Metrum Onyx/Jade

[Telstar2]

4 hours ago, pabe12 said:

As for a used Pavane: unless you can get hold of one that has the level2/level3 DAC2 modules (quite unlikely), then I wouldn't bother and go for an Onyx instead.

This.

[Blakcloud]

Thanks for all the advice. I am definitely in the NOS style of DAC's. Once I sell an amp I don't use anymore I should have about $4000 to spend, so the Onyx is well under that price range. I would be able to purchase the DAC and a new power cable with the money. I definitely don't want the Jade as my Herron pre-amp is quite nice and pairs well with the mono blocks.

[biosailor]

I am on the search for a replacement of my present DAC (Aqua Acoustic La Voce S2). Not that I am unhappy with my DAC, in the contrary, I like its smooth SQ very much. But it is anything than future-proof! The Jade looks like a great alternative and I am closely following the discussion in this round.

 

I just saw that an MQA add-on board will be available at Metrum Acoustics. Now this is REALLY interesting. Does anyone have more infos on this module? Will the module use the existing R2R non-oversampling board in the Jade, or will it have its own conversion tool? That is not clear to me.

[Spinning]

to my knowledge the MQA upgrade modules are about to shipped to those who ordered them, meaning they are available. After reading what has been written, Metrum uses a bypass, meaning their own NOS ladders are leading, if however a MQA signal is being detected it is managed by the mqa chip, any other signal is exclusively managed by the metrum dac's. in my personal opinion, MQA does not add anything to a NOS dac, and I am sure Metrum has understood that as well, hence the bypass

[biosailor]

3 hours ago, Spinning said:

to my knowledge the MQA upgrade modules are about to shipped to those who ordered them, meaning they are available. After reading what has been written, Metrum uses a bypass, meaning their own NOS ladders are leading, if however a MQA signal is being detected it is managed by the mqa chip, any other signal is exclusively managed by the metrum dac's. in my personal opinion, MQA does not add anything to a NOS dac, and I am sure Metrum has understood that as well, hence the bypass

 

Thanks for the explanation, but I am still wondering what the MQA module does: does it do the first unfolding, say to 24 Bit/96 kHz and send it then to the R2R ladder? Or does it have an in-built Module that does complete unfolding? This would mean that the MQA module has its own onboard DAC. Sorry if I May confuse things.

[tg123]

On 11/10/2017 at 11:42 AM, George Hincapie said:

I haven't had enough time with it yet to form a substantive opinion, but I am happy to post initial impressions. Point of comparison in my main system is the Metrum Acoustics Musette (with upgraded DAC Two Transient modules).

 

The sound stage has now assumed a palpable realism; wider than the Musette but my immediate reaction is that I could reach out and touch what I am listening to. I realise that reads like nonsense, but it's how I feel. It's amazing to experience. It is incredibly vibrant; instruments are articulate, well placed and the vocals are simply sublime.

 

The noise floor must be stupidly low, because I can now hear background detail I simply couldn't hear before. For example, on the Dido album 'Life for Rent', there is a track titled 'Something about Mary'. At the start of the second verse there is a noise in the background that I had always thought before was someone clapping, but can now hear is someone tap dancing. Super!

 

The Musette is a genuinely excellent DAC, but the Onyx is just far better. Same beautiful Metrum Acoustics presentation, but just 'more' of all that makes it good. I know we all crave percentages and other means of comparison, but all I can say is that I am super happy with my investment and I am really looking forward to the reviews from other owners. I really am itching to try the dCS NB with this now.

 

I am not an audio reviewer, so apologies if some of my descriptive narrative isn't brilliant.

 

Thanks for the review on the Onyx. I am definitely getting one now since there is a special offer available for the Onyx.

[PeteS]

5 hours ago, tg123 said:

 

Thanks for the review on the Onyx. I am definitely getting one now since there is a special offer available for the Onyx.

 

Special offer?

[tg123]

1 hour ago, PeteS said:

 

Special offer?

PM'ed

[Spinning]

coupon code audiophile ?

[RootsRocker]

Interested in the Onyx. Is the special offer from Metrum Acoustic? What was the discount and code?

[Telstar2]

On ‎05‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 6:30 AM, tg123 said:

PM'ed

can you PM me too?

[PeteS]

Any new Onyx/Jade owners here to share their experiences?

[Spinning]

with hundreds sold there must be many more user experiences.........

[Mark1987]

2 hours ago, PeteS said:

Any new Onyx/Jade owners here to share their experiences?

What do you want to know?  I own both the Jade and the Ametyst. 

[Telstar2]

5 hours ago, Spinning said:

with hundreds sold there must be many more user experiences

They are quite new, probably they sold a couple hundred units total (my guess).

[oog]

Any more hints on that special offer?  If still available and someone could point me there would be much appreciated.

[tg123]

20 hours ago, oog said:

Any more hints on that special offer?  If still available and someone could point me there would be much appreciated.

 

The group buy is over.

[oog]

On 2/25/2018 at 1:15 AM, tg123 said:

 

The group buy is over.

Oh well, thanks.

[fast density]

Any comparison to resonessence Invicta Mirus or Resolution audio cantata ?

[buonassi]

What's the consensus on the metrum USB input?  On SBAF, @hands, one of their senior reviewers, claims the Coax Spdif is slightly better than the USB on the Amethyst.  I believe this is his expectation bias, because he measured them and found the coax slightly cleaner (shouldn't be audible levels are so negligible).

 

I believe the Amethyst's USB is a standard XMOS asynch. nothing special, but it does have two clocks that are visible.  When being sent spdif, I believe you're left to deal with the quality of the clock on the host sending side, because it's not re-clocked once inside the DAC.  But please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Anyway, long way of asking what your experiences have been with these metrum DACs in general.  If you didn't have AES, or couldn't use it for whatever reason, would you recommend the USB or SPDIF, or is it all a tossup? 

[1markr]

40 minutes ago, buonassi said:

What's the consensus on the metrum USB input?  On SBAF, @hands, one of their senior reviewers, claims the Coax Spdif is slightly better than the USB on the Amethyst......

 

...... Anyway, long way of asking what your experiences have been with these metrum DACs in general.  If you didn't have AES, or couldn't use it for whatever reason, would you recommend the USB or SPDIF, or is it all a tossup? 

 

My personal experience with the Onyx, which I am running now very happily.... I agree with the SBAF reviewer. 

 

I much prefer the coax S/PDIF input on my Onyx (being fed via a Matrix X-SPDIF2 ddc powered by an Uptone LPS1.2) from my MacBook Pro’s USB output. IMO, and to my ears, using the coax input with this combination of gear sounds “significantly” better than the USB input. The improvement to the soundstage, instrument / performer separation, and transient response are all very noticeable. 

 

However, I’d venture a guess that my sonic improvements go beyond just the input differences on the Onyx. I think a good portion of my improvements are due to the  Matrix and LPS1.2 combination.

 

Hope this helps!

[johndoe21ro]

8 hours ago, 1markr said:

 

My personal experience with the Onyx, which I am running now very happily.... I agree with the SBAF reviewer. 

 

I much prefer the coax S/PDIF input on my Onyx (being fed via a Matrix X-SPDIF2 ddc powered by an Uptone LPS1.2) from my MacBook Pro’s USB output. IMO, and to my ears, using the coax input with this combination of gear sounds “significantly” better than the USB input. The improvement to the soundstage, instrument / performer separation, and transient response are all very noticeable. 

 

However, I’d venture a guess that my sonic improvements go beyond just the input differences on the Onyx. I think a good portion of my improvements are due to the  Matrix and LPS1.2 combination.

 

Hope this helps!

Would you mind doing a comparison between e32 and Onyx? Thanks!

[1markr]

15 hours ago, johndoe21ro said:

Would you mind doing a comparison between e32 and Onyx? Thanks!

 

Sure... first off, both DACs are very musical and worthy of an audition in your system; there isn’t a right or a wrong here, just one that feels and sounds “better” in your system with your supporting gear; your ears will determine which is best for you! That said, I can live with either DAC very happily.

 

Anyways, I decided to keep the Onyx after owning an E12 first, then the E32, for the past couple of years or so. Though the differences were small, ultimately I felt the Onyx reproduced piano a bit better in my system.  While it might be just slightly less detailed than the E32, I preferred the smoother character, and slightly “rounder and warmer” presentation of the Onyx in my already revealing system. This manifested itself positively in piano tonality and human voices with less etch and harshness, especially on less than stellar recordings.

 

I also like the fact that I can somewhat tweak the Onyx sound with my stash of power cables, while I powered the E32 via a filtered 12v SLA battery. Lastly, the Onyx has an MQA module option that I may investigate in the future.

 

Also note that, as I mentioned earlier above, it did take the Matrix USB digital converter and LPS1.2 to make the Onyx come alive via the S/PDIF input. USB isn’t bad at all though, but the soundstage just became more dimensional with the add’l supporting gear. I wasn’t able to try the E32 with the Matrix / UpTone combo.

 

Both are really good DACs...truly!

[buonassi]

1 hour ago, 1markr said:

USB isn’t bad at all though, but the soundstage just became more dimensional with the add’l supporting gear.

So it sounds like the USB gets the timing right with the decent clocks, but isn't galvanically isolated like your coax setup.  This may explain the results you're getting.  I wonder if my iUSB 3.0 nano would help me make up some lost ground to the better coax.

 

I guess that's my predicament and I'm very open to opinions.  I can either:

 

a. keep the usb cleaner/regen and use USB on the metrum - this chokes the power and inserts it's own clean noise-free 5v.  It also performs noise cleaning and reclocking on the USB data signal.  Here I already have put money into decent audio-grade USB cables.

 

OR

 

b. buy a Schiit Eitr (which has reviewed very well next to other DDCs) to convert to Coax.  Here I'd be at the mercy of the Schiit clocking but would get full galvanic isolation to the DAC.  It is already quiet with linear power regulators in it, so I shouldn't have to buy extra power solution.  I'd have to also purchase a decent coax cable, however.

 

I'm really not willing to put big bucks into a DDC like.  For this, I'll just go the network route and get a micro-rendu or sms200 or something.  So I guess that's option C!  ha ha

[1markr]

2 hours ago, buonassi said:

So it sounds like the USB gets the timing right with the decent clocks, but isn't galvanically isolated like your coax setup.  This may explain the results you're getting.  I wonder if my iUSB 3.0 nano would help me make up some lost ground to the better coax.

 

I guess that's my predicament and I'm very open to opinions.  I can either:

 

a. keep the usb cleaner/regen and use USB on the metrum - this chokes the power and inserts it's own clean noise-free 5v.  It also performs noise cleaning and reclocking on the USB data signal.  Here I already have put money into decent audio-grade USB cables.

 

OR

 

b. buy a Schiit Eitr (which has reviewed very well next to other DDCs) to convert to Coax.  Here I'd be at the mercy of the Schiit clocking but would get full galvanic isolation to the DAC.  It is already quiet with linear power regulators in it, so I shouldn't have to buy extra power solution.  I'd have to also purchase a decent coax cable, however.

 

I'm really not willing to put big bucks into a DDC like.  For this, I'll just go the network route and get a micro-rendu or sms200 or something.  So I guess that's option C!  ha ha

 

Definately try option A. It sounds like you already have everything for it, so the price of admission is free. Might as well, nothin’ to lose, as they say.

 

If A doesn’t quite pan out, the trying the Eitr makes sense. Haven’t heard one, but have heard good things about it. Your good USB cable will play nicely here, and yes, a good digital 75 ohm cable will also be needed.

 

As far as option C goes, be careful with this one. I went this route with an ultraRendu, but it didn’t pan out for me.  Not the sound I was looking for, so I scrapped the option. This was with both DACs, the E32 and the Onyx. Rendu solutions get raves just about everywhere, so go figure... 

 

Keep us posted!