First of all I would like to thank Alvin Chee, for answering any questions I had, and keeping communication opened with me, no mater how many times I reached out.
Right now my system is somewhat broken in and is sounding great. It’s very revealing Neutral and may be a tiny bit on the warm side.
For those who are interested, this is the breakdown of my system:
Out of a dedicated network connection port, I’m using a Pangea Audio Premire SE Ethernet cable to connect directly to the isolated port on the LHY SW-6 network switch.
From the LHY SW-6 switch SFP connection, I’m using fiber adapter to connect to my Hifi Rose RS130 streamer via fiber SFP as well.
Out of the RS130 streamer I’m going to my Denafrips Gaia DDC 12th using Audio Quest Carbon USB cable.
Out of the Gaia DDC I’m going to my Denafrips Terminator Plus 12th DAC using I2S Audio Quest Carbon HDMI cable. ( I’m also using two 75 ohm BNC cables to sync the clock from the Gaia with the clock of the T-plus 12th.)
Out of the T- Plus 12th DAC I’m going to the Denafrips Athena Preamp 12th (XLR input 4) using Kinki Studio XLR cables.
Out of the Athena I’m going to my ToneWinner AD-1PA Amp using Kinki Studio XLR cables.
Out of The AD-1PA Amp I’m goin into my Paradigm Founder 120H speakers using BI-Amp Worlds Best cables 7 AWG banana connections.
For Powering system, I’m Using 2 Puritan PSM156 Power conditioner, with Ultimate Power mains cable to feed each conditioner.
I’m also using another Puritan Ultimate Power main cord to feed AD-1PA Amp. - Using 2 Puritan Classic power cords to feed each speaker. (Speakers are Hybrid)
For the rest of the equipment I’m using Pangea Audio AC 14XL MKII power cables. My Rack is a Customized Pangea Audio Vulcan Rack.
Ok.
My room is not the Ideal room for this system. The only treatment my room has is some sound proofing on the ceiling and walls which makes room sound decent.
But the funny thing is I just got into the audiophile addiction early this year and went through some equipment shuffling to get to this.
I must say I tried quite a few DACs and was never satisfied, until I heard reviews with sound demos of the terminator plus. I immediately fell in love with the sound, and had to have it despite the price.
It was everything I was missing from all the DACs I tried. So wanted more, so reached out to Alvin and he helped me choose the equipment based on the feedback I was giving him.
My honest opinion:
Denafrips Terminator Plus 12th :
This DAC is a wonderful sounding DAC. It sound smooth, spacious, It really sounds better than any DAC I have ever heard. I believe the DAC is very
neutral and it can be bright or warm based on the equipment you pair it with. My speakers are naturally on the warmer side so feeding DAC directly to the amp will make everything sound Neutral.
What I would have like from the DAC: like everyone else mentions is a remote control and also a 12V trigger to power on and off. But is not the end of the world.
Denafrips Gaia DDC 12th:
This was more of me being OCD. I wanted to have my HIFI Rose RS130 streamers clocks to sync with the Terminator plus clocks, but could not, due to both internal
clocks not having matching frequencies. So I got the Gaia so I can sync clock to the Terminator Plus clock. My RS130 streamer sounded great when connecting directly to the DAC via
I2S connection. I Must say the Gaia made the sound better when I introduced it between the streamer and the DAC. What the Gaia can do is, make any crappy streamer sound as good or close
enough to the RS130 streamer. I tested the WIIM Pro and it sounded very close to the streamer of the RS130 when connecting the RS 130 directly to the DAC with no Gaia.
I would hove probably bought an Eversolo DMP-A6 and used as streamer if I would have known about the Gaia before purchasing the RS130 streamer and saved some money.
What I don’t like from Gaia. There is nothing, I love it.
Denafrips Athena Preamp 12th:
This Preamp runs a bit on the warmer side which I was not to happy with at 1st. Once the preamp broke in it started sounding more neutral not too warm, and not too bright, but just right.
This preamp creates a more unique and smother sound when paired with the Terminator plus DAC. Once you listen to it when combined you won’t be able to take them apart. They complete
each other. They sound great together. Sound stage, width, decay, and everything else increases. I love the remote and how smooth the clicking of the relays are when turning volume up and
down. Male and female voices sound smooth soft and on center. Cream to your ears!!!
What I don’t like: There is no 12v trigger to turn on and off the amp which would have been great. The remote only controls power, input, & volume to the Pre-amp. It also controls a CD
player which I don’t have so don’t care for that feature. It would have been nice if the T-Plus would have had remote capabilities and I was able to control it with this remote.
LHY SW-6 network switch:
This switch creates Isolation between the wired connection by allowing to use SFP directly to my streamer which removes any noise entering the streamer creating a quieter and cleaner sound.
Nothing I don’t like. This switch complements my system.
Kinki Studio XLR cables:
This XLR cables give you a slight improvement on the vocals over my previous cables. They are beautiful cables, packaging is very nice. So you get what you pay for.
Nothing bad to say about them.
Yes the rest of the equipment, power cords, and audio cables complements and makes some contribution on the quality of the sound. This review is only on the equipment I purchased from Vinshine Audio, Beatechnik, and Kinki Studio.
I’m truly happy with this setup now. Maybe I will upgrade the amp and speakers in the future once I get a proper room which I can dedicate only for music and apply all room treatment necessary.
Finally, I love having all my Denafrips equipment and can’t think of anything I would upgrade it for. Keep in mind you are getting the value of more expansive equipment since you are buying direct.
I’m sure if not buying Denafrips I would have paid 2 to 3 times more for something that would sound close to my sound!
Thank you Denafrips.
You Rock!!!!!
Credit: Soc @ New York, USA
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