Article: Review | DenaFrips Pontus DAC

[gmgraves]

5 hours ago, davide256 said:

@gmgraves Can you confirm that your Pontus has the STM32F446 MCU USB interface for review completeness?

Yes.

 

On 12/10/2020 at 3:01 PM, bbosler said:

 

 

 

It would be very useful if you could share these recordings or let us know how to obtain them. This specific example is something we could listen for with our equipment and have something to compare your experiences too. Without the recording it is much less useful.

 

that said, I appreciate your passion and your willingness to hang it all out there , 

 

1 hour ago, Boleary3 said:

Pontus price is now $2,300. Guess this review caused a $700 price increase......

Yes it is $2300 in SINGAPORE dollars. Scroll further down the page and you’ll see that it’s $1670 U.S. dollars.

[Middy]

Some of the comments are valid but i really enjoyed the review..

I think you missed your calling in advertising, i wanted to rush out and get one..... your enjoyment shone through

Thank you for taking time for us all to read.

Have a wonderful christmas

 

David

 

[alvin1118]

Yep the Pontus comes with the latest DSP with STM32F446 MCU USB interface.

 

The prices on our website is in Singapore dollars. Depending on the exchange rate, mode of payment (PayPal/Credit Card), the price in USD may vary around US$1700-1780 or so. 

 

Happy holidays!

[Romans724]

Nicely done George. I agree 100% with your assessment.  You might like to know that I'm a senior editor with Positive-feedback.com and I just gave the Pontus my 2020 writer's choice award.  I decided not to proceed with reviews of a few other highly regarded DACs, because I didn't want to damn them with feint praise... yes, the Pontus spanked them that badly.

 

Best Regards,

 

Stuart

[Rexp]

40 minutes ago, Romans724 said:

Nicely done George. I agree 100% with your assessment.  You might like to know that I'm a senior editor with Positive-feedback.com and I just gave the Pontus my 2020 writer's choice award.  I decided not to proceed with reviews of a few other highly regarded DACs, because I didn't want to damn them with feint praise... yes, the Pontus spanked them that badly.

 

Best Regards,

 

Stuart

So you didn't want to tell the truth - noted. 

[gmgraves]

7 minutes ago, Rexp said:

So you didn't want to tell the truth - noted. 

Don’t you think that this comment is a bit unfair? There are realities to the business of equipment journalism that have nothing to do with the performance of the equipment! I suspect that the decision to publish his Pontus review at the expense of other (lesser) contenders probably has more to do with editorial space than it has to do with any cynical dishonesty.

[Rexp]

5 minutes ago, gmgraves said:

Don’t you think that this comment is a bit unfair? There are realities to the business of equipment journalism that have nothing to do with the performance of the equipment! I suspect that the decision to publish his Pontus review at the expense of other (lesser) contenders probably has more to do with editorial space than it has to do with any cynical dishonesty.

No, honesty is always the best policy. 

[gmgraves]

3 hours ago, Rexp said:

No, honesty is always the best policy. 

How is not publishing reviews of other equipment than the equipment of primary interest, in any way dishonest? By your reckoning, every time a reviewer posts a review, if he doesn’t also review all of that piece’s competition in the same issue, he’s being dishonest. At the very least, that attitude is impractical. If one wants to know how the competition stacks up, then one should go seek out reviews of that competition. Placing all the responsibility on one reviewer is unfair and ultimately unproductive (IMHO, of course).

[bluesman]

Now ya went and did it - I promised my wife that the new guitar I just bought was "it for a long time". 

 

You're describing exactly what I need, given that most of my live recordings are of acoustic stringed instruments and almost all of what I do with my home studio is lay up tracks with my own acoustic guitars, bass, and Yamaha grand.  The weaknesses it seems to overcome are exactly what I need for monitoring, mixing, and enjoying the music I prefer for both listening and creating.  As my son lives in Singapore, getting one should not be a problem - maybe he'll even get it for my wife (clever, aren't I?) for our upcoming anniversary 🤪  Thanks, George!

 

David

[Romans724]

17 hours ago, Rexp said:

So you didn't want to tell the truth - noted. 

 

In my day job, I'm careful to avoid the assumption of facts, or drawing  legal conclusions from them, when they are not in the record.  I realize that most people, and audiophiles in particular, often do not.    In my Writer's Choice award, currently published at PF, I named the other DAC's that I had under consideration, so the comparison is quite clear.  My full review of the Pontus is not yet published, but it also names the other contenders.  I made the choice not to write separate full reviews of the other DACs simply because their performance didn't motivate me to do so.  I'm too old, and life's too short, to drink poor whiskey, smoke crap cigars, or write reviews about gear that doesn't light my fire.  

[davide256]

23 hours ago, Rexp said:

So you didn't want to tell the truth - noted. 

??? I think that’s called not biting the hand that feeds you. If a reviewer is truthful, you can gauge by what they do choose to compare as like 🗃

[Rexp]

1 hour ago, davide256 said:

??? I think that’s called not biting the hand that feeds you. If a reviewer is truthful, you can gauge by what they do choose to compare as like 🗃

Here's a review I regard as honest, doesn't seem to have done Top Gear (the most successful car show IN THE WOLRD..) any harm, quite the opposite in fact. 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

10 minutes ago, Rexp said:

Here's a review I regard as honest, doesn't seem to have done Top Gear (the most successful car show IN THE WOLRD..) any harm, quite the opposite in fact. 

 

That’s not a review. It’s a comedy sketch. People often conflate negative comments with being truthful. Nothing could be further from the truth. Comedy sketches like this one are a huge disservice to everyone. 

[audiobomber]

35 minutes ago, Rexp said:

Here's a review I regard as honest, doesn't seem to have done Top Gear (the most successful car show IN THE WOLRD..) any harm, quite the opposite in fact. 

 

Typical car reviewer, horribly biased and looks at all the wrong things. I don't care whether he's being honest, his opinions are worthless to me.

[Rexp]

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

That’s not a review. It’s a comedy sketch. People often conflate negative comments with being truthful. Nothing could be further from the truth. Comedy sketches like this one are a huge disservice to everyone. 

Have ever watched Top Gear? 

[Rexp]

39 minutes ago, audiobomber said:

Typical car reviewer, horribly biased and looks at all the wrong things. I don't care whether he's being honest, his opinions are worthless to me.

As yours are to me. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

24 minutes ago, Rexp said:

Have ever watched Top Gear? 

Absolutely. I loved the show more with Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond. However, it has always been about entertainment rather than product reviews that could help someone make a purchasing decision. Very entertaining though. 

[Rexp]

8 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Absolutely. I loved the show more with Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond. However, it has always been about entertainment rather than product reviews that could help someone make a purchasing decision. Very entertaining though. 

'The industry calls it the Clarkson effect, which is said to make or break a car’s fortune. A favourable review will have thousands heading into the showrooms. A negative review will have a similar effect — except that the hordes will be buying rival models.

This pied-piper phenomenon has marketing heads waking up in cold sweats the night before a review is published, and agonising over whether they should lend him a car to test-drive, running the risk of an acerbic and instantly memorable putdown. Such as in the case of the Porsche Cayenne (“I have seen more attractive gangrenous wounds than this”), the Peugeot 307CC (“It’s like running into an old girlfriend who, since you last saw her, has had three children, cut her hair, eaten all the pies and given up)” and the Perodua Kelisa, which “sounds like a disease”.

“The Jeremy Clarkson effect is renowned within the car industry,” says Jamie Matthews, chief executive of Initials Marketing, an agency that develops campaigns for car brands. “He can make or break car launches.

“He’s entertaining and eccentric, but he’s also the car expert who has an opinion, and that’s what buyers want: they are looking for a strong point of view about a car to guide them'

[AudioDoctor]

Jeremy Clarkson thinking the 911 is a "jumped up beetle" hasn't hurt 911 sales one bit... Cayennes are selling like freaking hotcakes too, Porsche has set year over year sales records for quite a few years in a row.

 

Edit: I can make my own mind up about a car. I watch Top Gear / Whatever it is on Amazon Prime now for entertainment, not car reviews.

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 minutes ago, Rexp said:

'The industry calls it the Clarkson effect, which is said to make or break a car’s fortune. A favourable review will have thousands heading into the showrooms. A negative review will have a similar effect — except that the hordes will be buying rival models.

This pied-piper phenomenon has marketing heads waking up in cold sweats the night before a review is published, and agonising over whether they should lend him a car to test-drive, running the risk of an acerbic and instantly memorable putdown. Such as in the case of the Porsche Cayenne (“I have seen more attractive gangrenous wounds than this”), the Peugeot 307CC (“It’s like running into an old girlfriend who, since you last saw her, has had three children, cut her hair, eaten all the pies and given up)” and the Perodua Kelisa, which “sounds like a disease”.

“The Jeremy Clarkson effect is renowned within the car industry,” says Jamie Matthews, chief executive of Initials Marketing, an agency that develops campaigns for car brands. “He can make or break car launches.

“He’s entertaining and eccentric, but he’s also the car expert who has an opinion, and that’s what buyers want: they are looking for a strong point of view about a car to guide them'

Great entertainment. Anyone who looks at his Porsche Cayenne comment and makes a purchasing decision based on that is quite foolish. He is an entertainer. 

[AudioDoctor]

Do you think any buyer of the E63S watched this video and made their purchasing decision based on how well it drifts?

 

 

[AudioDoctor]

Here is an informative Car Review:
 

 

[sdolezalek]

Was this a Pontus review or a Pontiac review? 

[bluesman]

7 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

Jeremy Clarkson thinking the 911 is a "jumped up beetle" hasn't hurt 911 sales one bit... Cayennes are selling like freaking hotcakes too, Porsche has set year over year sales records for quite a few years in a row.

This thread has gone a bit off topic, and alternative facts have crept in. It's irrelevant to us as audiophiles whether 911 sales are rising or falling, but I hope correcting this silly little error will motivate others to verify what they say before presenting it as fact.  My source is Porsche - sales figures are published in Panorama (the monthly rag of the PCA) and I just double checked them against Porsche NA numbers in industry publications.  FWIW, I've been a PCA member since 1965, so I carry a lot of Porsche info in my head.  The waning demand for 911s is not news to any lifelong Porsche person.

 

911s are definitely not selling like hotcakes.  I don't think we can blame Jeremy Clarkson for it, but "911" sales are not strong at all.  FWIW, I put 911 in quotes because it's a fictional model number that only describes the 1963 original.  Porsche numbered every one of his designs sequentially, regardless of the item.  The car introduced in 1963 was actually design 901, and that was what they intended to call it.  But Peugeot had some kind of international registration on car models with 3 digits and a zero in the middle, so Porsche made it the 911. Each subsequent iteration had a later number, but all of them share the generic moniker "911" because they share the basic physical profile.

 

In the interest of accuracy, here's a North American 911 sales chart:

 

 

 

[OldBigEars]

On 12/10/2020 at 11:57 AM, Blake said:

 

Hey Matt,

 

Venus 2 arrived two weeks ago and it is residing in my new "work from home" home office, which includes a super nice audio rack ($35 from Amazon).  I haven't had a chance to compare yet.

 

 

 

@Blake  Sounds like you may have replaced your Qutest with the new Venus 11. How are you finding the differences?  You seemed to be very pleased with your Qutest / Gaia combination.