Dear Mr. Chee
I write to express my gratitude and pleasure at having received my Ares II DAC. After reading numerous positive reviews of the DAC I was anxious to have it in my modest audio system, replacing an early version of the Bryston DAC. (Of course I would have loved the Pontus II but my budget is limited.) When I ordered the Ares I assumed it would take weeks first to be shipped and then delivered to the US from China. To my pleasant surprise the unit arrived in less than a week after being ordered. With it installed I fully appreciate the engineering, technology, and craftsmanship that defines this model. The sound of my music is clearer and more detailed and the bass response is impressive. Congratulations on creating such a competent and budget-conscious unit that music lovers like myself may enjoy.
I am honored to receive your communication and to be asked to submit photos of my modest audio system. As you see I have an NAD C165BEE preamplifier and C568 CD player powered by a vintage Adcom GFA 5500 power amplifier, which feeds a pair of Totem Forest speakers. I stream music via a Bluesound Node 2i with a coaxial connection to the Ares II, as well as a coaxial connection from the CD player (bypassing its internal Wolfson DAC chip). I hope these will be satisfactory for your use.
It may be of interest that I first learned about the Ares II in an article regarding the Denafrips Terminator, published in the September 202 issue of Stereophile magazine. I had been using a Bryston BDA-1 DAC and despite its high quality recognized DAC technology had greatly advanced since that unit was produced. I chose the Ares II based on the review of it and your company in Stereophile as well as many positive reviews online, including that of Thomas & Stereo and The Next Best Thing Studio, each on YouTube.
I neglected to ad in my original message to you that another thing that impressed me was the immediate and regular emails I received after placing my order. Your customer service is exceptional.
When attempting to send this reply my system declines as the contents were too large. I shall follow up with separate emails with further photos.
Thank you again for allowing me this opportunity.
Credit: David S. @ USA
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