Denafrips Venus 15th Dac

[billp]

I replaced my 8 yeard old wyred4sound 10th Anniversary Dac. Delta Sigma type dac.

I thought I would try something different. I bought a Denafrips Venus 15th DAC. I must have 150 hours on it by now.

I have a very good system. I am enjoying this Dac very much. I am not a reviewer so I do not know the language but I can try to describe what I hear compared to my previous dac.

More space side and depth. Piano sounds closer to a real piano. Voices come though like they are here.. especially if the recording is not full of instruments.

I tend to keep pieces for a long time and this will be a keeper for me.

Thanks for reading.

 

[AudioLibertarian]

Congrats! What other dacs have you tried before settling on the Venus?

 

[billp]

Well. Like I said I had the Wyred4sound top of the line dac that I bought for $5k years ago.

It is good. But everything was up front of the stage. This dac i hear the depth of the stage and more detail. Like I said, a piano sounds more like a real piano.

 

[V-Fi]

Nice! Always enjoyed the Denafrips DACs whenever I've heard one.

I recently was told by a somewhat trustworthy person that the 15th series components actually contain the older 12th version of the next higher model. For example, supposedly if you pop the top on a Pontus 15th, you'll see the PCB printed as Venus 12th. And the Venus 15th is supposedly a Terminator 12th. I don't know how true that is, sounds a bit far fetched to me. And even if that is the case, it doesn't mean the entire design is actually carried over from the higher model. Could just be using old PCBs for some reason that have been modified etc. Either way, the 15th series does sound remarkable, enjoy!

 

[nc42acc]

“And the Venus 15th is supposedly a Terminator 12th.”

From the info I have heard yes the Venus 15th is the older Terminator, not sure which one. The chassis sure looks like the older Terminator. The Venus 15th doesn’t get embarrassed too badly by a MSB Premier so a solid choice for a new DAC.

 

[AudioLibertarian]

how many hours has the dac been plugged in and on?

 

[billp]

It comes from the factory with 100 hrs on it. I easily have 200 hrs on it by now. I ran it for a week with a cd on a loop. So total about 300 hrs in my estimation.

So maybe 3/4 way into the break in cycle.
It will not take long for me. I play it every day and never shut it off.