??? Denafrips Pontus 15th vs Ares 15th.???


Ground up rebuild of my end of life system nearly complete..
Furman PST-8 > Dedicated & optimized Lenova Thinkpad 1i > Pangea Premier SE USB cable (6% silver plated OFC) > Pathos Classic Remix Mk.II ( 1962 Amperex Holland Orange Globe 6922 & Nordost Red Dawn Leif power cable) w/HiDAC Mk.II module (ESS 9018) plugged into an APC H10 stabilizer/surge protection> Tellurium Q "Black II cables & BiWire jumpers > ProAc Response D2D (latest build )...
 I want to add a more organic,warmer DAC & have narrowed it down to one of these 2 Denafrips R2R DACS...
 I am not a super critical listener,more a music lover who revels in everything that is happening in a song..Sometimes I focus on specific instruments or listen for the super low level details but I'm not anal about that..I do love a wide,deep soundstage...
 My budget would allow for the Pontus 15th.but I'm unsure if I am the kind of listener who will really notice the difference between it and the Ares 15th..I realize the Pontus is a considerable step up in price,build quality & parts but don't want to throw $ at something I wouldn't really benifit from when I could get 90% of it's performance for many hundreds of $ less...
 I guess I'm looking for validation that my system is capable of extracting the benifits of the more expensive DAC & I won't have to rack my brain to actually hear it..So Audiogon'ers,what is your opinion on this matter?
Thanks much,take care & happy holidays to you & yours...

freediver

Your system is certainly capable...I have 2 systems that improved when I removed the PST-8 ...

@jl35 the PST-8 is strictly for the Thinkpad 1i...The Pathos is plugged into an APC voltage stabilizer/surge protector..
Pretty sure I'm going with the Pontus 15th.,waiting to see if anyone has a Black Friday deal before pulling the trigger..

 Well,after a ton of back & forth,heming & hawing,pouring over every review in print & on video I just pulled the trigger on the Pontus 15th.
 Now you mark my words,next Monday they will put them on sale hahahahaha...
 Thanks to those who advised...

@freediver I’m also interested in the Pontus 15th but wanted to ask where you eventually bought it? I reached out to @audioman58 but got an auto-reply saying he’s having surgery, so wanted to find other options that were price competitive.

 

My budget would allow for the Pontus 15th

Then stick with Pontus 15th which is an upgrade from Ares 15th.