Metrum Acoustics Octave - Page 21

 Have anyone replaced fuses on this product? If so, any recommendation?

Cant wait to read your impressions. Even the packaging looks good . Maybe in januari i have some cash to blow on this toy

Yes, the package looks simple but is very good.

I'm running it non stop since the day it arrived (12 days ago ~300hours) , and the sound had some major changes, as every review says.

Two words that could describe it right now are: 'airy' and 'clean'.

Its character changed between these days, but I can't really sure know the right words to describe it, 'delicate' maybe.

(Still crap in, crap out)

 

Always the case...you cannot make badly recorded music sound great.

Looks like my unit is working with Audio-GD DI upsampling to 192kHz, as I'm hearing music now.

So...Quiet around here...Are people still enjoying the Octave or has it become FOTM?

I grabbed one out of curiosity in the sale forum for a good price. To be honest I thought it was terribly bad value for money. It sounds very good but to my surprise it was indistinguishable from the MDAC sonic wise through my system (HE-6 +Topping TP60). It retails in the UK for £720 while the MDAC is only £600 but include a decent headphone amplifier, remote control, display, asynchronous USB, balanced outputs, SPDIF out. The overall built quality and finish was also quite mediocre compare to the MDAC. 

Edited by zenpunk - 1/4/13 at 5:09pm

It is a challenge to get past the initial excitement and make a good determination on where to go to upgrade.

The Octave's sound quality is directly tied to the feed quality.  So if expecting 'written press review' experiences something like an AP2 or JKSPDIF are needed :(

 

How are you connecting it?

My transport is an Audio-GD DI with 2 audiophile USB cables, a USB Isolator, some upgrades in the hex inverter and TCXO, a battery with better DC copper cable and connected with a DIY power cable to my power line. It is oversampled to 192kHz.

This transport may very well be the weakest link on my system, but the sound I'm getting is so beautifull / real / natural I don't even bother to research for newer/better alternatives.

 

And I think it is very much true that one should use it non stop for at least 30 days before taking any decision of how it sounds.

Before this upgrade (NFB3>Octave) the differences on my La Figaro 339 tubes were very apparent but now it is in a very different level.

Soundstage trough my ZXAC DT880/600 is very impressive too.

I had the  MDAC fed through usb then using its SPDIF out (which is said to be dejittered ) to feed the Metrum. Both plugged into the Topping and level matched using MDAC volume pot (-1db) . The Topping  has an electronic relay as source selector so switching DACs is gapless. Didn't matter how hard I tried I couldn't detect the slightest differences. My friend didn't even realised I had switched sources multiple times when he tried.

Edited by zenpunk - 1/5/13 at 4:55am

 

Any thoughts about AP2 vs Stello U3?

Nope :(  A review did scope the AP2 and MF XMOS solution though.  The MF is high value, the AP2 still better but at 3x the price.

I had a MF 192 and recently upgraded to an AP2. It was difficult finding a base under the AP2 as I found that leaving it hanging would sometimes cause skips in the audio. The connection itself is pretty fragile as even rotating the AP2 or wiggling it would cause the audio to go out.

But once I did find a suitable base the sound is definitely better than the MF. Imaging is a lot better and some of the harshness I experienced in the MF was also gone.

Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to try the Stello U3