Venus II has better macro dynamic, bass has better punch and goes slightly deeper. High frequencies are in par, but again Moon has slightly softer presentation. Soundstage on Venus is little bit deeper and more realistic. The only thing, which Moon does better in my setup are mids. Moon can render mid frequencies with unique sweetness, which is hard to describe. But that’s it. I have to say that Venus II is (at least in my setup) better DAC!
Conclusion:
Venus II DAC represents exceptional value for the money. Great sound and built quality can compete with much more expensive converters.
First, let me explain why I decided to try Venus II. I was quite happy with my previous DAC in my setup (Simaudio Moon 380D dsd), but when I added Denafrips Gaia as DDC between Moon and Aurender streamer last year, something happened. I was aware of fact, that DDC can improve sound quality (as my former DDC Matrix audio X-SPDIF2), but this time it was GREAT update sonically, not subtle as with Matrix. For details see my review of GAIA on Denafrips web (Nov 9, 2020 post). After good experience with GAIA I was very curious what Denafrips DAC could do with sound of my setup. I decided to try Venus II model, which seemed to be not fair rival to twice as priced Moon 380D, but who knows…
Built quality:
Built quality of Venus II is great (and I expected this as GAIA owner). Aluminum housing is nicely finished with no sharp edges and minimum visible screws, quite hefty for the size. Front panel buttons have accurate, firm tactile feel. Brightness of LEDs on the front panel is just right. Number of inputs is great, I do like two AES/EBU inputs, as this is my preferred input so far and I have bunch of decent quality AES/EBU cables to test... The only feature I am missing is remote control.
Sound quality:
As always, my critical listening and comparison began after I was sure that unit is properly burned-in, which, in this case took about three weeks of non-stop playback. All my evaluation of sound quality applies to NOS mode, balanced output to amp and AES/EBU input from GAIA (I do have brand new I2S HDMI cable, but it is not burned in yet, so it would be not fair comparison to other inputs).
Sound is very detailed, micro and macro dynamic are great, soundstage is believable wide and 3D rendering of good recordings is best I have ever heard in my listening room. Timbre of acoustic instruments is accurate, human voices are very natural with real focus. Bass is controlled and goes very deep. Mids. are sweet (although not as sweet as on Moon DAC) and high frequencies are detailed and crisp but not harsh. Overall sound character in my setup is quite neutral, not too bright or too soft. Just right. Or take it this way. Bright recording sounds bright, dull recording sounds dull, but good recording sounds unbelievable real!
Comparison to Moon 380D dsd:
Moon 380D dsd is great DAC with almost no apparent flaw, but overall sound is quite soft compared to Venus II. In fact, after several weeks of listening to Venus, too soft. Venus II has better macro dynamic, bass has better punch and goes slightly deeper. High frequencies are in par, but again Moon has slightly softer presentation. Soundstage on Venus is little bit deeper and more realistic. The only thing, which Moon does better in my setup are mids. Moon can render mid frequencies with unique sweetness, which is hard to describe. But that’s it. I have to say that Venus II is (at least in my setup) better DAC!
Conclusion:
Venus II DAC represents exceptional value for the money. Great sound and built quality can compete with much more expensive converters.
I've just ordered Tubulus Argentus HDMI cable yesterday. Two weeks to wait... Hope it was right choice for my Gaia + Venus II combo. Already sounds great, so I am quite curious what can this HDMi cable bring to table.
What burn in time period do Tubulus owners recommend for this cable?
What burn in time period do Tubulus owners recommend for this cable?
Argentus is a great choice. After you complete burn in on that cable, go back and swap between NOS and OS and see which one you prefer with the Argentus in place.
It think it sounds very good in both NOS and OS, but I found the Argentus to be most complementary with OS. I think the Argentus is a full-bodied sound while the OS is more open, detailed and airy, so they are synergistic.
Of course, there is no right or wrong answer- your ears, system, music preferences is all that counts. It is nice to have options though with a simple push of a button or swap of a cable.
Hi Blake,
I sooooo agree with you man. I kinda stumbled on OS on the TP and it really is darn damn good. I was not a fan of OS anything but the TP has changed this now. I was also toying arnd with some footers and found that the TP reacts quiet a bit to certain footers as does the Gaia. I now have 6 Cold Ray footers on the Gaia, 3 of them concentrated on where the transformer is and boy did that make a difference. Music is very nicely focused now. I love my life. LOL.
Hi Blake,
What footers are u using on the TP? If I may. I’m using Cerabase now, wondering about stillpoint.
I think the footers under a DAC can play a big role.
My principle would be to look for something to drain internal vibrations out of the DAC. Like the Taiko Daiza platform does.
I'm using pumice stone blocks with little brass plates on top under my Terminatior and the effect is very impressive.
c*
Hi,
I see you are also using the IKEA bamboo butcher boards. I'm using a few too.
Hey Raj,
Under the TPlus, I am using Stillpoints Ultra's (2 aluminum version, 1 stainless steel- not intentionally, just ended to with a mix of Aluminum and Stainless steel versions). Mapleshade platform, and then the Mapleshade platforms are sitting on Boston Audio Tune Blocks.
Oh, and then I installed IsoAcoustic's Stage 1 footers on the audio rack/table on which all the gear is installed (stock pic from IsoAcoustics, not my rack):
I had to flip them the other way around, here they are in my system:
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fis Magic Spacer
Resonances are derived from a ball.Various balls are available for different resonance frequencies:
- Glass
- Rose quartz
- Steel
Thanks Blake,
Currently eagerly awaiting the arrival of my Tellurium Silver Diamond XLR. Traded in my Black Diamond. Just got word that Tellurium are going to release a Statement version of their USB cable. Looks like a another trade-in is in the pipeline. Currnetly running 2xSD USB . Hope its not too expensive though, but with Tellurium every jump is usually 2x. Ouch!!!!!!
The Tellurium cables look incredibly nice. Expensive, yes, but from what I've read online, they really are exceptional in terms of sound quality.
Hi, great thread so far!
As I’ve dived down the deep end again into my music system, I currently have an Ares II but also an MSB S202 (way different price ranges but I got an offer to trade in my S201 that I couldn’t pass up!).
Does anyone have experience comparing the Terminator + to MSB Dacs? Does the TP compare with the Direct Dac (I believe the same price range) or even the Premiere? Or is it more of a fair comparison of the TP and Gaia vs the range of MSB dacs?
Considering the Zenith MK III as the server streamer.
As I’ve dived down the deep end again into my music system, I currently have an Ares II but also an MSB S202 (way different price ranges but I got an offer to trade in my S201 that I couldn’t pass up!).
Does anyone have experience comparing the Terminator + to MSB Dacs? Does the TP compare with the Direct Dac (I believe the same price range) or even the Premiere? Or is it more of a fair comparison of the TP and Gaia vs the range of MSB dacs?
Considering the Zenith MK III as the server streamer.
You might have already watched this, but in case you have not, the reviewer here mentions MSB DAC's in his review:
One of the big selling points of the Terminator Plus is the ability to engage the clock out feature, to the upstream DDC and the only professional review I have seen using a TPlus/Gaia combo is 6Moons. I wish that some of the reviews out there of the Terminator Plus would use this feature as it brings a very nice further improvement and it is using the TPlus to its full potential. I was shocked by the additional improvement and things were already very good with just the Terminator Plus by itself. I think if the professional reviewers would experiment with upstream clocking, the TPlus would be even more impressed.
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Watched that one before but he doesn't really say much about the differences, just his preference of the Terminator vs the Premier DAC. Also his system may not be revealing enough to give an accurate comparison between the two. Wondering if anyone has done a side by side comparison.
very impressed with T plus + Gaia with my Field coil speakers. Best DAC so far....very very happy with it.
Some sound impression of Dac.
Some sound impression of Dac.
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