The Ares 12th-1 changed everything.
- support585263
- Jan 7, 2024
- 1 min read
Thank you for the opportunity to share with you my impressions about Denafrips Ares 12th-1.
After a period of about 12 days of burning in, I could hear the real sound of this setup. My system is an "international" one: Emotiva BasX A2 power amplifier, Schiit Freya+ preamplifier in tube mode (with russian tubes manufactured - believe it or not - in 1979, but never used before!), Eversolo DMP-A6 (streamer), Marantz 6007 CD player (used as transport), Q acoustics 3060S subwoofer and a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 707 S2 speakers. Cables are SVS, QED and AudioQuest. I stream music through Roon from Tidal using the USB connection. For listening to CDs I used a coaxial cable and for my TV an optical one.
The Ares 12th-1 changed everything. I chose the OS mode and the slow filter. The sound is smooth, full of details and it has that famous holographic characteristic. I listen every day for hours and I even redescovered music that I know very well as if I was hearing it for the first time.
I really love this DAC. It has transformed my system in a very good and unexpected way. In my opinion, connecting it to Freya+ using an XLR balanced cable is the key element of such a great result.
I hope that, at some point in the future, I will be able to upgrade my system with one of your other products.
Thank you.
Best wishes,
Eugen @ EU
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Wow, what a fantastic and detailed write-up! Your description of that "holographic" sound is exactly what I was hoping for, and it's great to hear how well the Ares 12th-1 integrates with gear like the Freya+. I've been considering a similar R2R DAC for my setup to get that smooth, detailed analog feel, but the cost of all these audio upgrades really adds up. I actually like to shop online for various household items and accessories on temu https://temu.pissedconsumer.com/customer-service.html to balance the budget a bit, which helps me feel a little better about splurging on the important stuff like a new DAC. Thanks again for sharing your journey, it's seriously got me rethinking my next move!