I must emphasize that I am no "audiophile" or somebody who owns any hi fi or hi-end audio equipment.
I am just an ordinary man in the street who enjoys listening to music as a hobby. My music listening hobby started way back in the late 1970s and I mainly listen to vocals, Chinese oldies, etc. Currently, my primary music source is Apple Music streamed through a MacBook Pro. The USB output is sent to the DAC which then connects through RCA to an Exposure 1010 integrated amplifier.
The amp drives a pair of antic Rogers LS3/5a speakers (about 40 years old). All speaker cables and interconnects are nothing special and are sourced from Aliexpress.
After listening to the Ares 12 for about 2 months now, I can say in one sentence that,
"It is a cute little DAC that produces a sound signature with some amazing properties."
Before the Ares 12 DAC, I have four other DACs.
None of which can reproduce the music with the qualities of the Ares 12. The one DAC that comes closest to the Ares 12 is the SMSL SU-10 that I have listened to for more than 6 months. For all that while the SMSL SU-10 sounds pretty good, but when compared to the Ares 12 sounds somewhat uninteresting and a little flat.
The Ares 12 is the best sounding DAC of all those that I have owned.
My search for a DAC could end with the Ares 12. Before I got the Ares 12, I thought my speakers were busted after they were in storage and not in use for some 30 years. Well done Denafrips and thank you for making my old speakers sing again like they used to. Best regards to you and your team at Vinshine Audio. Thank you once again. Yours sincerely, Kwan WK @ Singapore
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