There are many Denafrips Ares reviews out there. But, this one is the bestest! : )

The review was great, but the beginning explanation of PCM vs. Delta Sigma was the real winner here.

Absolutely excellent review, Tarun. Just the right amount of technical background to understand why this sounds as it does over a normal delta-sigma design, a great assessment of the build quality and features, too. This led us into a meaningful description of its ability to replay music and left any discussion of distortion or chip performance back on paper where it belongs. You make one key point totally agree with. DACs and the vast majority of digital components are closer to the consumable side of a hifi purchase rather than the capital value of speakers and amps.The chips used in a DAC cost only a couple of pounds and the IC manufacturers bring out a better performing version every couple of years - while an amp's transistors, caps and other far more conventional component electrickery have the same longevity as bricks and mortar, so will be a great investment good for years of use. A DAC will almost certainly be bettered both in performance and price by the time your credit-card statement arrives. NEVER buy a hyper-expensive DAC because in a very short time, it will be bettered just like a mobile phone or TV loses its performance lead so quickly.

Dear Touran You are voice of professionalism , erudition and rationality in the sea of audio reviews . They are fact based rather than subjective . Your reviews are stellar . Thank you so much for all your factual research .

Even if this thing has been reviewed to death, you chiming in always brings the added benefit of your trademark deep dive into the technical nitty gritty. 👍

As I am considering buying an Ares II I have watched all of the reviews available on KZfaq, and this is the best done: clear, informative, and thorough. I have just subscribed to this channel and look forward to learning more from this gentleman.

Best review yet on Ares II that I've seen. I like how you explain the innards and the why it sounds the way it does. Gives it a lot of credibility. I finally understand the hype.

This guy is good, very polished with good info for a “novice” audience, e.g., not electrical engineers! Keep it up Mr. British Audiophile.

Wow, on your recommendation, I just set my 18 month old Ares II to OS with slow filter. Nicely done! So much livelier and full-bodied! Thanks!

I'm so glad you don't have annoying music on start up. So refreshing. Great review as always. I'm a few days into mine and so far so good.

Easily the most comprehensive and well balanced review on this now fabled dac. Easily worth waiting to hear your take on it.

Tarun I very much appreciate your competence and clarity. Plus your British accent is simply wonderful

Another brilliant presentation. Your channel is on another level Tarun. So much of this great hobby is subjective, but you do it in such an objective manner.

Your reviews are always so well researched and considered which gives them great credibility. I really enjoy your approach.

Like so many, I’ve enjoyed your reviews. What has eluded me is why. And then, this morning while all is quiet, it came to me: your sincerity, your calmness and your attention to presenting a factual review. Your reviews are well, bespoke. Like no others. The Brioni of reviewers.

Just purchased one finally, see how it goes with my Harbeths! Thanks for the great review.

Yeah seriously man. These are some of the best reviews put there, period. Audiophile or no. Much respect, and thanks for putting these videos out there.

Wow, I think i have watched every Denafrips Aries DAC review .This is by far the best and most comprehensive review out there. Bravo, suscribed.

Best review of the product so far. Just love the way Tarun takes step by step details and explain it very patiently. Awesome!

The level of technicality in this video was over my head, but you delivered it in such a thoughtful manner that I managed to keep up and maybe learn a thing or two. Thanks! I'll be checking out more of your videos soon

Really great overview... Sure, plenty of other KZfaq reviewer have produced review content surrounding Denafrips DACs..... Still, doesn't lessen the appeal of having another opinion..... 👌🏻

Easily one of the best review of a dac, packed full of information.

Got my Ares 2 from China this morning. Made an immediate difference in my system. Your detailed review and endorsement really helped me make my decision. Thanks for the work you are doing, it is much appreciated.

You do a great job explaining dac principles. 👍

Thank you Tarun, another great review. Unbiased, technical and yet easily understandable. Have learnt so much from watching your reviews.

Hi Tarun you have been clear and professional in describing this wonderful Dac that I have just purchased, your reviews are perfect, I will always follow you! THANK YOU

I started research on DACs, stumbled upon devices costing over 2,000 euros, and thought damn what's all that about. This, however, looks like money well spent by both manufacturer in their no-frills approach and owner like me looking for an effective audio system upgrade within reasonable budget. Thanks for the clear review 😊

The type and level of this review was as superb as it seems the Denafrips is. Extremely clear. This kind of thing is now making me think that my £100 DAC needs upgrading for sure, bearing in mind it must now be the weakest link in my otherwise top end sound system.

Thank you Tarun for this wonderful review. Despite sharing so much of technical specifications, sharing your personal experience on it's sonic qualities were spot on. I am convinced to buy this 😀. Thanks from India

One of your best videos excellently done! Just enough technical details to make it interesting although maybe consider a follow up part II where you get into more of the nuances between delta-sigma and R2R?

I'm gonna say something outrageous : i recently put back my smsl m100 in my system 2. I put some dynamat inside of the dac for damping the box and the pcb board. I changed a capacitor for a way better quality one, Elna silmic 2 rfs. I added a ifi ipower X on it et voilà ! The thing sounds Analog. Fuller and more details. It can't cast the same soundstage, less dynamic than my chord mojo but it's more analog. Fuller, heavier, more solid with a black background. I'm starting to think the biggest enemy of hifi is noise. And because this dac sounds so good and smooth I'm starting to think there is a lot of noise in my vinyl set up, I'm hearing the ssss now. Paying more attention to noise. I did an AB test with the dac, it's not in my head. Without upgrade listening to Conan by basil poledouris I can only ear 70% of what was inside the recording. Now I feel like it's 90%. I know the album very well, I've listen with my headphones (sennheiser hd 660s, hifiman sundara, focal clear,....) Plus now I can ear when something is coming from the back to the front slowly, depth I presume? Voices too, they sound more real and blasphemy realer than my mojo (i have to buy your power supply now Tarun 😂) My guess is since the basic design is good enough the power supply is really everything for the sound.

Hooray, another video from Tarun, and another home run (a six? Two countries separated by a common language). Great technical explanation and even better a great explanation of the sound of this DAC. So glad to hear of a company designing products for sound before technical specs. I have to say how much I like you reviewing style, like a friend or favorite teacher explaining complex topics, and glad to see the ProAcs back.

Thank you, by far the best review of the Ares II I've seen. I purchased one and paired it with the Denafrips IRIS DDC ... great combination. Planning to step ups to the Pontus II though as my DAC feeds a PrimaLuna Evo300 Tube Integrated Amp and I want to now step up the DAC a bit. Thanks again, great detail on the DAC and the added insight from Denafrips was invaluable.

Great review. I feel more confident in this purchase and again for your advice that has enabled it. Really enjoying using this unit. Cheers

Your reviews never cease to amaze me Tarun ! Bravo again!

Thanks for the great review Tarun. I dont have the DAC but have the Denafrips Hyperon and Hestia , amp and pre. It sounds fantastic. I just want to say that Vinshine Audio were a pleasure to deal with and every question i sent to Alvin Chee the owner , were always answered straight away , even on Sundays!! I am very impressed.

This review, and channel deserve a million views/subscribers. Bravo

Tarun, you did a very comprehensive review.. Thank you..

I thought I could flip through videos while listening to you explaining about DACs but the way you explain things is so enthralling that i have to give you my full attention and so you deserve it!

I really enjoy your smart, informative and earnestly accurate and honest reviews. Thank you very much.

Great explanation about how stuff works 👍

Just love the way you run your platform, 10 of 10😁

Great content, Tarun and great videography. Your channel has developed into a real jewel. I love the fact you often cover theory and your presentation is authoritative and confident. I was nodding all the way through as I saw Denafrips has made all the right decisions based on sound and not chasing paper specifications. This review gets OUTSTANDING from me! All the best, Rob

Instantly changed settings on my Ares II 😀 and I think I did good. At first I had nos selected, to stop the unit heating up so much.

Awesome review. As a former EE, I loved the technical portion

I have had this DAC for about 3 months now and it is no understatement to say it has completely changed my HIFI listening experience. All things are a matter of opinion I guess and I also realise that a lot of this depends on the equipment used. I solely use mine with headphones and the results are amazing. I find I can go very loud with no fatigue or harshness. There seems to be lots of detail much wider but my overall summary would be FUN and very addictive I can listen for hours and hours. I am yet to decide wether I prefer NOS or OS I am not so firmly in one camp or the other yet . For me this was a significant investment but my god what a return!! Thanks for the video 👍

Hello from Singapore. Land of the Denafrips! Alvin is always ready to help and answer questions. I’m sure he will be happy to give you the Pontus for a review which I think offers the best bang for the buck in the Denafrips line. Chord suddenly looks like overpriced for what it does. The Pontus vs Holo Spring 2 is the comparison most people in the R2R game want to see. I wonder who is going to give them that fight. Cheers Tarun.

Good review, very clear and straight forward and you leave nothing out.

Thank you for your review. It's really nice that you opened it up and took pictures of the insides. I wish more people did that. Some of your technical explanation is off. Every value in the R2R doesn't double the pattern repeats. This is what makes the R2R dac such a ingenious architecture. The idea of having a volume is interesting but you should know the delta sigma dacs do this in the dac it's self because it's easy and cost nothing to implement. I have never thought this to sound right when you start attenuating (full disclosure: I have not heard the Chord only the ESS dacs), all my best sounding systems always had an analog attenuation setup. With R2R you have insufficient bits for this and making the latter longer becomes very expensive because the tolerance of all the resistors needs to go up. So if one resistor costs $20 and you need over 400 of them and there is a few X markup on that it starts to approach the price of a car. At some number of bits you start to need active temperature regulation to fractions of a degree and thereafter more bits become impossible to manufacture. This is why r2r dacs almost never have built in attenuation, but almost all delta sigma dacs offer it. Like you said it has to be a separate module. In which case it may as well be a separate module. Thank you again for the review. We need more real people doing real reviews of equipment!

You may be last to the party on the review however you still imparted more valuable information than the others managed. In particular the fact that the sound was improved using the counter-intuitive settings. The online manual is very limited in scope with no editorial opinion on these settings. Kudos for sharing the new info on methodology. I bought one direct from Vinishine which was delivered on Monday 10 days after ordered. My cost was $750 US. The 3 year warranty is also worth mentioning-Did I miss that? Best $750 I have spent on audio. Replaced an Oppo 205. Major SQ move up. Now I am wondering about their next model up. In the US these sell same day used for nearly the original ticket price. In other words folks, what are you waiting for? A 2021 price increase??? Crack the wallet and have a Merry Christmas!!

Wow cool- love those Elna caps! Great review Tarun.

Love how you can deep dive and find ways to add new value to a product that's been reviewed to death! Too bad you could not get your hands on Chord's Qutest as I'm currently hesitating between those two. Thanks again for your great work.

I have no complaints with my RME ADI-2 DAC fs, but I’m SUPER tempted to trade it for a Denafrips Ares II. Amazing review!!

Great review plus I really enjoy you opening up the unit to see what one gets for their money .

Learnt so much from this! Was just expecting a boring sound comparison but i feel like i got a university lecture for free hahaha, cheers :)

I’ll second everyone. Excellent review! Keep up the good work! Looking at purchasing an an Aries 2 in the near future

Thanks for the great review Tarun, I always enjoy your explanations. I would like to offer an opposing opinion regarding the Nos/Os settings. I have had the Aries 2 dac for over a year now and love it but for me I still prefer the NOS setting over the OS setting having double checked again after watching this video. I’m no expert or engineer like yourself and this is only my humble opinion. Also our rigs and our rooms are completely different, as are our musical tastes. When I first got the Aries 2 there was no explanation of the settings so I contacted Alvin at Vinshine Audio and he explained the difference to me...he said the NOS was “more analog, purist, true to source” and the OS “made the music more fun”. I find in the OS mode with slow filter the lows and the highs are slightly boosted and slightly higher in volume, similar to if I were to turn up the bass and treble tone controls. To me if there is more bass and treble and it’s louder my brain will always think it sounds better. As for the soundstage the Boston Audiophile said it sounded wider in OS and I think you referred the same. Now my rig already has a nice wide soundstage so I didn’t see a difference that way but the soundstage did get “bigger”. By that I mean the instruments seemed to get bigger, the vocalist grew a few feet taller, the mandolin was now big as a guitar. I have heard this referred to as “big head effect” where instruments are un-naturally bigger than life. When I switched to NOS the band went back to a reasonable image and the frequency range was more balanced. So to me the OS setting seems a little more exaggerated, definitely makes the music a little more fun but the purist in me prefers the NOS setting. Cheers Marc L.

After watching your review I decided to go with Denafrip Ares 2, thank you

This Review of Denafrips Ares II DAC hits ALL other Reviews of it, way out of the Ball Park.

As usual another superb review. Thank you.

Another amazing review and technical info dissemination. However the price point is my stumbling point and not having an Ares II to test against, I will remain oblivious to the possible benefits my personal system may gain until I save up a bit more. Thank you as always.

Amazing review Tarun👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 More power to you … lots of love from the Big Apple 🇺🇸

I wish my direct stream dac was as cheap as this tarun but hey ho you pays yours monies & makes your choices, I’m happy enough with the network bridge installed giving me a streaming dac it sounds great & I had a NDS/555 before that. Great review again glad to see your subs going up still, I recommended you on the next best thing channel as the most honest reviewer out there hopefully it’ll keep increasing to the 100’000s. Happy Holidays

Several people do reviews but very few can strike a balance between honest and subjective feedback and technical details. You do that Tarun. Your simple technical explanations make me clear out many a concepts. Kudos!

Hi Tarun, My Denafrips Ares DAC arrived today. I wanted to let you know how I am getting on so far. I'm useless at explaining things so please bear with me. The only thing in the Ares box, as you know, is the Ares DAC and a power cable. No paperwork or manual so I had to look online.. I plugged the Ares in and set it to OS mode and used the Soft Filter setting. I sat down and played one of my favourite pieces of music, "My Foolish Heart' by Karen Souza. I immediately noticed how wonderful the sound is. It was like my brain, chest and stomach instantly relaxed and "let go" while listening with this Ares DAC; like breathing in fully and then breathing right out. I have never, ever got that feeling with the Chord Qutest I have been using for the past year. The Qutest can be hard work and I realised that more today. With the Ares in my system it feels like I don't have to struggle to listen and I can just sit there and let the music play and I can thoroughly enjoy it. The sound from the Ares isn't analytical like the Qutest, but at the same time I am not losing anything in the music. The production, the arrangements and musicianship are all there but calm and nice. I hadn't realised how clinical the Qutest is. The Ares sounds like it is just doing its job and not having to show me what it can do! I now realise that tap-length really is not important, at least not to me now I have heard the Ares. Imagine a balloon that has been blown up to almost bursting point - that's the Qutest sound. The Ares sounds like someone has let a lot of air out of the balloon and the music can flow and breathe. The Qutest can sometimes make Streisand and Celine's voices edgy to the point where I have to turn the music down or just leave the room and do something else. I didn't once want to do that today. I imagine that the sound from the Ares is on the way to the sound that vinyl lovers crave. Way more relaxing, more emotion and less analytical. I am allowed to keep and demo the Ares DAC for a week before I decide if it is a keeper. I know it is. I am going to ebay the Qutest and maybe even go up a level to the Denafrips Pontus. I want to find out what the difference would be, of course. Can you help me please? I don't understand a few things on the Ares yet. Is the "sharp" filter meant to give me a sharper sound? I do not want that. I also do not understand if the Phase button should be lit up or not. I haven't tried listening to the NOS mode yet. Your channel is one of my favourites and I am looking forward to more of your reviews. Thank you for introducing me to Denafrips. I had not heard their name before and now I can see why people are raving about their products. R2R really is very nice and what I have been missing.

Hey Tarun, Glad you picked this one ! As always Fab.

This is a great DAC and it’s not excessively expensive. I use this DAC to bypass my headphone amp paired with Focal Utopia... I was flabbergasted when I switched, just incredible, R2R all the way!

Excellent review. Great mix of introductory information and then moving onto the "experience". I generally watch all the reviews from the most subjective to the anal retentives at audiosciencereview. One of the important things I've learned is that the map (tool used to analyze) is not the territory. Often there are tools not used to measure the item, most critically the one between your ears. You hit that sweet spot where you're thinking with all the tools. I'm actually very interested in R2R dacs and the Ares is the most powerful competitor here. Even audioscience gives it a "yeah its okay" review. One thing I'd like to see is a remote, slightly larger LEDs, and a small alphanumeric display. It's occurred to me that a really great DAC with that many inputs gets very close to a traditional preamp and not having any remote is kind of sad. Something like the ARES with a remote, the improvements I mentioned, one analog input (for a turntable?) would be the killer digital preamp.

WOW Spot on!! I love this dac and it has changed the way I think of what digital can sound like. Having owned the Chord Mojo and Hugo, I feel the Denafrips is much better. The Chord dacs sound somewhat flat in comparison. THANK YOU!!

Never mind Denafrips get yourself a dedicated radial from the consumer box just for your hifi. A revelation for me. Without going through the benifits of the sound improvements. The blue LED lights on my Amplifier is so much brighter its amazing. Best upgrade ive made.. Just a tip i wanted to share..

FPGA is indeed used in PS Audio DSD and many others - like Chord, Benchmark etc. My view is that designers that go to the trouble of designing and implementing their own FPGA are indeed trying to build a better mouse trap than what is simply available on a small commercial DAC chip that come with built in filters.

I got my Denafrips Ares II about two months ago and it really is awesome.

Thanks for that and all you need now is a nice Christmas jumper to wrap it all up.....projector hunting this next few weeks, perhaps I may find a Denafrips under the tree....I wish!

I'm loving my unit and will try the over sampling mode and slow roll off filter

Amazing technical explanation. I have learned much from your video, thank you very much!

DACs are all the craze now. From my limited knowledge I think the analog outputs are more of a variable for a good sounding DAc. And you have a great unbiased view. 👍

Tarun, another excellent review. Your deconstruction of this Dac was extremely informative. I’m in the US and recently bought a Schiit Bifrost 2. The main reason I bought Schiit v Denafrips was availability here in the US and is modular and upgradable. I’ve heard these two Dacs have been compared in terms of sound. I’d be very interested if yoU are to review the Bifrost 2. I’m sure you’d do a great job discerning the differences. Great job!

I have the same experience with NOS but on Holo Spring Dac. Thanx for the review.

Grade A review (having seen them all) and great break down!! I pulled the trigger on the Ares II a week ago, so was nervous about your take on it (as I rate your opinion) ;-)

Thank you, sir. Excellent review and explanation of the mechanism of function.

Nice job. Best review of Ares II, which I own, that I’ve heard. At some point, you might want to do a review of DACS for different streaming services. For examples, does it make sense to have a good DAC if you are using Spotify, vs a lossless streaming service? My sense is yes, but there is so much chatter about lossy, vs lossless vs high res, vs what really matters is the quality of the recording, that it would be good to have your insights.

Great review Tarun.

I really like this review you really cover all the bases.

As usual a very trustworthy and believable review from you - and man! You really know how to create a clear structure that communicate extremely well - to me at least - and it of course justify any review from you even though the device have been tested by others on KZfaq 🙏 Just as you said yourselves. A comparison with a similar priced FPGA chip based dac like Chord Qutest is what everyone are longing to hear from you. Your comparison with the Mojo is helpful though :-) But if I am looking back to some of your previous review where you compare Mojo with the higher priced Chord Dacs it seems like you are putting some of the same expressions (tonal balance, refinement, transparency) as you are doing with the Ares. Do you have anything to ad in this respect I would be very grateful. If Ares have the same - or better - sound quality as the higher prices Chord Dacs like Qutest and Hugo II, then it seems like a true bargain. Thank you again Tarun :-)

love to see bifrost2 review and comparision with Ares

Very well done, informative review. I also prefer OS and slow filter with both of my Denafrips DAC's. Some may prefer NOS but it is nice to have the options with a few button clicks.

Good work Sir, the best review of this unit . 👍

I have a decent DAC. (entry level Schiit). Time to upgrade and along with the many offerings, the Aries 2 has been on my radar. I understand the importance of matching the Denafrips with compatible equipment in order to allow the Aries to express its potential. For myself, this DAC is just at the limit of my budget potential. Your review, along with a couple of others, has truly helped me understand that this DAC is probably going to be the one that will put the broadest smile on my face and yes, be affordable. Tarun - this is yet again another most enjoyable and educational review. A perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon with a good cup of coffee!! I hope Denafrips appreciates this review as much as I do. Oh yes, and about the Chord Mojo - my sales-person was recommending it and for all of the same "pain in the butt" reasons you stated ... it was a no. Yes, Chord makes some stellar DACs but they are not the only horse in the race. Be well Tarun.

Thanks for the review. I am on the fence on the denafrips!

I REALLY like your review of the Denafris Aries II ! I am ordering this thanks to you review because it checks the most boxes for what I am seeking . Thank you Tarik !

got a bryston bcd 1 and this dac smashed it out of the park. no comparison cant believe what they have managed for the money. going to check the whole range but in denafrips ive found a dac.

Well done,mate! I had to subscribe. Thanks and keep em coming.

You remind me some of my good teachers and you do your reviews like a lectures not like a promo for a particular product. it is too bad we don't have Denafrips distributors here in Canada for listening before buying it, but I ordered one from Singapore because of your review. would you please post a video about what are the matching Amps and speakers for R2R DACs. Thank you.

On order... You're partly responsible, Sir Tarun🤔 Time for me to find out what improvement in DAC performance has been wrought since my Musical Fidelity X-DAC/ X-PSU/ X-10v3 came out in the naughties....

Another very useful consumer advocacy review, well done!

Outstanding review. Another company that makes nice r2r dads is a small Danish company called Soekris. I own one of their dacs and I really like it’s sound. I wish someone (perhaps yourself) can review their dacs and compare them to the Denafrips Ares dac.

I thoroughly enjoy your reviews. I don't know if you'll have time to respond to this, but I sometimes find that my impression of products are quite different from the vast majority of reviewers. For instance, I wouldn't listen to music if I had to listen to the KEF LS50 Metas, yet I really like their q350s. I currently have the Denafrips Ares II in my system and had the Chord Qutest before that. I like the Qutest, but there was something artificial sounding to me in the higher frequencies. The Ares II, on the other hand, just kind of sounds flat to me. I'm happy with my system, just can't seem to get the DAC right. I know there's nothing objective about my opinions. It just seems strange that they vary so much from conventional wisdom.

Oh yes! I did like your review I ordered it. Thank you.

Hi Tarun. As much as I enjoyed this video, all the tech talk was way above my head. Denafrips are getting a very good name for themselves, for not so much money. For the foreseeable future though I'll be sticking with my Chord 2Qute, even though it's getting on a bit now.

Fantastic review. Thank you!