[Nostoi]

I wrote to Sonnet today to seek some clarity on the best way to connect via the Matrix X-SPIDF 2 converter. They emailed back as follows:

"I2S is probably not the way to go as it is optimized for our Hermes so as a result it will not work properly in conjunction with the Matrix. Still I2S is not a standard so I advise you to go for the AES/EBU"

///

I did have a brief chance to run the Morpheus via coax today on a simple converter, but then it broke. Matrix should be here in a day or so.

In the meantime, right now I have to say, I'm really enjoying the Morpheus, but I'm hoping the transition from USB to AES/EBU will render its technical aspects - especially layering and imaging - more precise. I also hope the dynamics could be a bit more punchy. The timbre is very agreeable. It balances a smooth tonality that does not feel rolled off. Having said that, on USB, the comparison between the Hugo 2 and the Morpheus is not night and day. Yes, the Hugo 2 lacks body in the lower mids, the treble is a bit glaring, and it doesn't have as smooth a presentation as the Morpheus. But in terms of resolution, I am not yet in a position to say the Morpheus is significantly ahead. The Sparkos Aries amp enables me to quickly A/B between sources, and the differences are not radical. It's also true that the Hugo 2 has a more forward/aggressive presentation, which might give a more hyper-contrasted sense of detail. The Morpheus is more subtle but no less resolving.

I will see how it pans out with the AES/EBU, and also see how it unfolds with more hours put in it. It's undoubtedly a great DAC but whether it's "the one" remains to be seen. I certainly feel it has the potential.

 

[ken6217]

If you can get your hands on a LPS for the Matrix, it will definitely up the sound quality.

 

[Nostoi]

If you can get your hands on a LPS for the Matrix, it will definitely up the sound quality.

I've looked at a few including the Keces P3. Any other recommendations?

I have the iFi iPower supply in the meantime.

 

[ken6217]

Keces!

I use the P8. I have even compared it to Paul Hynes and like it better. Richer tonality.

 

[Nostoi]

Keces!

I use the P8. I have even compared it to Paul Hynes and like it better. Richer tonality.

Thanks, will order either the P8 or P3. I want to max out the potential of the Morpheus before I decide what to do.

 

[ken6217]

Thanks, will order either the P8 or P3. I want to max out the potential of the Morpheus before I decide what to do.

 

[Nostoi]

Concluding demo on the Sonnet Morpheus w/Sparkos Aries vs. Hugo 2 w/Sparkos Aries for anyone interested.

I've received the Matrix X-SPDIF 2 interface and am now running the Morpheus via AES/EBU on Keces P3. The first thing I noticed is that the soundstage is notably more diffused than when running on USB. This is good in some respects because it generates space, but at the same time, I also find this sense of spaciousness comes at the expense of a loss of "punch" in the overall presentation (I find drums especially sound a bit soft). The Hugo 2 soundstage is certainly a little more congested, but it also is more dynamic if slightly more aggressive (I find slam is more impactful). Which option one prefers is largely a matter of taste. Does the Matrix X-SPDIF 2 improve layering and imaging? Yes, but not radically. Separation is cleaner and clearer, but again I find the overall presentation somewhat more relaxed for some reason.

In sum, I enjoyed the time I spent with the Sonnet Morpheus, but in the end, I actually prefer the tonality of the Hugo 2 with the Sparkos Aries. There's not a great difference between these DACS in terms of timbre (Morpheus is more a smidge softer/laidback, Hugo 2 is more forward-facing, more energetic). Technically, beyond the wider sense of soundstage, I don't find the Morpheus leaps ahead of the Hugo 2 in terms of layering, detail retrieval, and imaging to compel purchasing the unit.

My basic conclusion from this experience is that so long as you have a component DAC in your system (i.e., anything above 1.5k or so), one's funds are likely better spent on headphones and amps. That said, I enjoyed my time with the Morpheus and there's no doubt it's a great DAC.

 

[MSXX]

Concluding demo on the Sonnet Morpheus w/Sparkos Aries vs. Hugo 2 w/Sparkos Aries for anyone interested.

I've received the Matrix X-SPDIF 2 interface and am now running the Morpheus via AES/EBU on Keces P3. The first thing I noticed is that the soundstage is notably more diffused than when running on USB. This is good in some respects because it generates space, but at the same time, I also find this sense of spaciousness comes at the expense of a loss of "punch" in the overall presentation (I find drums especially sound a bit soft). The Hugo 2 soundstage is certainly a little more congested, but it also is more dynamic if slightly more aggressive (I find slam is more impactful). Which option one prefers is largely a matter of taste. Does the Matrix X-SPDIF 2 improve layering and imaging? Yes, but not radically. Separation is cleaner and clearer, but again I find the overall presentation somewhat more relaxed for some reason.

In sum, I enjoyed the time I spent with the Sonnet Morpheus, but in the end, I actually prefer the tonality of the Hugo 2 with the Sparkos Aries. There's not a great difference between these DACS in terms of timbre (Morpheus is more a smidge softer/laidback, Hugo 2 is more forward-facing, more energetic). Technically, beyond the wider sense of soundstage, I don't find the Morpheus leaps ahead of the Hugo 2 in terms of layering, detail retrieval, and imaging to compel purchasing the unit.

My basic conclusion from this experience is that so long as you have a component DAC in your system (i.e., anything above 1.5k or so), one's funds are likely better spent on headphones and amps. That said, I enjoyed my time with the Morpheus and there's no doubt it's a great DAC.

Thanks for this!!! I have a hugo2/2go but have been mulling over if I should get a Morpheus instead. To try a new flavor. Your words brought me down to earth as I thought the Morpheus would be a ‘big upgrade’ for me. Not saying that the Morpheus isn’t great, but as you say maybe I should use my money elsewhere or save it and go for something greater (more expensive).

 

[Nostoi]

Thanks for this!!! I have a hugo2/2go but have been mulling over if I should get a Morpheus instead. To try a new flavor. Your words brought me down to earth as I thought the Morpheus would be a ‘big upgrade’ for me. Not saying that the Morpheus isn’t great, but as you say maybe I should use my money elsewhere or save it and go for something greater (more expensive).

I certainly don't want to detract from anyone's experience of the Morpheus, because it is a great unit. But is it a "big upgrade" from Hugo2? Not in my experience (especially when you consider the price difference with the Matrix X-SPDIF 2 (450Euros) and Keces P3 LPS (400Euros) = close to 4400 Euros vs. 1.5k for Hugo 2). Without being reductive, you're basically paying for a slightly more holographic/3D soundstage because difference in timbre is minimal to negligible. Other users may well have a different perspective, which I'd welcome hearing. But in this set-up, I find the choice of amp to be way more critical than DAC.

Maybe you have to push 5k or before you get a notable upgrade from the Hugo 2. For me, I'd rather put those funds into a high-end tube amp, retaining the Hugo 2 as my baseline DAC. In any case, glad it was helpful.

 

[sahmen]

Sometimes the Morpheus is only as great as the other components that surround it. If you have not paired it with, say, an amp that will bring out all its capabilities in all their glory, you might be easily selling it seriously short. I speak from my own experience. I had the morpheus paired with a Cavalli Liquid Platinum for the first year I owned it. Before then, it was a Metrum Onyx, which was paired with the LP. The upgrade to the Morpheus did show some improvements, but there was more performance in the Morpheus remaining to be unleashed, which I did not even know about. A couple of months ago, I upgraded my amp, from the Liquid Platinum to a Pathos InPol Ear, and later added a Niimbus US4. These changes have got me hearing things from my rig that I could never have heard were I to be using the Liquid Platinum, which obviously wasn't equipped to translate the optimum oomph and all the refinements of which the Morpheus was capable. Of course now I know a lot more about the Morpheus than I did before these swaps

The short version of this story is that : more often than not, a system sounds as good as the weakest link in the chain, and that weakest-link-in-the-chain, which is not always as easy to locate as one might think, might cast a cloud on the abilities of other components in the the same chain. Under such circumstances, I do suspect sometimes that a DAC, or Amp, or even a headphone, could be blamed unfairly for a subpar performance that is being really caused by another "weak-link" component in the same chain... I could list more unfortunate consequences of such a situation, but I hope all readers get where I am going with this...

It is true that, in such cases, the essential and ideal solution would be to do a lot of permutations, and component swapping throughout the entire chain in order to identify the culprit "weak link" with more pinpoint accuracy, but the fact is that such permutations might involve several components with a cumulative price tag that many of us might not have deep enough pockets to meet, so we settle for our imperfect and less than ideal evaluations, in which components that have not been allowed to show off their best performances are dismissed as sub par, or they are sorely underrepresented... and that is just too unfortunate....

I am just throwing these thoughts out there, just in case they might resonate with someone else's experience, and not looking for some fight or duel. I know mileages always vary, preferences are often subjective, we all hear things differently, optimal synergies are important....and yada, yada, yada... I respect all of those caveats...

A couple of component swaps have enabled me to hear my Morpheus, and even some of my headphones (Susvara, the He-6SE) a lot more differently than I have done for a long time prior to the swaps... I thought I should share this experience is all.

 

[Nostoi]

Sometimes the Morpheus is only as great as the other components that surround it. If you have not paired with an amp that will bring out all its glory, you might be selling it seriously short. I speak from my own experience. I had the morpheus paired with a Cavalli Liquid Platinum for the first year I owned it. Before then, it was a Metrum Onyx, which was paired with the Morpheus. A couple of months ago, I upgraded my amp, from the Morpheus to a Pathos InPol Ear, and later added a Niimbus US4. These changes have got me hearing things from my rig that I could never have heard were I to be using the Liquid Platinum, which obviously wasn't equipped to translate the optimum oomph and all the refinements of which the Morpheus is capable.

The short version of this story is that : more often than not, a system sounds as good as the weakest link in the chain, and that weakest-link-in-the-chain, which is not always as easy to locate as one might think, might cast a cloud on the abilities of other components in the the same chain. Under such circumstances, I do suspect sometimes that a DAC, or Amp, or even a headphone, could be blamed unfairly for a subpar performance that is being really caused by another "weak-link" component in the same chain...

It is true that, in such cases, the essential and ideal solution would be to do a lot of permutations, and component swapping throughout the entire chain in order to identify the culprit "weak link" with more pinpoint accuracy, but the fact is that such permutations might involve several components with a cumulative price tag that many of us might not have deep enough pockets to meet, so we settle for our imperfect and less than ideal evaluations, in which components that have not been allowed to show off their best performances are dismissed as sub par.... Too bad...

I am just throwing this out there, just in case it might resonate with someone else's experience, and not looking for some fight or duel. I know mileages always vary, preferences are often subjective, and we all hear things differently, and yada, yada, yada... I respect all of those caveats...

A couple of component swaps have enabled me to hear my Morpheus, and even some of my headphones (Susvara, the He-6SE) a lot more differently than I have done for a long time prior to the swap... I thought I should share this experience.

In my own case, I was pairing the Morpheus with the Sparkos Labs Aries, which is regarded as being on par with the Niimbus US4 (and is also Zach from ZMF's SS amp of choice for testing his headphones), so I don't think any performance issues are amp related.

You can see my headphones in my signature. I'm not aware of any notable weak links in my setup, though course always room for improvement, etc.

I don't deny the Morpheus could open itself up in other ways with different amps. I felt the Sparkos pairing was a bit dry: perhaps it pairs better with tubes.

 

[Wes S]

Sometimes the Morpheus is only as great as the other components that surround it. If you have not paired it with, say, an amp that will bring out all its capabilities in all their glory, you might be easily selling it seriously short. I speak from my own experience. I had the morpheus paired with a Cavalli Liquid Platinum for the first year I owned it. Before then, it was a Metrum Onyx, which was paired with the Morpheus. The upgrade to the Morpheus did show some improvements, but there was more performance in the Morpheus remaining to be unleashed, which I did not even know about. A couple of months ago, I upgraded my amp, from the Liquid Platinum to a Pathos InPol Ear, and later added a Niimbus US4. These changes have got me hearing things from my rig that I could never have heard were I to be using the Liquid Platinum, which obviously wasn't equipped to translate the optimum oomph and all the refinements of which the Morpheus was capable. Of course now I know a lot more about the Morpheus than I did before these swaps

The short version of this story is that : more often than not, a system sounds as good as the weakest link in the chain, and that weakest-link-in-the-chain, which is not always as easy to locate as one might think, might cast a cloud on the abilities of other components in the the same chain. Under such circumstances, I do suspect sometimes that a DAC, or Amp, or even a headphone, could be blamed unfairly for a subpar performance that is being really caused by another "weak-link" component in the same chain... I could list more unfortunate consequences of such a situation, but I hope all readers get where I am going with this...

It is true that, in such cases, the essential and ideal solution would be to do a lot of permutations, and component swapping throughout the entire chain in order to identify the culprit "weak link" with more pinpoint accuracy, but the fact is that such permutations might involve several components with a cumulative price tag that many of us might not have deep enough pockets to meet, so we settle for our imperfect and less than ideal evaluations, in which components that have not been allowed to show off their best performances are dismissed as sub par, or they are sorely underrepresented... and that is just too unfortunate....

I am just throwing these thoughts out there, just in case they might resonate with someone else's experience, and not looking for some fight or duel. I know mileages always vary, preferences are often subjective, we all hear things differently, optimal synergies are important....and yada, yada, yada... I respect all of those caveats...

A couple of component swaps have enabled me to hear my Morpheus, and even some of my headphones (Susvara, the He-6SE) a lot more differently than I have done for a long time prior to the swaps... I thought I should share this experience is all.

Good stuff! The Metrum or Sonnet Streamer and the I2S connection, really is the best way to use the Morpheus.

 

[vonBaron]

In my own case, I was pairing the Morpheus with the Sparkos Labs Aries, which is regarded as being on par with the Niimbus US4 (and is also Zach from ZMF's SS amp of choice for testing his headphones), so I don't think any performance issues are amp related.

You can see my headphones in my signature. I'm not aware of any notable weak links in my setup, though course always room for improvement, etc.

I don't deny the Morpheus could open itself up in other ways with different amps. I felt the Sparkos pairing was a bit dry: perhaps it pairs better with tubes.

I don't think SLA it on the same level as Niimbus but may be wrong.

 

[Nostoi]

I don't think SLA it on the same level as Niimbus but may be wrong.

I've not heard the Niimbus myself, but this is what @project86 reported and he seems to have a good grasp on high-end amps. As I say, it's also the SS amp of choice for ZMF used to test their headphones before sending them out, so it's no slouch.

 

[Nostoi]

I've not heard the Niimbus myself, but this is what @project86 reported and he seems to have a good grasp on high-end amps. As I say, it's also the SS amp of choice for ZMF used to test their headphones before sending them out, so it's no slouch.

The comparison between the Niimbus and the Sparkos can be found here.