Best DACs under $10,000 Series: Denafrips Terminator 15th Review

Denafrips is a manufacturer of audio electronics, primarily known for its series of advanced ladder DACs. In this test I cover the Terminator 15th DAC which is positioned as Denafrips flagship, but at a price of $6099 is affordable compared to some of the other flagship DACs I’ve been covering. Let’s see how it performs.

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00:00 Denafrips Terminator 15th

01:34 The Absolute Sound

02:34 Specs

03:18 Overview

4:50 What's the issue?

07:57 Sound Quality

13:34 Subjective Coda

14:41 Design

16:17 Summary

The Seven Major Problems of Audio Believability: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-six-major-problems-of-audio-believability/

Methodology First Principles: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-absolute-sounds-review-methodology-first-principles/

The Physics of Describing Music Reproduction: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-physics-of-describing-music-reproduction/

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Tom's reference system:

Aurender N20 Streamer/Server

Roon Nucleus server

Mac Mini (M2) server

Wiim Pro server/DAC

Bluesound Node server/DAC

Topping D70 Pro DAC

dCS Lina DAC/Master clock

Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 3 with Alpha USB Series 2 input module

MSB Premier DAC

J Sikora Initial Max turntable

Technics SL-1210G turntable

Kuzma 4Point 9” arm

J Sikora KV12 tone arm

DS Audio 003 cartridge

Benz Gullwing SLR cartridge

Hana Umami Blue cartridge

Hegel V10 phono preamp

Musical Surroundings Phonomena III phono preamp

DS Audio 003 optical cartridge energizer

PS Audio BHK 600 mono power amps

MBL N51 integrated amp

Audio Research 160S power amp

Magico A5 speakers

Perlisten S7t speakers

Wireworld Platinum Electra speaker and line cables

Shunyata Omega digital cables

Shunyata Venom power cables and director

Audioquest Niagara 3000 power conditioner (for analog)

Audioquest Niagra 7000 power conditioning

Rediacoustic diffusers and absorbers

Rediacoustic bass traps

PSI Audio AVAA active traps

Salamander racks

Solidsteel Turntable rack

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

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