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Metrum Onyx versus Metrum Pavane

I wanted to see who has moved up from the Metrum Onyx to the Pavane or Adagio and was it worth it?

I currently run the Onyx with Metrum Ambre via I2S.

Let me know who else out there has experience with Metrum in general.

Thanks!
justjames72

Showing 2 responses by relaks

relaks
63 posts
 
Hi guys, I have read this thread with great interest, as I am looking for a DAC. I have never auditioned any Metrum products nor in fact any R2R DACs. But what I read about the natural timing, flow and micro dynamics certainly strikes a chord here.

I am currently using a relatively modest Innuos ZEN - Naim V1 DAC - Lavardin IT - Zingali Overture 2s, where the DAC is clearly the weakest link. The R2R philosophy mirrors Lavardin capabilities perfectly as far as I can see. I considered Border Patrol DAC, Shiit and some middle of the range Denafrips, but something deters me (for different reasons) from taking a punt and going for any of those. Metrum though looks quite convincing from what I have read so far.  

As my room is far from ideal and I am not an audiophile per se and just prefer listening to the music (no offence to anyone here!) I guess Pavane would be an overkill (tell me if I'm wrong), so I am looking at Onyx.

My main concern is the link to the source, as ZEN has USB output only and with the right application it sounds just stunning. Is the Onyx USB asynchronous? How good is it compared to other inputs? What will I need if the I2S input is clearly superior? I don't want to complicate things by adding another (expensive) box.  

Any thoughts are highly appreciated. And if anyone has the experience with Zingali/Lavardin, any opinions re matching my system would be great! Many thanks. 
relaks
63 posts
 

Got a sudden opportunity to audition Onyx and Aqua La Voce 3 on Monday. Both were excellent and sounded very similar in many respects. The tempo, articulation were spot on, both excelled in portraying rubato phrasing and sounded quite expressive, nuanced and involving. I was actually surprised how much modern DACs have improved. Bought the Aqua due to its’ slightly more optimistic delivery, and more importantly a better USB input. The fact that it’s modular and probably better supported now, also helped with my choice. Onyx though is a great VFM. Sonnet looks interesting as well. Thanks, roncagg.
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