The Denafrips TERMINATOR II is a discrete resistor ladder DAC offering 26-bit PCM processing and 6-bit for DSD with 32-step FIR filters.
Denafrips is batting two for two so far this year with their entry level ARES II DAC (review) and next step up the line PONTUS II (review) with both DACs landing on my Favorite DAC List.
The TERMINATOR II comes at things from the other end of the lineup, being the next DAC down from the flagship TERMINATOR-PLUS ($6420). All of the Denafrips DACs share the same basic R2R architecture but as we move up the line, parts quality improves along with parts count, as in the number of resistor ladders used for D/A conversion. The TERMINATOR houses over 1,000 0.005% high precision low thermal effect precision resistors. We also find FIFO buffered and reclocked inputs by the Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillators OCXO clocks to clean up digital transmission.
Hiding under the thick aluminum covers are a beefy linear power supply and beefy dual O-Core Transformers for the digital and analog sections in an effort to reduce internal noise. Like the PONTUS II, the TERMINATOR II adds I2S inputs (1x HDMI, 2x RJ45) which I’ll make good use of with the Denafrips IRIS DDC (review).
The TERMINATOR II weighs in at over 40 lbs. which is beefy for a DAC. I look forward to listening.
Denafrips TERMINATOR II DAC
Price: $4427.28
Specifications
| Description | Parameters |
|---|---|
| R-2R DAC | Proprietary R2R + DSD Architecture |
| True balanced 26BIT R2R + 6BIT DSD (32 steps FIR Filters) | |
| Matched Precision Thin Film 0.005% R-2R Network Arrays | |
| Highlight | Encapsulated Ultra Low Noise Power Supply |
| High Precision Oven Controlled Crystals OCXO | |
| Total isolation of Digital and R-2R Boards | |
| Adaptive FIFO Buffer and Reclocking | |
| DSD1024, PCM1536 Supports On USB & I²S Input | |
| Proprietary USB Audio Solution via STM32F446 Advanced AMR Based MCU | |
| Licensed Thesycon USB Driver For Windows Platform | |
| Driverless On Mac & Linux | |
| Dual AES/EBU Input Supports | |
| Sharp/Slow Filters Option | |
| I²S Pinout Configuration | |
| I²S DSD Channel Swap Configuration | |
| DSD | DSD64 (DoP) on Coax/AES/Opt Input |
| DSD1024* On USB & I²S Input Only | |
| PCM | 24bits / 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192KHz On All Input |
| 1536kHz* On USB & I²S Input | |
| NOTE* | USB Firmware V3.4.1 – PCM1536 / DSD1024 supports disabled for compatibility with macOS |
| Digital Input | Coax via RCA |
| TOSLink x 1 | |
| AES/EBU x 2 (Dual AES/EBU L/R Channel Input Supported) | |
| USB2.0 Type B | |
| I²S via HDMI LVDS | |
| I²S via RJ45 LVDS | |
| I²S via RJ45 LVCMOS | |
| Analog Output | RCA at 2.2Vrms, 625 Ω |
| XLR at 4.4Vrms, 1250 Ω | |
| Sampling Mode | Non-Oversampling NOS |
| Oversampling OS | |
| AC Power Requirement | 100-240VAC, 50/60Hz (Worldwide Voltage) |
| Power Consumption | ≤20W |
| Frequency Response | 20-40KHz -0.2dB |
| THD+N | 0.0018% |
| S/N Ratio | 127dB |
| Dynamic Range | >132dB |
| Stereo Crosstalk | -110dB |
| Dimension | 430 x 380 x 105 mm |
| Weight | 19 Kg |
| Color | Silver / Black |
| Warranty | 36 Months |