Better than vinyl!
The Terminator Plus has replaced my long-term reference, the PS Audio DirectStream DAC. Initially, it was fed by my Sonore Signature Optical Rendu streamer, which converts optical ethernet to USB. I still consider the DirectStream to be an excellent DAC, but I knew immediately that the Terminator Plus was in another league, so I put the DirectStream up for sale a few days later.
Terminator-Plus/Iris with Sonore Signature Optical Rendu and Uptone EtherREGEN on the right
Next, I ordered an Iris DDC to convert USB to I2C, as I wanted to take advantage of Denafrips' unique Clock Out feature. Incredibly, with the Iris in place, the Terminator-Plus got even better! I’m streaming files over my network from a NAS, using an Uptone EtherREGEN to convert ethernet to fiber for the Optical Rendu. I also let the Terminator-Plus do the oversampling, with the digital filter on the Slow setting.
Terminator-Plus/Iris with Kuzma Stabi Reference turntable and Supratek Grange DHT preamp on the left
I was convinced the sound quality of my previous digital front end had matched that of my analog system, but with the Terminator-Plus/Iris combo I think digital has now surpassed analog! The sonic image is denser with blacker backgrounds, the inner detail and transient retrieval is superb, and sibilance control is clearly better than what I had with vinyl. And the best part is that my extensive collection of vintage CD’s sound almost as good as the finest DSD256 recordings.
Sound Lab A-3 ESL speakers and PS Audio BHK 300 monoblocks
I recommend the Terminator-Plus/Iris combo without reservation, and, at the current price, I consider it one of the greatest bargains in high-end audio.
Credit: Kevin C.
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