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Metrum Octave Dac experiences

I had another thread on this dac before I ordered (and heard) it, but I can't find it anywhere. So here's a new thread since I promised to share my experience here ;-) I have been listening to this dac for a few weeks now, I have no idea how many hours. I am playing from a dedicated music server with JPlay.

To my ears (I don't have much experience with other dacs, only a Audio-GD dac) it sounds really good. The main thing I noticed was the lack of listening fatigue, everything sounds real natural. I still need to try it with oversampled music, I haven't had the time to make a good comparison yet.

By the way, I'm (only) using a V-Link at the moment but looking to upgrade to an Audiophilleo of Off-Ramp in a few months.

I was sondering if anyone has any similar experience or maybe some tweaks to make it sound even better ;-)

Thanks!
newbie79

Showing 3 responses by jult52

jult52
155 posts
 
Newbie - I'm close to pulling the trigger on one of these things, too. Note my thread on USB/SPDIF interfaces, prompted by this whole question of feeding signal into a NOS DAC like the Metrum.

The thread on the Yamamoto DAC evolved into a thread on the Metrum.
jult52
155 posts
 
I received my Octave earlier this week and have been listening to it unburned in. Sensational detail, excellent on winds and percussion, soundstaging seems very good, OK on voice. A lot of presence and major oomph in louder sections. This is a big upgrade for me.

The problem right now is that strings (I am mainly a classical listener) are somewhat harsh. I am attributing this flaw to my piss-poor transport (am in the middle of migrating to a PC-based transport with teh JKenny MK3 reclocker). Have any of you been experiencing some problems with the Metrum and stringed instruments?
jult52
155 posts
 
What do you think of the Metrum's "musicality"?

I realize that is a loaded and controversial term but I'm interested in Metrum owners' response to the question.
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