After having my terminator dsp upgrade board for months and never getting around to finally upgrading it the day finally came. The upgrade process was pretty straight forward... probably the toughest part was sliding the denafrips beast out and back into my rack! I took out 2 screws, popped the top... took the old dsp board out (was pretty stiff in there) and replaced it with the new board.
Once everything was hooked up I listened with the HD800S (did listen to reference tracks before the upgrade). Immediately what was more apparent was simply more detail retrieval... reverberations, echoes, minute sounds were now much more easy to perceive in my standard nicholas gunn test tracks. There was a great separation of musical elements and more of a 3d holographic presentation. Soundstage grew slightly. Overall music is now more engaging, immersive and easier to connect with emotionally.
The Denafrips terminator is a superb dac and this upgrade board makes it even better! Please keep in mind these are immediate impressions... I will report later about further changes in the case of further burn in and evolution of the sound.
If you are in the market for a truly impressive dac in the $5k range... please audition terminator. It is detailed, beautiful, natural... and as I listen to 'Nicholas gunn - thirty one nights - candle dance'.. almost mystical.
UPDATE: Like to add even after just over 30 minutes of listening... everything I said has become more pronounced. A very obvious detail increase is laid to bare now. Things I've never even heard in my music. Layering so good it just permeates your mind and allows you gaze upon it all and truly appreciate different facets of a composition that give rise to the whole. I am so impressed. It is as if a massive hidden potential has been unlocked.
Once everything was hooked up I listened with the HD800S (did listen to reference tracks before the upgrade). Immediately what was more apparent was simply more detail retrieval... reverberations, echoes, minute sounds were now much more easy to perceive in my standard nicholas gunn test tracks. There was a great separation of musical elements and more of a 3d holographic presentation. Soundstage grew slightly. Overall music is now more engaging, immersive and easier to connect with emotionally.
The Denafrips terminator is a superb dac and this upgrade board makes it even better! Please keep in mind these are immediate impressions... I will report later about further changes in the case of further burn in and evolution of the sound.
If you are in the market for a truly impressive dac in the $5k range... please audition terminator. It is detailed, beautiful, natural... and as I listen to 'Nicholas gunn - thirty one nights - candle dance'.. almost mystical.
UPDATE: Like to add even after just over 30 minutes of listening... everything I said has become more pronounced. A very obvious detail increase is laid to bare now. Things I've never even heard in my music. Layering so good it just permeates your mind and allows you gaze upon it all and truly appreciate different facets of a composition that give rise to the whole. I am so impressed. It is as if a massive hidden potential has been unlocked.
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