Interesting, I will probably make some tests when I get my Ares II, thanks!
I really donāt see the point of using balanced in short cables, but, you do you
Fear Factory - Aggression Continuum is out if you want a brutal test, lol.
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These DACs is for normal human. Lol
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I used to ride around in my buddys car back in the day and listened to his favorite metal tracks. I never understood why he liked all this sound mashed together but WOW I get it now. His car speakers never had this clarity and separation. lol.
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Ugh I donāt know why I would assume it would come with a USB cable, but it didnāt, so guess Iām gonna need one of those tooā¦ Can anyone recommend a good one off Amazon thatās not too much but nice quality?
Depending on what length you need I like my viborg cable. I say depending on length because the longer ones are kinda pricey. Nice though.
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Do you guys agree the Ares II has better synergy with the G111? I have the BF2, RNHP, and G111
I dont have anything to recommend from Amazon but Monoprice has affordable prices on nice cables including xlr cables. I dont know how they measure or perform and etc but here are some options
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Ended up going with
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0785H3QH5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08TTSPZQM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Okay, Iām here to be a bit of a party pooper. Obviously depending on your particular setup, YMMV, but Iāve done some solid ABing with 880 600 Ohms off a G111 against the iFi Zen. For what itās worth, Iāve got the iFi power supply as well which I did find made a noticeable enough difference it was worth the money. Is the Ares II better? Yes, but I think unless youāre sitting there listening for the differences, theyāre not really going to be noticeable. Even doing that, I sometimes forgot which DAC I was using. For better or worse, the Ares does make your music more āforwardā, to the point where it makes the Grado Hemps just that much brighter to the point where they can become more fatiguing faster. Money no object- I take the Denafrips, it does make things sound more natural. All in landed cost I put just shy of $1100 CAD into it. If i can get $950 back out of it net of shipping, I think Iām gonna sell it. I do enjoy having 7 pounds of big olā DAC on my desk- Iāll say that.
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Iām guessing you were using the default oversampling mode? You should also try out the NOS mode, which I found to be a bit less fatiguing. But I leave mine on OS mode because I found it to be the more impressive of the two.
I really think youād need a $500 class headphone minimum for this kind of DAC to be worthwhile. So Iām not surprised by your findings. But I still havenāt got around evaluating my unit directly against my other DACs (due to laziness).
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I have tried the NOS and prefer it. I think Iām just in that Zeos camp of āyeah, itās a DAC. It worksā. Like the jump from an SP200 to the G111 was like āWoah dude fuck what a differenceā and for $1100 CAD, was I expecting that sort of a difference? No, itās a DAC- I knew it wasnāt going to be radical, but I didnāt even get 5% of that āWoahā experience" and Iām not sure better headphones are gonna really change that. Iām not saying itās not a great DAC, Iām just saying, as someone whoās barely making more than minimum wage and is usually working on my computer and not really focusing on the music while I listen, would I rather have $950 back in my pocket? Yes absolutely
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Donāt matter now. Was on Canuck Audio Mart for about an hour before someone āBuy it Nowā for $1000 including shipping. Now I can revisit it maybe down the road without feeling like I ate too much to not justify it
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Thought id dump my insomnia fueled thoughts on this dac.
This dac has become a gateway drug. I feel like I need a dac in the 3k range just because I need to know what they will do and how they sound. I didnt want to leave the below 1k price range in gear but I guess things change and I really want an aqua la voce s3 in the near future.
Been playing with the ares II for months now, switching from the ifi micro bl and e30, and I feel like I can confidently distinguish the 3 from listening to the qualities that each dac brings to the table.
Ares II delivers body, warmth, smoothness, and depth to the soundstage. The added depth is what strikes me first and the smooth organic natural presentation draws me in. The added body to the sound makes me think of added refinement or resolution and the smoothness just adds to the enjoyment for what im looking for and now experiencing.
Switching to the e30, I notice the music sounds more forward but lacks body. Sounds like im listening to an artist perform in a wide room in front of a wall while im pretty close by. E30 is wider than the Area. The lack of depth makes the music sound more forward and close. Music sounds crisp but has this edgy quality and lacks the smoothness of the ares II. Doesnt have the warmth the ares II has and leans more neutral. The crisp edgy sound from the e30 creates an illusion of more detail to me while the ifi bl and ares actually has that detail and resolution come out and present itself with more clarity. I still enjoy the e30 but id still rather reach for the other 2 dacs for their qualities and different presentation.
I sometimes find it hard to distinguish the micro bl and ares II because they both seem to have a similiar level of detail, resolution, and warmth. What sets them apart is the soundstage presentation, smoothness, and dynamics. The soundstage of the ifi micro bl falls a little short in depth compared to the ares but is wider and has a bit more height in the soundstage. The ifi micro bl is smooth but not as smooth as the ares II however still close. The micro bl has a bit more bite, impact, and slightly more sparkle in the highs.
Micro bl is a tiny bit more forward and doesnt have the organic sound the ares has. Micro bl isnt as full bodied as the ares but gets close.
The difference in soundstage depth is the difference between these two dacs I notice most. I may be noticing soundstage depth more with these two dacs due to the fact that ive never heard this sort of depth with more affordable dacs. The E30 has this 3d soundstage but lacks the amount of depth the micro bl and ares provide. The added body or fullness the Ares II provides to the amp and complete listening experience is a new thing I experienced and became conscious of and hope to experience more of. Music, voices, and sounds that present more organically from the ares II is another new listening experience. I used to deny the need for a better dac mostly because i didnt want to pay up and was perfectly happy with what I had. Now im glad to just know that my favorite headphone, the dt880, can be elevated higher and higher and im very happy about that. Now i just need to start saving my coins.
I feel that you have to sit and become familiar with each dac to appreciate the nuances of each of them. Having a dac switcher to quickly switch also helps.
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Here I am with a balanced modded ksc75 and I can hear the difference with the ares 2 lol.
For some reason, I can only operate my Ares II on NOS connected via USB. If I switch to OS I immediately get this horrid static noise that overwhelms everything else playing. Now, if I switch to exclusive mode direct to the DAC on foobar2000 the problem goes away magically, but the issue comes back for the rest of my PC audio and with HeSuVi. Iāve tried every version of the driver software (and w/o), updating the firmware, etc. with no avail.
While my first course of action is likely checking out my applicability for a transferable warranty, I was wondering if anyone had a similar situation and/or solution to this.
Apparently Zeos was waiting to get one for free lol. Interestingly, he ran to major distortion when trying to use XLR and RCA at the same time. So definitely donāt do that.
Yeah, Denafrips recommends running either XLR or RCA (not both) to a switch if you want to hook it to multiple amps.
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