Quote:
Originally Posted by paltomare
Hey AudioFi.
The Venus is still on its way to me from Vinshine. I'm very much looking forward to getting that piece. I previously had an Ares II and was impressed enough to move up the Denefrips line. I did not try the Ares in the system that has the T2 but I did have it in my other system. The signal path was Auralic Aries G1 to Ares II via Toslink and to an Accuphase DP430 via coax. I could switch between the two with the input selector on my preamp. I also had a USB connection between the G1 and the Ares II. I found that I preferred listening to traditional jazz, and female vocal through the Ares, while I preferred rock, and electronic through the Accuphase. The Ares seemed to provide more air around the instruments, if that makes sense. I could hear the individual instruments more and vocals felt more in the room. The Accuphase seemed more dynamic and powerful. Not as laid back as the Ares. I'm hopeful the Venus takes what the Ares does even further. One thing to note is that the output from the Ares was hotter than the Accuphase. I would need to turn the volume down a bit to match that of the Accuphase. When the Venus arrives I plan to test it in the T2 rig before putting it the other system. For what's it's worth the Chord Qutest has grabbed my attention as the alternate DAC in the T2 rig.
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Paltomare:
I am exactly in the same path, but you are some steps ahead of me with that Venus II on the way.
Did you try the sbooster for the lumin? the outcome was much better than expected after the upgrade.
I will keep an eye on this thread to know the result of pairing the venus II with the T2 in your system. I suspect that the T2 + Venus will exceed the sound quality of the qutest or the internal dac of the T2, even when it’s a very good one.
I performed some tests with the DA1 of my MA8900 using the streaming function of the T2 vs connecting it directly to the mac mini via usb. The difference was substantially better to my ears with the lumin in the chain. Looks like the lumin usb delivers a better clocked signal with less jitter for any dac over direct usb.
But we never know... those are devices with very different design and technologies. Kudos for your new acquisition. Let me know your findings.
Keep in touch
