[gvl2016]

The lack of USB means the Flint is only to 192kHz which is a bit low if one wants to experiment with external digital filters e.g. HQ Player.

 

[Charente]

I briefly tried upsampling to 96kHz and 192kHz in Audirvana via SoX ... I found the sound to slightly 'blur' ... and my computer crawled !

 

[gvl2016]

HQ Player poly-sinc filters sound pretty good with Metrum DACs all the way up to 384kHz. JRiver SoX up to 192kHz is ok too, anything higher smudges the treble imo.

 

[viggen]

Wanting to test out whether the COAX is better than USB input, I acquired a Matrix X-SPDIF (not the mark 2 version). I do not have a "digital" 75ohm RCA cable on hand. So, I am using a Clear Day Audio silver rca and a JVC copper rca interchangeably. First with the JVC, the sound was very smooth and warm. It's easy to listen to long term but not quite my cu of tea. Second, with the Clear Day, the sound is more balanced with better detail. Then, I removed the Matrix X-SPDIF, the sound is lighter in the lows but more detailed and airier in the mid and highs.

I prefer USB directly into the Amethyst from PC. Either because I am not using a 75ohm RCA cable or because the digital signal is over processed by using both the Matrix X-Hi card and the X-SPDIF in tandem, the sound is a touch over processed for me. Maybe others might like this sound better. It's slightly more in the Beats Audio direction. Not overly so, maybe by 5%.

In my past experience when I was using CD transport to dac, I never liked using 75ohm digital cables to connect the two. Digital cables always sounded more etched and had more glare. 50ohm cables sounded more analog to me. But, my assumption now is that I don't need the X-SPDIF and the digital cable. I hope I am proven wrong.

I did order a 75ohm cable off ebay but it's a slow boat from Japan. Probably two weeks. I am anticipating it's arrival.

 

[Mr B1]

Not sure how this hasn't gained traction on Head-Fi. I got one in today. Doing my standard A/B testing (DAC section only, same amp from the Schiit Sys) after warm-up with a heavily modified MHDT Labs Atlantis and it's trading blows.

Any aspects where it differs? I'm very interested (also because you've listened to so many r2r's) to see how the musicality aspect fares in a DAC like the Orchid, Instanbul or GD Audio R1, compared to the RME. Did you use the Eitr?

This weekend I noticed my Adam A5Xs trumped my AFC's in that regard - even with the Adams being very uncoloured. There was just a compelling swing uplifting element in the music that the RME has, but AFC lacks IMO.. I'm coming around that that is a quality I can't go without...

 

[Dvdlucena]

I bought one the previous week (after being a satisfied owner of the Metrum Hex for a year). Still running in, but what an improvement. If you are interested i will post some impressions.

Do you think the owners will need a external amplifier to improve the sound?

 

[the limp man]

You don't need need one. Maybe it is much better with an amp. I used mine as a dac only so cannot say much about the headphone amp.

 

[wantan]

The headphone amp does the DAC justice, so you don't need another amp. Of course there are better amps available if you must. The Massdrop THX should be better than the build in amp. And then there are tube amps if you want the flavour.
Ultimately the Cyan is an excellent DAC with a good amp.

 

[Thunder240]

Hey Amethyst owners, curious if someone can comment on the SQ and sound signature as compared to well-designed chi-fi such as Topping DX7 Pro?

Also, how well does it match with low impedance headphones such as Foster Th-X00, Meze 99 Classic/Noir, Oppo PM-3, or Audeze LCD-X?

Lastly, has anyone heard the Nuforce Icon HDP, and is the Amethyst a noticable upgrade?

I can get a good deal on a usedAmethyst. If i take it, it would replace my Icon HDP (with upgraded LPS). I’d likely use its internal headphone amp for my low impedance headphones. For high impedance / low sensitivity headphones, or for listening where oomph is more important than accuracy, I can always run the Amethyst into the Icon HDP’s headphone amp. Note that USB performance is terribly not important to me. I only expect to use SPIDF.

 

[Dvdlucena]

Hello sir.
Non over sample DACs are very different from topping. Someone can prefer topping kind of sound, but for me, metrum wins.
After few years with amenthyst I decided to buy the pavane level 3. Comparing both, amenthyst it’s the best in bang for buck.
Amenthyst with Sony z1r was one of the best sound I heard of those headphones.
I dont have knowledge of the others products that you wrote in your message.
Cheers

 

[gvl2016]

NOS sound is wrong but can be pleasant. You can achieve similar effect with digital EQ.

 

[Dvdlucena]

NOS sound is wrong but can be pleasant. You can achieve similar effect with digital EQ.

I think “wrong” it’s very bold statement.
Someone can say that vinil it’s wrong. There is no right or wornf
In this matter. Oversampling try with a computer chip to reproduce a analog line. It’s is right? Let your ears decide.
For me, metrum acoustics and soneto áudio are the closest to vinil sound
Pavane was the only dac that I can compare with my vinil set. And I had Yggdrasil, ps audio dsd dac, chord Dave (very good indeed) and denafrips terminator in the house for months .
Cheers

 

[gvl2016]

It is wrong in that the analog sound you get out of an NOS DAC is not true to what mastering engineer heard when the recording was created. HQ roll-off, ultrasonic images and their IMD products in audio band, relatively high THD are the reasons. There cannot be other opinion because it is true. But yeah, whatever floats your boat.

 

[Thunder240]

I appreciate your responses to my questions, especially regarding sound signature relative to, say Topping. I’ve since read a handful of threads over on another forum (specializing in measurements) which are fairly derogatory toward NOS DACs since their samples have all measured poorly on the Audio Precision, though no Metrum products have been tested.

Earlier in this thread there are a handful of comments describing the Amethyst as not your typical NOS R2R, or having addressed many of the common problems with NOS implementations. Can you guys comment on this?

 

[gvl2016]

The Amethyst is your typical NOS R2R. It is reasonably well executed for what it is, there some measurements out there on one forum not to be named here that show it. I don't know what kind of common problems there are with NOS implementations apart from the NOS itself. If you want to try NOS R2R the Amethyst is arguably the "right" DAC for that and definitely better than some others. It fortunately supports higher sampling rates so you can also oversample externally if you player software supports it to get the sound closer to say Topping if you find that NOS is not your cup of tea.