[thealphamale]

hey guys i can find used metrum hex for 1800$,so is new metrum meneut worth it?

 

[oldcheese]

Just thought I would throw in a comment about the Metrum Acoustic Pavane. I've had the  Dac for about a year, and burned it in for a month or so by leaving it on most of the time. I then  just put it on stand by and switched it on when needed. 
Later I was trying to get a warmer and bass'er sound from my new Feliks Elise headphone amplifier and HD800. I decided to leave the Pavane on all the time, and after a three or four days the bass and timbre improved greatly. So now the Pavane remains ON!
Love this Dac, tempted by the Dac 2. 

 

[MattRG]

I posted a reply in the actual Musette thread but I have today just purchased a Metrum Musette to pair with my soon to be created ZMF Eikon headphones.  I am upgrading from a Modi Multibit and am very excited to finally get my hands on the Musette.

 

[ReignofError]

Hey there Metrum owners! I am eyeballing an Octave MkII to pair with my WA6, and I have a question. I saw it mentioned earlier in this thread, but have any of you blokes laid ears on the Teac UD 503 in its NOS mode? Curious to know how that sound compares to the octave's.

I have an NT-503 and the Octave Mk2  The sound on the 503 in NOS is very comparable.  I love both DACs.  I tend to find the bass better on the Metrum and the highs better on the NT.  

 

[thecrow]

For those in Australia it seems A2A are clearing out there metrum product at ridiculous prices!!!!

May be demo models

 

[gvl2016]

I posted a reply in the actual Musette thread but I have today just purchased a Metrum Musette to pair with my soon to be created ZMF Eikon headphones. I am upgrading from a Modi Multibit and am very excited to finally get my hands on the Musette.

I sort of upgraded as well although Modi Multibit never really impressed me and it never became my main DAC, I mean it is good for the money but its sound signature isn't all that different from Delta-Sigma oversampling DACs I have/heard perhaps with slightly more bite in some details. Overall it's a somewhat aggressive sound signature that pushes voices to higher mids. The Musette is everything I hoped Modi MB would be, except it wasn't. Even listening to Spotify Premium 320kbps the feeling is very realistic, very close to listening to live music. Voices remain where they should be, and it render details with surgical precision without throwing them in your face, low-end is richest I heard and not bloated at the same time, feels I'll be a happy camper for a while.

 

[bazzvid]

Hi , i thought i would share some mods ive been doing to a metrum octave recently and the staggering results from fitting a Lundhal 1572 pulse transformer,this is all with the intention of building a new psu and fitting some shunt regs from Mr Hynes ,it would nice to get some electronics wizards on board for a bit of direction .
so far
75ohm BNC- from a JKSPDIF ciunas
din output
solid silver power cord @internal wiring
new mesh type cover -to deal with heat from shunt regs
and a Lundhal 1572 pulse transformer



its not a pretty fit but the
Lundhal 1572 pulse transformer
puts this dac in the big boys league ,anything you thought was wrong with this dac is cured with 1572, total clarity across the whole sound stage,everything has tightened up,and the bass is extremely tuneful ,more depth and gone is the Shouty nature of the other pulse tranny.

 

[bazzvid]

Ok ive bypassed that brown SMC with great results, the1572 is singing like a bird,great tight bass, sweet highs, loads of detail and depth,by far the best bang for buck mod so far and all for 50 quid,result.

 

[tg123]

Has anyone used the Onyx yet? I heard that there is a special on them.

 

[nitewulf]

Has anyone used the Onyx yet? I heard that there is a special on them.

Yes, I just purchased the Onyx. Stupendous Fidelity. I would have a hard time believing anything bettering it at it's price range. I haven't heard the Yggdrasil though so can't comment on that, I'm just not a fan of OS dacs so it wasn't really in my list to buy. My reference dac was PS Audio Perfectwave MK2 for years till that started acting up on me. As a stop gap I have been using the CA Dacmagic+. The jump from Dacmagic+ is pretty large. The delineation of instruments in space is very precise, from a width and depth perspective, DM+ was pretty vague, but I'm not gonna use typical audiophile lingo here as DM+ is a high-res, good dac for the price, but not at all in the same class as the Onyx.

My PWD2 was always used on NativeX mode (NOS), and you could say I prefer this sound signature, the Onyx is easily a lot more high resolution, without really trying, the details are just there. Bigger stage, easier to listen to. Typical reference track is Fleetwood Mac's 'Dreams', all dacs should and will place Stevie Nicks in the middle of course, most dacs worth their salt should be able to place Lindsay to the right and middle height during the chorus, and Christie to the left, and you should be able to discern their backup vocals among all the other instrumentation. All the cymbal hits should be striking and decay very nicely. Now, the few great dacs should be able to tell you that Christie is taller than Nicks. The Onyx EASILY tells you that, along with making Lindsey and Christie's vocals much sharper and easier to discern within that sound stage, among the cacophony of everything else. Like I said, Stupendous Fidelity.

Mind you of course, I use very, very, very good speakers. With headphones those comments won't apply, so YMMV.

 

[sheldaze]

Has anyone used the Onyx yet? I heard that there is a special on them.

What is your frame of reference - current or previous DACs you have used?

My reference DACs are the Yggdrasil (original analog board) and the same PWD2 posted above. And I must say, this has raised the bar - changed my perspective on amplifiers and headphones completely! If I did not state it, I too like the Onyx.

 

[tg123]

What is your frame of reference - current or previous DACs you have used?

My reference DACs are the Yggdrasil (original analog board) and the same PWD2 posted above. And I must say, this has raised the bar - changed my perspective on amplifiers and headphones completely! If I did not state it, I too like the Onyx.

My previous DACs are the Schiit Gungnir (Delta Sigma) and the Modi Multibit. Currently, I am using a Parasound DAC-2000 (UltraAnalog D20400A). I really like the sound of this DAC, its R2R, very musical, and it just sounds great. The DAC-2000 was a big surprise, I thought it would be a sidegrade. It's better than the Gungnir and the Modi Multibit.

 

[sheldaze]

Interesting! I'm reading some of the older threads now - but I did not know Parasound ever delved into the R2R market. I owned some Parasound equipment (amplifiers, pre-amplifier, tuner), and have much respect for that generation of their products. However I have no idea how their digital products sound.

It is also not clear to me (without hearing Parasound) what direction Gungnir to DAC-2000 takes. Of the R2R DACs I am familiar (Holo, Onyx, Yggy) each has a slightly different way of conveying music. Their dynamics, their soundstage, their way of presenting the instruments and singers is each slightly different. My comment on Yggy vs Onyx was more specific to hearing a very clean and precise sound, with an excellent R2R implementation in the Onyx. It is not that Yggy has suddenly changed - it is that now I can hear what I like and dislike in Yggy, with competition sitting right next to it. Onyx makes a very good argument for a calmer, larger, more spatial sound. And my curiosity is how or if the analog board upgrade in Yggy changes this.

I thought it would be a sidegrade. It's better than the Gungnir and the Modi Multibit

If you could add more detail, what specifically did you hear in upgrading from Gungnir to DAC-2000? It may help people to further explain the Metrum sound.

 

[tg123]

Interesting! I'm reading some of the older threads now - but I did not know Parasound ever delved into the R2R market. I owned some Parasound equipment (amplifiers, pre-amplifier, tuner), and have much respect for that generation of their products. However I have no idea how their digital products sound.

It is also not clear to me (without hearing Parasound) what direction Gungnir to DAC-2000 takes. Of the R2R DACs I am familiar (Holo, Onyx, Yggy) each has a slightly different way of conveying music. Their dynamics, their soundstage, their way of presenting the instruments and singers is each slightly different. My comment on Yggy vs Onyx was more specific to hearing a very clean and precise sound, with an excellent R2R implementation in the Onyx. It is not that Yggy has suddenly changed - it is that now I can hear what I like and dislike in Yggy, with competition sitting right next to it. Onyx makes a very good argument for a calmer, larger, more spatial sound. And my curiosity is how or if the analog board upgrade in Yggy changes this.



If you could add more detail, what specifically did you hear in upgrading from Gungnir to DAC-2000? It may help people to further explain the Metrum sound.

It has been a long while since I had the Gungnir, but what stood out to me that it was a bit bright for my taste. It was very clean and accurate, but at times harsh. Going to the DAC-2000 it was a little more detailed, very natural sound, a tiny bit warm, but not in your face like the Gungnir.

 

[sheldaze]

It has been a long while since I had the Gungnir, but what stood out to me that it was a bit bright for my taste. It was very clean and accurate, but at times harsh. Going to the DAC-2000 it was a little more detailed, very natural sound, a tiny bit warm, but not in your face like the Gungnir.

This sounds a whole lot like general comments of listeners who move from OS to NOS.

I personally don't think I have issue using either OS or NOS. For example, I was able to compare Gumby against Amethyst, and preferred the Gumby. I tried to listen for brightness or anything that would tire me, but heard none of through the Gumby. However, the Yggy is brighter and more dynamic - relatively speaking. I used it because it provided a slight higher reference for detail retrieval. However through the better headphones and amplifiers, I am preferring the Onyx.

So slight though - so small are the deltas, I would recommend a listen before plunking down the cash for an Onyx. Perhaps your DAC-2000 is your optimal balance of details and warmth that you need?