The Denafrips Ares digital converter
Pacula
I really like analog audio, however I’ve by no means complained that digital audio sounded disagreeable or vivid, just a bit boring, and it would not pull me in like an honest turntable. Music on LP connects higher, and to my delight that is what’s occurred with the Denafrips Ares digital converter. Digital sounded a couple of steps nearer to vinyl, and if that interprets as extra “analog-like,” so be it. With the Ares I heard every little thing deep down into the combo, like by no means earlier than.
The Ares is competitively priced at $680, £550 and AU$980 however what makes it uncommon is that it makes use of a financial institution of resistors to carry out the digital-to-analog conversion.
The sound is massive, however Ares is good and compact, simply 2.four by eight.four by 9.9 inches (45 by 215 by 230 mm). The entrance panel has a big Standby button, then a row of a lot smaller digital enter selector buttons for USB, coaxial and optical digital inputs, plus Section and Mute buttons. A sequence of extremely tiny and not-at-all-bright pink LEDs point out the chosen supply, the pattern price and whether or not the converter is taking part in DSD recordsdata. No distant is included.
Judged from the skin it is a well designed, however no-frills fundamental black element, however I popped the duvet and took a gander at what the Denafrips engineers crafted. The Ares would not use an off-the-shelf digital converter chip like most converters do. The Ares innards as an alternative home a Denafrips designed discrete, high-precision resistor ladder (R-2R) digital converter. I’ve by no means earlier than seen one like that in a lower than $2,000 converter. Ares decodes high-resolution PCM recordsdata as much as 24 bit/384 kHz sampling charges, and as much as 11.288MHz (4X) DSD native recordsdata. The interior energy provide boasts a big custom-wound toroidal transformer and a financial institution of 72 small capacitors.
Contained in the Denafrips Ares digital converter
Denafrips
The rear finish has a USB, two coaxial RCA and two optical digital enter jacks; and stereo RCA and XLR analog output jacks. The underside panel has 4 rubber-tipped conical ft, and a slide swap to pick 115- or 230-volt operation. Construct high quality feels strong, and the guarantee runs three years.
Listening to the Ares
The Ares sound wasn’t something like every other digital converter I’ve tried at residence; it had extra physique and dimensionality, and the sound broke freed from my Klipsch Forte III audio system. The music had extra guts and energy, sounding much more like LPs, or to place it one other approach, the sound of stay music.
To place the Ares in context I introduced out a Schiit Bifrost Multibit converter ($599), which sounded brighter and crisper, however extra uptight, and dimensionally flatter than the Ares. With the Ares the sound opened up, it was easy, the Ares let the music come by means of with higher ease. It was a much bigger sound, with extra soundstage depth, and low stage, quieter, extra delicate detailing was enhanced. This sort of decision was unprecedented for the cash.
Subsequent, I introduced out a Border Patrol SE tube digital converter ($1,350, £1,046 and AU$1,804). I like it for its candy sound and soundstage depth, however the Ares’ purity and superior readability was in one other league. The music popped into focus, as if veils had been lifted. The Border Patrol SE sound was beautiful, but it surely sounded a tad sluggish after I spent a while with the Ares.
Although I attempt to keep away from utilizing the time period “musical” to explain the sound of parts, that is precisely what made the Ares particular. There was a stay high quality to the sound, extra bounce to the rhythms, extra visceral influence within the bass. I used to be shaken by this little converter, the entry-level mannequin from Denafrips. I hope to get my arms on certainly one of its higher-end fashions within the coming months.
Vinshine Audio is the worldwide distributor for Denafrips; all merchandise are direct shipped from Guangzhou, China, to every buyer. The Ares present worth is $680 within the US, £550 within the UK and AU$980 in Australia.
