Denafrips Ares 12th-1 R2R converter

Thank you, Hans - your reviews are always considered, informative and excellent all round.

Excelent review. Detailed. Phenomenal! 👏💯

Thank you for this review. I wanted to try an R2R DAC and I bought the Ares12th-1 a couple of months ago. Honestly I didn't expect this sound quality. I can't stop listening music, the instruments sounds so real and the soundstage is indeed very deep. Its currently connected to a Denon receiver through rca. Next upgrade would be a stereo amplifier with XLR inputs.

I bought the Ares 12th-1 two months ago mostly to bypass the DAC built into my Parasound HINT integrated amp because I was getting ear fatigue after fairly short listening sessions. The cost of the Ares was as much as I was willing to spend because I wasn't sure that it would make much of a difference. Boy was I wrong! The 12th-1 brought the music back to the point that I was in tears listening to some of my favorite music. Now that I know how good some digital music can sound (like analog to my ears) I am now considering an upgrade by adding the Denafrips IRIS DDC reclocker for about half the cost of the Ares.

Thank you

Thank you for a great review Hans

I am looking forward to your arce review

Did you notice its high output impedance? 625 Ω on RCA and 1250 Ω on XLR in spite of the two AD opamps buffer. It can create problems with 10 kΩ pot preamplifiers. For example, a regular 10 kΩ single-ended pot has a 1/4 worst case at -6 db, 2.5 kΩ. 2500/625 is a 3:1 ratio, far from a 10:1 minimum recommended impedance bridge. Usually RCA out is around 200 Ω.

I always look forward to your new Friday videos You mentioned the phase button, how should it be set? The room can affect the phase Thank you and congratulations for your Professionalism

It would have been nice if you would have gone into detail on the sound differences between the Ares 2 vs 12.1. I appreciate the review.

How does the sound compare between the single ended outputs vs the balanced outputs. My amp only has single ended RCA input connections.

I have a cheap setup with a chomecast audio, ares 1, ifi tube buffer and a smsl da-8s, jamo c809. I enjoy the music

Thank you for a great review. As an alternative to your suggested components in the "Where To Use Section" of your video, I believe one could digitally connect a CD player to a streamer/DAC, like the Eversolo DMP-A6 and eliminate the need of the Denafrips. Assuming no other digital sources will be used, which component configuration would yield the best sound quality? I ask this question because I'm considering the Eversolo and Denafrips components but am wary of the DAC overlaps. Perhaps, it all depends on my budget. Did I answer my own question? Thank you again!!!

Hey Hans. Thanks for great content. Question. Can this dac handle output from my Denon dcd-1520ae. Sacd player ? You do not mention it in the video ?

Thanks for your review. I am thinking of getting this. Just wanted to check this eco system with you - Chromecast Audio(tidal) + Denafrip Dac + Marantz NR 1200 + Audes 116. Will the Marantz 1200 be able to do justice to the Denafrip Dac? Or I need to upgrade the amp? Thanks!

Hello Hans, will you still have possession of the Ares 12th when you review the Arce? Seems logical to assume they'll be used together by customers.

Thank you for the review. I'm confused by the term "network bridge" in the "Where to use" section of your video. You show the "bridge" connected to the DAC via I2S(?). My streamer (Wiim Pro) does not have an I2S connection. Do I need to incorporate a "network bridge" that has an IS2 connection (like an IRIS?) if I wanted to use an internet source, CD player, and TV with the Denafrips?

Hi there, great review! I’m very i terested with the ares 12th-1 but i’m wondering about the latency because i will connect it to my computer and there will be a lot of watching movies but i can’t seem to find the answers for the latency itself Thankyou for the review!

How about a review of your current playlist??

I think you should do a video explaining what a network bridge is. Every time you mention it, I’m in lala land and have no idea what you’re talking about. 🤔🤷‍♂️ I work in IT and understand quite a lot about audio gear, but have no idea what a network bridge is ... 🤦‍♂️😅 Thx!