Simply one of the best DAC in this price range at €2,199.00 . To my ears, it sounds comparable to DACs three times the price.
Reviewed at €2,199.00
I have been a fan of R2R DACs ever since I bought the Naim CDS (a CD player that has the double crown Phillips TDA1541 chips). Following that was my experience with Revox CD players… However, purchasing these vintage pieces was merely an attempt to get closer to what I really wanted; the MSB DAC that incorporates first-class R2R DAC technology. Unfortunately, MSB DACs were clearly out of my price range as even their most entry-level unit cost upwards of $10,000.
I needed something more affordable that could bring the same amount of finesse and enjoyment to the music. So began my journey.
My first attempt was the Soekris 1541 DAC. It got a lot of attention and rightfully so as it sounded amazing. However, it was also true that it did not achieve performance anywhere near the MSB DAC.
Weeks went by since my review of the Soekris 1541 DAC. My hope of finding a DAC within my budget that performed like the MSB seemed unreasonable. I received a quick phone call from my crazy audiophile friend that changed everything. He asked if I had ever heard of Metrum Acoustics.
After a quick search on the internet I was immediately hooked. A DAC that uses fully balanced R2R technology with no oversampling! I reached out to Metrum Acoustics and within few weeks, the their Onyx DAC was at my door.
First, I wanted to check the performance of the Onyx in near-field listening so I hooked it up to the Parasound classic 200 integrated amplifier which was running my Monitor Audio gold 50 at the time.
There are no words to describe how I felt. The sound I heard was simply out of this world
Incredible sound stage that stretched out of the room, instruments flying around in mid-air as if they had wings and most apparent bottom frequency control and extension.
As seen in my video review, I then hooked it up to the Billie Amp which was driving the Elac Vela speakers in my main listening space. It was the first time I had heard a DAC make such a significant change in the high frequency as well as the bottom end. Midrange that seemed a little recessed in the beginning was now full-bodied, bold yet smooth.
Simply, the Metrum Acoustics Onyx DAC brings out the best of your system whether you are using a solid-state or tube in your set up.
Audiophile Hi-Fi reviews
Related Articles
Grandinote Shinai
Massimiliano Magri or Max is an electrical engineer who have designed and made tube amplifiers since the 1996. Max’s specialty is in the output transformers or some of us like to call it “the heart of tube amplifiers”. As such, he always made his own output transformers.
Gershman Studio II Speakers
Gershmans have been handcrafting speakers in Canada since the 1993. Now, their office and state of the art listening room is connected right beside a real studio where tracks are recorded, mixed, and mastered.
Raal Requisite SR1a EarSpeaker
This really cannot be classified as headphones. I have tried many ear speakers in the past but these are my first experience with true ear speakers. Reviewed at $3,499 USD