[Fredoo]

After Cees Ruijtenberg -who founded Sonnet Audio- introduced the Sonnet Morpheus pre/DAC (which amazingly outperforms the Metrum Adagio, at half the price!) a new streamer will soon hit the market: the Sonnet Hermes. Good to give/share a small summary, some reviews are expected to appear.

The Hermes is currently in New York for its Roon certification. The Hermes should arrive in April 2020. Pre ordering has started at a reduced introduction offer. Connectivity wise it is quite versatile with ouputs like AES/EBU, I2S, Coax and Toslink:

Looking at the internal design the Hermes seems to be a modern/ improved version of the Metrum Ambre (using search here, you’ll find several experiences of the Ambre). The Hermes uses a compute module processor (without the unnecessary stuff of a Raspberry Pi), the software is focused on streaming, with less tasks for the processor.

Product description
https://www.sonnet-audio.com/Hermes.html

Specs
https://www.sonnet-audio.com/Hermes_specs.html

I’m really looking forward to this streamer! More to follow

 

[BlackMagic]

CR v CR

https://alpha-audio.net/review/eerste-indruk-sonnet-audio-hermes/

 

[vulup]

Has anyone happy to share their impressions had a chance to try it out?

 

[jp11801]

Hi anyone here have this and have any thoughts or comparisons. I own the Sonnet Morpheus and think it is phenomenal

 

[jp11801]

Wow crickets.

I've purchased the Hermes and have the Morpheus with an I2s card also on the way. Will post thoughts in a few weeks against a roon custom build server and melco n1a upgraded to ex.

 

[jp11801]

Urgh had a slight shipping delay on my Hermès expect to have thoughts next week or so. I2s card should be in today

 

[jp11801]

Arrived today should know more next week. Hooked up via I2s to the sonnet

 

[George Hincapie]

After Cees Ruijtenberg -who founded Sonnet Audio- introduced the Sonnet Morpheus pre/DAC (which amazingly outperforms the Metrum Adagio, at half the price!) a new streamer will soon hit the market: the Sonnet Hermes. Good to give/share a small summary, some reviews are expected to appear.



The Hermes is currently in New York for its Roon certification. The Hermes should arrive in April 2020. Pre ordering has started at a reduced introduction offer. Connectivity wise it is quite versatile with ouputs like AES/EBU, I2S, Coax and Toslink:



Looking at the internal design the Hermes seems to be a modern/ improved version of the Metrum Ambre (using search here, you’ll find several experiences of the Ambre). The Hermes uses a compute module processor (without the unnecessary stuff of a Raspberry Pi), the software is focused on streaming, with less tasks for the processor.



Product description
https://www.sonnet-audio.com/Hermes.html

Specs
https://www.sonnet-audio.com/Hermes_specs.html

I’m really looking forward to this streamer! More to follow

I don't think the Morpheus does outperform the Adagio. I own the Adagio. It's as TOTL Reference DAC. If the Morpheus performs anything close to it, I will be asking Cees for a refund.

 

[George Hincapie]

This Hermes is not needed. Waste of money. Buy a Tomanek LPSU, a Pi4 and put Vit OS on an SD card. USB to your Metrum Acoustics DAC of choice and thank me later.

 

[Wes S]

Arrived today should know more next week. Hooked up via I2s to the sonnet

Nice! I have my Hermes arriving in a couple of dayd, and can't wait to take my Morpheus to the next level. I have been using coax from a Bluesound Node 2i, and look forward to hearing the differences.

 

[Miller]

Since you both now own the Hermès would you mind sharing your thoughts? I am considering this myself an option once I move my Morpheus and ROON Server to my speaker system.

 

[Wes S]

Since you both now own the Hermès would you mind sharing your thoughts? I am considering this myself an option once I move my Morpheus and ROON Server to my speaker system.

Sure thing! I just got shipping confirmation, mine is arriving Monday, so I will be able to give you my thoughts soon. I am really looking forward to getting that last bit of detail and performance from my Morpheus with I2S.

 

[Wes S]

So, it has been 2 nights of listening and burn in with my Hermes and the I2S connection on my Morpheus, and I am even more blown away by the performance of this DAC! The Hermes and I2S open up the soundstage and create more depth. The stage is more 3d/holographic now with more space between the instruments and it is like another dimension has been added to the sound and it feels as if I have stepped into the "space of the recording", and I can't get enough. The transients got a bit sharper/quicker, and the background details (Plankton) are more apparent, and this was all welcomed changes coming from the warmer and smoother coax connection with the Bluesound Node 2i. The Hermes and Morpheus are obviously made for each other and are a match made in heaven. If you have an I2S version Morpheus or are interested in adding it, I highly recommend you check it out, as it really is the better way to go. Back to musical bliss!

 

[tesarpa]

Just received Hermes for evaluation. Setup was very easy (2 minutes) with Roon. Connected to Yggdrasil (A2, Unison) via AES. No impressions so far, as I leave it playing music (muted) for 2-3 days, before I seriously listen to it. Will be comparing to USB from Roon Core (Mac Mini).

 

[tesarpa]

So, my evalution time is over and Hermes returned to the distributor. It works as promised, high quality product, no problems during usage. If I should point out some minor quirks, then it keeps display activated when NOT playing any music. I was able to setup display to switch off after it starts to play, but for some reason it keeps it on when idle, which is annoying as it shines blue to the dark room. Also, when music stops, it disconnects from the DAC (Schiit Yggdrasil) which causes loud relay click in the DAC. Other streamers or DDC (Allo Digi One, Schiit Eitr) keeps the signal locked with DAC, if I remember correctly from time when I had them.

But let's concentrate on the important aspect, which is sound quality. What surprised me most, was the dramatic change of character depending on AES/EBU cable. I had two available, one professional studio version built on Sommer Cable w/Neutrik connectors (50 Eur), and italian Ricable Invictus (325 Eur). With the former, the sound was very similar to iPhone connected via Apple Camera Connection Kit as Roon end point, so I thought, bits are bits, no miracle happened. But with latter, the sound changed to a lot darker (warmer) mood with more bass tones. Unfortunately, the transparency, air and details vanished significantly. So for rock, blues Ricable wins, while for jazz, folk, classical music, the chaeaper cable wins. Definitely, with either one, it was better sound than directly from MacMini (Roon Core) via USB. This direct USB connection suffers from some harshness in treble - probably effect of RMI/EMI interference or something like that. I continue research in USB options and if nothing better appears, I might come back to Hermes, which is now in my hall of fame - the best streamer I had met so far.