*WORLD PREMIERE REVIEW* Denafrips Venus II 12th Anniversary Edition DAC - Simply Stunning!
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- #denafrips #hifi #audiophile
Hey everyone, we hope you like our review of the Denafrips Venus 2 12th - It really is a terrific DAC and I highly recommend it!
The cost depends on your local currency conversion - $4,149 Singapore dollars currently!
Tested with:
Luxman 595
Tannoy Eaton
Harbeth 40th Anniversary C7 ES-3
Dynaudio Heritage Special
Atlas Superior Power Cables
Audioquest K2 Speaker Cables
High Fidelity RCA Interconnects
Zavfino Fusion MkII XLR Interconnects
Lessloss C-Marc XLR
KEF KC62 Subwoofer
Hey everyone, hope you enjoy the review! A couple of additional notes:
1. Break-in: I ran this DAC for over 240 hours before reviewing, I do believe it's important to break Denafrips DACs in, and leave them on to sound their absolute best.
2. Price: This will be different dependent on your country's currency conversion from Singapore dollars and tax import rules
Enjoy the music! 🙂
Fyi - you need over 700 hours of break-in to fully realize its magic.
@@bdmcn
In my opinion, you're raising the standard of how a review should be carried out. This may also have to do with your natural ability to be pleasant, well spoken and to the point. Excellent work! Cheers.
Thank you very much, that’s very kind 😃 👍
Wonderful review! I upgraded from my Pontus to the Venus in large part based upon your review . I didn’t want to spend the money . However As you said it just “Makes me Happy”, and that’s what its all about 🎼🎵🎉Cheers
Denafrips and Vinshine Audio just released a new firmware update for the Venus II 12th (and Venus II as well) that gives a little more warmth and body to the midrange while still preserving the wonderful top end and clarity. Just installed it yesterday and I really like it!
Very great review and comments. I never heard Venus II but a lot of people said it's the most vinyl like sound possible, and that is great for me and perhaps it's going to be my next DAC upgrade. Besides, I have to say I'm plenty identified with your insights, specially the family stuff and the way we live the music in our life as parents. Thank you. Excellent work! Cheers from Argentina.
Thank you 🙏 😊 🎵
Wow, where did the suave "what else have you got" dude go? I don't think I have ever seen such a visceral reaction to a DAC before, and good for you for not pressing delete and giving us a more composed and analytical take!
Haha thanks - sometimes you just gotta let it all out! Also loving being called Suave!! James Bond of audio reviewers 😝
Silky smooth... Love this DAC.
Thanks SRA,, 👍⭐👍
Thank you. Very good review. It's a fantastic DAC for the price for sure but I will wait for Venus II 13th :)
I am finding cables do matter with the Venus II 12th... I am streaming from the Pi2 Mercury V2 streamer and discovered that my Venus sounds better with Gotham digital cables vs Mogami, on both AES and RCA, Worlds Best Cables on Amazon, around $30. I asked Tarun, The British Audiophile what he uses for his i2s cable. He uses the British made QED, I bought one, and he was spot on, removed the bloat and smoothed out the highs, around $40 US. I'm using the Oyaide Black Mamba v2 power cord, bought direct from Japan, around $200. No clue on the power cord, but it looks cool. ;-) Hope this helps someone.
Top info - thanks for sharing with the community 👍
@@SmallRoomAudio I should add, I have a bunch of Audioquest digital cables, HDMI too, their Cinnamon line. That Gotham AES $30 cable blew them all out of the water. Same with the QED HDMI cable. Save your money folks, there are other alternatives out there!
Cables . Snake oil 😂
Which model qed hdmi?
@@djradman6794 I forget, I paid around $40 usd
Important to differentiate between solid silver wire and silver plated. The solid silver is sweeter and more natural than plate silver which can be harsh and fatiguing in the long run.
Love your videos more and more my friend. Keep it up! Any chance you will get your hands on a Holo Spring 3 KTE?
Thank you, that’s much appreciated! 😃 I’ll happily review the Spring if they send me one!!
Have you listened to the chord qutest? If so comparing the qutest to the Venus ii is there a big improvement?
Lovely review...my Venus ii 12th is making its way through customs into UK. And it was an almost nail biting decision for me. Between this and latest Pontus. Your review is re-assuring . 2 questions if I may-
How many hours of burn in did your unit have ?
And those wooden acoustic panels are lovely. Can I ask where you bought them from.
Keep up the good work and good luck with the baby. Cheers
Thank you 😃 I burned the unit in for over 240 hours before reviewing as R2R dacs tend to need a fair bit of time to sound their best! The acoustic panels are from GIK Acoustics, I actually bought all of mine from eBay as they have a shop with ‘seconds’ where the panels are returns or slightly chipped - saved me loads of money!
@@SmallRoomAudio Thank you
Vinshine Audio sent me a note, to let the unit sit over night plugged into an outlet prior to installing into my system. Mine sat like that for quite a few days, as I was working on other things. I will say this, it sounds better every time I fire things up. It may sound a bit harsh at first, unpolished, just let it play quietly in the background for a few days after installing it in your system.
Great to hear a reviewer talk about system synergy, a warmer, colder or neutral sounding Dac all have their place, it all depends on the rest of your system.
Hi @ukbij, how much import duty did you have to pay & did you have VAT added by Vinshine before shipping? Thks
Would be great if more companies made DAC’s with analog input and a volume control. I assume today more than ever people stream and maybe play vinyl.
Cambridge CXN V2 is a nice sounding unit that should fit your needs. I owned one, but sold it off after purchasing the Ares II.
Hi i am interested in your choice of acoustic treatment in your room.
Could you do a video on it sometime?
Great review! Love the fact that you provided music you listened to to evaluate the DAC. Do you have a play list link you could supply or was this strictly a CD session.
Thank you! 😃 This was mainly a CD listen, but I do have a Tidal review playlist, I’ll dig it out so you can see some of the tracks I like to use when I try out gear!
@@SmallRoomAudio That would be lovely!
Hi,
Subscribed today, can I firstly say enjoy your channel very much. I too am looking for a DAC and was interested in the couple of reviews and discussions around the options available.
My system consists for the past year and half a Luxman 595SE too , and predominantly all vinyl set up, Acoustic Signature TT and Luxman EQ500 phono-stage. Speakers are the new Ophidian Incanto.
What would you recommend that suits the amplifier
Thanks
Nandu
Welcome Nandu! Great setup btw, I imagine those speakers are brilliant! I’ve had a few comms with Mr Ophidian and he was a really lovely guy making great speakers that should really get more press attention! There’s lots that will work with what you have, I suggest keeping everything the same for a while and identify a specific area you want to improve, then you can work on how to refine things to taste! 😃
Hi. Great review. Have you listened Sonnet Morpheus MK II. If you did what are your impressions regards the Venus 12. Thanks. Please continue with the channel.
Thank you 🙏 😊 I haven’t heard the Sonnet, but I’d love to!
thx for the video I have audio-gd loads of emotion too...
I’d love to try an Audio-gd! 👍
How would you compare this to a Chord Qutest with upgraded power supply? Is it so night/day?
The Venus sounds bigger and more expansive. The chord is still great though, especially good if you are short of space!
How does it compare with Gustard R26?
R26 probably takes it on stage width, but the Venus has a denser more vivid tone, adds body and feels more natural to my ears. Diminishing returns for sure, but I’d pick the Venus II if I had the choice and the money!
Thank you boss
@@SmallRoomAudio
In your opinion is a stand alone dac more important than the music server, a server without an internal dac is what I’m referring to? Thank you
Depends on the system, but I always tend to start with this order: Speakers, Amplification, DAC, Streamer, Cables
If you are streaming, start with your network. I have been following Mike over at Headquarter Audio, he knows his stuff. A good network switch is where I would start, I am using a $42 NetGear 8 port switch, their GS108Ev3. All I can say is WOW! I never realized how much crap was on a stream until installing this switch. It is not the 1's and 0's, it is the noise in the circuit that this particular NetGear switch filters out. This is the same switch many $500 "audiophile" switches use inside of their boxes. Pretty sneaky if you ask me... Go get one of these and try it out, worst case, send it back.
Great review. What is your reference stack in your system currently?
How is the Venus in comparison to your Mola Mola?
American here. I owned that Starsailor CD with...what was the song called? "Hard to Get"? Great tune. I'd never compare that guy's vox to Jeff Buckley. I 'effing loathe Jeff Buckley.
Haha fair enough - happy to hear from a fellow Starsailor fan!! 😃
T2 seems to get very little love/reviews. Not just youtube.. but in print as well. Wish I knew why.
Aries-->Pontus--> Venus--> T+.
Thanks!
Thank you very much, that’s very kind of you! 😊 👍 💥 🎶 🔊
@SmallRoomAudio I ended up buying one and I am not disappointed. Thinking of getting the hades and thallos amps to go with it.
Need to throw price out of the way sometimes, more often than you know, the ROI to higher end is almost none existence...
Is this your 7 year old’s listening room?
🤡
Pontus II 12th was a disappointment for me, having upgraded from Ares II. It is a competent DAC, but it did nothing to wow me. It just isn't enough of an upgrade over Ares II. Venus II 12th would have to be hugely better for me to want to spend on Denafrips again.
I used the same logic you are when I made the jump from the Ares II. I seriously looked at both the Pontus II 12th and the Gustard R26, the Venus II 12th was kind of in the mix at that point...
What sold me was the internal construction and materials used in each. The Venus II 12th was simply built better than the other two, better components, construction, isolation, so that is the direction I went.
I am glad I did, because I had a feeling I would be sitting right where you are now. From everything I have heard and read, you may want to make a vertical move to the Gustard R26. If I were in your position I believe that is what I would do.
@@michaelwright1602 Out of curiosity, what source(s) are you using with Venus II?
@@michaelwright1602 And great reply, thank you.
@@johnratcliffe6438 Sorry John, this is going to be long... A lot going on here...
For streaming I am using the Pi2 Mercury V2 with RoPieeeXL OS, with the NetGear 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Plus Switch (GS108Ev3). Between the feed coming from my Xfinity router is another router, the TP-Link ER605 V2. There is no wifi on this TP-Link router. I also have the LHY SW-8 switch in the mix, save your money, I cannot tell the difference between it and the $42 NetGear switch. I have the NetGear switch feeding the SW-8. Me, I would use two of the $42 switches for double filtering, many have with reported great results.
The Mercury and NetGear units are running off LHY linear power supplies. The SW-8 has its own internal power supply. I am also using Emotiva CMX-6 power conditioners x 3. Everything I use is hardwired, no wifi.
I have 6 dedicated 20 amp circuits to my little AV corner. Each outlet is on two 20 amp breakers. The outlets are feeding 3 of the CMX-6 units, and 2 of their CMX-2 units.
I have the Venus plugged into one of the CMX-2 units with the Oyaide Black Mamba V2 power cord. The CMX units are all fed with MonosAudio 12AWG power cables with gold plated plugs. They look cool. ;-)
For CD and SACD I am using the Oppo BDP-83 with the GearFab digital breakout box. The Oppo feeds the GF box via HDMI, and I use a Gotham digital coax with an RCA to BNC connection out to the Venus.
I only mention the above due to the fact I found that the electrical supply from my panel was a major issue in regards to noise. The panel, a Siemens unit, was installed around 2008, it is 100 amp service.
My first dedicated 20 amp drop to my system was the game changer. The TV picture quality greatly improved, the sound was better, the bass had more presence. That lead me to rewire and drop more 20 amp circuits with 21/2 romex. A total of 6 home runs to 3 outlets.
Then the CMX-6 refined it more, then the linear power supplies, and the icing on the cake was that NetGear network switch.
I could not believe how dirty that the internet feed really was prior to installing this NetGear switch. A switch loaded with filters. These are the same switches used in more than a few $500+ "audiophile" switches, sneaky bastards. It is a $42 switch.
The addition of this switch was just as profound as that first dedicated 20 amp circuit. Even my 80 yo mother noticed the addition of that switch, as the PQ out of the Roku was that much better, and the sound out of the $150 Polk sound bar was off the chart in SQ. The bass module came to life too...
I have wanted to upgrade the electrical in this corner of the house since moving in, it was last on my list after taking care of the kitchen, garage and two bathrooms, I finally got around to it, and quite frankly was blown away.
With the addition of better gear, this is the first place I would start, the electrical. That switch is only $42 on Amazon, a CMX-6 is $99 with free shipping. The CMX-2 was $89 with free shipping. The 250ft of 12/2 romex was more expensive than all three of the above devices.
My point being, you do not need to break the bank in regards to filtering out the noise electricity brings to the table. I would at least drop one 12/2 dedicated circuit if you have not already done so. That was a huge improvement in itself.
My apologies for the long post, but I believe your question deserved the big picture answer. Electricity is noisy, especially over ethernet.
@@johnratcliffe6438 Short answer, a Pi2 mercury V2 streamer running RoPieeeXL, an Oppo BDP-83 for CD and SACD... I have a mix of amps, Emotiva XPA-2, Denafrips Thallo, XTZ Edge A2-400. Pre amps, the Denafrips Hades and the Schiit Freya S. Using WBC Mogami XLR with Neutrik Gold connectors. There is also a Mac mini in there with a TeraDak linear power supply, using the Oyaide USB cable.
how anout holoaudio may dac…
another chifi review? no 158...
To be fair, if you look at the videos on my channel, I don’t do that many chi-fi reviews - the products I look at are from all over the world! This comes from China - but it’s a great product and I don’t think the country of origin matters when something is great. 👍
Exactly. It's how the UK lost the motorcycle industry to the Japanese by sticking our heads up our posteriors and thinking someone who had no baggage couldn't possibly look at the mistakes that were made and improve on them.Small minds..