Recommend a dac that contributes to system for tight bass

well its not just the dac but the implementation of the dac in the product....some dac have tubes....some dac have beefier power supply....some dac upsample....

different dacs have different dac chips...

btw I own Harbeth 40.2 speakers and while I think Mr. Shaw is brilliant in many ways he also doesnt believe in the value of speaker stands and has other eccentric views....

I adore nelson pass whose pass labs makes my 260.8 monoblocks but his company party line is that power cables make little difference.....

so people have their views but to many people the speaker stand and cabling do matter quite a bit.....

whipsaw funny you mention you have the pontus as I was considering the newer pontus 2 but am wary since it seems so many people flip their other models (ares and terminator)

I am using a Pontus II.

I have read almost universal praise for the Ares and Pontus. As for Terminator flipping, I suspect is that those are mostly audiophiles who have a lot of money, and enjoy trying different components (or are never satisfied).

I also use M30.1 Harbeths.

Shaw is eccentric, but his views are rooted in science. I agree with you, though, that DACs do seem to sound different.

so do you like the pontus ii more than your electrocompaniet or are they just different? how different?

the reviews of the venus seem to suggest its as good as the tt2 (which I have and sold) so still not sure about denafrips and well the terminator too much $$$

Add two high quality, powered subwoofers, or a swarm system.

It very difficult to compare, given that I wasn't able to really AB them together. I would say that the Electrocompaniet was a bit warmer. I like warmth, but am enjoying what I perceive to be a more neutral, and revealing sound from the Pontus.

The downside is that the flaws of poorly recorded CDs are more apparent with the Pontus, but then well-recorded ones shine.

So the EC was, to my ears, less revealing, but more forgiving.