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Wilderness

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  1. I agree about Metrum DACs. I am very pleased with my Metrum Onyx DAC. The Metrum Onyx DAC elevated my system's output into audio paradise. The synergy is so good that mermaids are calling as I sail along on a cloud of bliss while listening. Nothing is harsh or unpleasantly sibilant, and everything is straight up magical. I feel exquisitely intoxicated when I listen to anything through my system. I have around 10,000 songs, and everything sounds beautiful through my system since I added the Onyx DAC. It is the tone that gets me every time I listen. The DAC designer is a genius. I get the strong impression that the full beauty of each song is realized through the Onyx. I am so pleased that I will probably stop buying any more audio gear until something breaks, and when that happens I will buy the same item. And so you see that I highly recommend the Metrum Onyx DAC.
  2. I had the Teac NT 503 DAC. It sounded pretty good, but with around one percent of the songs in my library there was unpleasant sibilance. Not sure if the Teac 505 DAC avoids that problem.
  3. Yes, which I blogged about. The Red Cross is a great organization.
  4. Every day I watch the suffering in Ukraine on my TV or read about it online while I listen to music from my beautiful sounding 2 channel system. This results in the simultaneous feelings of anguish from watching the suffering on my TV while also appreciating the beauty of the music on my home audio system. This odd juxtaposition then makes me feel guilty, and so I blog about what is happening in Ukraine so that I can feel that I am doing something, even though I know that what I do does not really matter. The people in Ukraine are so brave and beautiful in their spirit and support for each other. The nobility of their suffering is almost to inspiring and heartbreaking to watch. Somehow, what is happening to them must be stopped. Damn Putin to hell for all eternity!
  5. My system is in my profile. Here it is: JRiver iMac Cardas Clear USB Wyred 4 Sound DDC Moon Black Dragon digital coax Metrum Onyx DAC Cardas Clear XLR McIntosh MA252 with Mullard NOS tubes Moon Black Dragon speaker cables GoldenEar Triton 3+ speakers REL T9x subwoofer SVS SB2000 subwoofer Audience Forte 3 power cords Room treatment from Vicoustic and Auralex I am not using power conditioners. The amp, DAC, speakers, and sub are all plugged straight into the wall. Also, no aftermarket footers or anything else.
  6. One other note about this DAC. I have heard a few reviewers make the disturbing claim that they know they have a great audio product when it sounds awful with poor or flawed recordings. Their thinking is that great recordings can only sound great on a system that exposes bad recordings. I understand their argument, but I don't agree with it. By that I mean that it is possible to get great sound from all recordings with the right gear. The Metrum Onyx DAC, in my system, sounds great with every song I have played through it for the past several months. Great recordings sound fully formed to their potential, and recordings that have flaws such as rough sibilance or harshness are smoothed and cleaned up in a natural way so that they, too, sound great.
  7. I have the Metrum Onyx DAC and I am extremely pleased with it. I sent an email to Metrum a few days ago to tell them how pleased I am with the DAC. I agree that this DAC is underappreciated. If people knew how good it is, it would get the kind of buzz that a few other DACs are getting. Metrum needs to send the DAC out to a few more reviewers and then look at what other companies do to market. I told Metrum that I instantly fall in love with the female vocalists that I hear when I listen through this DAC. All of the genres of music I listen to are freaking mindblowing with it: mostly jazz, blues, singer/songwriter, classic rock, alt rock, classical and ambient. I have around 9,700 songs, and all of them sound great with this DAC. I prize tone over everything, and the Onyx excels at that. Also, I want a DAC that handles sibilance well so that it is reproduced naturally and does not sound not excessive or rough. Check. I am listening to the Lounge 2 album right now by After in Paris. Bells, piano, vocals, brass, guitars, drums, etc. are exquisite. There is plenty of reverb and decay when it is in the recording. I hear deep into the recording without it sounding clinical at all. It is smooth without being soft. The album is vastly superior sounding through this DAC compared to what I heard through my old Teac NT503. So natural, full, and beautiful. It is late, but I want to keep listening. I can't imagine that another DAC could sound better. It has transformed my system to the point that I am finished with equipment purchases. This DAC is a steal at $2,500. I don't have the upgraded DAC3 modules installed. There is a YouTube video so that you can listen to and compare the standard DAC2 and upgrade DAC3 modules. I noticed in the video that the bass seems more prominent with the DAC3 modules. I don't need more bass, as I have speakers with built in powered subs and I have two external subs, and so I will stick with the standard DAC2 modules that came preinstalled in the DAC. I am using the digital coax input. I have a Black Dragon digital coax cable from Moon. My other cables are Cardas Clear and Moon's Black Dragon speaker cables. I have six of Audience's Forte 3 power cords. I bought the DAC from the U.S. distributor, HiFi Heaven. No problems with the order or the DAC. New purchasers should be aware that the DAC really does need about 300 hours to break in and sound its best. Then it will sound so good that it will bring out all of the beauty in music.
  8. I was wondering about this, too. This story answers the question: https://www.idropnews.com/news/sorry-itunes-fans-apple-wont-be-offering-purchased-tracks-in-lossless-formats/159594/ To save people time, the answer is "no." Instead, low resolution Apple 256 aac files that are redownloaded in high res will only be available for Music subscribers. When you cancel your subscription, your music goes "poof." That limitation rules out this option for me, as I don't stream. I only purchase downloads. In the last few years, I have purchased downloads nearly 100% from Bandcamp and Qobuz. I used to purchase from HDTracks and a few others. I have around 9,200 tracks. I use JRiver for my music player at home and jetaudio for my iPad and iPhone in my car.
  9. I found a post today in JRiver's forum about using multiple shelving filters in its parametric EQ. I used the advice to eliminate the last of the annoying sibilance that had plagued my bright system. In JRiver: Go to Tools>Options>DSP>Parametric EQ>Click Add>Adjust high frequencies (high-shelf filter) That process allows adding multiple shelving filters. Here are the high shelf settings I used: -3 dB 2000 Hz. -4 dB 5000 Hz. -5 dB 7700 Hz. I set a separate parametric equalization at -6 dB. at 9000Hz. I am very pleased with the sound I am now getting. The sibilance is gone, and I am getting more beautiful bass undertones with acoustic guitar. Sweet! https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,111261.0.html
  10. Will this be offered in a version for Mac at some point? Thanks.
  11. Thank you for the reply, One and a half. I play music at moderate levels, at 57-70 decibels typical at my listening seat about 11 feet from my speakers. I switched from optical TOSlink to a digital coax cable. It is 13 feet long. That and removing an iFi AC iPurifier helped. I was able to reduce it, but I still have some sibilance on some tracks with female vocals. I have two presets in JRiver's parametric equalization, and that takes care of most of the remaining sibilance. I leave off the parametric equalization unless I am playing tracks that need it. I would like to find a DAC that is better at handling sibilance. Weiss has a DAC with a de-esser setting, but it costs more than $8,000. Any suggestions? The other problem is that I don't know whether the DAC is the problem.
  12. I was able to reduce it, but I still have some sibilance on some tracks with female vocals. I have two presets in JRiver's parametric equalization, and that takes care of the remaining sibilance for the 1% of tracks in my library with it. I leave off the parametric equalization unless I am playing tracks that need it. I would like to find a DAC that is better at handling sibilance. Weiss has a DAC with a de-esser setting, but it costs $8,000. Any suggestions?
  13. I found out today that by removing an iFi AC iPurifier from my system, the exaggerated sibilance I had been hearing with some problem recordings has disappeared. The device had made my system too revealing. Now I can listen to problem recordings without having to suffer. Hoorah!
  14. I discovered the biggest source of sibilance in my system today: iFi's AC iPurifier. It made my system too revealing of everything, including sibilance in problem recordings. I removed it today and played eight or so tracks that had sounded too sibilant. The sibilance is now reduced to the point that it sounds normal. Part of the problem had been that my system was already a bit too bright. Adding an Audience Forte F3 power cord and then the iFi AC iPurifier combined to put my system into brightness overload. The power cord stays, though, because it does not exaggerate sibilance.
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