All things Metrum Acoustics
Jun 17, 2021 at 6:05 PM Post #1,096 of 1,451
Jul 12, 2021 at 6:25 AM Post #1,097 of 1,451
Jul 12, 2021 at 5:29 PM Post #1,098 of 1,451
Might seem straightforward but things can go wrong with Dac3 installation. Know of 2 people now where things did and modules fried. Luckily models OK putting back old modules. Good instructions here :

https://alpha-audio.net/review/review-metrum-acoustics-dac3-upgrade/

A general response I’d like to make about the Metrum DAC 3 Modules.

I received the modules in the mail today and installation was easy. Just be a little careful about pin alignment and no problem.

I’ve owned Metrum DACs since the Octave and the Adagio is my 3rd Metrum Dac. As most people have expressed on this thread, I was dismayed by the bad news about Metrum going bust and all the uncertainties regarding the future. I had a problem with my Adagio and so during the past month I have had to face the possible expense of sending my Adagio back whether to have the DAC3 modules installed while it was there. Fortunately, I discovered in time that there was just a connector that came loose and nothing was really wrong. Because of my good fortune I decided to spring for the DAC3 modules!

My point here is that I had quite a bit of correspondence and found Metrum customer service to be excellent. My initial inquiry was answered almost immediately and further correspondence was with Cees himself. Even after I ordered the Dac3 modules I had a question regarding tracking and it was Cees answered me the same day. What more can one ask?

As for the decision to put out more cash for the DAC3 modules - it would be better if more information had been available about the modules and what was happening within the company. The website and facebook are not being updated and the promised white paper never showed up. A post about the 3 friends that unanimously returned their modules was also not encouraging.

My feeling is that we all have our own music and hearing biases and systems of various strengths and weaknesses. We also involve our egos in the hobby and like to feel that we make perfect choices… so who can tell us if the DAC3 is worthwhile…In the end, we all have to decide for ourselves whether we are taking the chance.

Now I have only listening to the DAC3 modules for a few hours vs the days/weeks of run-in recommended and I decided right away that I much preferred the DAC3 modules and will be returning the old DAC2. About the highest and best recommendation I can make is to tell you that my wife could immediately heard the difference and preferred the DAC3 modules.

Happy listening to all!

Louis D’Amore
 
Aug 2, 2021 at 2:09 AM Post #1,099 of 1,451
Considering to upgrade my pavane to dac3 modules, but at the same time thinking maybe to sell it and invest upgrade cost difference into holo may kte. Does anyone had a chance to compare pavane to holo may?
 
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Aug 2, 2021 at 2:55 AM Post #1,100 of 1,451
Considering to upgrade my mavane to dac3 modules, but at the same time thinking maybe to sell it and invest upgrade cost difference into holo may kte. Does anyone had a chance to compare pavane to holo may?
That’s a good problem to have.
What do you feel is lacking from Pavane and once you have that listed out check in Holo May thread if that DAC has those properties in its strength.
I don’t think many have got chance to listen to May KTE yet as it’s a new product and Pavane has stood the test of time.
 
Aug 2, 2021 at 7:05 AM Post #1,101 of 1,451
Anyone had any experience considering or read about the inputs of the metrum hex dac?

i read the usb is a great implementation and have always happily used it

but does it surpass or equal the coax?

i do not currently have any decent coax cables except for a cheapie that i found somehow somewhere a while ago.

i’m loosely considering buying an audioquest diamond cable and wondering which input to look at in that regard. feeding out of my auralic aries g2.1 streamer

thanks in advance
 
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Aug 2, 2021 at 9:40 AM Post #1,102 of 1,451
Anyone had any experience considering or read about the inputs of the metrum hex dac?

i read the usb is a great implementation and have always happily used it

but does it surpass or equal the coax?

i do not currently have any decent coax cables except for a cheapie that i found somehow somewhere a while ago.

i’m loosely considering buying an audioquest diamond cable and wondering which input to look at in that regard. feeding out of my auralic aries g2.1 streamer

thanks in advance
Short Version : AES/Coax

I do not know how useful you will find this, but I purchased my own Hex pre-owned from a guy who was not too fond of the USB implementation on it. He was using a Stello U3 DD converter (USB to AES or Coax) which he included in the package for free:

Stello1.jpeg
Stello2.jpeg
Stello3.jpeg
Stello4.jpeg


My own Hex is long gone now, but when I had it, I only used the AES option via this Stello U3, and I only have great memories of the Hex. Unfortunately, i personally can't comment on the USB implementation since I never used it. Wait! that seems to have become a tradition with me and all these Cees engineered DACs, since I only used the I2s option with my Onyx, and ditto with my current Sonnet Morpheus.

Funny how such traditions creep up on us from the audiophilia wilderness. The weird thing is that I have been freely and happily using the USB on my other DACs (Yggdrasil, Grace Design, Audiogd) without missing a beat, although admittedly, with other kinds of regenerators, reclockers, decrapifiers, and nowadays, ethernet switches. I guess the history of USB is funny that way. It appears people in the hobby can't seem to live either with or without it in peace. In the meantime, it does not seem as if USB technology itself is going anywhere too fast any time soon. :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:
 
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Aug 23, 2021 at 6:34 PM Post #1,103 of 1,451
So what is currently the best OS for the Ambre? Ropieee, Diet-Pi, piCorePlayer, Gentooplayer? My OS in the Ambre seems to be corrupted... I am looking for a quick replacement to get it back working while I consider a more radical modding solution. For now, I am just looking for the appropriate software to flash onto a replacement SD card that would get Ambre and roon working again. Any suggestions?

I was using piCorePlayer before, but i remember having a hard time finding the version of the software that is appropriately pre-configured for Ambre/Roon. That was two years ago. Now, the link which I was given for the piCoreplayer version that worked for me has expired.

Any helpful assistance would be appreciated.
 
Aug 23, 2021 at 7:20 PM Post #1,104 of 1,451
So what is currently the best OS for the Ambre? Ropieee, Diet-Pi, piCorePlayer, Gentooplayer? My OS in the Ambre seems to be corrupted... I am looking for a quick replacement to get it back working while I consider a more radical modding solution. For now, I am just looking for the appropriate software to flash onto a replacement SD card that would get Ambre and roon working again. Any suggestions?

I was using piCorePlayer before, but i remember having a hard time finding the version of the software that is appropriately pre-configured for Ambre/Roon. That was two years ago. Now, the link which I was given for the piCoreplayer version that worked for me has expired.

Any helpful assistance would be appreciated.
I tried all these O/S. If you like detailed sound: gentooplayer. If you like warm sound: Volumio.
 
Aug 24, 2021 at 1:58 AM Post #1,105 of 1,451
RopieeeXL for simplicity if Roon is the player you use.
 
Sep 14, 2021 at 5:50 PM Post #1,106 of 1,451
So what is currently the best OS for the Ambre? Ropieee, Diet-Pi, piCorePlayer, Gentooplayer? My OS in the Ambre seems to be corrupted... I am looking for a quick replacement to get it back working while I consider a more radical modding solution. For now, I am just looking for the appropriate software to flash onto a replacement SD card that would get Ambre and roon working again. Any suggestions?

I was using piCorePlayer before, but i remember having a hard time finding the version of the software that is appropriately pre-configured for Ambre/Roon. That was two years ago. Now, the link which I was given for the piCoreplayer version that worked for me has expired.

Any helpful assistance would be appreciated.
I recently switched to HifiBerryOS because there is support for Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect (tidal connect docker). I can now use the native Tidal app to play music on my Ambre including Master quality (must say it is sometimes a little buggy selecting the Ambre device). I've also managed to stop the blinking blue led on the Ambre :).
Before switching I used piCorePlayer with Logitech Media Server support for Tidal and Spotify.

Sound quality with HifiBerryOS is better to my opinion. Maybe because of the Master quality playback on tidal. More open and detailed sound.
 
Sep 16, 2021 at 4:40 PM Post #1,108 of 1,451
Hello, can you please tell us how you managed that :wink:
I'm happy to share how to fix the blinking blue LED. It took me quite some time to reverse engineer the configuration for Ropieee and to figure out which GPIO pin on the raspberry pi board is connected to the blue LED.

Disclaimer: Performing the steps below is at your own risk! I am not responsible for any damage to your device.

The blue LED fix has only been tested for the original Raspberry pi 3 board with OS piCorePlayer or HifiBerryOS. The steps may also work for other operating systems. Please try it yourself.

Let's start!


Requirements: You need to access Raspberry Pi with ssh. To do this, use a suitable tool that matches your operating system.

HifiBerryOS
--
#Default ssh credentials:
#user: root, pass: hifiberry

#Create metrum-ambre_blue_led.sh in home folder /home
vi /home/metrum-ambre_blue_led.sh

#paste content below in this new created file (first press i key to start insert mode in vi)

#!/bin/sh # # Metrum Acoustics Ambre - blue LED control # echo "27" > /sys/class/gpio/export echo "out" > /sys/class/gpio/gpio27/direction echo "1" > /sys/class/gpio/gpio27/value

#After pasting the content press esc key to leave insert mode.
#Now type :w to save the file and :q to leave vi

#Change the permissions on the /home/metrum-ambre_blue_led.sh file to allow for execution:
chmod 755 /home/metrum-ambre_blue_led.sh

#now we need to execute this new created shell script at startup
vi /etc/systemd/system/metrum-ambre.service

#paste content below in this new created file (first press i key to start insert mode in vi)

[Unit] After=network.target [Service] ExecStart=/home/metrum-ambre_blue_led.sh [Install] WantedBy=default.target

#After pasting the content press esc key to leave insert mode.
#Now type :w to save the file and :q to leave vi

#this new service needs to be installed for executing at boot
chmod 664 /etc/systemd/system/metrum-ambre.service systemctl daemon-reload systemctl enable metrum-ambre.service

#And that’s it! Done. Reboot and enjoy!


piCorePlayer
--
#Default ssh credentials:
#user: tc, pass: piCore

#Create metrum-ambre_blue_led.sh in home folder /home/tc
vi /home/tc/metrum-ambre_blue_led.sh

#paste content below in this new created file (first press i key to start insert mode in vi)

#!/bin/sh # # Metrum Acoustics Ambre - blue LED control # echo "27" > /sys/class/gpio/export echo "out" > /sys/class/gpio/gpio27/direction echo "1" > /sys/class/gpio/gpio27/value

#After pasting the content press esc key to leave insert mode.
#Now type :w to save the file and :q to leave vi

#Change the permissions on the /home/tc/metrum-ambre_blue_led.sh file to allow for execution:
chmod 755 /home/tc/metrum-ambre_blue_led.sh

#now we need to execute this new created shell script at startup. Therefore we need to modify bootlocal.sh
sudo vi /opt/bootlocal.sh

#Right below where it says : # put other system startup commands here
#Insert the line : sudo sh /home/tc/metrum-ambre_blue_led.sh > /dev/null &

#So the bootlocal.sh file should look something like this:

#!/bin/sh # put other system startup commands here sudo sh /home/tc/metrum-ambre_blue_led.sh > /dev/null & GREEN="$(echo -e '\033[1;32m')" echo echo "${GREEN}Running bootlocal.sh..." #pCPstart------ /home/tc/www/cgi-bin/do_rebootstuff.sh | tee -a /var/log/pcp_boot.log #pCPstop------

#Now, because piCorePlayer runs entirely from RAM we need to make the changes we’ve made persistent by entering:
sudo filetool.sh -b

#And that’s it! Done. Reboot and enjoy!
 
Sep 21, 2021 at 11:13 AM Post #1,110 of 1,451
Dear all,
A big problem with my dac2 adagio need to help,
The preamp volume sometimes out of control, and when I turn off the power and restart then can control the volume, after 30 minutes or one hour playing, The problem remains the same, my friend told me It needs to upgrade to Dac 3 module.

the volume out of control.
Is it really about the dac 2 modules? or just some problems about the preamp part need to repair?

Thx u all!
 
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