Beautiful review Tharbarmar….much appreciated. Your intimate and realistic setting, as well as your down to earth experience based perspective on the Pontus II are very enjoyable and informative. You do such good work. Thank you.
What digital transport were you using before you added the iris? I have an iFi Zen Stream as my digital transport and started out using coax with my Pontus II and then tried USB with an iFi Purifier USB that cleans up the signal some and it sounds even better than coax. Since the Zen Stream is so clean already AND I use the iFi Purifier I have to wonder how much a DDC would do for me. Would be interesting know what you were using and if it was a computer where you would no doubt see improvement if so.
@@sean_heisler I have the Pontus 2 as well as the Zen Stream. Also have the Denafrips Hermes DDC in line which cleans and reclocks all my digital sources, and allows them all to be fed to the Pontus via I2S. Zen Stream is an excellent source for the money, and while I doubt you would see a huge improvement with a DDC, there still should be some incremental benefits. I'm also running a linear power supply for my ZenStream, one from LHY Audio. The difference's magnitude will probably also be contingent upon how highly resolving the rest of your system is... In my case I'm also running a Denafrips Athena and Apollo driving Tekton double impact speakers. Hope this info helps.
@@toddt5562 Thanks, Todd! Great info. Really good info as I’ve been thinking about a linear PSU for my zen stream as well. I figured both upgrades would likely be incremental and not transformative. I do have a resolving system - Musical Paradise tube preamp, Odyssey Khartago SE amp and Usher Dancer Mini-X Diamond speakers with proper setup well pulled out and room treatments. I think might actually go for a new PSU for the Zen Stream first. Thanks!
The effective delay of the digital buffer is variable and shifts with turning on/off and switching input. Could be that you have just not hit a large buffer size when watching video.
Thanks for review. I have had almost all denadrips line. Starting from ares to terminator. You should consider add one more topic about your tests - "transients response"/"time domain". I didnt like ares and pontus(terminator also - its little faster but not good enough IMHO) becouse they are very slow in transients response. Jazz, vocals are great but put electronic/hardrock/pop music with ares/pontus and you can go to sleep. Cheers🙏
@@134564524241 no its not normal. Its normal in "cheap" r2r dacs. Rockna Vawelight, Rockna vawedream, holo spring3KTE have got fast/quick transients response. Maybe Gustard r26 is fast also(i didnt hear him yet, but i order and waiting)
I agree Mike. I find transient response very important. And yes, I believe that the Aries and Pontus are slower. Venus and Terminator are closer to D/S dacs. What did you end up with?
How does the Pontius II compare to the Gustard R26 R2R? Reviewing two products from the same company only clarifies which of the two are if you intend to only consider one manufacturer. Since you have a Gustard in the lower right hand opening, it seems it would be interesting to consider. It is less expensive, as is the Ladder Schumann. Both are less expensive. I like your reviews, but clarification of the benefits would very much be appreciated. There are a lot of demos of the Pontius II, what I hunger for is your insight.
@@connorduke4619 I own Pegasus too and yes it has a bit more resolution like hall ambience than Pontus II but I like the warm darkish sound of Pontus whereas Pegasus is more clear! Pegasus probably similar to Venus II.
Love my Pontus II. I ordered mine with two RCA inputs vs one RCA/BNC. The Ares has two RCA inputs and I dont know what more people don't do it. No extra charge from Denafrips.
I own the Pontus II and love it. I recently watched a review at iiWi of the Gustard R26 DAC….and he gave me a little FOMO! 😁…I am guessing that after you post your Gustard R26 review that you will compare it to The Pontus II…I am looking forward to all of your upcoming reviews!!! 👍🏼
Gustard R26 is better with the smoothness of R2R but the higher resolution of a Delta Sigma dac.. If you sell your Pontus before everyone realises R26 is better, you will still get a good price for it and perhaps lose little to no cash during the upgrade.
@@connorduke4619 I am in no hurry…..I worked hard (and made some costly mistakes), getting my system to where it is. Right now…I just look forward to listening to and finding new music! iiWi said exactly what you said about the Gustard(he is a REALLY good reviewer, TOO)…and contrary to some opinions, in silver I think the Gustard looks pretty cool, has a screen and a remote which are all pluses in my world……It sounds exciting …but we are still talking nuances here as far as sound changing..and I am old..so my ears are not what they used to be. 🤷🏻♂️ It’s fun to see all this great gear being offered, though!!! 😁👍🏼
Hello my Friend😄. How much burn in time do you recomment for r2r dacs? i got a schumann ladder and would like to know if its sound signature will improofe or if it will stay like that. Got maybe 30h on it.
Hi, I never count the time nowadays, usually I left it on all the time for about 2 weeks before I listen to it which should be more than enough time to get it settled, thanks
@@Tharbamar hm, okay thanks...for me the schumann doesnt deliver what was promised...my smsl vmv d2 is not that much organic, but overall the more relaxed sounding dac with more layers and more refinement...more resolving with same attack but not anoying...just high end would i say. thx for the answer my friend and greets from germany😄✌️
Thank you for the review! Can you expand more on the differences in bass? Im considering an upgrade from the ares ii because my turntable blows away the ares ii in the 100-400 hertz range, the ares ii sounds anemic in comparison, will the Pontus ii be an upgrade in that regard ? Thanks
My Pontus II has some skipping issues with cd transports using coaxial and aes/ebu inputs, and none with my Aurelic streamer the USB input. Have you tried a cd transport?
Yes, I have done two firmware uodates recommended by Alvin Lee but the issue remains. If you can please add a cd transport to your system. Since you review many dac it would be nice to hear what is your take on that. Keep up the excellent work. I always learn from you :)
You can really tell how much work and time you put into these videos... At the beginning, there was a beautiful snowstorm outside blowing around in the daylight. By the end of your video, it was dark outside 😊 I wasn't real clear about what you said when 'reading your notes' Did you say that you DO recommend Denafrips to make some changes in the sound? So, are there some negatives about the sound? Thank you Sir!
I do recommend Pontus 2 to anyone who is looking for R2R DAC in $2K price range, it was dark outside because that’s when I remembered to read the notes 😀
Great review, really beneficial. I'm new to DACS, but surprisingly to me I'm finding many produce noises i.e. ticks, pops, clicks etc out the speakers or mechanically when the sample rate changes while streaming my Qobuz music playlist. Having a hard time finding a silent DAC. The Pontus II 12th is at the top of my list (hoping it is a good match with a tube amp) after eliminating Chord Qutest and Schiit Bifrost 2/64. Does the Pontus II run silent, or does it make noises with sample rate changes? Thank you in advance.
Bass control and upper frequencies are not in the same level, many Class D amplifiers come up short in that regard compared to Class A bias amplifiers with big power supply.
@@Tharbamar Indeed. All switching amplifiers can apply enormous efforts before final switches, but a bottle neck is a quality of power source. Because PWM assumes a voltage is a constant (in opposite to 90% of A, A/B schematics). As a max, D class uses the simplest voltage stabilization inside a switching PSU. This affects low freqs. PWM resolution limits capabilities at high freqs. So, your judgement is correct.
@@Tharbamar NAD M23 would be a good Class D power amp to review, using the latest Eigentakt technology, it beats most amps near its price range IMO and earned a high German STEREO 93% rating.
@@robk5745 yeap..most r2r dacs lack speed which is important.R26 has huge sound stage as well as rich tone and realistic image ..What else you can want from a dac?
I listened closely back and forth to Tharbamar's music samples of both Pontus2 and R26, no difference in lows or highs with my inexpensive headphone. My R26 is scheduled to arrive in 2 weeks, might keep my Ares2 for another system.
@@mannyf1288 hmm I noticed more realism, detail, and presence from the R26. Every instrument sounded richer and fuller whereas the Pontus 2 sounded veiled and lacked accuracy.
Hi Tarbamar! and thank you for your great work! Sounds like a great dac to me!!! I would like some advice from you!! my system is pass 150 and pass x1 dynaudio contour 2 speakers and I bought some dac both delta-sigma and r2r specifically burson d160 , chord tt and audio gd r7 mk2 . I love the speed of the sigma especially in electronic music and the clarity in terms of usability but I love the soul of the r2r even more but I can't stand the slowness of some and sometimes it seemed too emphasized. The pontus2 seems to me a nice definitive car but my fear that it is not fast enough and from the comments of the majority the r26 gustard is very fast but I am undecided because as a car it seems to me more balanced and superior pontus2. and even sometimes I think of a delta-sigma like x26pro . sorry if I made it long! thanks again and greetings to all!
I would like to tell you that people will say many different things but remember most R2R DAC will not be fast or tighter bass quality like good Delta Sigma, that is why I have both so should you, thanks
It would have been way more helpful to compare the Pontus 2 to its direct competition such as: Ladder Schumann and Gustard R26. Comparing it to a lower model like Ares 2 is a foregone conclusion and defeats the purpose of a review. Just my 2 cents worth. Cheers.
My iPhone DAC through Bluetooth sounds better than this Chord Qutest DAC...Tharbamar told me about the Denafrips Pontus ll so I'm going to try that one...I feel like a fool have wasted the money for the Chord Qutest🙄- I purchased snake oil 🤣
Pardon but those DACs are highly overrated. As always in my opinion. Others may like them I demoed the Venus II for two months and while it had amazing instrument separation , it lacked punch , weight and authority. Timbre wasn’t the best either. Was a very very polite DAC. Thanks for the review
That’s a psychoacoustic imho. You hear everything(!) and this does not allow you to hear a “punch”, because there are to many voices, a frequency range is full of sound. If you focus on only one instrument, I think you will hear its “punch” where it must be. However, even in this case a lot of audible echoes, reverbs, harmonics (I mean instrument harmonics that the instrument produces) won’t sound like a simple “punch” (if musicians did not applied special tricks like a fast guitar instead of a slow one, or a more aggressive compressor settings). I faced to this issue few times when I upgraded my headphones or loudspeakers.
Beautiful review Tharbarmar….much appreciated. Your intimate and realistic setting, as well as your down to earth experience based perspective on the Pontus II are very enjoyable and informative. You do such good work. Thank you.
Excellent review. Almost a year with it and I love it! Improved one level up with Denafrips Iris DDC.
What digital transport were you using before you added the iris? I have an iFi Zen Stream as my digital transport and started out using coax with my Pontus II and then tried USB with an iFi Purifier USB that cleans up the signal some and it sounds even better than coax. Since the Zen Stream is so clean already AND I use the iFi Purifier I have to wonder how much a DDC would do for me. Would be interesting know what you were using and if it was a computer where you would no doubt see improvement if so.
@@sean_heisler I have the Pontus 2 as well as the Zen Stream. Also have the Denafrips Hermes DDC in line which cleans and reclocks all my digital sources, and allows them all to be fed to the Pontus via I2S. Zen Stream is an excellent source for the money, and while I doubt you would see a huge improvement with a DDC, there still should be some incremental benefits. I'm also running a linear power supply for my ZenStream, one from LHY Audio. The difference's magnitude will probably also be contingent upon how highly resolving the rest of your system is... In my case I'm also running a Denafrips Athena and Apollo driving Tekton double impact speakers. Hope this info helps.
@@toddt5562 Thanks, Todd! Great info. Really good info as I’ve been thinking about a linear PSU for my zen stream as well. I figured both upgrades would likely be incremental and not transformative. I do have a resolving system - Musical Paradise tube preamp, Odyssey Khartago SE amp and Usher Dancer Mini-X Diamond speakers with proper setup well pulled out and room treatments. I think might actually go for a new PSU for the Zen Stream first. Thanks!
@@toddt5562 Also, is it the LHY-50 that you have?
It's snowing!🤘❄☃️🎄
Listening to favorite music while watching snow fall is really serene.
Man... this reali soundig GREAT! So livelike with real energy and dynamic!
Nice presentation again 👏.... !
Great work, as always! 👍 Great slippers, too! 😁
great same experience with my Pontus II
Very useful reviews. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, will do!
@@Tharbamar I love the sound of Pontus . Is there any other dark sounding dac like it ?
@@rishelbhallabhatia1672 Not really in general from what've tested, thanks
The effective delay of the digital buffer is variable and shifts with turning on/off and switching input. Could be that you have just not hit a large buffer size when watching video.
항상 같은 노래로 리뷰해주는게 참 좋음. 기기 별로 특징이 뭔지 쉽게 알수 있기 때문에...
As always, a great review.We are waiting for a review of the new SMSL D400 EX DAC on AK4499EX.👍👍👍
They haven’t contact me yet
something i cant avoid noticing, its snowing outside your house...hahaha i like snow.
Great review as usual.
Nice review and video - very informative! Can you please tell me what are those fantastic looking isolation balls under the Pontus II feet? Thank you.
Thanks for review. I have had almost all denadrips line. Starting from ares to terminator. You should consider add one more topic about your tests - "transients response"/"time domain". I didnt like ares and pontus(terminator also - its little faster but not good enough IMHO) becouse they are very slow in transients response. Jazz, vocals are great but put electronic/hardrock/pop music with ares/pontus and you can go to sleep. Cheers🙏
Will do thanks for feedback.
Slow transient response of R2R is normal
@@134564524241 no its not normal. Its normal in "cheap" r2r dacs. Rockna Vawelight, Rockna vawedream, holo spring3KTE have got fast/quick transients response. Maybe Gustard r26 is fast also(i didnt hear him yet, but i order and waiting)
I agree Mike. I find transient response very important. And yes, I believe that the Aries and Pontus are slower. Venus and Terminator are closer to D/S dacs. What did you end up with?
My 2541 r2r DAC transient response is not as good as essdac
Nice slippers!!
How does the Pontius II compare to the Gustard R26 R2R? Reviewing two products from the same company only clarifies which of the two are if you intend to only consider one manufacturer. Since you have a Gustard in the lower right hand opening, it seems it would be interesting to consider. It is less expensive, as is the Ladder Schumann. Both are less expensive. I like your reviews, but clarification of the benefits would very much be appreciated. There are a lot of demos of the Pontius II, what I hunger for is your insight.
I will have 3 DAC comparison coming, thanks
@@Tharbamar Hope it comes soon enough so holiday shopping is still possible.
@@clarice1001nights Better than all three is Musician Aquarius with proper OCXO clocks, unlike all of the above.
@@connorduke4619 In what price range?
@@connorduke4619 I own Pegasus too and yes it has a bit more resolution like hall ambience than Pontus II but I like the warm darkish sound of Pontus whereas Pegasus is more clear! Pegasus probably similar to Venus II.
Love my Pontus II. I ordered mine with two RCA inputs vs one RCA/BNC. The Ares has two RCA inputs and I dont know what more people don't do it. No extra charge from Denafrips.
Why do you need RCA input in DAC? I actually dont use this port
@@Anh-Áo-Nâu RCA/SPDIF for coaxial input, not analog RCA.
how would you compare it to Gustard R26?
Where can we find your music playlist?
Hi Tharbamar, can Pontus II be compared To Gustard A26? What would be your opinion ot that comparison?
can you compare this dac to audio gd r8he mk3? thx
Hello The volume is quiter comparing to Gustard R26 do You know why ? its hard to compare because of it.
Is that snow a blowin' in the background? I too own a Pontus II and love it.
Yes it is.
I bought this. Thank you.
12th
Please share playlist on Qobuz if possible.
Sure will do when I reactivate Qobuz, thanks
Good morning from Singapore
Good morning, have a wonderful day.
Also snowing where you are?
Hi, Is Pontus 2 12th Ann a fully NOS DAC? Do I need Iris DDC to pair with Pontus 2 12th?
It does have NOS feature but some beautiful magic in sound will disappear in that NOS mode, thanks
How does the Pontus II compare to Schumann Ladder DAC?
3 Great R2R DAC Comparison, OS or NOS
th-cam.com/video/LrlVVth1uyA/w-d-xo.html
I would like to hear what's the difference with soundstage, how about mids and bass?
I own the Pontus II and love it. I recently watched a review at iiWi of the Gustard R26 DAC….and he gave me a little FOMO! 😁…I am guessing that after you post your Gustard R26 review that you will compare it to The Pontus II…I am looking forward to all of your upcoming reviews!!! 👍🏼
Gustard R26 is better with the smoothness of R2R but the higher resolution of a Delta Sigma dac.. If you sell your Pontus before everyone realises R26 is better, you will still get a good price for it and perhaps lose little to no cash during the upgrade.
@@connorduke4619 yup
I sold my Pontus2 for the R26. Best decision ever.
@Bob B, yes sir I will have comparison of them back to back along with Schumann, thank you.
@@connorduke4619 I am in no hurry…..I worked hard (and made some costly mistakes), getting my system to where it is. Right now…I just look forward to listening to and finding new music! iiWi said exactly what you said about the Gustard(he is a REALLY good reviewer, TOO)…and contrary to some opinions, in silver I think the Gustard looks pretty cool, has a screen and a remote which are all pluses in my world……It sounds exciting …but we are still talking nuances here as far as sound changing..and I am old..so my ears are not what they used to be. 🤷🏻♂️
It’s fun to see all this great gear being offered, though!!! 😁👍🏼
@@Tharbamar ALL THREE! That's GREAT! 👍🏼
Hello my Friend😄.
How much burn in time do you recomment for r2r dacs? i got a schumann ladder and would like to know if its sound signature will improofe or if it will stay like that. Got maybe 30h on it.
Hi, I never count the time nowadays, usually I left it on all the time for about 2 weeks before I listen to it which should be more than enough time to get it settled, thanks
@@Tharbamar hm, okay thanks...for me the schumann doesnt deliver what was promised...my smsl vmv d2 is not that much organic, but overall the more relaxed sounding dac with more layers and more refinement...more resolving with same attack but not anoying...just high end would i say.
thx for the answer my friend and greets from germany😄✌️
Thank you for the review! Can you expand more on the differences in bass? Im considering an upgrade from the ares ii because my turntable blows away the ares ii in the 100-400 hertz range, the ares ii sounds anemic in comparison, will the Pontus ii be an upgrade in that regard ? Thanks
My Pontus II has some skipping issues with cd transports using coaxial and aes/ebu inputs, and none with my Aurelic streamer the USB input. Have you tried a cd transport?
Sorry I haven’t use CD for awhile, I would suggest you to try updating firmware if you haven’t.
www.denafrips.com/firmware-update
Yes, I have done two firmware uodates recommended by Alvin Lee but the issue remains. If you can please add a cd transport to your system. Since you review many dac it would be nice to hear what is your take on that. Keep up the excellent work. I always learn from you :)
Sir will
You review the mission 770 🤔
Maybe but I’m not sure yet.
Smooth....
You can really tell how much work and time you put into these videos... At the beginning, there was a beautiful snowstorm outside blowing around in the daylight. By the end of your video, it was dark outside 😊 I wasn't real clear about what you said when 'reading your notes' Did you say that you DO recommend Denafrips to make some changes in the sound? So, are there some negatives about the sound? Thank you Sir!
I do recommend Pontus 2 to anyone who is looking for R2R DAC in $2K price range, it was dark outside because that’s when I remembered to read the notes 😀
@@Tharbamar Thank you kindly Sir!
Great review, really beneficial. I'm new to DACS, but surprisingly to me I'm finding many produce noises i.e. ticks, pops, clicks etc out the speakers or mechanically when the sample rate changes while streaming my Qobuz music playlist. Having a hard time finding a silent DAC. The Pontus II 12th is at the top of my list (hoping it is a good match with a tube amp) after eliminating Chord Qutest and Schiit Bifrost 2/64. Does the Pontus II run silent, or does it make noises with sample rate changes? Thank you in advance.
Pontus does not make any noise when format or resolution changes, thanks
Thank you@@Tharbamar for taking the time to let me know, I feel more confident to make a purchase now. Thanks again.
@@aguru5217 what didn't you like about quietest?I'm considering the pont 2 12th or quetest. Cheers
How does class D go with KLH model 5 compared to your Denon?
Bass control and upper frequencies are not in the same level, many Class D amplifiers come up short in that regard compared to Class A bias amplifiers with big power supply.
@@Tharbamar Indeed. All switching amplifiers can apply enormous efforts before final switches, but a bottle neck is a quality of power source. Because PWM assumes a voltage is a constant (in opposite to 90% of A, A/B schematics). As a max, D class uses the simplest voltage stabilization inside a switching PSU. This affects low freqs. PWM resolution limits capabilities at high freqs. So, your judgement is correct.
@@Tharbamar NAD M23 would be a good Class D power amp to review, using the latest Eigentakt technology, it beats most amps near its price range IMO and earned a high German STEREO 93% rating.
Great review my man! Was excited for this one. How’s this compare to ladder Schumann signature wise?
R26 is the best in the price range!
@@beslemeto looking at that one too, seems like staging and speed are it’s strengths
@@robk5745 yeap..most r2r dacs lack speed which is important.R26 has huge sound stage as well as rich tone and realistic image ..What else you can want from a dac?
@Rob K I will let you know soon, thank you.
Do you prefer the pontus 2 or gustard r26.
I haven’t tried them back to back ye, I will let you know soon.
I listened closely back and forth to Tharbamar's music samples of both Pontus2 and R26, no difference in lows or highs with my inexpensive headphone. My R26 is scheduled to arrive in 2 weeks, might keep my Ares2 for another system.
@@mannyf1288 hmm I noticed more realism, detail, and presence from the R26. Every instrument sounded richer and fuller whereas the Pontus 2 sounded veiled and lacked accuracy.
@@cameronrector178 My preferences are holography, air and separation between instruments as well as vocals. How is R26 with those?
@@mannyf5570 that’s where the R26 excels the most.
Air, environment, holographic presentation. It’s remarkable.
Hi Tarbamar! and thank you for your great work! Sounds like a great dac to me!!! I would like some advice from you!! my system is pass 150 and pass x1 dynaudio contour 2 speakers and I bought some dac both delta-sigma and r2r specifically burson d160 , chord tt and audio gd r7 mk2 . I love the speed of the sigma especially in electronic music and the clarity in terms of usability but I love the soul of the r2r even more but I can't stand the slowness of some and sometimes it seemed too emphasized. The pontus2 seems to me a nice definitive car but my fear that it is not fast enough and from the comments of the majority the r26 gustard is very fast but I am undecided because as a car it seems to me more balanced and superior pontus2. and even sometimes I think of a delta-sigma like x26pro . sorry if I made it long! thanks again and greetings to all!
I would like to tell you that people will say many different things but remember most R2R DAC will not be fast or tighter bass quality like good Delta Sigma, that is why I have both so should you, thanks
It would have been way more helpful to compare the Pontus 2 to its direct competition such as: Ladder Schumann and Gustard R26. Comparing it to a lower model like Ares 2 is a foregone conclusion and defeats the purpose of a review. Just my 2 cents worth. Cheers.
I will have 3 R2R DAC comparison soon, Thanks
@@Tharbamar that would be awesome! Hopefully Ladder Schumann/Gustard R26/Pontus II. Thanks!
If you're looking to upgrade from ares ii, its useful. Also useful if you don't know how far up the ladder you want to go.
More helpful to you perhaps but what about those looking to upgrade from the Ares II to the Pontus II...?
@@Kowinaida You’re not very swift! That’s EXACTLY the reason why you would need to know which one is the better choice. 🤬
Hi , but for me a class a/b power is on the best bass response … sorry
Sir is it snowing there or what? :))
Yes it was snowing.
My iPhone DAC through Bluetooth sounds better than this Chord Qutest DAC...Tharbamar told me about the Denafrips Pontus ll so I'm going to try that one...I feel like a fool have wasted the money for the Chord Qutest🙄- I purchased snake oil 🤣
Pardon but those DACs are highly overrated. As always in my opinion. Others may like them
I demoed the Venus II for two months and while it had amazing instrument separation , it lacked punch , weight and authority. Timbre wasn’t the best either.
Was a very very polite DAC.
Thanks for the review
What dac have chosen over the denifrips?
That’s a psychoacoustic imho. You hear everything(!) and this does not allow you to hear a “punch”, because there are to many voices, a frequency range is full of sound. If you focus on only one instrument, I think you will hear its “punch” where it must be. However, even in this case a lot of audible echoes, reverbs, harmonics (I mean instrument harmonics that the instrument produces) won’t sound like a simple “punch” (if musicians did not applied special tricks like a fast guitar instead of a slow one, or a more aggressive compressor settings).
I faced to this issue few times when I upgraded my headphones or loudspeakers.
As you know class a is the best in bass sound …
p͎r͎o͎m͎o͎s͎m͎ ☹️