Unfortunately I have not been able to find any reviews on the Venus. Both are R2R ladder DACs and play in NOS mode, and both companies have received rave reviews for their line of DACs in terms of build quality, service, warranty, and most importantly sound. The advantage of the Denafrips is I can play both PCM and DSD files, the Onyx does not play DSD files.
#Metrum onyx dac review Pc
I am now satisfied that a stand alone DAC will improve my Redbook playback and allow me to stream from both my PC and the internet so I am sold on the value of purchasing a DAC.īased on some great suggestions for DAC alternatives from my original list made by people replying to this thread I opened my search a little and now am trying to decide between my two finalist the Denafrips Venus and the Metrum Onyx. It was a little relaxed in the treble but still had shimmer and detail but not as much detail as my CDP has. Wonderful sound stage, great mid-range, very deep bass, wonderful texture to the instruments that made them sound ever so real. It uses the same chip manufacturer as in the Esoteric CDP and DAC units. I did not have the chance to hook it to my PC for streaming so I cannot speak about that but as far as a modestly priced DAC this unit is a killer. Standard Redbook at standard resolution sounded wonderful. I found that I liked the unit best played with no filters or up converting. No digital glare at all and up converted both PCM and DSD. It sounded very nice, which was what I was looking for, to verify that a stand alone DAC would improve my Redbook play back better than my current CDP was capable of. I tried a TEAC NT-503 which I was able to take back to my house and run through my system with my current CDP. It has been a while since I poked this post so I am going to relight it again in hopes of some final help. That's enough to get me interested in what Metrum Acoustics is doing. I've heard an older version of the Pavane and the vocals and midrange had a slight glow that I really liked, a kind of glow that the Yggy and Gumby don't quite do. Keeping the Yggy in the back of my mind as a backup choice. If I won the lottery and could suddenly spend lots on DACs I'd probably go with a Metrum Pavane for PCM and try some DACs like the PS Audio Direct Stream for DSD playback and as an alternative for PCM. Don't over-analyze before deciding what to listen to and what to consider. Going just by reviews only confuses things. It's really difficult to choose a DAC without listening.
#Metrum onyx dac review pro
The iCan Pro is too different from my own amps and preference and combined with headphones I'm not familiar with makes it impossible to say anything about the Holo Spring DAC itself. The only time I've heard the Holo Spring DAC is at a meet and using a iFi Pro iCan headphone amp paired with headphones I haven't heard before. Accept differences like that, don't fight it. The sonic differences between PCM and DSD converted to PCM on the Schiit DACs are what they are. But different DACs can have the same style and magnitude of sonic difference. Of course playing DSD that way sounds different than pure PCM recordings. I use JRiver to play DSD files with my Schiit Gungnir Multibit. JRiver can convert DSD to PCM on the fly. I've ripped the SACDs I own and use JRiver Media Center to play them. I bought a Pioneer BR player that is able to rip SACD discs.
I don't consider DSD support to be necessary. If you need the DAC to support DSD then you'll have to restrict your choices to the Denafrips, Holo Spring, and a few other discrete R2R DACs that include DSD playback support. However, the Metrum DACs and the Schiit Multibits do not support DSD. The Metrum Pavane is also really nice, but double the price at around $5000. The Metrum Acoustics Onyx is around $2500. Worthy of consideration with the other DACs in your list.
Another R2R DAC worth checking out are the DACs by Metrum Acoustics.
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