Hello guys,
We are pleased to share the owner's feedback of the GAIA and the Terminator-Plus. John is our first customer who owns the Terminator, GAIA and the Terminator-Plus.
When John received the Terminator-Plus, he said:
"I'm thoroughly impressed by the Terminator Plus. Within a couple of hours, it's already surpassed the regular Terminator. The tonal balance is better, no perceptible grain in the treble. The latest DSP board helped quite a bit with that on the Terminator, but this is at a whole new level of smoothness. I'm sure there's some more to come as it continues to run in. I'm looking forward to the Gaia being added to it, and I've already received some clock cables and a high end i2s cable. Should be a fun ride..."
Two weeks later, we shipped John's order, the GAIA DDC. It took just two(!) days to deliver, pretty amazing isn't it? John hook up the GAIA via AES/EBU input from the source (Auralic), GAIA HDMI I2S output to the Terminator-Plus.
"The Gaia arrived! Even without the clock sync, it sounds very promising already.It’s barely warmed up, and I’m trying different i2s cables. First things are that it’s more 3D and treble is very smooth. I need to let everything settle in a bit. Stay tuned for more updates.
I just switched from AES to USB into the Gaia and it sounds amazing! The soundstage grew and everything sounds limitless in every direction. This is going to be addicting."
The biggest improvement of the Terminator-Plus is its internal Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillators OCXO.
"The best clocks are the clocks inside the DAC".
DENAFRIPS adopted the same philosophy, hence, explained the use of OCXO in the Plus.
The high quality clocks topped the performance of the Terminator-Plus a few levels up. It's evident as soon as one compares it to the standard Terminator. It provides truly incredible sonic results that far exceed the formal.
The next best thing of the Plus is its ability to synchronize the CLOCK-OUT to the GAIA/equipment that support the following clock frequencies:
44.1KHz, 48KHz
22.5792Mhz, 24.576Mhz
45.1584MHz, 49.152Mhz
The clock synchronization cleans up the imaging, adds transient clarity, as well as cohesive flow of music. Potential use cases:
AVATAR CDT AES/EBU to GAIA
Computer system USB output to GAIA
GAIA HDMI I2S to Terminator-Plus
Terminator-Plus clock-out to sync with GAIA
The system has been singing beautifully in John's system for around 3 weeks -
"Having been an aspiring audiophile since I received my first set of speakers at age 10 (which were taller than me), it's been quite a journey to find sound reproduction that is so engaging and doesn't leave me wanting.
While I've come to terms that my journey will likely never end, the Terminator Plus in combination with the Gaia has brought a level of detail, realism, and holography that I have never experienced before in any of my several previous system iterations and head-fi meets.
I was a pretty early adopter of the Terminator which brought a difficult-to-find mix of detail, dynamics, and naturalness for which it has received so much recognition.
The Terminator Plus brings another level of refinement - details and naturalness get a nice improvement, and the dynamics remain intact. Adding the Gaia to the mix along with a quality i2s cable and clock cables bring yet an even more substantial increase in detail where the sound takes on a holographic presentation that is simply mesmerizing.
A big thanks for the Denafrips team for making innovative products that excel both objectively and subjectively - and for bringing me so much enjoyment for hours each day!"
We are grateful of your support, John. THANK YOU!
Enjoy the music.
Credit: John L.
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