Not yet. Still thinking. I prefer the flint to the modi multibit in my bedroom, but I listen to mostly laid-back music at low volumes in there—the extra body and smoother presentation of the flint is perfect. But I worry about the usb implementation on the onyx, which many have said is so-so. I use usb, spidf, and toslink for different sources so a converter like and eitr is a no go.
This was with a Schiit Magni 3 and various headphones. Exaggerated treble may have been the wrong way to put it - it's more that the sound is too forward or hard for my tastes. And it may very well be specific to me - I spent many months in a coma a number of years ago and came out the other side with some lingering brain damage, which is why I don't normally talk about sound quality and probably shouldn't have done so above. But I do find great sound with the Flint DAC and the Cavalli Liquid Spark amp that I'm using now along with Sennheiser 6xx headphones.
I'm a new member here and have read lots of press about the Denafrips. I've lived with the Wadia sound all my life and need a new DAC. Did you spring for the Denafrips and do you like it ?
Pennsylvania audiophile here also. I've lived with the Wadia sound for 25 years and need to replace the S7i. Does R2R technology have a 'house sound' of its own ? I like what I've read about Denafrips - did you go for it and how does it sound ? I'm a tube guy myself, Wilson Sophia 3's. I listen to classical almost exclusively. Thanks.
Actually I went in a different direction from the R2R DACs. The Denafrip and Holo were difficult to get info on from a dealer in the States and I was concerned if there were issues it would be to inconvenient to ship overseas. I appreciate brick and mortar stores where a friendship develops. For this reason I went to the dealer I have been purchasing the majority of my equipment from to hear what he would recommend. He knows my system. I was lent a TEAC NT-503. I loved the sound. Ended up ordering the newer model which includes pretty much everything in one box. The TEAC NT-505 is a wonderful sounding DAC that is a Network solution, too many features to list. Running ROON from my NAS drive and connected directly from the router with a cat 6 line. No regrets. It uses a dual AKM VERITA AK4497 32-bit/768kHz digital-to-analog converters which sound incredible, same ones used in the newer Esoteric DACs. I also saved a bunch of money not going for the other DACs which I used to purchase an expensive Coax cable to run my CD player through the DAC. Good luck in your search. Worth the effort to audition the DAC in your own home first.
Massdrop just announced QC issues with the Airist RDAC -- delaying release until May 2019 -- but graciously allowed folks to cancel their orders, which I did. Seems like there is too much competition across established players in the sub-$700 R2R market. I'm actually overwhelmed trying to pick an alternate to the RDAC at this point. Metrum Flint, Denafrips Ares, MHDT Canary, Soekris dac1321, Bimby..
I sympathize, it was extremely overwhelming when I was looking. To add to the frustration is the difficulty of reviewing first hand some of these overseas products. Your only choice is to go by the word of reviews, which is risky in my opinion. Some of the manufacturers offer a trial at home but it just seems like a total pain to then have to ship it back if you are not satisfied in the sound. In addition there is no easy way to compare one DAC to another in your home if you don't have a dealer you have a great relationship with. Good luck.
I have heard 2 true multibit dac’s, Audio Alchemy Dac in the Box (18 bit), and the Advom GDA 600 (20 bit). I still have the Adcom and use it for all my 16 bit recordings still! Wish I still had my DITB.
A friend has the Yggy with a pair of older KEF Reference 3s, not the current style but the one prior, along with tube pre and amplifier and found the Yggy a bit too revealing and dynamic in the higher frequencies for my taste. I can see hear how people love the unit though, it has a very dark / quiet background and produces a very detailed and dynamic sound. The Yggy explodes with music.
No, I have heard it in a friend's setup and it sounded excellent. I like it a lot but I do not own it so I do not have experienced it in my own system.
@Kevin55 and @Ulises -- are you guys still enjoying the Metrum Flint? I'm only looking for PCM and SPDIF, so this is becoming a very tempting option.
I am! If anything, the flint’s sound has grown on me over time. Ending up going with the Border Patrol dac for my office system for a variety of reasons. Vastly prefer these dacs to the delta sigma/ oversampling dacs I have and have used in the past (measurements be damned).
Good to hear! Do you have the Border Patrol in place? How do you feel it compares to the Metrum sound?
I haven’t a/b’d them in the same system so it’s tough to compare. Off the top of my head, I would say the Metrum has a bit more body and thickness to the sound while the Border Patrol is slightly more euphonic/ romantic. Neither is fatiguing or conspicuous in a system. Neither exaggerates detail at the expense of coherence. I listen to the Border Patrol a lot more—often 6+ hours a day while working. I love it to pieces. Steve Guttenberg called it “a pleasure machine” and to me that gets to the heart of it. Don’t know how it does it, but it just makes me love listening and forget about analyzing. It’s a lot more expensive than the Flint, but in my experience the extra expense is worth it. Would love to hear some of the Metrums further up the range but they sure are pricy once you get to the top of the line.
FYI: I got an email from Metrum a few weeks ago saying: "When we released the FLINT baby dac a couple of months ago we did not know what was coming at us, but by now it is pretty obvious to us that the FLINT is here to stay! Better said, we also have agreed on offering an upgraded chip set which soon can be ordered seperately. If interested, you know where to find us." I asked about this on their FB page but haven't heard back.
Great to hear you all are enjoying the Metrum DACs. Interestingly on the Flint vs. Amethyst, there was some debate on another forum (SBAF) over whether the Flint uses the Metrum DAC One or DAC Two chips. According to this post, Metrum sent an e-mail confirming that the DAC modules in the Flint and Amethyst are identical, and that the Flint is simply a stripped down Amethyst (no headphone amp, SPDIF only). Metrum Acoustic's new baby DAC - the Flint Border Patrol sounds next level -- unfortunately the input impedance on my pre-amp (10k) is too low for BP according to the manufacturer, which is a lame excuse but maybe it'll save me some money..
I don't know if R2R ladder dacs are inherently better than 1-bit dacs, as far as sound quality is concerned. However, I do note that NAIM appears to be taking that position. I own a NAIM 555 CD player from way back. It has a R2R dac that employs the Burr Brown 1704 chip. NAIM then came out with a high end music server, the NDS, that I bought. It sounds good, but, I thought it actually did not sound as good as the 555 CD player. NAIM has now come out with a 555 streamer/server for the top of their line. It turns out that the NDS did NOT employ a R2R dac, but their improved 555 streamer goes back to using the 1704 chip in a R2R form.
The Flint definitely comes with DAC ONE chips. I was told however they would sell an upgraded Flint with DAC TWO chips for EU100 extra. I didn't take them up on the offer because I already have an Amethyst so I can't vouch for them following up on their offer.
I'm extremely happy with my PCM1704U-K DAC and will never sell it. It's a Lite Audio DAC83, low on features but high on performance. Ever since I heard this chip in the Linn CD12, it has impressed me. It's a Sign Magnitude DAC, which means each chip actually has two 23 bit DACs in it, which are interleaved and combined with laser-trimmed resistors to achieve full 24 bit depth. I think it is hi-tech, even today. I had the chance to directly compare mine with a Naim NDX2 at a dealership recently in both a Naim and a Linn system. I'm keeping my DAC. Audio-gd used to make one with 8 chips on board (mine has 4 'K' specimens for true balanced operation), and which had NOS operation too. I think it was called the Master 7, and now only available used. I would recommend one take the opportunity to hear either of these DACs should the chance present itself.
Thanks for confirming that based on your own experience with the Flint and communications with Metrum. It does seem they have been a bit reluctant to share specifics about its design/measurements on their website (particularly compared to the amount of detail for their other models). They are offering 15% off right now so I think I’m going to give the Flint a shot.
I have an ANK DAC 2.1. I have not had the pleasure of hearing any other R2R DACs, but this one is an absolute winner. It was a drastic improvement from my Parasound's internal DAC and has made my listening sessions ludicrously fun. Even after a few months of owning it, I still count down the hours before I can plop down on my couch and enjoy some tunes. I've always loved music, but I somehow love it more since the 2.1 arrived in my life.
Sorry to resurrect this thread, but... It will be New DAC Day tomorrow at my house; a Norma Audio HS-DA1 should arrive by nightfall, with enough time for me to start playing with it. I haven’t seen too much about this R2R DAC, but everything I’ve read has been super positive. There’s a glowing review on Computer Audiophile, for example. Anyone have experience with Norma products? I’ll give my impressions once I listen for awhile. I bought it on a lark, so I’m going in with very little to go on...
