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Parent Category: Reviews

Category: DAC Reviews

By Kevin OBrien on July 15, 2024

T+A DAC 200 DSD DAC REVIEW

T+A? What? Who is that? We first ran into these guys at AXPONA 2023. We wandered into their exhibit room, following our ears, which lead us to some really great sounding music. We stayed for a while to admire the various tracks being played over a T+A source component (that we can't quite recall the model of at this point). Anyway, we caught wind of this company several years before this show, but never had a chance to experience their gear first hand. This was a great first taste.

It's pretty widely known at this point that we are Meitner / EMM Labs fans here at YFS. We highly recommend their converters without hesitation. We can also highly recommend Playback Designs, as those converters are cut from very similar cloth as the Meitner gear. When we find something we really like, we tend to stick with it.

We're glad we veered off our standard path as of late and decided to try something new. Right around the Christmas Season of 2023, we started hearing considerable 'buzz' about a new German converter that can turn digital bits into analog goodness. When this happens, we take notice, and see what everyone is talking about. We like surprises. Enter the DAC 200 from T+A.

Our review unit showed up and we ran it in for 100 hours per the product instruction manual, which is the thickness of a novel, as it contains several different languages. Unfortunately, the 100 hours wasn't enough time for things to settle in. After ~500 hours of play, we noticed the slight 'forwardness' and hints of extra 'brightness' were gone. This jives with what we have experienced with other digital gear. No surprises here.

We decided to make sure the unit was fully functional, so we paired our YFS computer transport with the DAC 200 via its USB input. Audirvana Origin was then fired up and some DSD128 files were played back using our YFS copper Litz USB cable. PCM in DXD format was then played to test that section of the DAC 200. There are two different playback sections of the DAC 200, one for DSD, and another for PCM. It's kind of like getting two DACs in one. We noticed this was a nice sounding DAC when playing back our digital files (how we are normally used to playing them), with a fairly standard software playback suite. Nothing sounded overly exciting or different though. What's all the 'buzz' about? No surprises here either.

We are not streaming fans, unless we are using Spotify or something along those lines just for fun. We do not use Qobuz or TIDAL, or any other streaming services. We prefer to play from our local storage, so we choose to use Audirvana Origin, as it offers solutions for both Windows and Mac, and makes it easy to use both.

What we heard coming out of the DAC 200 with Audirvana at the wheel was great, but not amazing or 'buzz-worthy'. Definitely nothing to get excited about. Why is everyone so pumped about this DAC online? We did a quick Google search and started digging a little further. Everyone is talking about HQ Player and the DAC 200 paired together. I guess we'll try that and see what all the fuss is about...

And here's where the surprises started hitting us. Place the DAC 200 in 'NOS mode', let the software do the majority of the work, and let's see what transpires. Now enter HQ Player Desktop. HQ Player does things quite differently than other software suites. The basic idea is that the processing that your DAC normally handles (DSP Processing / Upsampling), can be handled by your computer transport instead. Why would you want to do this? Well, if you have in your possession a very powerful computer, which our YFS computer transport happens to be, you can theoretically get better results through your speakers IF you let your computer handle the processing first. Then send that information to the DAC, where it simply converts the digital data stream to analog, and bypasses most, if not all of the DAC processing. That sounds fair enough. 

So, we tried it, and our jaws dropped!  Using the upsampling in HQ Player, we were able to convert all our PCM music files to DSD256, including ripped CDs. Subsequently, all of our DSD music files were upsampled to DSD512. Using a few settings that we will outline below, you can get absolutely incredible sound from the Red Book format. Now this is getting interesting...

Let's back up a bit first, as we need to explain who Jussi Laako is, and why he's important. Jussi is the creator of the HQ Player Desktop software and hails from Finland. He has put an incredible amount of effort into creating the various upsampling and modulator algorithms within HQ Player Desktop to use with various DACs. There are plenty of DACs that work with HQ Player and will excel with this pairing. You can read about this topic in the ROON forum here. You can also scroll to the bottom of the HQ Player website, where Jussi has listed compatible hardware.

To speed things up, we're going to jump straight into HQ Player settings, and how to get the best possible sound out of the T+A DAC 200, according to Jussi. Grab a free trial version of the software by downloading from the Signalyst website here. Jussi recommends using very specific settings with the DAC 200, and trying all the combinations and permutations of the various settings will definitely leave you wanting to give up, so let's avoid that scenario.

You can find a quickstart guide here, to get your DAC and transport talking properly. Once you have an idea of how to get things playing, and you have figured out how the basic functions of the software work, you can follow our screenshots below to set up the DAC 200.

You'll need to figure out how to change upsampling to several various sample rates (DSD256 has historically been the sweet spot for output to most DACs on Jussi's hardware list). You'll also need to change modulator and filter settings. You do this by accessing the settings menu by hitting the "File" selection in the upper left-hand corner of the program window. Then hit the "Settings" selection from the list that drops down. See screenshot of the window that pops up below. Notice the "Bit rate (/ Limit)" heading. We have our software set to "44.1k x 512" in this particular instance, which equates to DSD512 output. To change to DSD256, change that setting to "44.1k x 256". Easy enough.

When converting Red Book PCM to DSD256, we must use the proper 'filter' and 'shaper'. See the screenshot below for those settings. We are upconverting a ripped CD to DSD256 in this specific scenario. Notice we are using "ASDM7EC-super" modulator and the "poly-sinc-gauss-long" filter settings. Jussi recommends these settings when upconverting PCM to DSD. You can play around with the modulator and filter settings, but this is a great place to start (and end, if you are like us, and just want to listen to music and not tweak settings). Keep in mind that it is imperative that you set the digital volume maximum to -3dBFS per Jussi's recommendations, to avoid damage to your system when playing back DSD (as shown in the upper right-hand corner of the screenshot above & below).

Our next example shows the settings for upsampling Hi Res PCM (DXD in this case) to DSD256. Notice the 'filter' and 'shaper' settings. We are again using the "ASDM7EC-super" shaper and now the new "poly-sinc-gauss-hires-lp" filter. You can play around with these two settings, but stay in close proximity in the dropdown menu to Jussi's settings for best results. This new filter is the default for any PCM that falls under 'hi-res' or 'HD' format. The "poly-sinc-gauss-long" is still the default filter for all Red Book format. See the screenshot below & above for reference.

Now we move on to upconverting our DSD64 files to DSD512. Look at the 'filter' and 'shaper' settings once more. We are now using the "ASDMEC7-super 512+fs" shaper. There is no need to change any of the other settings in the menu, including the filter settings, when playing back upconverted DSD.

Again, these are Jussi's recommended settings, and they are just a guide, and not the final say in what you should be hearing. Tweak as needed, but stay close in the drop down menu to these settings, and you should be good to go. This gives you about 5 to 10 different scenarios you can test out with the DAC 200 instead of what seems like an infinite amount of settings. It is very easy to get overwhelmed when playing around with this software, so take breaks and note what settings work for you. Once you change things, it is sometimes difficult to remember where you left off previously.

Let's get to how the DAC 200 performs in comparison to the competition. As far as how our DAC 200 stacked up against our favorites, we can tell you T+A is doing a great job. Hint, hint. The one main feature we really love in the DAC 200 is the integrated preamp. Not only that, there is an RCA analog input on the rear panel. This is a very welcomed feature, as we love vinyl (yes, we design custom phono stages too). We can now plug our custom YFS phono stage into our DAC to compare vinyl and digital with a click of a button. FINALLY. This has to be the most welcomed change from the previous DACs we have spent time with. (Connecting our phono to our system previously required cable changes, preamp changes, etc).

And we must say, the preamp is no slouch (which includes left-right balance control), and bested a very nice preamp that we will not mention here, as we do not want blow-back or to hurt anybody's feelings. Let's just say, if you plan on using the DAC 200 as a volume control, you are in good hands. This preamp can hang with kit costing in the $5,000 to $7,000 range. Then again, if you hate integrated volume controls in your DACs, you're also in good hands here, as the volume control can be completely defeated. Oh, and did we mention, the volume control is completely in the analog domain? Well, it is, and it sounds wonderful. As in, it gets out of the way.

One area that may surprise you, as it did with us, is the remote control. We know, it's just a remote, right? Well, yes and no. We haven't experienced such a nice remote control previously, as far as functionality and styling go. It seems to work, no matter where we point it, and it's very responsive. The buttons are rubber, not metal. We hear zero clicking noises when pressing them down. The final touch, the shell of the wand appears to be machined from aluminum and feels great in our hands.

It's nice to be able to see the volume level on the DAC display expressed in terms of a number, but also a visual horizontal bar across the screen, making quick glances easier. One side effect of the type of volume control being used here is the presence of audible 'clicks' when you raise and lower the volume. This is something we actually appreciate, knowing our button presses equate into some type of action on the DAC's screen and inside the the unit itself (the screen lights up for four seconds when you change the input or the volume, etc).

Again, this entire converter oozes quality and bang for your buck. When we think about quality and getting what we pay for, we cannot think of a better value right now in the DAC world, as we get a true analog preamplifier and a DAC in one box. The fact that T+A held off on including the integrated source component (streamer) within their DAC, and decided to make that a separate box, was a smart one. This helps keep the entry cost down, along with the DAC 200 not being much in the way of 'audio jewelry', which we appreciate.

Well, how does it sound? The DAC 200 is our new reference DAC and we can't think of a better piece of gear for the reasonable outlay of ~$7,500 USD (that's MSRP). Sure, we can call up a few other manufacturers and get something more refined, but at an insane cost of doing business. Is that cost worth the gain in performance? That's a great question. We suppose, it depends on the rest of your system and how your surrounding gear stacks up.

As far as the DAC 200 goes, we have yet to experience such a dynamic sounding DAC. Crescendos just seem to explode out of our listening room, soaring through the walls, ceiling, and floor, like never before. We cannot remember hearing anything like this. In fact, when we first started evaluating the DAC 200, it routinely would scare us when music passages would begin playing, and it still does if we're not paying attention. The PRaT and presence is all there too. All those audiophile descriptors and cliche reviewer jargon are relevant here, and we experienced them with this converter in spades. Another important gauge, the DAC 200 sounds as close to our vinyl rig as we have previously heard when playing back Red Book format. If you are like us, most of your music is in this format. It is the single most impressive feat we have witnessed with any source component. Impressive indeed!

Now it's time to talk about the technical stuff. The DAC 200 does not power its USB input with computer power, but with the internal DAC power supply instead, which is the preferred norm these days. So, that split USB cable, if you can still find it in your drawer, will not gain you any advantages here, especially when mated to a +5V LPS. Just use a standard USB cable and rest assured you're good to go. We like that manufacturers have figured out the USB game at this point. Well done T+A. One item to note, we could not get longer YFS USB cables to recognize the DAC 200. Keep your USB cables shorter than 1 meter, and you should be fine.

Inputs can be defeated, which is a nice feature. All the front panel lights can also be turned off, including the meters up front. This is important, as we don't like 'light shows' in our rack. The blue LED above the power button remains lit, telling you the unit is on, but that's it. The meters can display more than just the output level of the music, but we didn't test this feature, so we can't comment on it. What we do know, is the user can change the color of the meters from the default 'white' to any shade made up of red, green, and/or blue. Pretty slick. 

We are not going to touch on how the DAC 200 actually converts digital to analog. Is it NOS, is it a ladder R2R, or a Delta Sigma? As far as converting goes anyway, you can look at the T+A website or any number of other reviews to learn about how the DAC 200 converts its incoming digital signals. Honestly, at this point, we aren't worried with how the DAC 200 converts. We just know that it does every time we need it to, and that's good enough for us. 

In fact, we're so impressed, we're giving the T+A DAC 200 our YFS Digital Product of The Year for 2024! We're that excited, and wanted to get the word out. This is one truly impressive piece of gear that we never get tired of listening to. If you're after a laid back presentation but with detail for days, look no further. It's that good, and for the price, we cannot find anything that can do what it can for the relatively low cost of entry. No, you don't have to pay $15,000 or $30,000 for amazing performance, you just have to spend some extra time and effort to dial-in your digital front end (computer transport) / software settings.

Hopefully, this review will help you do just that. We also hope to get the word out about this incredible DAC to as many readers as possible. We feel it is more than warranted, given the price to performance ratio you are looking at here. Go listen to one as soon as you can, because if implemented properly with HQ Player, it will knock your socks off! We're almost certain you'll agree.

Feel free to contact us with questions, as we're here to help. If your DAC 200 isn't sounding like what we described above, you're probably not implementing it to the best of its ability somehow. And we now understand just how confusing the preferred playback software can be (HQ Player), so be patient. Your patience will surely be rewarded.

Thank you for spending your time with us.

Until next time...

- KOB

Details

Parent Category: Reviews

Category: DAC Reviews

By Kevin OBrien on June 15, 2022

 MEITNER MA3 DSD DAC REVIEW

*** UPDATED 10/01/2022 *** 

What's more exciting than an all-in-one source component that can take the place of your streamer, your DAC, and your preamp? Winning the lottery comes to mind, for example. But seriously, we cannot figure out why folks are choosing to integrate their components into a single box? That can potentially take away the ability to customize and tweak the sonic presentation (as audiophiles love to do). Well, keep an open mind here and remember you don't know how a component will sound until you can audition it in YOUR system. There must be something to this whole 'one-box-solution' trend as of late, right?

With the above introduction out of the way, here we go. This review literally knocked us on our butts! We had no idea what we were in for when we ordered our Meitner MA3 review sample from John McGurk of AudioShield. John is the new EMM Labs / Meitner US distributor. This is refreshing as we no longer need to pay extreme shipping costs from Canada to get EMM / Meitner products. YAY!  John calls New Jersey home which is convenient for those of us located on the East Coast. This also helps when our customers need a Meitner product ASAP, as we can now oblige.

We are all familiar with Ed Meitner's converters, and who isn't at this point? They utilize Delta Sigma technology with ZERO pre-ringing or post-ringing. That means what you hear from your stereo sounds like what you hear in real life. That's the idea anyway... We are big fans of the EMM Labs DV2 as well as the EMM Labs DA2, and those two converters are our reference DACs here at YFS. Specifically, the DV2 has been in our main rack for several years now. You might say we like to have on hand some of the best audio components available for prospective customers to audition. That's the point of being a dealer in the first place, right?

After hearing some initial buzz about the MA3, we decided it was time to get in on the action too. The black bead-blasted faceplate was to our liking and matched the rest of our YFS components perfectly. This should work out nicely. Although, the silver finish also caught our eye as the black volume knob and top cover contrasted well with the silver faceplate. Maybe we should just buy both? Yup, you guessed it. We dig the MA3 look and feel as the industrial design works wonderfully with the rest of the fit and quality craftsmanship from Meitner. It's great when a product exudes a sturdy feel and look to go along with its price tag ($10,500 MSRP in our case). We have experienced some converters in the past that lack the finish and overall aesthetic to go with their asking prices and there is no need to worry about that here.

The MA3 is the first converter from Ed Meitner that has everything we could ask for up front. The display is of the OLED variety and is clear and readable from over 15 feet away. We very much like this particular display and feel it is a step above the other EMM and Meitner products. The user can see the sample rate of the file currently playing along with the current volume level setpoint and source selection. The MA3 OLED display also shows when you are muted and pops up a small symbol under the volume setpoint when you invert polarity on your current track, if you choose to do so via the remote control. The volume knob easily moves up and down and feels sturdy when we roll it back and forth. I believe this is the same volume knob offered up with the DV2. The top cover is basic at best but works in this instance. It is important to note that we are absolutely pumped the MA3 comes in at such an affordable price. Adding fancy metalwork and engravings, such as with the DV2 and DA2, adds a considerable amount of money to the overall cost of the converter and we're glad these touches were omitted.

The same idea holds true in regards to the remote control. The DV2 / DA2 remote is heavy, thick, and machined from a solid block of aluminum. One word comes to mind: reference. I believe it also costs $750 MSRP if you need to replace it. OUCH!  While the MA3 remote is puny in comparison, it still has a great feel and look, seeing as it is actually made of machined aluminum and plastic. Nope, you don't get a tiny plastic remote here, which is great news. It's still small and lightweight but it's not the tiny credit card-looking all-plastic thingy you get with the Meitner MA1 of old. Also, new for the MA3, is the updated remote control sensor that is HUGE compared to that of the previous lineup. There should be no issues using the supplied remote control whatsoever, even if you don't point it DIRECTLY at the faceplate. VERY COOL!

Let's take a look at the rear panel and show our readers what we are working with around back. This is where some of our excitement started to bubble up. Notice the 'Network' and 'USB Media' inputs. The 'USB Media' input is where the user will place a USB stick full of digital files for playback. After plugging in the MA3 to your local network via the RJ45 jack on the rear panel (the 'Network' input), the MA3 can find your USB stick with the help of an app that is downloaded from the Google Play store or the Apple App Store, depending on which type of tablet (or phone) you intend to use for control. (We are using a 4th generation Apple iPad Air with no issues whatsoever). Qobuz, TIDAL, and other online subscription streaming content can be accessed via the MA3 as it is a certified ROON device. This is equivalent to the same streamer one can purchase from EMM Labs. The NS1 to be exact. This was our first chance at giving the EMM Labs NS1 equivalent a test drive. How exciting! 

The streamer built into the MA3 sounds incredible! We want to point this out right away as we are music server manufacturers. In fact, we put our latest YFS 2020 M1 Mac Mini up against the MA3 internal streamer and the MA3 beat it. It did not take long to notice the difference between the two when switching back and forth with our MA3 remote control. The YFS Mac Mini still sounded great but the MA3's internal streamer just pulled away. This really surprised us and we realized immediately that the MA3 was a very special piece of digital gear indeed.  This also prompted us to upgrade our current YFS HD.Ref-3 music server to Mk3 status. We added an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-core processor, (2) M2 SSDs for OS and music storage, 64 GB of DDR4 RAM, and the latest Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master gaming motherboard. WOW! This was what our Ref-3 was missing all along. With things running literally twice as fast now, we were back in the driver's seat and now switching over to the MA3 'USB' input from the 'NET' streamer input we previously tried. Can the YFS HD.Ref-3 Mk3 hold up against the MA3 internal streamer?

The quick answer to the above question is yes. With our recent upgrades, our YFS HD.Ref-3 Mk3 was out in front. This wasn't a quick switch from the MA3 streamer over to our YFS server. We had to figure out which software suite to play back our digital files with. What would we use to play DSD and PCM? We ended up trying Audirvana Origin for Windows along with HySolid. Audirvana was implemented for DSD and HySolid for PCM. We wanted to use HySolid for both DSD and PCM but the MA3 ASIO Windows driver does not support native DSD playback with ASIO, only DSD over PCM v 1.1. This means there is no way to play back DSD files with HySolid and our MA3 using ASIO, which is a shame. HySolid is our preferred new favorite free playback software suite for the Windows environment.  HySolid turns your normal everyday computer into an audiophile streamer. Our YFS HD.Ref-3 Mk3 was now "streaming" digital music into the MA3 via USB. The improvements in sound quality were incredible from pre-upgrade to post-upgrade of our Ref-3 hardware and HySolid really accentuated the differences. Much more so than Foobar, Album Player, or JRiver. HySolid allows the user interface to run on your tablet (or phone) while your actual Windows machine is idling waiting for login. The HySolid app runs in the background even though you're not logged in to Windows. This allows your computer to ditch running unnecessary background programs except HySolid itself, freeing up all resources to use for music playback exclusively. Multi-tasking hurts audio performance. HySolid has that problem solved.

MConnect Control is the app you download on your phone or tablet to access the MA3 internal streamer per the product support literature. As you can see from the photos of the MConnect app for the MA3 (Pearl Jam album) and the HySolid app for the HD.Ref-3 (The Smile album), both programs are eerily similar in look, feel, and function. We actually prefer HySolid in regards to artwork as it finds the cover art in the album folders regardless of whether you are playing FLAC or WAV. This is great news. We are tired of having our artwork left behind with other programs because we choose to listen to WAV files instead of FLAC. The MConnect app will show artwork if your files are tagged correctly and in the FLAC format. The MConnect app did not find the artwork for our WAV files unfortunately. This is only a minor gripe but we wanted to mention it.

We really enjoyed the fact that when we did use the 'NET' input and implemented the internal MA3 streamer, the MA3 front panel showed the artist and track information of the current track, which was super helpful and very convenient. This is extra important when you have an external app controlling your front end. One note worth mentioning is that the MA3 front panel is set to dim automatically after a few minutes. It is set this way by default as the MA3 display will burn-in / malfunction if the user does not turn the display off at the end of the listening session.  It is of the utmost importance that the user realize this prior to listening as just one wrong move in regards to the display and your new MA3 will be ruined. The safest bet is to leave the MA3 display at the factory settings and move on. (We decided to set the display to stay on indefinitely but we always remember to turn it off when we are done listening).

Now, on to how the MA3 sounds... The most important section of our review. The Meitner MA3 sounds absolutely incredible to our ears and in fact, sounds better to us than our reference DV2!  What!?!?  What's going on here?  Our DV2 has more resolution and is more refined for sure. Unfortunately to our ears, this extra resolution and refinement gives us listening fatigue after about two hours of play. Therefore, we concluded the MA3 is our preferred sound signature in the current EMM Labs / Meitner lineup. That's right, we said it. We prefer the sound signature of the Meitner MA3 to that of the EMM Labs DV2. We have heard around the campfire that the MA3 circuit boards are implementing pure copper traces and we have to believe this is the case based on our ears and what we are hearing. The sounds coming from our MA3 are glorious!  Imaging and soundstage are on par with the best. Detail retrieval and low-level information are there too, albeit not quite like with the DV2, but there nonetheless. We don't miss the little bit of extra detail and resolution from the DV2, especially now that we can listen all day and night without fatigue.

With the addition of the NS1 streamer equivalent along with the volume control of the DV2, the Meitner MA3 is downright awesome!  The convenience alone, along with the striking sound quality and presentation of this DAC, make it the one to beat. The MA3 is our YFS digital component of the year for 2022. Yes, we like it that much. We strongly urge users to audition this piece as it is truly one of a kind. Since the streamer, the DAC, and the preamp share the same chassis, the MA3 represents one the greatest values in Hi-Fi right now. We cannot stress this enough: The Meitner MA3 has blown us away and we have to wonder how something this affordable (relatively speaking) can sound this good? 

Grab a Meitner MA3 for yourself and see what everyone is talking about. YFS is an authorized Meitner dealer. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns. If you're looking for a place to grab yourself an MA3 at an amazing price, drop us a line. We are always more than happy to work with you. 

Thank you for spending your time with us.

Until next time...

- KOB

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UPDATE ON OCTOBER 1st, 2022:

A recent firmware update has been released for the MA3. Specifically, a firmware update on September 20, 2022. This update now allows the MA3 to bypass its volume control completely! You can turn it on and ditch your preamp, or turn it off and keep your favorite linestage intact in your chain. This means the Meitner MA3 is now even more versatile and clearly places itslef among our top picks for any converter at any price.

IMPRESSIVE!

The recent update also affects the playback of digital Hi-Res files (24bit / 176kHz and up) and has brought the MA3 to another level.

This is a perfect example of why you want to buy your Meinter and EMM Labs products from an authorized dealer, and NOT from a random user online. If you bought from a private seller on Audiogon or eBay, there's no way to update your gear. Now you have a large investment in gear and it is permanently stuck in its current state.

BUY FROM A DEALER!

Here's a pic below of what your front panel should read if you have this latest update. Press and hold the input LED on the front panel to get the MA3 to display its current software version. If your MA3 shows a firmware version other than this, you have the original firmware. We will keep this article up-to-date as newer firmware versions are released. Check back as needed.

We have access to the updated MA3 user product manual. This shows you how to defeat the volume control and turn it back on again. If you need the updated manual download link or have ANY questions or concerns, reach out to us. We are more than happy to help.

THANKS for reading...

- KOB

Details

Parent Category: Reviews

Category: DAC Reviews

by Kevin OBrien on February 26, 2022

SONNET DIGITAL PASITHEA DAC REVIEW

Is it possible to follow up the Sonnet Digital Morpheus with something more refined, yet fit in the same chassis and give the listener just that much more insight into their recordings? The answer is "yes". Cees Ruijtenberg has done it again. Did you expect anything less?

Enter the Pasithea DAC, Cees' latest creation. Choose a silver or black faceplate up front but be ready for complete fun between your speakers (or earphones). This converter is cut from the exact same cloth as the Morpheus, it's little brother. See our YFS review of the Morpheus here. The remote control remains unchanged for either model. This is good news as the Morpheus remote was more than adequate cut from a solid block of aluminum. We won't bore you with how the Pasithea menus and other peripherals work, as that's covered in our Morpheus review, as they are essentially identical in that regard. You probably guessed it by now, both DACs are of the same flavor, that being R2R "Ladder" DACs. This makes sense as Pasithea is simply the upgraded version of Morpheus.

More importantly, let's talk about how Pasithea differs from Morpheus. Pasithea packs a few important features that sets it apart. There are two separate input options for USB and I2S now. No need to decide which one you'll use for a single input. The all-important gain settings now live within the user menu accessible via the front panel and the 'source' / 'power' buttons (still set at -10dB). A crucial hardware difference is the beefed-up power supply and presence of even more powerful 3rd generation Sonnet Digital 'converter modules'. These modules have an operating temperature of ~120 degrees Fahrenheit. That's why the big brother has a slotted, vented top cover and the junior version does not. And for the question everyone is wondering about, "So how do they compare in sound quality?". And we're glad you asked because there's differences there too.

The first thing we noticed after setting the DAC up and letting it play for 24 hours (burn-in was performed for 3 weeks straight prior to the evaluation) was that Pasithea presented so much air and space between instruments and voices. WOW! Impressive. After spending more time with Pasithea, a sense of resolution could be heard every time we turned on our amplifiers to evaluate. It was difficult to put our finger on what we were hearing at first but the bass and midrange were all there, albeit slightly de-emphasized. It seemed the emphasis in the overall presentation was on the upper frequencies and upper midrange. The lower midrange and bass weight we were used to was somewhat slightly lacking. Not so with Morpheus. Nothing wrong with that. Proper 'final voicing' needs to happen in our system with cables and other finishing touches to top things off at the end of our setup. That's a piece of cake!

After making a few tweaks to our system, the global consensus was that we were hearing a very real, detailed, refined, wide, tall, and deep soundstage coming from Pasithea. Imaging placed us a little further back in the concert hall than compared to our previous converters. The image thrown behind the speakers was unlike anything we have experienced. This DAC scared us on a few occasions as it presented recordings with such dynamic swings and realism. This was an impressive machine to say the very least. Conclusion: If carefully paired with proper cables and surrounding equipment, this DAC could really sing!  

When you hear something as unique as this converter, it is possible to get spoiled quickly when switching back to lesser gear. There's just a certain refinement that you get with the Morpheus' bigger brother that you don't get with the younger sibling. It doesn't hit you in the face right off the bat but it only takes a day to settle in as you say it, "This is definitely a special piece". A big 'Thank You' goes out to Cees for being able to pull off sending this review sample in the middle of a Pandemic. The Pasithea may not be to everyone's tastes but it definitely checks the boxes for us here at YFS.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing this review, there is no way to get either a Morpheus DAC or a Pasithea DAC, as supply chain issues have wreaked havoc on the tech world. Hopefully things will settle down and the world will 'open up' again soon. We are crossing our fingers as more of these wonderful Sonnet converters need to land in US listening rooms.

Let us know how we can help.

Thanks to all of you for reading and spending your time with us.

Contact us with questions or comments.

Until next time...

- KOB 

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Parent Category: Reviews

Category: DAC Reviews

by Kevin OBrien on February 27, 2020

SONNET DIGITAL MORPHEUS DAC REVIEW

We have finally taken delivery of the highly anticipated Sonnet Digital Audio Morpheus DAC. Sonnet Digital Audio was founded by Cees Ruijtenberg and Lion Kwaaijtaal out of the Netherlands. Cees is known for his work at Metrum Acoustics, which is now under different ownership, which produced some very fine converters for the money. Since selling Metrum, Cees has been very busy coming up with yet another affordable converter, but this time he's making waves.

The Metrum converters, that most of us are now familiar with, used an R2R infrastructure that is also known as a "ladder DAC". The Morpheus applies the same principle as the successful Metrum Pavane DAC but now has double the ladders, a lossless volume control (that can be defeated), and a much smaller footprint due to less power demand from the FPGA technology Sonnet has recently developed. These are all good things when it comes to D to A conversion and rack space. It's great to see such a small form factor produce such a big, impactful presentation. The Morpheus measures 11" wide by 10" deep by 3" tall and weighs in at just over 7 lbs.

We paired the Morpheus with our YFS modified Mac Mini to feed it a data stream for burn-in via its USB input. We burned the unit in per Cees' recommendation at 3 weeks of continuous play. Yes, burn-in is real. Just to make sure, we listened to the Morpheus right out of the box to see what we were getting into. The tone was great and we immediately knew this was going to be a special piece. But fast forward to now and we noticed things sounded even better. So, yes, burn-in does in fact make a difference and every DAC manufacturer we've worked with has recommended at least two weeks of play before coming to any conclusions. The rule of thumb for digital gear is 500 hours of use prior to hearing what the final presentation will be and that rule applied to the Morpheus. 

We were impressed when we opened the shipping container and laid our eyes on the smooth machined black faceplate and black body. We've encountered much more impressive industrial designs in our tenure but the Morpheus has a proper fit and finish to dictate its price. We are of the stance that dollars should be put to use on the innards of gear, not on the external chassis. If you're just looking for 'audio eye candy', you may want to go elsewhere. If you want an affordable, well-executed piece of gear with a good look and amazing sound, this is it.

Let's quickly go over how to operate the Morpheus. Press the 'source' and 'power' buttons on the front panel simultaneously to access the Morpheus user menu. From here you can adjust display settings, you can turn the volume control on or off, and you can change volume settings for different sources. Here is a link to the Morpheus product manual which should help you get familiar with this feature-packed R2R converter.

A notable feature that impressed us right out of the gate was the sturdy remote control machined from a solid piece of aluminum. The remote felt hefty in our hands and was not an afterthought. After all, the remote is your connection to the gear and must work efficiently, accurately, and be well thought out. We never had an issue getting the Morpheus to react to our commands via remote control which is a welcomed change from some of the other gear we've used at audio shows.

The lossless, defeatable volume control was the main source of our interest in the Morpheus. Many DACs on the market offer an onboard volume control to allow the omission of a preamp. Yet, the volume control is one of the most important pieces in the audio chain. If not taken seriously, bad things can happen in your system. After defeating the volume control and then turning it back on, we couldn't tell a difference in sound quality. This is the idea behind Cees' lossless attenuation solution and it appears to work as intended. 

Another very convenient feature that makes life easier is the ability to set different inputs at various output levels so multiple sources can be gain-matched. This is key when A-B testing different sources in a review environment. The illuminated front panel indicator can also be set to turn off in increments from 60 seconds to 1 second or stay on indefinitely. We also liked this as front panel lights can become annoyingly bright when listening in a dark environment. The red power indicator light on the front panel only turns on when the DAC is in stand-by mode.

The Morpheus USB input is manufactured by Amanero. You can find drivers for Windows-based computers for the Morpheus USB input here. You should not need drivers when mating the Morpheus to a Mac or Linux computer. In our case, our YFS Mac Mini saw and recognized the Amanero Combo 384 input receiver without a hitch. We implemented our YFS Custom Ref Split USB cable along with our YFS PS-5 linear power supply to get the best results out of the Morpheus USB input.

We contacted Cees to iron out whether or not a separate linear power supply was needed to power the Amanero USB input. Cees relayed there is an ultra low-noise regulator integrated into the USB input which should allow listeners to use a standard 4-conductor USB cable when hooking up to a computer. This makes for easy pairing to various servers and computers via USB. This also means the Morpheus does not power the USB input with its internal power supply but the power it does get from your computer's USB bus should be regulated and 'cleaned up'. Again, we decided to start with audiophile-grade linear USB power and our Split USB cable to give the Amanero USB input receiver the least amount of work as possible. (Our YFS PS-5 also has an ultra low-noise regulator under the hood but we have much more filtering capacity than the Amanero USB input card).

Now let's talk about inputs and options within the DAC itself. The USB input did sound good but we noticed a lack of DSD support. This wasn't a deal-breaker by any means and is to be expected at this price-point. You do get MQA support however by purchasing a small module that can be plugged into the main DAC board (see the open slot in the pic below). Pricing comes in at just over $200 and can be user-installed. An I2S module can take the place of the USB input which gives you greater flexibility when linking up to certain music servers that incorporate that same I2S protocol. Here's a link to the Morpheus accessories that are currently available. The use of our YFS modified Mutec MC-3+USB SPDIF converter took the Morpheus to another level and we ended up listening to the AES/EBU input for the sound quality / presentation portion of our review.

As far as sound quality, well, I think this is the most important section of the review. We were impressed to say the least and it didn't take long for things to sink in after spending a few days with the Morpheus in our demo system. The tone coming out of this DAC is just right, not too bright but not too laid back either. The Morpheus just gives you a clear picture into your source material, which is good and bad. Play an average recording and you get an average presentation. We started hearing things in our recordings that were hidden previously. The Morpheus is squeezing every bit of detail out of the signals its fed, which is a sign of a great converter.

The volume control was implemented in our case and our tubed preamp was bypassed. This was the most exciting feature of the new Sonnet DAC. The overall presentation of the music was now clearer than ever before in our familiar YFS demo system. We couldn't believe what we were hearing at first. We had a difficult time accepting what was being presented in front of us as far as a complete picture of the recording with details and a natural flow of the music. But alas, this is what the Morpheus can do in a worthy system. We are now believers in integrated DAC volume controls. 24 bit accuracy is claimed by Cees and we have to say his claim seemed spot-on. 

Comparing the Morpheus to our EMM Labs reference, the DA2, was not really a fair fight. So, we put the Morpheus up against the DA2's little brother, the DAC2X V2. Except for the lack of DSD support, we'd say the Morpheus held its own nicely and we didn't really miss anything when using the Mutec MC-3+USB. The Mutec strips jitter from the digital source, our YFS Mac Mini, and then outputs an 'error-free' data stream to the Morpheus via TOSLINK, COAX, or AES/EBU.

Feed the Morpheus a great signal and it will impress. WOW! All we can say is you need to hear this DAC to really appreciate what it can do. The principle of 'garbage in, garbage out' certainly applies here. Feed the Morpheus a jitter-free good recording and be amazed at what you hear. Our listening room was filled from floor to ceiling and wall to wall with glorious music. The Morpheus exhibited a sound stage on par with some of the best converters we've heard. For the money, this is the most impressive converter we've heard.

Is the Morpheus a giant-killer? We think so! Contact us with any questions you may have. We now have one in-house for demo and we're not letting this tiny piece of digital gear out of our sight.

Thank you for reading. Until next time...

 - YFS Design Team 

Details

Parent Category: Reviews

Category: DAC Reviews

by Kevin OBrien on October 10, 2018

EMM LABS DV2 DSD DAC PREVIEW

The 2018 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest was hustling and bustling on Saturday set in the background of the Denver Tech Center. There was a slight chill to the air at 9 AM as the weather finally cleared from the previous night. The roads were dry and the sun was beginning to show itself from behind the now parting cloud cover. We were ready to check out some of our favorite HiFi gear on our home turf.

The subject of this article is the latest EMM Labs gear to be offered up from one of the most highly regarded digital masterminds, Ed Meitner. RMAF 2018 provided the perfect opportunity to see the new EMM Labs DV2 DSD DAC. This is the latest addition to the EMM Labs family of gear for 2019. The DV2 has some exciting new features to add to its already proven performance, which it shares exactly with its sibling, the DA2, EMM's current reference digital converter.

According to Ed Meitner, the DA2 is still their ultimate reference digital to analog converter when mated to their latest preamplifier, the PRE, EMM's current reference preamp. So all the DA2 owners can rest assured. If you pair your current DA2 with a state of the art preamp, you're still getting the exact same performance, if not better performance, out of your digital front end as you would if you ditched your DA2 / preamp combo and inserted the single DV2 into your rack.

As you might have guessed, the major difference between the DV2 and the DA2 is the added volume control (a hybrid design in both the analog and digital domain). This means Ed had to place more hardware inside the DA2 chassis (but not too much more) and add a volume knob to pull this off. The other added feature which sets the DV2 apart from the DA2 is the added MQA support. Yes, you read that correctly, the EMM Labs DV2 will have full MQA support. If your current source can play MQA files, the DV2 can decode your MQA data stream and convert it to an analog signal to pass to the rest of your chain. This is pretty exciting news. (Translation: if your playback software / streaming program supports MQA, ANY music server, YFS built or otherwise, can play MQA when paired with the DV2 using USB as your digital input).

Current DA2 owners have nothing to fear as Ed Meitner never leaves his current or past customers hanging. The DA2 will be given a moderately priced update to allow it to decode an MQA data stream as well. This will come some time in 2019.

The rest of the EMM Labs converters in the line up may not get MQA support. Once the DA2 gets the MQA update, Ed will begin working on an MQA update for the rest of his line of converters. There are no promises at this point since it's very early on but I have a feeling Ed will be able to work some magic. A change of hardware and software in the older models to bring them up to date should do the trick, just like with the recent V2 update available for the DAC2X and Meitner MA-1.

On another note, we found out that unfortunately the EMM Labs TX2 CD/ SACD transport is discontinued and completely sold out. If you missed your chance to grab Ed's last and final optical disc based transport, you'll have to link up to the DV2 with your own source player such as a streamer, computer, or legacy CD transport. 

Another exciting feature of the DV2 (currently in the works) is DSD256 support. The DV2 will not ship with DSD256 support but a firmware update in 2019 will add support for quad DSD for both the DV2 and the DA2. The estimated ship date for the DV2 is December 2018 / January 2019. These are exciting times for EMM Labs owners indeed.

After speaking to Amadeus Meitner, we found out the DV2 will retail for $30,000. Shahin Al Rashid, the head of sales for Meitner, made it very clear that the DA2 (MSRP of $25,000) combined with the PRE (MSRP of $25,000) solid state preamp is still the combination to beat as it ever so slightly beats out the single-box DV2 solution as far as sound quality goes. But, if you don't need multiple analog sources and you're strictly a digital listener without unlimited funds, the DV2 is the way to go as you can simplify your rack and clean things up. The DV2 fills a niche that the previous EMM Labs lineup was not able to do. Many listeners wanted a reference EMM Labs digital front end they could hook directly up to their power amplifiers and Ed Meitner has finally delivered with the DV2.

As you can see from the shot of the rear panel of the DV2 above (lighting was very scarce behind the rack), the only difference from DV2 rear panel to that of the DA2 is the gain switch located between the left and right analog outputs. This switch is used to match the gain of the DV2 with the rest of your gear. This is a nice option for those of us who may not need the extra gain in our preamp. It appears Ed Meitner has all the design options ironed out. The DV2 is ready for any system, not just an EMM Labs based system. As we here at YFS are also equipment designers, it's these little touches that keep us tipping our hats to EMM Labs.

The DV2 comes with a remote control cut from a solid block of aluminum, just like the rest of the EMM Labs line up. Unfortunately, we did not get a good close-up picture of the DV2 remote functions. We're still confident Ed hasn't left us wanting in this department either.

When we stepped back to listen to the EMM Labs room as a whole, we were hit with a seriously refined and detailed presentation. The power and effortlessness laid out in front of us was impressive as always. The EMM gear mated with the reference Focal transducers was one of Ed's best showings in the Rockies that we can recall.

Thanks for taking the time to read our DV2 preview. Drop us a line if you have any questions about anything we've touched on above. Contact us if you'd like to order your new DV2 in black or silver at a very competitive price as YFS is an authorized EMM Labs dealer. We guarantee we'll beat any advertised price from any US dealer. We're serious about getting our customers the best deal possible. Just give us the opportunity and we'll prove it to you.

Thank you and happy listening!

 - YFS Design Team