Oh my, oh my - Aries Cerat Helene DAC

I can't stay silent - today we received Helene DAC, "baby" DAC from Aries Cerat. What a baby, what a beauty. From the very fist second the sound was sublime, digital rarely gets better than this - in form of Kassandra DAC only probably. I am not saying this lightly, just compare Helene to all the big guns, you would be surprised. Rich, transparent sound, real body of instruments, timbre to die for, as analog as possible, but most importantly, natural music flow, touching your heart and soul. Be warned, after listening you might need to sell some very expensive equipment. But there is solution - you buy Kassandra LE, thus may be less painful.
 
From a Munich report: Aries Cerat launched the Helene DAC with eight R2R ladder converters and a single ended output at €12,800.

My wish list for a DAC includes integrated Ethernet, though.
 

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Using the Genus as a headphone amp and the Helene as the source it sound like a truly reference setup for under 50k

Actually, 12.8 + 15 = 27.8K Euros. Depending on outside of EU maybe less as VAT.
Job done. Both world class headphone system and top flight integrated amplifier for speakers.
 
It's not easy to top a $50k headphone rig in price either...

Well, most headphone rigs don't have a DAC, so we can take out the 12.8K. Also all the headphone amps I have heard don't touch the Genus. I have heard a lot of the best ones. I am going to Can-Jam in London in 3 weeks, so see if that has changed. But I don't expect it has. The nearest to date was the Viva Egoista but it wasn't as good IMO.

And on the Genus, you get a top flight integrated that has real high end sonics and drive. The HP facility is included.
 
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I'm not the one who suggested a $50k headphone rig. And you need a DAC, right? Anyhow, here's the best headphone amp I've ever heard: DNA Stellaris. Besides the tone and technicalities of this amp, there is no other amp I've heard that fleshes out the instruments within the soundstage. I.e., this amp doesn't just have a 3D soundstage, but the individual instruments within the soundstage have an incredibly lifelike 3d palpability themselves. It's rather remarkable. I'd be very, very curious to hear the Aries Cerat in comparison. The Stellaris amp is under $10K though, so a veritable bargain, I suppose?
 
Are there any Aries Cerat dealers in South Florida? Would love to trade up from my PS Audio Directstream DAC. There are no places I know of nearby to listen to some this board's favorite DACs

Aries Cerat
Lampizator
Aqua Formula
etc.
 
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It's not easy to top a $50k headphone rig in price either...

I think I didn't extrapolate the point of it being optional. If you purchased the Helene and the Genus as a combo for a 2 channel system it is already reference level, but if you at some point added a pair of cans you would have one, if not, the best headphone setup out there as a compliment to the main rig if not buying as a standalone headphone system
 
Are there any Aries Cerat dealers in South Florida? Would love to trade up from my PS Audio Directstream DAC. There are no places I know of nearby to listen to some this board's favorite DACs

Aries Cerat
Lampizator
Aqua Formula
etc.

Aries Cerat is sold in the USA direct with a few audition centers. Unfortunately nothing in South Florida or nearby
 
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I would include TotalDac in the list above of top flight DACs to audition in Florida. I am in North Florida but would drive anywhere in Florida to hear one of these cutting-edge DAC's in a good environment. Flew out to Denver to attend RMAF in October specifically to listen to one of these DAC's but very difficult to make a buying decision at these price levels on the sound you hear in a small hotel room. Not impossible as some rooms can sound very good.
 
Guys, make yourself a favor, find out where to listen to Aries Cerat Helene. It is not just another DAC, it is music making machine. Very rare animal. Worth extra effort to listen to.

My 2c.
Vess
 
Hi guys quick question. The Helene is a single ended design? Are the balanced outputs in the pictures an option? Thanks.
 
I was asking myself same question, when I listened to Helene, before receiving the Kassandra II. The former sounded so good, I was wondering how the latter would fit in the range.

From the second I heard Kassandra II, everything was clear. However good is Helene, and it is crazy good, the Kassandra II is different animal altogether. I was told Russian saying - the better is enemy of the good. How true - every aspect of the sound was markedly better, blacker background, bigger sound stage, space and air around instruments much better, voices so beautiful and more real, and what matters - touching your heart and soul in a very different , much better way.

So, no fear - the more you pay, the better sound you get with Aries Cerat. This is not common truth for all manufacturers. Quite the opposite - this is rare exception, where all products are positioned with razor sharp precision, and there is explanation - Stavros started this company with the right product- mighty Contendo speaker, letting you hear Femto details and never go wrong with judging electronics , in front of them.

How many manufacturers go the extra mile ...

Whether you trust my opinion is your perception, but at least we have already four different levels of Aries Cerat systems. So, next to Stavros, I believe we are most equipped to test , demo and advise. All this in at least 5 high end systems with 5 or 6 different speakers.

Vess, reporting from Sofia
 
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