Hi guys,
I am considering buying an external DAC for my RS150B. I mainly listen to vinyl and the Rose does sound very good but in my system a little bright. I have Audio Research LS2 MKII preamp and ARC D400 MKII driving Focal 936 speakers.
Any suggestions on a external DAC? I have read great reviews on the Pontus. I am looking for a full size DAC.
Thanks
If your current system sounds bright, Denafrips Pontus is a great option for you. It has a very warm and organic sound. It will bring you closer to the vinyl sound. (I also use Denafrips Terminator Plus + RS130.)
I did use the terminator also but switched to the Holo Audio May KTE
To my ears the May even has a warmer sound.
But anyway, denafrips will be a good choice 
I watched a Review yesterday, and there was stated, that the Pontus 15th has now the Power Section of the larger Venus 12th inside.
DAC do sonically differ, so you need to know what sound do you like. Warmer like Holo Audio, larger sound stage, sibillance, dark background etc.
There is nothing like “that” DAC - it depends on your listening and expectations from where you upgrade.
Thanks for the replies. What is the best method of connecting an external DAC to the 150B? I saw the Pontus has i2s, does Rose support this? If not do I use USB cable? Any suggestions on a good USB that will not break the bank. I have never owned a DAC so excuse my maybe dumb questions. I owned a Cambridge Audio Azur 851N before upgrading to the Rose. I have 2 TB of music on my NAS I usually stream from. Mostly FLAC files. THANKS Guys
150B has an I2S output, if you really want to use that. Just remember that I2S wasn’t and isn’t designed for external connections, there is no standard for I2S interconnects or signaling, and whether any two particular devices will work using I2S connection is basically a matter of luck. And, there is absolutely no practical purpose for itanyway.
For USB, there’s a whole single-digit IQ brigade here that will claim that a USB cable can make a difference. If you want to spend extra money (a lot of it) you can buy a fancy cable. It might look better. It will sound exactly the same as any $5 cable that matches USB spec (or maybe worse, some of the “audiophile” cable manufacturers do not actually know what the USB spec is, so their cables work pretty much at random), but it will look impressive!
" single-digit IQ brigade "
simply awesome 
…and the so-called hi-fi preachers earn good money 
from their followers. 
I can understand when manufacturers make wild claims. They want to make money, and there really isn’t much money to be made in honest, decent, well-designed reasonably priced HiFi equipment anymore.
But regular users preaching sonic differences between different brands of fiber (hell, it’s fiber, you can’t even claim that one brand picks up more EMI than the other!) is either pure malice (“I’ve wated money on some useless expensive crap, and so will you!”) or outright militant stupidity.
Hi,
Thanks BorisM for the reply, I get it about expensive USB cables that probably is snake oil. What is the best way to connect an external DAC to Rose? I heard USB is the worst. What about AES or another digital out? The Pontus has many inputs.
THANKS
Just use a cheap 0,5 meter usb from Amazon and you will be surprised in a positive way
I am using a Pontus 12th on RS250. USB with a cable from Supra works very fine for me.
I just checked and for some reason the 150B that costs 2x more then the RS250 does not have USB output. It has Optical x 1, COAX x 1, Pre-OUT (Balanced x 1, Unbalanced x 1), I2S-DVI x 1, I2S-RJ45 x 1, AES/EBU x 1 Another user used 12S-DVI to HDMI cable adapter and stated he hears clicking sounds. So now what? Is AES any good? I am just looking for the best sounding output if their is such a thing.
THANKS
I also have the 150b and I tell you, mine have an USB output and it works fine.
150b usb> Singxer SU-6 >i2s > Gustard R26
You’re welcome.
Generally speaking, USB is the best connection – it’s a standard, extremely reliable, and all the timing is done by the clock in the DAC, where it belongs.
There is a caveat though, USB devices actually do negotiate what is supported (unlike coax etc., where you can push a signal to the DAC that the DAC has no idea what to do with), so if the source component has no idea what the DAC on the other end is, it may refuse to output some formats that the DAC should recognize. This is usually an issue with DSD though, which isn’t defined in the generic USB Audio protocol. That’s why most manufacturers (Rose included) provide Windows drivers that let you use highest rates and native DSD. On a Mac you are out of luck, and with Linux boxes (like Rose…) support for the specific DAC needs to be baked into the kernel.
If Rose recognizes your Pontus correctly, USB will work just fine. Otherwise AES should be good. Even I2S would work, but being a complete non-standard, getting the wiring correct might take some effort.
I’m getting the new Denafrips Venus 15th as an external DAC to my Rose 150b. Using the 150b as PreAmp feeding a Power Amp. Will the volume control on the 150b work with I2S output to the DAC or do I need to connect the DAC to a PreAmp?
Both USB 3.0 can be used for output…
Hi, Thanks So the USB 3.0 can be used for input or output. I can just use any generic USB cable. Thanks for the reply
Hi, I if you have money to burn go with the Venus 15th. I have verified with a dealer the Pontus 15th has the internals of the Venus 12th. Now if your heart is set on the 15th go for it. I am sure it is an upgrade from the Venus 12th.
The LAiV Harmony could also be halfway between the Pontus and the Venus in terms of cost and quality if you want to take it into consideration.
