Sonnet Digital Audio
Product Information
SONNET DIGITAL AUDIO PRODUCTS
PASITHEA
New Flagship Non-Over-Sampling Digital to Analog Converter featuring lossless Variable Voltage Volume Control - enabling direct connection to a Power Amplifier.
$9,795
New contenders arrive at 6 Moons regularly.
Srajan Ebaen gives us a 2023 update :
"For what it represents musically and sonically, I wholeheartedly award the Sonnet Digital Audio Pasithea DAC the 2023 Mono & Stereo Upper Echelon Product Award".
Preceded by :
One of only two ... the other $73,000
Twittering Machines Review Sonnet Digital Pasithea in a forthcoming SDA Trilogy Report (below).
It hits the "Favorite Dacs" list.
Michael Lavorgna sets-up Hermes, Pasithea & Kratos Mono-Blocs
It's a tale of 2 Speakers - one does not fly ... the other ?
Michael puts it down (maybe), due to the higher than normal impedance (10 Ohm) for the former. But here's a dichotomy.
Cees' Forte Amplifier (upon which Kratos is based) ... in Review with a pair of Speakers (15 Ohm) - performs brilliantly.
Alpha-Audio 2022 Products of the Year
"Yes, the Goddess Pasithea lives in this DAC” …
Now Reference Converter for ...
Alpha-Audio experience the 'Sounds of Silence'
6 Moons investigate ... and conclude ... it's also now their new Reference DAC-PRE
THE SDA RANGE :
Hermes Streamer - Morpheus NOS DAC with Lossless Volume - Kratos Mono Blocs
Stereophile : Morpheus MKII
MORPHEUS MASTERING
"With 33 presses, Record Industry is one of the largest, most automated Vinyl pressing plants in the world. Our current production capacity is 40,000 to 50,000 records per day".
Record Industry have now commissioned 3 optimised Morpheus Dacs, to enable Digital to Analogue conversion direct to their Neumann cutting lathes - VMS80 (lacquer) and VMS82 (DMM - Direct Metal Mastering). They partner with Artone Recording Studios located in the same building.
KRATOS MONO BLOCS
Refer Power Amplifiers Page for more Information.
"Kratos Mono Bloc Amplifier differs in many respects when compared to normal Transistor Power Amps. With Hybrid designs, Tubes will drive the power output stage but as we all know … will wear out. To avoid this problem Kratos has been designed with high voltage Fet Transistors.
Soundwise Kratos will have lots of similarities – involving an airy and spacious presentation but with the control and grip of a Transistor Amplifier. As a result, measurable properties are completely identical compared to Triodes, plus a high degree of linearity. From this point on, the circuit drives a Class A/B Mosfet output stage.
Only a small amount of feedback is needed to get the correct gain and at the same time it also improves the damping factor. With a dedicated high voltage circuit, the output stage is powered by a substantial 400 Watt power supply.
Manual control of the Amplifier is via a Remote Cable - when connected to our Morpheus Dac. Another switchable option is the so-called ‘music sense’. This checks the input for the presence of music … and turns the Power Amplifier on. After half an hour with no information, this circuit will put the Amplifier back into standby mode.
Protection is of course part of the design, including over-current, offset and overheating - monitored in real time. All relevant information can be seen via the front display". CR
Alpha Audio 2023
"Time for a confession. Your author wasn’t supposed to make any purchases in 2023 but unfortunately that didn’t work out.
But to be honest, we’re ok with it because the Sonnet Kratos Power Amplifiers in combination with our Sonnet Morpheus, sound superb. Especially the definition in the low end and the above average imaging are exceptional. There is a certain synergy between the Kratos and the Morpheus that elevates the entire performance.
Now we have an even better sound that is completely balanced and neutral and ideal for testing".
Audiokey Review Conclusion :
“Sonnet Audio is offering excellent value here with the Kratos Mono Bloc Amplifiers, taking into consideration the harmonically rich and spacious sound. It was essentially impossible to find a flaw with these beautiful built Amps and they had plenty of power to drive 4 Ohm Speakers.
If a Digital library is the Source, a perfect pairing would be Sonnet’s own Morpheus DAC with its Balanced outputs and built in Volume control. In fact, this would be the shortest and purest signal path. Hats off to Sonnet Audio and their attention to detail - for producing products that put the music first.
There are very few excellent Solid State Amplifiers at this price range and even fewer Mono Blocs. If the goal in the design was no frills sonic purity, it has been achieved with flying colours”.
Highly Recommended
"We should have known.
These Sonnet Digital Audio Kratos Power Amplifiers are special".
"Cees Ruijtenberg knows what he's doing"
$9,650 Pair
50 Watt 8 Ohm, 100 Watt 4 Ohm, 170 Watt 2 Ohm
Class A/B - 5 Watts in Class A
Distortion 0.03% THD
Damping Factor 200
Output Noise 300 µV RMS
Frequency Response 10-300.000 Hz – 3dB
Slew Rate 50V / µSec
Input Impedance RCA 15 KOhm, XLR 60 KOhm
Gain: 30dB
Max Power consumption 400 Watt
Hermes Streamer
Refer Music Sources page for more Information
Linux based Digital Streamer using precision clocks.
Hermes out of the box comes as a Roon-certified Digital Endpoint but its architecture also allows support for various platforms (by swapping the SD card) - such as DietPi, PiCorePlayer and Volumio. This offers Qobuz or Logitech Media Server content in a network using UPnP and adds web radio. The warranty applies as long as the user limits to changes in the software.
The Hermes comes with a special I2S output that is based on impedance matching. This approach makes it possible to use standard UTP cables over lengths of twenty meters without loss or interference. Standard ouputs such as AES/EBU, Coax and Toslink are also available. The Hermes hardware platform supports HiRes streaming from network storage, online streaming services via the powerful ROON platform or others, up to a resolution of 192 kHz.
An industrial grade processor performs software duties to the RoPieee platform.
$2195
Morpheus & Hermes Reviews
HiFi Class Act
Audiokey
"The Sonnet Digital duo, the Morpheus DAC and the Hermes Streamer are what I would call the "perfect products"
... for those seeking accurate, natural and musically pleasing sound".
Stereophile
"I hated handing the Morpheus to the Fedex guy ... so much that I ended up buying one"
“I will note that I never listen DACs direct ... but the Morpheus has changed that ‘never’ to except in the case of the Sonnet Morpheus".
You can get better sound in this Review opinion ... but you'll need to shell out $28K+.
Better wait for 'Father of Morpheus' ... if better is best.
"Listen Lossless to a 4 way Top Dac Test"
"The contents are designed by a senior European Digital Master. It is an uncompromisingly balanced R2R ladder DAC and by no means comparable to those that generally use large-scale mass-produced DAC chips. Listening to them gave me a gain like discovering a new world".
"While focusing on the DAC’s specificity, a broader quality made itself known to me. I realized I had been listening at higher volume settings than usual. The clean, unforced presentation, utterly composed and free of treble glare, had me goosing the volume knob without even noticing".
Einsnull Germany - Morpheus + Hermes (Translation)
With sophisticated technology the Sonnet Morpheus achieves exactly the sound that makes Ladder Dac’s so unique. It's fresh, detailed and exceptionally spatial sound inspires across the board. In addition, the Hermes is an ideal Source device with its great performance and individually adaptable software.
All facets of the individual components were evident and the precise dynamic play never seemed to overwhelm the Speakers and even at the listening position one never felt overwhelmed despite the abundant information.
Instead, the Sonnets Combo allows you to dive deep into the music or just be entertained. Sonnet knows how to get optimal results from Digital Audio signals. With the combination of I2s transmission, the sophisticated Ladder Dac concept and the loss-free Pre-stage, one tries to influence the Signal as little as possible and thus to receive as much information as possible. Hermes and Morpheus reward this work with an excellent sound experience that is worthy of their names as role models.
"Mono & Stereo 'Upper Echelon' Award"
출처 : 월간 오디오(http://www.audioht.co.kr)
"However, Morpheus is a different D/A converter and it is necessary to listen to the sound with interest - from the point of view of a small D/A converter considering the technical capabilities and quality sound for less than 5 million won".
SDA Hits the States
Alongside some classy company
Follow-up to Video below.
In the end this is another "Pearl" - Alpha Approved and 5 stars.
Alpha-Audio's Jaap Veenstra takes a look at Morpheus and provides his listening experience so far ...
Check Reviews page for more ... 'Out of the Box' listening impressions.
New Era of R2R NOS D/A Conversion from Cees Ruijtenberg
Morpheus Variable Voltage Gain R2R NOS DAC
$6,250
MQA (Optional)
Following the buy-out of Metrum Acoustics in mid-2018, a new direction for Dac development from Mr. R. emerged mid-2019 - with the formation of Sonnet Digital Audio … and new (and old) business partner Lion Kwaaijtaal.
July 2020
Sees an update to the above. Metrum has now been reacquired by the original founder (Cees) plus partner Lion and under new management.
A decade ago Cees introduced the Duo & then Quad “NOS mini Dacs”. Duo featured two ‘undisclosed’ D/A chipsets. Model progression thereafter followed a theme … doubling up chipsets at each level – with particular attention paid to power supply. But there was a limitation – size, weight & cost e.g. 2 x "Hex" NOS DAC.
5 years later, the introduction of new proprietary D/A technology took this theme one step further … history “here”.
Not wishing to rest on his Digital laurels, SDA was established 2019 to enable continuing DAC improvement … in line with his own design & business principles.
Digital progress continues and now culminates in the above SDA Conversion Module - which carries on the tradition of NOS principles, no filtering and no output stage. The converters themselves provide power direct to output connections. The new Module continues the 'theme' of increasing D/A processing power and complete circuitry redesign.
Motherboard features four vertical slots which carry a new generation of Converters. Four modules replace the eight modules of previous models. A horizontal slot allows for either a DSP section or MQA for example. An Up-sampling module option was being considered but after experimentation rejected. It does after all defeat the purpose of Non-Over-Sampling - (listening) and in the Lab shown to be - Non Productive. In the photo Gallery test results indicate why (impulse responses).
Green light
No point designing multiple Digital input sections for various models. Module below has six inputs. Two Coax connections, one AES/EBU, one Optical and two I2S inputs.
A new range of Audio products from the house of Acelec Engineering.
Streamer - Digital Conversion - Voltage Gain - Active Monitors
Streamer - Digital Conversion - Power Drive - Passive Monitors
MORPHEUS √
"Manual & Introduction"
Srajan Ebean at 6 Moons provides some background Info re Cees' developments & Morpheus Variable Voltage Gain DAC.
Available end of Nov ... as always ... 'good things take time'.
HERMES √
Not a Dac but a Music Server.
Perhaps 'Messenger' of Music more appropriate ... rather than the Gods
The Heart of its Power being - an Industrial Grade processor ?
... taking shape now and on way for Roon certification.
Already MQA Certified with optional Board.
KRATOS √
Mono Bloc Power Amplifiers
Listening Tests
Via Hermes, Morpheus to the new Proto Amps - Active N-core versus Kratos Amps.
Development of Active Monitors which were to include N-core, now might see a redesign of Kratos ... and N-core dropped altogether.
On the Test Bench
On the drawing Board
What Ancient Greek God is next on the horizon ? Without the M we could have Orpheus ?
With Morpheus being the entry level NOS DAC/DVC in Sonnet's range ... the only progression ... is up !
Why no Up-sampling ? Following Pics indicate Lab results during testing - things get wobbly !
