I can't stay silent - today we received Helene DAC, "baby" DAC from Aries Cerat. What a baby, what a beauty. From the very fist second the sound was sublime, digital rarely gets better than this - in form of Kassandra DAC only probably. I am not saying this lightly, just compare Helene to all the big guns, you would be surprised. Rich, transparent sound, real body of instruments, timbre to die for, as analog as possible, but most importantly, natural music flow, touching your heart and soul. Be warned, after listening you might need to sell some very expensive equipment. But there is solution - you buy Kassandra LE, thus may be less painful.
Oh my, oh my - Aries Cerat Helene DAC
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I have a chance to upgrade my Helene to Kassandra II. is there anybody who did the same and what's the difference you have noticed. I cannot compare between both since Helen is phase inverted and I have connected the speaker terminals inverted. Sudden switching of the dacs cannot notice any difference between them. wrote two emails to Aries cerat and no reply from them.
Good morning,
The Helene DAC is a wonderful dac but is not in the same league as Kassandra Ref.
Our dealer here has lived with both and initially he thought Helene was close to Kass but it quickly became clear Kass Ref is much better in every department.
I have also tried both and Kassadra is more effortless and majestic. Kassandra has more authority and weight and density of image. Basically as mentioned Kassandra is better in every way.
Another experience I have is more recently I took my Helene Dac to a clients who was hoping to downgrade, simplify his system and put some money aside. He currently runs a Kassandra Ref.
I lent him my Helene for 1 week and he came back to me and said he couldn't do it because the Helene, whilst very good was too much of a step backwards for him sonically from Kass Ref
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The difference is definitely not subtle, though both DACs are very musical. The Helene is already incredibly analog, but the Kassandra Ref takes everything to another level. You get more scale, deeper layering, wider and deeper soundstage, better flow, and an ease with complex passages. It feels more organic while also retrieving more detail, with greater refinement overall.
How clearly you hear these changes depends on how transparent your system is, but in a direct A/B comparison they should be quite obvious. Having lived with both DACs for some time, I’d say the first thing you’ll notice is the bass — the Kassandra digs deeper — followed by the refinement through the mids and top end, and the way the soundstage extends further out into the room.
"I have also tried both and Kassadra is more effortless and majestic. Kassandra has more authority and weight and density of image. Basically as mentioned Kassandra is better in every way."
Totaly agree but Helene sounds great as well, I can live with either but if I have a choice then Kassandra is the final choice.
I’ve spent time with the Ithaka, Helene, and Kassandra, and what strikes me is that all three are unmistakably musical in their own right. Each one delivers a highly engaging performance, but as you move up the line the improvements become clear: scale and dynamics expand, detail retrieval gets sharper yet more refined, bass digs deeper with greater authority, precision tightens, and the sense of air and smoothness grows. The soundstage, too, opens up in a way that feels more natural and immersive.
For many listeners, living with either the Helene or Kassandra is already deeply satisfying — you don’t feel shortchanged unless you’re directly comparing them side by side. But once you bring the upper-tier DACs into the mix, it becomes obvious just how much additional musical information they’re capable of revealing. It’s not just about more detail; it’s about the music flowing with greater ease and emotional weight.
My current system is genus integrated, Focal Kanta 2, Rel g1 sub and the source is LDMS and Jays audio cd transport. I am upgrading my speakers to Wilson audio watt puppy 50th anniversary edition. Also I was in discussion to buy the impure II preamp and Diana forte power amp. Little confused they will drive the Wilson. So there will be a possibility to go with Dan D'agostino momentum hd preamp and the progression s350 power amp. Also not receiving any replies from the Aries carat team for my enquiry for the dac which is forcing me to go ahead with the D'agostino setup.
Stavros requested you email him at info@aries-cerat.com
He is getting the "Oops something went wrong" error when trying to login to WBF
Stavros usually gets back pretty quickly, so if it was to the factory it might just be an email hiccup. If it was your local distributor, maybe just give them a quick call.
For the Wilsons, I’d look at the Essentia, Quintessence, or the Aperio TriodeFet with the low gain Pondera or Impera Pre are all really strong matches. I’d also consider this route if you want a more musical presentation compared to a full solid-state setup.
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Diana Forte is a monster that will drive just about anything, easily.
I have lived with it for years.
Diana Forte and Impera Ref is a amazing combo. Even Genus will drive the Wilsons. I have recently driven the Wilsons your refering to with Protos which is 20watts. It had no issues at all.
It would seem to me that you have no experience with Forte. So why comment on it?
Sometimes specifications of speakers and of the amp supposed to drive them tell you everything you need to know.
Impedance drops on the Wilsons, really bad phase angles, both combining to bad back EMF (back electromotive force). A SET amp of just 60 W/ch, and being a SET, that makes only a fraction of the power usable before major distortion sets in.
Aries Cerat SET designs are much more robust than usual SET designs. This is apparent to anyone who has experience with them.
The Aperio 35W integrated had much more dynamics and grip than a 600w solid state amplifier we compared it to. Specs are not even half the story.
You should try to listen to Forte one day then you can contribute with a informed opinion.
Again, it will also depend on at what volumes you listen to music. At moderate SPL you might be more successful, more likely than at 100 dBC peaks.
No, we have direct experience with the exact amp (we had one for a few years) driving numerous conventional loudspeakers, some with not so easy loads, like Thiel CS3.7, which dips to 2 ohms in the upper bass.
Al, stop being insulting and a fool. 75dB is well under 1 watt with most speakers (the Wilson is 89/watt ) and this amp is making 60 watts. It weighs over 250lbs and has output transformers larger than your whole amp. It is like nothing you are used to.
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It makes 60 watts with around 2% distortion…more than enough. As I said, we have tested it with difficult speakers and it sails right through them. Purasound is right, you are commenting on an amp you have no knowledge of and are just flat wrong about your ‘informed’ opinions.
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