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Denafrips - Pontus II

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Posted on December 17, 2021 at 17:01:25
twentyflip20
Audiophile

Posts: 21
Joined: May 6, 2016
 Can anyone share their experiences with the Pontus II? I keep reading very good reviews on this DAC. I settled on a Bifrost 2 as funds are limited now - but was wondering if the DF would be a noticeable improvement and be worth saving for.

Any users experiencing reliability issues or had to have warranty work done which involved shipping it back?

Would go into CXC V2 and Lumin U1 mini transports - Rogue integrated and B&W 804. Music taste is pretty varied but mostly jazz, electronic, and indie/garage rock.

Thanks

 

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RE: Denafrips - Pontus II, posted on December 18, 2021 at 12:01:14
Ozzy
Audiophile

Posts: 7591
Joined: September 21, 1999
 I have had one for about three weeks now and I'm extremely happy with it. My last two dacs were a Lampizator Level 4 Gen 5 and a heavily modified MHDT Pagoda. Of those two I preferred the Pagoda, but the Pontus II is better than both. I too am using it with a Lumin U1 mini.

It is very detailed, yet natural sounding at the same time. Not a hint of glare or fatigue after hours of listening. I prefer the oversampling mode with slow filter. I think the Pontus would drop right in to systems of high caliber and need not apologize for any aspect of its performance.

Oz






Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you.
- Winston Churchill

 

RE: Denafrips - Pontus II, posted on December 18, 2021 at 15:34:15
xsb7244
Audiophile

Posts: 428
Location: Hawaii
Joined: May 17, 2011
 A must read review.

 

RE: Denafrips - Pontus II, posted on December 19, 2021 at 08:39:08
DTF
Audiophile

Posts: 49
Joined: December 30, 2004
 The Musician Pegasus is worth a look at. Made at the same factory as Denafrips but with different engineer's, I can't comment on the Pontus 11 but a buddy owned the Venus 11 and we did a comparasion with my Musician Pegasus and both agreed that they sounded familiar with the edge going to the Venus 11 a very fine line but the Venus 11 bass dug slightly deeper. My buddy ended up selling his Venus 11 for the Musician Pegasus. Both units were in NOS mode.

 

RE: Denafrips - Pontus II, posted on December 19, 2021 at 09:29:22
Gary
Audiophile

Posts: 1294
Location: New York, NY
Joined: April 21, 2000
 I owned one. It's an excellent DAC. As compared to my Border Patrol DAC SEi it's superior in a number of areas. It has better bass, better definition and a cleaner sound. Yet, I found that as good as it sounded I preferred the Border Patrol DAC. For me music heard through the BP was more engaging and more involving. It got me closer to what I hear from my analog source. I sold the Pontus II after a month or so.

Still, if I hadn't already owned the BP I likely would have been satisfied with the Pontus II. Everything worked as expected. The build quality is great. It really is an excellent DAC.

 

RE: Denafrips - Pontus II, posted on December 19, 2021 at 11:14:33
AbeCollins
Audiophile

Posts: 46291
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
  Since: February 2, 2002
Similar experience here. I sold my Denafrips Ares II after just a couple months. It had some characteristics that I truly enjoyed that were very favorable for certain genres but not universally enjoyable [for me] as a whole. In other words, it wasn't the best choice for me as my 'daily driver' across all genres.



 

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