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^ Not here. I haven't even heard the Hex - I'm afraid.
Metrum Acoustics Aurix
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knowhatimean
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About the only place I've really seen much about it is over on 6 Moons.
I believe Srajan has a review of it up at the moment. He can be a little difficult to follow sometimes until you've taken some time to let what he's said (Heh,heh,heh) "percolate" for some time , but he is interesting. Some of what he'd said about the Hex grabbed my attention enough that I decided to get it ! (& am currently enjoying it extremely ; Listening to the Lyrita catalog is a quite "tasty" experience through this DAC)
Good luck with your Pavane info search & have a great day !
The 6 moons preview is a tease - "hey I can tell different people are clapping their hands - more after burn in"
Anyhow, what i really want is for a Hex owner to take the plunge, upgrade and make me a nice deal on their Hex...
Anyhow, what i really want is for a Hex owner to take the plunge, upgrade and make me a nice deal on their Hex...
knowhatimean
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The 6 moons preview is a tease - "hey I can tell different people are clapping their hands - more after burn in"
Anyhow, what i really want is for a Hex owner to take the plunge, upgrade and make me a nice deal on their Hex...
Heh,heh,heh, .... I'll bet you would !!!
Good Luck !
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Resurrecting this thread...
Here's my previous "Recliner Rig" which used this chain for the HD800:
FiiO X5 > Metrum Acoustics Octave MkII > NuForce HA-200 > HD800
(The OPPO HA-1 is not used with the HD800.)
Here's my current "Recliner Rig" (for the past several months) which uses this chain for the HD800:
FiiO X5 or iPad 3 with Pure i-20 > Metrum Acoustics Octave MkII > Metrum Acoustics Aurix > HD800
(Again, the OPPO HA-1 is not used with the HD800.)
Previously, I had concluded... and posted in several places... that the zero-feedback Metrum Acoustics Aurix had not made significant improvements over the low-feedback, single-ended, Class A NuForce HA-200, for use with the HD800 - that it was somewhat of a toss-up between a preference for front-row seating and a less forgiving, higher resolving sound with better-articulated low-energy transients (Aurix) vs. a larger, but more distant sound stage, a more forgiving resolution and a wee bit more warmth and less "air" (HA-200).
Now, after several months of listening to the Aurix > HD800 almost exclusively, and having established a preference for its 0 dB gain setting (gainless impedance match + attenuation of the DAC, a minimalist's dream come true), I'm discovering that my ears are far more jaded than they were when I last compared the NuForce HA-200 to the Metrum Aurix. No contest!
The gap is far greater than previously communicated, for the same distinctions. Note that I had the allowed the HA-200 to warm up for about 18 hours before testing yesterday morning and I found no difference this morning, after 42 hours of warm-up.
The distinctions I had previously noted, now seem far more exaggerated to my ears, causing me to regret having posted that I could recommend the HA-200 as a better-bang--for-the-buck alternative to the Aurix (for those who prefer a less analytical, more forgiving signature.) The HA-200 is a great amp for the HD800 in terms of eliminating the brittle edginess and thus, fatigue, suffered with high-feedback amps like the OPPO HA-1, but it really holds back the presentation of low-energy information that's so enjoyable - essentially smothering the HD800's resolving power.
Yes, the HA-200 is more forgiving, much more so than I had previously realized, but to put things into perspective, in my opinion, the HA-200 is nowhere near as smothering as the Schiit Vali, the Valhalla 2, or The Battery DAC, any one of which can make a greater percentage of recordings enjoyable with the HD800, by turning it into an HD600 in terms of resolution.
I've wrestled with the possibility that the Aurix has improved over the months that the HA-200 was in its box or that the HA-200 needs to be burned in again, but I find it far more likely that my hearing has simply been pushed up the ladder of adaptive hedonism.
We know from experience that allowing virgin ears to listen to our gear doesn't always win their immediate desire to upgrade from ear bud-equipped iPhones and iTunes MP3 files, but I'm becoming increasingly convinced that a few months of eating cheeseburgers makes going back to creamed beef on toast a lot harder, but an infrequent taste of rib eye or filet mignon, though pleasurable, is no threat to the cheeseburger. Try cutting out the cheeseburgers for a few months and eating nothing but filet mignon (whenever you eat beef).
Feel free to substitute a different analogy - wine, for example. A friend of mine says he can no longer find an enjoyable red wine under $25 a bottle, and that's an exception. Lesser wines were OK until his girlfriend bought him five cases of that particular wine for his birthday. He drank it like there's no tomorrow and now it's at the bottom rung of his tolerance ladder. He says it's even beginning to lose its grip there, which scares him because a $38 wine sits on the next rung.
For me, the Aurix itself is actually improving with age - requiring a very long burn in to really show what it can do (as hinted by Pjotr27 in his post above) or I am getting "schooled" by the Aurix, as I become increasingly aware of what it can do, like no other amp I've had before. Going back to older gear quite often reveals faults in the newer gear, but that just didn't happen with the Aurix.
Mike
Here's my previous "Recliner Rig" which used this chain for the HD800:
FiiO X5 > Metrum Acoustics Octave MkII > NuForce HA-200 > HD800
(The OPPO HA-1 is not used with the HD800.)
Here's my current "Recliner Rig" (for the past several months) which uses this chain for the HD800:
FiiO X5 or iPad 3 with Pure i-20 > Metrum Acoustics Octave MkII > Metrum Acoustics Aurix > HD800
(Again, the OPPO HA-1 is not used with the HD800.)
Previously, I had concluded... and posted in several places... that the zero-feedback Metrum Acoustics Aurix had not made significant improvements over the low-feedback, single-ended, Class A NuForce HA-200, for use with the HD800 - that it was somewhat of a toss-up between a preference for front-row seating and a less forgiving, higher resolving sound with better-articulated low-energy transients (Aurix) vs. a larger, but more distant sound stage, a more forgiving resolution and a wee bit more warmth and less "air" (HA-200).
Now, after several months of listening to the Aurix > HD800 almost exclusively, and having established a preference for its 0 dB gain setting (gainless impedance match + attenuation of the DAC, a minimalist's dream come true), I'm discovering that my ears are far more jaded than they were when I last compared the NuForce HA-200 to the Metrum Aurix. No contest!
The gap is far greater than previously communicated, for the same distinctions. Note that I had the allowed the HA-200 to warm up for about 18 hours before testing yesterday morning and I found no difference this morning, after 42 hours of warm-up.
The distinctions I had previously noted, now seem far more exaggerated to my ears, causing me to regret having posted that I could recommend the HA-200 as a better-bang--for-the-buck alternative to the Aurix (for those who prefer a less analytical, more forgiving signature.) The HA-200 is a great amp for the HD800 in terms of eliminating the brittle edginess and thus, fatigue, suffered with high-feedback amps like the OPPO HA-1, but it really holds back the presentation of low-energy information that's so enjoyable - essentially smothering the HD800's resolving power.
Yes, the HA-200 is more forgiving, much more so than I had previously realized, but to put things into perspective, in my opinion, the HA-200 is nowhere near as smothering as the Schiit Vali, the Valhalla 2, or The Battery DAC, any one of which can make a greater percentage of recordings enjoyable with the HD800, by turning it into an HD600 in terms of resolution.
I've wrestled with the possibility that the Aurix has improved over the months that the HA-200 was in its box or that the HA-200 needs to be burned in again, but I find it far more likely that my hearing has simply been pushed up the ladder of adaptive hedonism.
We know from experience that allowing virgin ears to listen to our gear doesn't always win their immediate desire to upgrade from ear bud-equipped iPhones and iTunes MP3 files, but I'm becoming increasingly convinced that a few months of eating cheeseburgers makes going back to creamed beef on toast a lot harder, but an infrequent taste of rib eye or filet mignon, though pleasurable, is no threat to the cheeseburger. Try cutting out the cheeseburgers for a few months and eating nothing but filet mignon (whenever you eat beef).
Feel free to substitute a different analogy - wine, for example. A friend of mine says he can no longer find an enjoyable red wine under $25 a bottle, and that's an exception. Lesser wines were OK until his girlfriend bought him five cases of that particular wine for his birthday. He drank it like there's no tomorrow and now it's at the bottom rung of his tolerance ladder. He says it's even beginning to lose its grip there, which scares him because a $38 wine sits on the next rung.
For me, the Aurix itself is actually improving with age - requiring a very long burn in to really show what it can do (as hinted by Pjotr27 in his post above) or I am getting "schooled" by the Aurix, as I become increasingly aware of what it can do, like no other amp I've had before. Going back to older gear quite often reveals faults in the newer gear, but that just didn't happen with the Aurix.
Mike
knowhatimean
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Holy moly, Mike ! You're not still using those 'plastic spool spacers' between your components are ya ?
It's high time you get some footers from Herbies Audio Lab ! (Honestly, you won't have to break the bank for them ; You get a star
for being frugal but it's time to regain some rack space, & I swear things even sound a bit better)
(You feelin me, Bud ?)
It's high time you get some footers from Herbies Audio Lab ! (Honestly, you won't have to break the bank for them ; You get a star
for being frugal but it's time to regain some rack space, & I swear things even sound a bit better)
(You feelin me, Bud ?)
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^ Hahaha! That's funny. 
Yes, I'm still using wooden spools with Blu-Tack above, to hold them fast to the rubber feet and self-adhesive felt discs on their bottoms, to prevent scratching. It's just for improved air flow, not vibration dampening.
Mike
Yes, I'm still using wooden spools with Blu-Tack above, to hold them fast to the rubber feet and self-adhesive felt discs on their bottoms, to prevent scratching. It's just for improved air flow, not vibration dampening.
Mike
knowhatimean
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Well, Okay ! (But it still sounds like you're trying to "squirm your way" out of getting some Herbies, which will also give you that extra
space for air circulation) (& then you can rewind all those balls of thread sitting in the drawer back onto the spools)
Just messing with you , have a geat day
(While you're rewinding that thread back on the spools you can watch "Wicked Tuna"
& make it entertaining)
space for air circulation) (& then you can rewind all those balls of thread sitting in the drawer back onto the spools)
Just messing with you , have a geat day
& make it entertaining)
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(& then you can rewind all those balls of thread sitting in the drawer back onto the spools)
Just messing with you , have a geat day(While you're rewinding that thread back on the spools you can watch "Wicked Tuna"
& make it entertaining)
That's seriously funny! LOL
Thanks!
Been listening to a lot more classical music recently and thinking of jumping on the HD800 with Aurix and Hugo combo.
ADD
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Hi,
Has any owner / user of the Aurix been able to compare it with either the Musical Fidelity M1 headphone amplifier or the Sennheiser HV800 headphone amplifier? I currently own the M1 and it has served me well for the last two years, however with various other unrelated upgrades over that time, I now see that it is the relatively weak link in the chain so to speak. I heard the HV800 last year and it was a noticeable step up in performance from the M1, but I guess it should be at almost double the price of the M1. The Aurix falls bang into the sort of price range I am targeting but it would have to produce very good results with classical music, particularly orchestral music.
Has any owner / user of the Aurix been able to compare it with either the Musical Fidelity M1 headphone amplifier or the Sennheiser HV800 headphone amplifier? I currently own the M1 and it has served me well for the last two years, however with various other unrelated upgrades over that time, I now see that it is the relatively weak link in the chain so to speak. I heard the HV800 last year and it was a noticeable step up in performance from the M1, but I guess it should be at almost double the price of the M1. The Aurix falls bang into the sort of price range I am targeting but it would have to produce very good results with classical music, particularly orchestral music.
JWahl
1000+ Head-Fier
Bumping an old thread to see if there are any newer Aurix owners out there. Looking at sigs and profiles from the thread, it seems some of the main commenters still use the Aurix, so that is a positive sign. Head Fi-ers can have a short attention span when ot comes to equipment.
borrego
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A tip for any Aurix user who would find the Aurix sounding "grainly": The two voltage gain transformers sit on a circuit sub-board which would got its connection pins loosen the during shipping (the pins of mine was at least 0.5mm out from pin socket). Just open up the case and press the sub-board to the main-board to make it sitting firmly again, then the "grainly sound" will be gone.
Metrum is currently offering a special price on the Aurix (http://www.metrum-acoustics.com/Price_list.html). I believe it is a great price for anyone looking for a transparent, highly detailed, non-feedback design, honest amp which does not exaggerate dynamics and soundstage.
Metrum is currently offering a special price on the Aurix (http://www.metrum-acoustics.com/Price_list.html). I believe it is a great price for anyone looking for a transparent, highly detailed, non-feedback design, honest amp which does not exaggerate dynamics and soundstage.
Love this amp. Want to get another one but the dealers price in the US is outrageous...
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