MHDT Pagoda vs Denafrips Pontus vs BorderPatrol SE-i vs Audio Mirror TUBADOUR III

[OldBigEars]

4 hours ago, Calvin & Hobbes said:

100% agreement about power quality on the Qutest as well.  I suspected that the Qutest could sound better with cleaner power and heard that right away by sticking a car battery jump start pack with a 5V output on the Qutest. The improvements that were immediately apparent to me were a lower noise floor and reduction of a slight bit of harshness.

 

I am less sure that I am able to get the Qutest to put out the type of sound quality that I prefer. The Qutest is exceptionally detailed in its sound. But, the Qutest conveyed that detail in a way that seemed artificially Technicolor. Meaning that there was a lot of detail, but either conveyed to a degree or conveyed in a way that didn't feel natural or lifelike to me. It sounded slightly, and again I do mean slightly, more "audiophile" than musical in sound.

 

In contrast, the sound from the Pontus just sounded surprisingly real to me straight out of the box. Music seemed to flow more easily to my ears as well. Listening to the Qutest feels like a more intellectual, analytical exercise to me, while listening to the Pontus is more engaging in an emotional way.

 

It's true that the Qutest has an analytical presentation.  I suspect it really depends on the synergy with the rest of your system, as well as your preferred music genres.  It probably works best with a warmish amp and/or speakers.  I'm curious to hear a Pontus but unfortunately the only way to do that is to take a big leap and buy the product (or one of the other Denafrips models). I can't bring myself to splash out and go through the buy/test/sell process based purely on forum reports. But many are doing what you did and are delighted with Denafrips.

[OldBigEars]

23 hours ago, Calvin & Hobbes said:

There certainly is an element of warmth, but perhaps the bigger difference that I hear between the Pontus and the Qutest is the Pontus' ability to convey either ease or pace depending on what music is being played. The Qutest sounds perhaps more  insistent all of the time given the way it portrays detail.

 

I'm sure in about six months, there will be people selling their Pontus due to either "upgrading" to a more expensive Denafrips DAC (which I've seen already) or trading in to get the new "flavor of the month" DAC. You'll be able to buy a Pontus, try it out, and be able to resell it for a low net cost if it isn't what you expected it to be.

 

I'm tempted, but more likely will wait until the next 'best thing since sliced bread' DAC emerges.  I'm not sure the delta is really worth it, from my perspective.  Of course, we are all calibrated differently on that spectrum.  My Qutest already sounds pretty dang nice, and that's with a humble IFI iPower X power supply.  I prefer this PS to the original one that came with the product, and also prefer it to a battery charger that I tried for a few days.  I suspect I could improve the Qutest further by purchasing a better LPS. If I ever went down the Denafrips path, I'd probably look for a bigger step and try to reach for a Venus or Term.