Sorry that it took so long to reply to you on this mail as I needed time to run in the Pontus :-).
I was about to order the 12th edition Aries + Iris (and lucky i did not as just learnt you Denafrips just released a newer version of the Aries) but because of the discount and ex-stock, i pulled the trigger on Pontus and the Power supply upgrade for my Bluesound node.
In my setup, the Pontus 12th Edition is much much better than the loaner Aries, however it is not as "thick" as loaner Aries but i do not know about the 12th Edition Aries. Meaning the bass is not as strong but a bit more defined.
overall, i am happy with the results of the Pontus and if the Venus is also having promo discount, I could have gotten the Venus. So just suggest that next time please run promo to at least the whole category e.g. DAC, AMP etc.
Attached are pictures of my humble setup.
Equipment :
Amp : Accuphase E380
Streamer : BlueSound Node N130 with upgraded power supply
Speaker : KEF R11 Meta
Have a nice day and looking forward to more after sales support like trade-in to upgrade and firmware enhancement etc.
Regards, Marcus @ Singapore
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