Review: Listening to the Denafrips Pontus DAC

OK, all of that tech stuff in the first part of this review is interesting, but I am a “hook it up and listen to it” kind of guy. So, let’s get to it and listen to the Pontus DAC.

Getting Ready to Listen to the Pontus DAC

After about 150 hours of run time in my Shop/Test setup, I moved the Pontus DAC to my main system and connected it to my streamer. I alternated between an Aurender and an Innuos. I used my preferred Triode Wire Labs Split Power and Data USB cables. In both cases, playing off the hard drive was superior to any streaming.  I tried the different digital inputs on the Pontus DAC, and I preferred the USB input in my system. Your results may vary. By all means, be sure to experiment. Unfortunately, I could not try the iS2 input.

Because it is a true balanced design, I opted to use the balanced analog outputs. I connected my Triode Labs Wire Balanced Spirit II cables and alternately my Audience Balanced Front Row cables to my Vinnie Rossi L2i-SE integrated amp. Once I made the connections, I sat back, picked up the iPad, and fired up some music.

Listening Notes

Three hours later, I began to make some listening notes. The first note I wrote was “digital calm”. I never expected to be able to write this phrase. It’s an oxymoron that belongs with other classics like jumbo shrimp, an original copy, and my favorite, peacekeeper missile.

Let’s get this out of the way right now. The Pontus DAC from Denafrips has changed the way I think about digitally encoded music. You see, one of the main attractions that analog sources have for me is their sense of overall calm. My mind relaxes as I listen.  Digital sources, on the other hand, typically set me on edge. Or to put it another way, vinyl invites me to listen while digital audio files typically make me listen.

The Pontus DAC is one of the first current production DACs under 15K I have heard that has some of the calm characteristics I hear in analog. In fact, for the first three hours, I didn’t take any listening notes. I was enjoying the music so much.

There was a familiar analog-like sound coming from the Pontus DAC. If I could have put it under a microscope, I suspect I would have found a few strands of vinyl DNA in the unit. The typical two-dimensional, homogenized, and glaring diorama I have heard from digital in the past was gone. With the Pontus DAC, there was an overall “oneness” to the sound with the cohesive decay characteristics that I hear in vinyl. It was well organized, and I found myself getting into the music. I also quickly noticed the sense of space that digital usually lacks.

Hearing the Micro Details

For the most part, the Pontus DAC retrieves micro details that are usually lost in digital. And most importantly, as the music rises and falls in complexity, the Pontus maintains its composure. One of the issues with current production DACs that has always stood out to me is that as the complexity of the music increases, the sound becomes less musical. As the music becomes more strident and less relaxed and tenser, and I find myself tending to listen to simple music like solo vocals and small quartets.

Eagle-eyed readers will note my reference to “current production DACs” in the previous paragraph.  I injected this because I have heard this “calm” before in digital. Back in 2013, I wrote a piece about a John Wright modified Museatex DA44. I powered it with an AGM Gel car battery, and it exhibited a similar calm. This was the first time I heard this “calm” in a digital source, albeit to a lesser degree. Fast forward 7 years and the Denafrips Pontus has taken this calm to a new level. It has better frequency extremes, dynamics, and low-level resolution than my battery-powered DA44. At the same time, it also maintains some of the attributes I hear in vinyl.

What is Denafrips’ Secret Sauce?

I could not find any information on the website that addressed the analog output stage design. Obviously, the secret sauce is a mixture of several things. I specifically quizzed Alvin Chee, owner of Vinshine Audio, the global distributor for Dinafrips, about the design of the analog output stage. In the past, I found that this stage has a large impact on how the DAC is voiced. So, I wanted to understand what they were doing in that area.

In response, Alvin offered the following explanation of the design that, up until now, has never been released.

1. The DENAFRIPS DAC modules are composed of two complete DACs with the same structures in parallel, which are responsible for converting the entire signal waveform. The difference is that the two DACs use a differential DC voltage with opposite polarity and the same-rated DC voltage to allow the two DACs, to work in different conditions. The zero-crossing point is different as well.
   
   The first advantage of this design is that it greatly weakens the influence of the zero-crossing point, and the second is that it mitigates the stringent consistency requirements of the DAC modules of the traditional design for the positive and negative polarities. The distortion caused by the asymmetry of the positive and negative half-waves due to poor consistency, typically, the traditional way is to solve the zero-crossing problem, but this may just create another zero-crossing problem.
   
   The method we use is to average all the distortions and spread them across the entire frequency band. The advantage of this is that the THD measurement is slightly higher, but the digital noise caused by the conversion is very low, and the sound is noticeably significantly better.
   
2. The core conversion switch is a logic gate circuit switch. The advantage of this is that the PCB footprint of the conversion core is greatly reduced, hence, shortening the signal path.
   
   The core conversion stage directly outputs the voltage signal. There is no I/V conversion at the output stage. The disadvantage of this is that the distortion is slightly larger than the current output methodology. However, the advantage is that there is no need for an I/V conversion link, and the signal path is further shortened, and the sound is more vivid and pleasant.
   
3. Our DAC design philosophy puts the measurement in second priority and sound perception and quality in the first priority. Distortion is no longer the main factor affecting the sound. We believe that the THD distortion at less than 0.003% has almost no effect on the sound perception, excessive pursuit of low distortion may have an adverse effect on the sound. We reduce the excessive digital edges caused by digital conversion under the premise that distortion guideline that does not affect the sense of hearing, so that the resultant sound quality, is smooth, and analog-like.

My Take Aways on the Pontus DAC

My take aways from Alvin’s explanation is as follows:

1. There is no better sounding analog output stage than NO additional analog output/buffer stage.
2. The analog output voltage derives directly from the core conversion. In essence, they are trading slightly higher distortion for the elimination of an entire gain stage and its associated sonic fingerprint. If that is one of the things responsible for the sound quality I am hearing, then kudos to them.  

Room for Improvement?

All that being said, there is room to improve the Pontus DAC. The transparency of the leading edge of the music could be better. The notes sound ever so slightly like they have been “sanded,” like the sharp wide open transparent edge has been smoothed just a hair. Come to think of it, the leading edge of notes sounds a lot like vinyl sounds when the VTA on your cartridge setup is just a hair off from being dialed in.

The Pontas DAC’s bass was detailed and exceptionally powerful in the range of 30-80hz. However, it lacked a bit of authority in the under 30hz range. And while the soundstage had admirable width, the depth, while better than most digital, could be better. It lacked that ability to feel like you can look around the instrument. Dynamic contrast could also have more range.

Denafrips, I suspect, has addressed these reviewer points in the models at the upper end of their product line. I intend to find out and have asked Alvin to let me review an upper-level model in the future. Once I’ve heard it, I look forward to reporting back to you.

In the meantime, bear in mind reviewers tend to magnify small differences and shortcomings we detect. Non-reviewers were gobsmacked when they heard the Pontus DAC in my room. They immediately wanted to buy one to replace their existing DACs.

To Oversample or Not to Oversample

I personally preferred the non-oversampling (NOS) mode. I typically do not like oversampling, and the Pontus DAC, with its excellent sound quality, not only reinforced that conclusion but clarified it for me.

Some may feel the oversampling mode exhibits more detail. What I think they are actually hearing is a timing problem induced by oversampling. The issue is that high-frequency harmonics are arriving out of time with the fundamentals. I find this manifests itself as “detail” and eventually becomes tedious to listen to in the long run.

Just Right

In this review, I did my listening in the NOS mode. Also, I do not have any DSD files. I confined my listening to ripped CDs and streaming services through my Aurender and Innuos server/streamers.

So, is the Denafrips Pontus an end game in DACs? Does it sound like vinyl?  The answer to both of these questions is of course not. But what it also does not sound like is digital as I have come to know it up to now.

Anyway, I am not sure I would want it to sound EXACTLY like vinyl. Vinyl has its own set of issues. What I would like is the best of both worlds, and this is where I think the Denafrips design is headed.

One of my associates, after hearing the Pontus DAC, offered up the following designation. He called it “The Goldilocks DAC”. It’s not too analog, and it’s not too digital. It is, well, you get it, “just right”. I have to agree. It strikes a very nice balance between the two technologies.

Final Thoughts

So what we have here in the form of the Denafrips Pontus is an excellent DAC that moves digital sound forward and does not have the usual bevy of digital warts. It breaks some of the long-standing digital barriers that have kept me from fully engaging with digital music.  It is at a reasonable price point (by audio standards) and, based on construction and parts alone, represents a tremendous value. Now throw in the sound quality that I experienced, and I can’t think of a better value in a DAC today.

Denafrips executed this product beautifully and backed it with a 3-year warranty. They are also an extremely responsive company. Mark my words, Denafrips is a company you need to keep your eye on.

After my time with the Pontus DAC, I feel that Denafrips has issued me an “invitation to listen” to digitally encoded music. I think I will accept it. You should consider it also.

Highly recommended!