Denafrips product owners please fall in

[StreamFidelity]

@Blake

Thanks for the video. I finally found the Denafrips manual page. For me, the LED at the clock output was on. I learned that it increases the SQ (Sound Quality) if all inputs or outputs that are not needed are deactivated. Fewer electrical signals improve the noise and conserve the energy balance.

According to the instructions below, I pressed mute and stopped with input- at COAX. As a result, the LED was still on. In effect, the clock output was probably deactivated. I find that confusing.

So I tried the setting with I2S-A and now the LED is off. Obviously, the designer has considered two settings for No clock output: COAX with LED on and I2S-A with LED off. I don't really understand why? But I think I solved the problem.

DENAFRIPS Terminator-Plus Clock Out setting

1. Press Mute button to engage mute/setting mode
2. Press Input- button momentarily multiple times. You will see the LED light up in the following sequence as you press/release the Input- button

• COAX (No clock output)
• AES1 (44.1K/48K)
• AES2 (24/25Mhz) <- for Soundaware
• OPT (45/49Mhz) <- for GAIA
• I2S-A (Clock out disable, note that CLOCK LED will be off too)
  

 

[Abyss Man]

Hi Guys,
Any updates with the new toys? As for me, I'm just enjoying having to go through my entire collection again. Once wallet regains health it will be a Tellurium Black PC , a Tellurium Silver Diamond BNC and a Tubulus HDMI or RAL HDMI (Blake any FR would be kindly appreciated with regards to the HDMI).

 

[Blake]

Looking forward to your Tellurium reports @Abyss Man!

My Stealth Audio Sextet V14-T arrived, along with some very nice Cardas BNC adapters and some Cardas Contact Conditioner for good measure. I have not yet installed it as my work schedule continues to be a bit crazy. It has a tuning sleeve on it to adjust the sound.

Brad, the owner of Revelation Audio Labs, said my HDMI cable should hopefully ship out some time this week.

 

[Abyss Man]

Jesus Blake,
That cable looks awesomeness personified. It looks its doing 100mph just sitting there. U have a lot of patience, I would have plugged it in straight away no matter what. I'm weak. LOL.

Do let us know of your experience with the RAL HDMI. Thank you so much for the update Blake.

 

[Blake]

Ok, I installed the Stealth Audio Varidig Sextet v14-T spdif cable on the TPlus clock out last night...

Within the first minute of the song I muttered a curse word (in a good way) and shook my head in amazement. The increase in clarity/detail/soundstage was beautiful and mesmerizing, almost doubling the prior improvement from when I first synced up the clocks between Gaia and TPlus. I don't understand it, but damn, this Stealth cable is terrific- with even more potential improvements once I find the time to get the tuning sleeve in the optimal position.

So, here is the deal- the quality of the clock cable matters. I already knew that after installing my Kimber D60's (my Kimber D60 very much improved the sound versus an inexpensive cable from Amazon and it was very easy to hear and well worth the investment), but the Stealth cable absolutely hammered that idea home.

The TPlus + Gaia combo is just so unbelievably transparent and revealing, the sonic changes from swapping in different cables are simply magnified over what I have experienced with other gear over the years.

To be very clear though, the TPlus and the Gaia sound awesome even with cheap cables and I don't think people should run out and blow the budget on cables.

However, if budget allows and you want to experiment, the TPlus and Gaia scale up amazingly as the cable quality improves (power cables and digital interconnects).

 

[Blake]

Good reviews of Denafrips products just keep rolling in:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-40-denafrips-terminator-ares-ii

 

[alvin1118]

I wasn't aware Stereophile published the review on the website! That's fast.

 

[Abyss Man]

Nice Blake, were you expecting any lesser? I certainly wasn’t. Damn, I need my Tellurium injection soon. LOL.

 

[CKKeung]

I eventually auditioned Avatar + Terminator Plus today!



It's not yet Sept today but I can confidently say that the Avatar is one of the two "Steals of 2020" I have experienced so far!
A must-buy for all Terminator Plus owners!

 

[Abyss Man]

I eventually auditioned Avatar + Terminator Plus today!

View attachment 68798

It's not yet Sept today but I can confidently say that the Avatar is one of the two "Steals of 2020" I have experienced so far!
A must-buy for all Terminator Plus owners!

Hi CK,
One of two? What’s the other? TP?

 

[CKKeung]

Hi CK,
One of two? What’s the other? TP?

Vertere Redline power cable.

I am not joking, it's a Giant Killer, if the original plugs are replaced/upgraded!

 

[nicoludio]

I eventually auditioned Avatar + Terminator Plus today!

It's not yet Sept today but I can confidently say that the Avatar is one of the two "Steals of 2020" I have experienced so far!
A must-buy for all Terminator Plus owners!

Any thoughts on the Terminator Plus itself?

 

[Golum]

I eventually auditioned Avatar + Terminator Plus today!

View attachment 68798

It's not yet Sept today but I can confidently say that the Avatar is one of the two "Steals of 2020" I have experienced so far!
A must-buy for all Terminator Plus owners!

I knew that back in June when i ordered mine

 

[CKKeung]

Any thoughts on the Terminator Plus itself?

T Plus is very competitive, if you don't mind it's being made in Mainland China.
But don't worry, its worldwide distributor Vinshine Audio in Singapore does offer strong aftersale support.

Sonic performance-wise, T Plus is on par with models of brands from N Am/Europe which are 2 times in prices.

However Denafrips has competitors, such as the new Holo Audio May dac which is also from Mainland China.
Personally I like the sonic character of Denafrips a bit more.

Adding the Avatar transport to T Plus is another story, because of the word clock output of the dac synchronizing the transport.
This synergistic effect is simply awesome!

 

[CKKeung]

Are there Aqua Audio dac owners considering the Avatar cd transport?

They can be connected by I2S if following the pin connection scheme below :

 

[Swisstrips]

So is the T or TPlus not for someone with a lot of native DSD as well as a PCM > DSD via HQP type of user? It would seem the R2R architecture is really suited for redbook libraries?

Coming from the Lampi world this would be a much different product - not better or worse, just different.

 

[Golum]

So is the T or TPlus not for someone with a lot of native DSD as well as a PCM > DSD via HQP type of user? It would seem the R2R architecture is really suited for redbook libraries?

Coming from the Lampi world this would be a much different product - not better or worse, just different.

Don’t really see any correlation in this honestly. Majority of DACs today do both PCM/DSD while r2r you can have in Lampi (i had it in GG2) as well and as normal setup in Aqua DACs for example. Could not say this or that is more suited for redbook - depends on many things i would say - just my two cents...

 

[bonzo75]

So is the T or TPlus not for someone with a lot of native DSD as well as a PCM > DSD via HQP type of user? It would seem the R2R architecture is really suited for redbook libraries?

Coming from the Lampi world this would be a much different product - not better or worse, just different.

Why different? R2R was always better in big 7 and Golden gate imo.

 

[Swisstrips]

@Golum + @bonzo75 - Not sure why that's why I was asking - I thought or was under the impression that some or most R2R don't do DSD natively? Some like Lampi, T&A have separate circuits (well the "chipless" versions) et al. Maybe certain R2R's handle it differently like Yggy vs TPlus. Again I don't know and forgot how it's handled.

I seem to recall someone stating or questioning a similar question about the application if one up-samples PCM > DSD its not the best use of something like the Denefrips architecture? I'm paraphrasing but was something a long those lines and kind of what I'm trying to understand.

 

[bonzo75]

I think you are too caught up in PCM, DSD and architecture especially if you find understand it in detail (I don't either). Simply compare the sounds in proper set ups, what sounds right to you is the right architecture