[kumar402]

What's the difference between DAC 2 and DAC3 on technical front?

 

[marcelnl]

Next up will be a transport. Obvious choice would be the sonnet hermes or metrum amber. However due to the dac3 module hit i'm also contemplating a pi2aes (cheap) and a denafrips iris ddc (as a in between cost wise and easy plug and play).

the DDC is no transport, you still need a worthy front end.

BTW: get that Jade burned in as compare another time after 200-300 hours with your previous DAC, I keep my DAC on 24/7 feeding it a signal and keeping the output connected.

 

[Virion]

Currently using a laptop to stream qobuz. The ddc would be to clean up that signal. But my preference would be to start with a clean signal stream with the other options. Just looking at all the options.

I keep the jade on 24/7 but im not feeding it a signal 24/7. Not a fan of keeping my laptop on all the time.

 

[marcelnl]

auch, yeah almost anything is better than a laptop, though Qobuz is great!.
Even an lowly Intel NUC sounds better, especially on a LPS and with a headless OS, you can control the OS from your laptop. a used NUC should not be that expensive, a DDC will be needed but would offer you I2S between DDC and DAC.
(I'm using Daphile in this way, but my NUC has been replaced with something with more processing power, work in progress and the DDC is replaced by an I2S out PCIe card) The plugin for Qobuz works nicely, though browsing new material is better done through the website)

 

[marcelnl]

What's the difference between DAC 2 and DAC3 on technical front?

great question, the promised paper on that did not yet materialize....
From what I gathered over the past months it is likely doubling the R2R ladders internally, so you probably end up with 23.7 bits in comparison to the old 23.6 or something similar (I pulled those numbers out of thin air!) So you end up with Pavane performance in the Jade/Onyx, Jade/Onyx level for the Amethyst. Following the law of decreasing return I expect that the differences will be smaller the higher up the ladder you are (pun intended) or rather; the nuances will be different.

All I can say for sure is that the expense is justified for me, the low end is a joy due to increased control and detailing where it was no slouch, the level of detail increased across the bandwidth and the highs got even more 'analogue'.

 

[kumar402]

great question, the promised paper on that did not yet materialize....
From what I gathered over the past months it is likely doubling the R2R ladders internally, so you probably end up with 23.7 bits in comparison to the old 23.6 or something similar (I pulled those numbers out of thin air!) So you end up with Pavane performance in the Jade/Onyx, Jade/Onyx level for the Amethyst. Following the law of decreasing return I expect that the differences will be smaller the higher up the ladder you are (pun intended) or rather; the nuances will be different.

All I can say for sure is that the expense is justified for me, the low end is a joy due to increased control and detailing where it was no slouch, the level of detail increased across the bandwidth and the highs got even more 'analogue'.

New Morpheus DAC MODULE is based on same principle of lower power consumption and hence more R2R Ladder per module.

 

[hikaru12]

great question, the promised paper on that did not yet materialize....
From what I gathered over the past months it is likely doubling the R2R ladders internally, so you probably end up with 23.7 bits in comparison to the old 23.6 or something similar (I pulled those numbers out of thin air!) So you end up with Pavane performance in the Jade/Onyx, Jade/Onyx level for the Amethyst. Following the law of decreasing return I expect that the differences will be smaller the higher up the ladder you are (pun intended) or rather; the nuances will be different.

All I can say for sure is that the expense is justified for me, the low end is a joy due to increased control and detailing where it was no slouch, the level of detail increased across the bandwidth and the highs got even more 'analogue'.

Hmm if that is indeed the case then there's no need to upgrade my Pavane to DAC3. A Jade with Pavane level performance would be impressive.

Thanks. So from what I understand. It should be the L3.
I can second that the Morpheus is a lot more detailed and has more punch than the Pavane L3. It is surprising coming from such a small chassis.

This is exactly the sound I was looking from with my Pavane. I bought blind, the slam is satisfying but I feel like the Yggy would be better. I think I'm going to trade it in/sell it for a Morpheus if I only need to pitch in like $800 or something. I want to bring out the most subbass I can from the Auteur/Eikon.

 

[Virion]

A Jade with Pavane level performance would be impressive

Thats what I’m hoping for with my new jade. Still waiting for the dac3 modules to arrive though.

 

[hikaru12]

Thats what I’m hoping for with my new jade. Still waiting for the dac3 modules to arrive though.

I would suggest getting the Pi2AES if you don’t mind waiting a bit. It sounds better than the DDC by quite a bit. I’m getting a Shanti Dual LPS for it too.

 

[antisocialgarlic]

Hi, has anyone upgraded there Pavane L3/ adagio with the dac3 modules. I would really appreciate your thoughts. Not sure I can part with the cash with so little information about this possible upgrade. I suppose the dac3 upgrade was aimed at other Metrum dac's, not Pavane/ adagio.Thanks.

 

[marcelnl]

I don't see why a Pavane would not benefit from the upgrade, it;s likely (my prediction anyway) a smaller increase in SQ than for the lesser DACs yet IMO it should bring the Pavane to the level of the Morpheus. Question is, is that true....and does it make sense from a $$ POV as the Pavane is a lot more expensive than the Morpheus BEFORE adding the DAC 3 modules.


I can vouch for the validity of the DAC 3 modules, they are now constantly on since implant and sounding increasingly more analog and musical with a very sweet top end and bass with serious speed, weight and definition, midranges are very natural.

 

[bk12]

I think the DAC 3 modules take the Onyx to the Morpheus level. I believe they would go beyond in the Pavane setup. I would guess that the high end Sonnet DAC that has been talked about in the past will be the equivalent of the Pavane DAC 3.

 

[antisocialgarlic]

Thanks very much, bk12 and marcelnl for your considered replies. Cheers.

 

[CynaLenale]

I received my adagio 3 and ambre two days ago.

My setup: Roon -cat8-> Ambre -aes/ebu-> Adagio -xlr-> Headroom BlockHead -> Abyss 1266 tc / Copper ring old HD600

Just some simple initial impressions compared to my Scarlatti dac, I'm no proper reviewer:

On both headphone:
You can immediately notice its characteristic low end. The bass becomes more "bouncy".
Can feel better texture on some male vocals.
Big wide sound stage
"air"

On old HD600:
Some old head-fier might know, headroom blockhead with max mod + old cardas blue cable + copper ring hd600 is the original NA tour set in the early 2000s. It's a fantastic combo that is great for listing to orchestra, classical music, some jazz.
If you have a setup that has similar music focus and decide to get this adagio 3, CONGRATULATIONS! You can now better enjoy pop music, edm, house, new age etc.
This dac gives the "classics-oriented" cans a modern taste. It's like a perfectly blended hard iced tea. It doesn't mean that it would be bad for classical music. But what I feel is that the sound becomes more energetic, and more refreshing.

On 1266:
The depth of the sound stage improved a little. The imaging near 30 - 45 degree? improved a little.
I'm using Kimber Axios (copper) for my 1266 because the original cable sounds terrible for me. The original cable to my year has very wide horizontal space, but almost no depth. The vocals are really forward, right in front of your face. I personally call this kind of presentation "safeguard soap" shape. Some people may like it but I do not. So I use Kimber Axios to pull that vocal away, creating better depth. The blockhead amp is a great amp but I still prefer using a power amp to drive the 1266. Current setup lack that "grand" feeling a power amp can provide. I sold my nagra msa a while back so I'm still looking for a new proper amp. I have to check back once I got one.

In general:
This is defiantly a $10k class dac that is hard to beat. Not much else to say for now, it's just a great dac. But my brand new unit is missing one of the rubber feet. And it's not in the box. Strange.

 

[harmony1992]

I received my adagio 3 and ambre two days ago.



My setup: Roon -cat8-> Ambre -aes/ebu-> Adagio -xlr-> Headroom BlockHead -> Abyss 1266 tc / Copper ring old HD600

Just some simple initial impressions compared to my Scarlatti dac, I'm no proper reviewer:

On both headphone:
You can immediately notice its characteristic low end. The bass becomes more "bouncy".
Can feel better texture on some male vocals.
Big wide sound stage
"air"

On old HD600:
Some old head-fier might know, headroom blockhead with max mod + old cardas blue cable + copper ring hd600 is the original NA tour set in the early 2000s. It's a fantastic combo that is great for listing to orchestra, classical music, some jazz.
If you have a setup that has similar music focus and decide to get this adagio 3, CONGRATULATIONS! You can now better enjoy pop music, edm, house, new age etc.
This dac gives the "classics-oriented" cans a modern taste. It's like a perfectly blended hard iced tea. It doesn't mean that it would be bad for classical music. But what I feel is that the sound becomes more energetic, and more refreshing.

On 1266:
The depth of the sound stage improved a little. The imaging near 30 - 45 degree? improved a little.
I'm using Kimber Axios (copper) for my 1266 because the original cable sounds terrible for me. The original cable to my year has very wide horizontal space, but almost no depth. The vocals are really forward, right in front of your face. I personally call this kind of presentation "safeguard soap" shape. Some people may like it but I do not. So I use Kimber Axios to pull that vocal away, creating better depth. The blockhead amp is a great amp but I still prefer using a power amp to drive the 1266. Current setup lack that "grand" feeling a power amp can provide. I sold my nagra msa a while back so I'm still looking for a new proper amp. I have to check back once I got one.

In general:
This is defiantly a $10k class dac that is hard to beat. Not much else to say for now, it's just a great dac. But my brand new unit is missing one of the rubber feet. And it's not in the box. Strange.

I received my adagio 3 and ambre two days ago.



My setup: Roon -cat8-> Ambre -aes/ebu-> Adagio -xlr-> Headroom BlockHead -> Abyss 1266 tc / Copper ring old HD600

Just some simple initial impressions compared to my Scarlatti dac, I'm no proper reviewer:

On both headphone:
You can immediately notice its characteristic low end. The bass becomes more "bouncy".
Can feel better texture on some male vocals.
Big wide sound stage
"air"

On old HD600:
Some old head-fier might know, headroom blockhead with max mod + old cardas blue cable + copper ring hd600 is the original NA tour set in the early 2000s. It's a fantastic combo that is great for listing to orchestra, classical music, some jazz.
If you have a setup that has similar music focus and decide to get this adagio 3, CONGRATULATIONS! You can now better enjoy pop music, edm, house, new age etc.
This dac gives the "classics-oriented" cans a modern taste. It's like a perfectly blended hard iced tea. It doesn't mean that it would be bad for classical music. But what I feel is that the sound becomes more energetic, and more refreshing.

On 1266:
The depth of the sound stage improved a little. The imaging near 30 - 45 degree? improved a little.
I'm using Kimber Axios (copper) for my 1266 because the original cable sounds terrible for me. The original cable to my year has very wide horizontal space, but almost no depth. The vocals are really forward, right in front of your face. I personally call this kind of presentation "safeguard soap" shape. Some people may like it but I do not. So I use Kimber Axios to pull that vocal away, creating better depth. The blockhead amp is a great amp but I still prefer using a power amp to drive the 1266. Current setup lack that "grand" feeling a power amp can provide. I sold my nagra msa a while back so I'm still looking for a new proper amp. I have to check back once I got one.

In general:
This is defiantly a $10k class dac that is hard to beat. Not much else to say for now, it's just a great dac. But my brand new unit is missing one of the rubber feet. And it's not in the box. Strange.

Can you show the safeguard soap for references