DAC Amp for Diana V2 under 500$

[mochimashu]

@mynameistoolongforth

What did you hear in the nos version that was an improvement?

Like Kron said if you want to discuss this there’s an official thread for it.

EDIT: I have now initiated a discussion here 🔷 Denafrips Ares II - #182 by mochimashu

@mynameistoolongforth

Remember, reducing the soundstage can lead to things sounding more intimate which is personal preference, but it could instead lead to things sounding more congested, which is (pretty definitely) worse.

I beg to differ, that’s one way to look at it and probably overly simplistic. Reducing soundstage could also lead to more accurate imaging and it doesn’t always lead to a more congested soundstage. There are large soundstage but with intimate and forward presentation of sound, and small soundstage but more laid back presentation of sound. I don’t think it’s helpful to make generalised statements like this.

EDIT: as @mynameistoolongforth clarifies below the soundstage is merely an example and does not refer specifically to the Ares II, so apologies the misunderstanding on my part. As I stated in that thread, I do prefer and feel the NOS is a better implementation of various audio qualities and I never intended to dispute that some prefer the OS, so my response was simply that I don’t disagree that there are better implementations but in the case of Ares II I don’t personally find the OS is a better one.

@mynameistoolongforth

I think you need to listen to resolve over at the headphone show, when he said “there are lots of preferences for sound that are equally valid, but it isn’t unreasonable to say that there are definitively good and bad implementations of those types of sound, that can be judged regardless of your own preference”.

I don’t know if I need to listen to anyone. Whilst the statement you quoted is not wrong, I still see it fundamentally as a preference. If you prefer larger soundstage and dislike a more congested sound then sth can be better or worse for you. If I don’t mind a smaller stage but I want a more accurate imaging then sth also can be better or worse for me. And you don’t know which camp OP or anyone belongs to so all I was saying is that it’s not helpful to state something as if a matter of fact. I don’t think anyone in this hobby (and certainly not reviewers) knows better than anyone to be able to speak the truth or fact.

EDIT: Perhaps it was also my misunderstanding too which I can only apologise for, I did not intend to dispute what implementation is better on the Ares II but simply wanted to point out there are people who prefer or feel either the OS or NOS is a better implementation, hence it is more helpful for the community to make it clear that this is a subjective preference and not an objective fact (as to which is better) and preferences and opinions are equally valid which I have repeated a few times in this thread.

But, let’s not derail the thread further and my point has been made clear: a preference is not a fact and this does not change whoever or how many reviewers you quote because, frankly, I don’t give a shit about them.

EDIT: apologies if I have misunderstood the intention of those who have quoted words/videos of other reviews and my language used, my point was simply that I do not personally think that reviewers’ opinions automatically carry some (and certainly not more) force.