I chuckled a bit when I came to this thread. For a forum, what I feel is our meat and potatoes is digital and for a brand like Denafrips, there being only a handful of posts says something. Not sure what though. lol
Maybe it says that as a group most of us were further along in our DAC progression that the Denafrips offerings are in the rear view mirror.
Chiming in though now as a few months back I picked up a Pontus II with the 12th anniversary FPGA update, not a 12th anniversary model.
The differences between the two are tweaks/improvements to the power section and not much more but the 12th anniversary software is reputed to change the signature quite a bit and it’s been documented in a variety of trustworthy reviews out there.
Just wanted to give some high level feedback on this old unit, they can be found pretty much anywhere for under $1.2K and with some patience, I picked mine up for $1k, so for this commentary I’m placing it at that pricepoint in any comparison to other DACs out there.
Existing Chain:
Roon > Pi2AES > Pontus II (via SR Boomslang AES) > Bryston BHA-1 (via Gabrield Gold Rapture II RCA cables) > D8KP using Lavricable Grand balanced.
In the past I’ve had a Pi2AES; I’ve had the Final 8D8KP as well as the Bryston BHA-1 and the only new component to me is the Pontus II. Aften really finishing my 2-CH, I’ve slowly combe back to putting together a respectable mid-fi HP chain and selecting pieces that I’ve enjoyed for one reason or another and applying things I’ve learned over the years about squeezing the most sound I can get from a chain by best practice means. For example I’ve had the Pi but as I piecemeal documented here I’ve gone back to the entirety of the chain and addressed every aspect of the best practice things that we know make a difference to one degree or another. But not throwing crazy cash at this project. Simply trying to optimize the chain and selecting pieces to achieve harmony, hoping to put together somethign that sounds better than the $um of its parts.
I’ve gone and addressed the power conditioning and using a Shunyata Hydra V2, their Venom NR cables and I’ve even (a first for me) bought a good HP cable instead of making my own. Addressing vibration issues and generally everything I’ve done on my 2-CH except on the cheap.
Which brings me to the DAC because I’ve come to appreciate what it does, especially for the pricepoint. The Pontus II with the 12th anniversary firmware updates feels like a very balanced DAC.
It’s got good amount of stage, good detail and great timbre. It’s organic enough and it’s got body, it’s not thick and certainly leans on the warm side of neutral but it’s got body and enough slam for late night EDM. I found myself just enjoying it as part of this chain and since getting the Bryston amp inline thanks to @Camus I’ve found it to be super complimentary to it for my tastes in music. It’s not smooth, but it isn’t raw either, it’s got a good balance, forward and certainly fun, not shooting for the audiophile moniker, but manages doing everything well enough or better. Great if you grade it on a curve given the bargain pricing.
I’ll go as far as saying that if you’re putting together a good mid-fi chain and you’re not looking for reference neutral, you’d be remiss not to try the Pontus II with the 12th FPGA update, there are a lot of them out in the wild so you won’t wait long to come across one.