Onyx NOS DAC TWO
Product Information
Metrum Onyx NOS DAC
Onyx fitted with DAC TWO Modules NZ $5,100 with Remote Control.
DAC 3 Upgrade $6,295
Prices include either USB or I2S factory fitted.
I2S Module $170
USB Module $205
Videos :
"Terry Talks : the Metrum Acoustics Onyx DAC review"
"What difference does a high quality DAC make ? - How is this DAC different and why do I love it" ?
Dac Two development ... trickle-down technology at work. Replacing Award winning Menuet a compact D/A Coverter offering full connectivity with performance to match. MQA is an option and for Headphone enthusiasts boost Aurix input by using/swapping 'gain' jumpers' internally. If Menuet was good (refer Product Reviews) ... Onyx is even better.
What's Inside Onyx :
Another Gem from Metrum - replacing the tradition first exemplified by Hex and then with 'Transient' DAC ONE development - Menuet.
Menuet in Review achieved 'Best of Year Product 2016' from one direction and regarded as a 'hair's breadth away' from a TotalDac D1 MKII in another.
Leaves you wondering about Pavane Level III of course ... but now elevating performance further with DAC TWO modules - we move up the R2R Dac Ladder yet again with Onyx.
The Eagle eyed - will notice a price drop over previous models. Onyx comes in now for far less than the Award winning Hexadecimal Dac.
How often does that happen ?
Device :
Onyx features four DAC TWO modules, each one consisting of two DAC ONE + FPGA (Forward Correction) modules to drive the Mono Dac boards - as used in the first 'Transient' model range. Circuit boards have been improved, providing faster processing. Power requirements have been substantially reduced, with only one Toroidal Transformer now required. Offering savings to the High End 'budget conscious'.
For Information concerning 'Transient DAC TWO' development click "Here" - or refer Pavane/Adagio Product Pages and Reviews.
As Onyx and Jade share identical Dac componentry, Reviews of Jade also apply to Onyx performance.
Reviews
UK 2021 :
"Sounded different to what I was expecting"
HiFi.nl 2019 : A worthy Dutch mention
Rene Smit Reviews Exposure 5010 series and the difference a separate Dac makes ... compared to a plug-in Dac module.
"The Exposure 5010 preamplifier is a transparent conduit and exposes the differences between the Plug In Board and the Metrum DAC with great ease".
Alpha Audio : Netherlands
Geoffrey Vanhouwaert slots Onyx into his System ... and is pleasantly surprised. Online translation - but you'll get the gist.
“That makes this D/A converter particularly punishable because how this little thing converts the Digital signal to Analog sounds is miraculous.
There may be a few more percentages to be won with a Metrum Pavane, a DCS Rossini or a Nagra HD on an Ultra High-End set.
But for a mere mortal, the Onyx is a small, affordable High-End Wonder that does nothing wrong at all”.
Alpha Audio : Netherlands
This review concentrates on Jade ... but Dac comments of course also apply to Onyx.
Jaap Veenstra slots Jade into an interesting System - right up Mr. Ruijtenberg's street - namely (Daudio) Dipole Speakers - which can provide a 'Window on Sound'. In fact Daudio utilised a Metrum OEM Octave board int their earlier iteration W1 Dipole/Dac-Amps combination. A Pass Labs XP-12 and Pavane/Adagio are thrown into the ring for comparison purposes. English translation below.
The EAR : Netherlands
René van Es checks out Onyx/Jade. Identical Dac performance.
"Having had a quartet of DACs at home lately this is my favourite one, maybe because I am so used to the Pavane and Adagio, it confirms why I chose them.
… a lot of brands sell DACs for less, even Metrum, but compare the sound quality and you’ll soon realise that these two are in a different league".
6 Moons : Ireland
Srajan Ebaen gives Jade a workout.
"In this age of €20'000 DACs that drive stock Sabre with fixed outputs, variable Jade does more for less. Running a subsequent swap to the LinnenberG amps confirmed expectations. These hi-speed DC-coupled class A/B circuits off the Metrum were most crystalline and resolved but a bit bereft of juicy fleshiness. The beefy Pass Labs amp recalibrated the cool value on the thermometer and the lightweight impression on the scale. So the above chain was it. Subtract from the Spanish Artesania Audio rack the Wyred and Nagra preamps and Aqua and Fore Audio converters. Those weren't needed".
Schemata for Onyx (& Jade).
