DENAFRIPS Terminator 15th DAC
Digital sources
Denafrips is one of the first and one of the best-established DAC manufacturers that (proudly) hails from China, namely from Guangzhou. The first product was launched in 2012, with the aim to bring affordable DACs to hi-fi communities. The Terminator 15th is the newest iteration of their flagship DAC. I had never been kissed by any of Denafrip’s products, so I approached it open-minded and curious.
Funkce a forma
It is important to know that Denafrips is not another Asian OEM assembly line – they are engineers, they implement their own ideas, and they manufacture the main parts (chasses, PCBs, power supplies) by themselves. I would call them a very legitimate producer.
The Denafrips Terminator 15th is a fully balanced 26-bit R2R DAC that can handle up to 32bit/1536 KHz with PCM over USB and I2S, and through its 6-bit DSD capability also DSD1024. The DAC’s USB receiver is powered by its internal regulated, low noise and high-speed linear power supply, but its microcontroller is controlled by the power, supplied by the USB cable (5V). Therefore, Denafrips recommends the best USB cable possible with short length not to impair the sound quality. If the USB input is not used, the unit automatically disconnects the USB chip power supply to reduce any possible interference of the USB with other inputs.
Both R2R ladder boards are isolated from each other to reduce noise but are physically linked by the OCXO clock module with two clocks operating at 45.1584MHz and at 49.152MHz. The OCXO clocks take data from FIFO buffer, and are encapsulated in a metal housing and uses its own power supply, separated from two large O-Core toroids that are used for the digital and analog sections.
Nízké frekvence
I like the extra lengths that Denafrips has gone with isolation and shielding. They did not have to, but they have chosen to design the chassis as a chassis inside a chassis, as well as to partition the steel subchassis for better EMI/EMF rejection by sensitive circuits. The main chassis is aluminium (black or silver anodised), with a milled logo and very simple button layout that I found aesthetically clean and well-thought. The functions are indicated by small red LEDs.
The rear panel hosts an array of inputs - USB-B, 2x RJ45, I2S HDMI, AES/EBU, Toslink optical, and S/PDIF coaxial. Outputs are both RCA and XLR, a pair each. Two clock outputs enable the Terminator 15th syncing with another audio devices. There is no power cord supplied with the DAC – I found the unit to be sensitive to power cables. I will not tell you which one is the best as this is subject to your particular audio system architecture; I used Shunyata Research Sigma V2 NR throughout the review.
Čistota rozlišení
If there is one thing that the Denafrips does really well, it is its spatial resolution. It is a positive trade-off for its spectral balance, that I will discuss later. The instruments and voices are separated and layered in front-to-back and lateral perspective in a very 3D way. The backdrop of recorded music is slightly quieter than I am used to, and some ambient events have a tendency of disappearing in it, yet the main events are positioned with precision and are firmly locked within the soundstage. At the same time, the instruments have real proportions, which is something that even more expensive DACs often struggle with.
Tonální věrnost
Sound wise, the new generation of the Terminator continues moving towards the dynamic, quietness and openness. All the effort that was made to reduce noise has paid out. It is a quiet DAC. That makes all subtle dynamic shifts stand out, and all the instrumental nuances easily audible. However, the Terminator 25th does so with a bit of strain. As if it tried too much to sound nice, I feel an effort behind its way of sending music to my ears. This may be accounted to the previously mentioned openness. This May, at Munich High End show, I walked into Nordost’s room to be caught by laser beams of sound. The music was transparent, open and hyperarticulated so much, that its message was lost. It was a pure audio spectacle that definitely made visitors stop and admire the details, less so it was successful in mediating the live music experience. In real life, the music is less spectacular, less laserlike. It is rather subdued in fact, but so much more enjoyable.
Now back to the Terminator 15th. It is not like that Nordost set-up. It is musical and engaging, and tries to be smooth and analogue, yet it also uses the presence region to sound more hi-fi. Depending on your system’s tonality, it can be a blessing, or it can be too much.
Prostorovost
What ‘affordable’ means will depend on what’s affordable for you. Although in Denafrips they claim they are producing affordable hi-fi, with the Terminator 15th the affordability will be relative, as the price gap between this DAC and really affordable DACs like Topping, Schiit, Gustard nebo Benchmark is wide. The Terminator is in the same price range like e.g. Cary Audio DMS-650 DAC that sounds great and has also a streamer in it. Add 1k€, and there is excellent Rockna Wavedream Edition SE; add 2k€ and there is Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC that wipes them all. So, I am not convinced that the Denafrips Terminator 15th is the best price to performance DAC in the company’s lineup: their Athena or Ares may be a better choice for your money.
Připojené komponenty
-
- Sources: C.E.C. TL-51XR, Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II
- Amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.526, Mark Levinson No.423, Mytek Brooklyn AMP+
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Kubala-Sosna Emotion
- Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima Studio2
- Power conditioning: IsoTek Titan, Shunyata Research Sigma HC, Shunyata Research Sigma V2 NR, Nordost Qb8
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