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Metrum Musette


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A while back I compared the Metrum Musette vs Schiit Gungnir Multibit. I preferred the Schiit. IMHO the schiit was more dynamic and was better at both extreme ends of the audio spectrum. Low had more impact, high was clearer.

 

The shop owner told me he had a if I remember correctly at least 1 customer who preferred the Musette over the more expensive Metrum models.

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i was told by metrum via email that the usb is galvanically isolated. would therefore an intona help improve usb here? im a bit confused double galvanic isolation no good? im getting a musette in april and wonder if a quality usb to spdif convertor would sound better. coming from a history of usb useage on dacs. ive also read that coax seems to get better results on headfi. one guy with his musette.

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Would not spend $$ on a converter unless you knew for sure it would be better and I think that's doubtful.

 

Intona - maybe. Depending on your budget you may also be interested in something like an Adnaco S3B (optical USB) with an LPS to inject clean power to it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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HI JUD,

 

do you know for certain if usb on musette is definitely galvanically isolated? the manual says coax inputs are which is another reason i wanna go that way. the email from metrum was a little confusing so not sure about usb here. funnily enough i will get a musette in april funds allowing but i only have the budget to implement one input well. my confusion about the usb is making me think sell intona go fully coax. some reviews seem to favour coax plus my dealer told me usb will give me 95% of coax. something tells me coax here is more suited to high quality music reproduction. any thoughts please. if i knew the usb on musette was not isolated for sure i would probably use my intona but i dont want to risk double isolation as that can cause unwanted distortion so i read. im thinking of hiface2 convertor if you know it?

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HI JUD,

 

do you know for certain if usb on musette is definitely galvanically isolated? the manual says coax inputs are which is another reason i wanna go that way. the email from metrum was a little confusing so not sure about usb here. funnily enough i will get a musette in april funds allowing but i only have the budget to implement one input well. my confusion about the usb is making me think sell intona go fully coax. some reviews seem to favour coax plus my dealer told me usb will give me 95% of coax. something tells me coax here is more suited to high quality music reproduction. any thoughts please. if i knew the usb on musette was not isolated for sure i would probably use my intona but i dont want to risk double isolation as that can cause unwanted distortion so i read. im thinking of hiface2 convertor if you know it?

 

What is the highest resolution the Musette will accept, USB and coax?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Thanks, pabe12. musickid, what sort of computer do you use with your audio system and what operating system(s) is it running?

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just an update for you Metrum owners.

 

I own a Musette and have been speaking with Cees from Metrum recently. He tells me that the DAC One modules can be exchanged for DAC Two modules as they are pin for pin compatible. The DAC Two modules were made for the Adagio and comprise 2 DAC One modules AND the FPGA in one module. This is a super easy way to hugely increase performance of all Metrum DACs up to Parvane level. For Musette owners you will be getting almost Menuet levels of performance for around £250.

 

Cees also tells me he has created a dedicated hardware MQA decoding module that has been MQA certified. He will fit it as an upgrade.

 

So excited!

 

I am thinking to upgrade to the Menuet as I like the seperate power supplies per channel and upgrade all 4 DAC One modules to DAC Two and have the MQA fitted. That is an end game DAC IMHO.

 

Also to say that with the DAC Two and MQA upgrades, no DAC in production will compete with the Musette at that price.

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Buy direct from Metrum and have them factory fit it. The rough price quoted by Cees for the DAC Two and MQA upgrade was 400 Euros, but MQA module pricing wasn't finalised, so may be different.

 

Will there be an mqa indicator light led? the manual states galvanic isolation on coax do you know for certain if usb is galvanically isolated too. can't find this out . cheers mk.

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Will there be an mqa indicator light led? the manual states galvanic isolation on coax do you know for certain if usb is galvanically isolated too. can't find this out . cheers mk.

 

For current DACs that are upgraded I would say no.

 

For new DACs then possibly - but the front plate will need to be altered to add the LED. Send him an e-mail and ask.

 

I have no idea whether the Coax connection is galvanically isolated, but then I don't worry about that stuff. Therein lays the path to madness. Just enjoy the music - the Coax is my connection of choice and sounds awesome.

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Is this documented somewhere, when I asked them they claimed more? The USB interface itself claims 32-bit, but of course S/PDIF is limited to 24-bit.

 

The current, production Musette has DAC One modules, and they are 16-bit - as stated on the OEM website:

 

Transient

 

Fitted with DAC Two modules, this will likely change, but that's not what I had in mind when I stated "16-bit only".

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I'd recommend you connect using S/PDIF, with a good quality 75Ohm coax cable. Much simpler, and no 5V problem.

 

I use AES with my Pavane and Aries, never looked back. With USB you could possibly pass DSD along, but the Metrum DACs don't do DSD anyway so why overcomplicate things.

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I'd recommend you connect using S/PDIF, with a good quality 75Ohm coax cable. Much simpler, and no 5V problem.

 

I use AES with my Pavane and Aries, never looked back. With USB you could possibly pass DSD along, but the Metrum DACs don't do DSD anyway so why overcomplicate things.

 

Why does it have to be 75 Ohm, what difference does that make? I have read that before but not understood the reasoning behind it.

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