[BlackMagic]

... wondering if USB is what it is for the Amethyst or that I should dust off the good old digital SPDIF cable...any tips there? Is I2S possible at all ?( considering some micro surgery in the guts of the Amethyst won't put me off)

Definitely worth cable shuffles. I2S is possible but some surgery reqd to power the module - informed some time back two little wires to be added - but would check with M for safety/Warranty etc.

 

[marcelnl]

first impressions, that old Valab was good, but this is better, In comparison thus in hindsight I think the Valab suffers from some distortion due to the lack of ANY output circuit after the I/V resistor. The Amethyst is breaking in, turns out to be a brand new device so a real bargain. It sounds more refined and detailed and has more authority amd a very natural flow to music yet it seems a little congested in the 'air' department while it offers more insight in overtones and treble as well as spatial information in the treble area.

Too early to tell, and this is with standard USB cabling, as my special cable does not work...probably due to lack of a 5V rail. I plan to get in touch with Metrum to see how I can fool the DAC to believe it seens a regular USB cable so I can use my optimized one ao...

 

[marcelnl]

Definitely worth cable shuffles. I2S is possible but some surgery reqd to power the module - informed some time back two little wires to be added - but would check with M for safety/Warranty etc.

Thanks! I will definitely check with them (got the phone number of their tech guy and they are within a stone's throw of where I live), but will first need to be able extract S/PDIf and or I2S from my Daphile laptop prior to being able to use coax S/PDIF or I2S. Am looking into options but not there yet as it's not always clear if a bridge works with daphile/linux at all.

 

[Charente]

first impressions, that old Valab was good, but this is better, In comparison thus in hindsight I think the Valab suffers from some distortion due to the lack of ANY output circuit after the I/V resistor. The Amethyst is breaking in, turns out to be a brand new device so a real bargain. It sounds more refined and detailed and has more authority amd a very natural flow to music yet it seems a little congested in the 'air' department while it offers more insight in overtones and treble as well as spatial information in the treble area.

Too early to tell, and this is with standard USB cabling, as my special cable does not work...probably due to lack of a 5V rail. I plan to get in touch with Metrum to see how I can fool the DAC to believe it seens a regular USB cable so I can use my optimized one ao...

I personally use one of these ...

... in my use case I inject 5v from a LPS, rather than rely on noisy USB power from the computer. The adaptor effectively shuts out the V-Bus power from the USB cable.

 

[marcelnl]

I personally use one of these ...



... in my use case I inject 5v from a LPS, rather than rely on noisy USB power from the computer. The adaptor effectively shuts out the V-Bus power from the USB cable.

thanks, that is also an option. In my previous DAC I just soldered a wire between a clean 5V point and the USB input requiring 5V..

 

[marcelnl]

first tackling a dedicated audio power group, too much noise to use daphile in real time kernel mode...a pump makes it pause and restart playing , very annoying

 

[Dvdlucena]

Hello folks how you doing?
I would like to know if you love your Metrum dacs always on (blue light on)? Do you hear any sonic improvement compared to stand by or complete shut down? I read that schiit gear needs power 24/7 but never read abou Metrum. Cheers! Thanks for the help

 

[Thenewguy007]

I think R2R Dacs needed to be warmed up to sound their best.

 

[Dvdlucena]

I think R2R Dacs needed to be warmed up to sound their best.

Yes, Schiit gear will take days to sound their best, as some people have noticed... but how about metrum? Any info?

 

[kumar402]

Yes, Schiit gear will take days to sound their best, as some people have noticed... but how about metrum? Any info?

Generally I keep it on all the time but few times when I switched it off and then back on I didn't feel any major change in sound quality. May be after few hours it gets more neutral and less warm but that's about it.I had Gungnir and it certainly had change in sound after 24 to 48 hrs.
I have Onyx and I'm not sure about Pavane

 

[marcelnl]

My previous DAC needed to be kept running at all times as it took an hour or two to sing again, the Metrum only half an hour so I ted to switch it off when away or for long pauses (night) since it's almost broken in.

 

[louisjames]

I've been using an Onyx for the last year with good results. Anjo was very helpful in the pre-sales period and I decided to stay with the USB input connected to my Mac Mini. I did have a couple of questions if anyone knows since getting info from Metrum these days is like pulling teeth.

1) in looking at the Sonnet Morpheus, which btw looks more and more interesting, I read that the USB is powered by the server, not by the internal power supply. Is this the same for the Onyx?

2) Did Anjo promise any of you a free headphone amp once the new model was released? He did for me as possibly a teaser to buy the Onyx. Which I would have bought anyway. But it's now moons later and nothing. I finally got someone in support to reply to me about this late last year, and they said the new headphone amp is not ready and no ETA is expected. But if Anjo promised me one that yes, I would be getting it.

3) Going back to my first question - - if the Morpheus USB input is powered by the server, in this case my Mac Mini, then would my Mini, which is mostly stock suffice?

Thanks in advance.
LJ

 

[Dvdlucena]

I've been using an Onyx for the last year with good results. Anjo was very helpful in the pre-sales period and I decided to stay with the USB input connected to my Mac Mini. I did have a couple of questions if anyone knows since getting info from Metrum these days is like pulling teeth.

1) in looking at the Sonnet Morpheus, which btw looks more and more interesting, I read that the USB is powered by the server, not by the internal power supply. Is this the same for the Onyx?

2) Did Anjo promise any of you a free headphone amp once the new model was released? He did for me as possibly a teaser to buy the Onyx. Which I would have bought anyway. But it's now moons later and nothing. I finally got someone in support to reply to me about this late last year, and they said the new headphone amp is not ready and no ETA is expected. But if Anjo promised me one that yes, I would be getting it.

3) Going back to my first question - - if the Morpheus USB input is powered by the server, in this case my Mac Mini, then would my Mini, which is mostly stock suffice?

Thanks in advance.
LJ

Yes I have been reading in the net that metrum service it’s falling apart after the CEO opened Sonett

I do think your mini will work just fine with sonett usb. But, if you could, I recommend coaxial or i2s input

 

[marcelnl]

I don't think the CEO started Sonnet, but the CTO which IMO is a fancy name for the 'key tech developer' for a company as small as Metrum started Sonnet together with the chief production officer of Metrum. In the end of the day the CEO for Metrum is sortof an investor, nothing more nothing less...

 

[orkney]

They're def not as responsive as they were,. Hopefully they get back on track because their CS was part of the draw of the company for me.