the ares 2 was part of my big dac shootout i conducted the first half of this year - tried some 25 well reputed dacs as i implemented streaming into my system
the ares 2 is a spacious sounding dac with extended treble and bass, and lots of features (os/nos, xlr etc etc), it is a great value for the money - though as on all dena dacs the leds are a pita (can barely see them)
in my system, i found this dac to be lacking a little in treble refinement compared to others i liked better - this can be heard in sibilance on vocals (yes i tried different inputs and cables :) )
moving to the pontus improved this critical aspect for me, sound definitely had a family resemblance but more subtlety in handling of treble region and also a slightly silkier midrange
also (still) have the jolida/black ice tube dac - this is not nos (burrbrown 24 bit 1798 dac chip), but it has a tube output stage... the advantage of this one is a volume control (non remote control) as well as the ability to tube roll - overall this one sounded a little sweeter more relaxed to me than the ares 2 on a/b comparison (volume controlled of course)
