Ascendo MS-Sew ASR Emitter II Exclusive Metrum Pavane

Click pics to enlarge. System View + accompanying popcorn (Note the ASI resonators in the center above the amplifier and the small barely visible Stein dot above the mid woofer).

The Sistine Chapel by audiopro

(no, this isn’t a John Wick movie)

I recently reviewed a system that I have seen grow over the last 4-5 years in India. It started when Mr. Michael acquired the big Ascendo speakers and has grown ever since. It was built using the one component that most of us lack i.e. patience. Slowly but surely the owner acquired each component and has now achieved what I call synergy.

It is always difficult to review a system as a whole because one doesn’t know what each component can do. When I review a system, I have always felt that a system (not a component as much) may be categorised into two broad categories:

– A photograph or a painting....mostly a system lies somewhere in between but then it is neither here or there...

A system that I classify as a photograph is neutral, transparent, clean, well centered tonally; attack and decay are well balanced, PRAT, dynamic; may lack hues and shades but it connects with your primal side and heads bob and feet tap. Think of a photograph taken using a really nice lens in perfect lighting.

A system that I classify as a painting is about the brushstrokes and the colour choices. How they blend in with each other, the emotion portrayed on the painting, etc. You can get lost in this bath, flavours swirling around your senses. It can draw you in, caress you and so on...

Both are easy to enter but very difficult to get right. Setup one (photograph) can easily become bright and analytical, robbing the music of its soul, like the Topping D50 DAC. It is well reviewed based on its measurements, yet when I bought it, it sounded sterile - it was like a punishment that I received in primary school: having to kneel down on the cold floor for talking; I vehemently defended my innocence. (Yes we were punished like this in those days – talk about a whack to the head or a remark in your diary that your folks had to sign. I’d pick the kneel and/or whack combo any day than the  puppy eyed guilt trip the remark set you on).

System two can easily become dull, warm, uninvolving, slow or too harmonically dense, killing attack and PRAT.

Michael’s system consists of some flagship components like the Ascendo MS-Sew speaker, the Metrum Pavane DAC, Audience cabling or the ASR Emitter II Exclusive amplifier. It also consists of some room treatment tweaks like the Steinmusic Harmonizers, ASI resonators and Stein Blue Suns.

ASR EMITTER II - EXCLUSIVE
(not shown are the dual power supplies and individual battery pack, this is a 4 box amplifier)

Metrum Pavane NOS R2R DAC

There is something to learn from this system setup. I very so often get asked, “I have a bright speaker so if I use a smooth cable or dac will it balance it out?” The answer is yes, it will tame the brightness but I can almost guarantee you that the system will not sound fun. This is because there are components pulling opposite ways.

Michael’s system has components that are similar in tonality, yet are so well flavoured or balanced that they do not tip over into the boring territory. All of his components are warm, harmonically rich, dark sounding but they come together as a whole and the end result is something as beautiful as the Sistine Chapel.

We played music using Roon and Tidal. Michael has an Intel NUC with a SOTM PSU hosting the Roon software. Music is streamed to a Metrum Roon endpoint which ends at the Pavane DAC. All component to component network cabling was SOTM’s CAT 7.

I usually listen for the following:

• Timing
• Micro dynamics
• Tonality
• Image size
• Bass
• Harmonics
• Listen for the singer to see if you can catch how he’s moving his voice i.e. head voice, throat, mouth etc.

First lets get what this system doesn’t do. It isn’t neutral tonally, it's coloured. Harmonics don’t jump out at you like a tube amp or some accuphase amps. It isn't a high sensitivity low powered setup which sometimes has that JUMP factor. It isn't a Ferrari or Tesla. This is a Bentley flying wing or a Rolls Royce. More than enough power when called for and you travel first class.

Being coloured it may not suit every genre, say rock, but I don’t think the owner listens to rock or heavy metal. Primal raw gritty it is not. Warm, textured, fleshed out, musical, golden, sexy, a work of art it is.

Well this system struck 5/7 of these parameters. Four to me were near perfect, whereas one parameter (tonality) was superb but in an artistic type of way. Harmonics, though extremely well done, were a little dark on the top and I will write about the bass below. Image size was executed perfectly, probably the best I’ve heard in a long time.

1. Timing was Spot On. It's a big speaker but it could start and stop on a dime. It was nimble.

2. Micro dynamics was beautiful too. It was faaaaasst without sounding thin or bright. The sound remained fleshed out but was yet fast. Think of it as a brush stroke where the initial stroke looks darker and the later ones lighten up. Think of seeing paint that appears textured not overtly smooth. Think of a movie in which the Samurai sword swishes fast and you are left seeing the blades trail.

It was beautiful. It was as if the system was painting the song rather than mechanically producing it. It sacrificed the jump factor you get from a low powered amp high sensitivity speaker combo but I really didn't care this time around. The siren was enthralling me with her song.

3. Tonality - Warm, richly fleshed out golden mid range. This "fleshing out" of the midrange is what adds texture and prevents a warm sound from becoming too smooth or dull and boring. I kept coming back to this textured mid range and mid bass every time a song is played. The texture was the transient. I have experienced something similar with Audio Note products where the sound depends heavily on the texture to deliver the transient bite, like moving your palm over a textured surface instead of on a needle tip.

It's almost like taking the best of a really nice Amperex (harmonics and golden glow) + RCA 12AU7 (darkness and chocolate) tubes, sprinkling in a little of Telefunken magic (sparkle) and adding some of the good solid state properties like speed and fast decay. If I had to fault it I would say that the highs were dark sounding (something almost every ASR review has talked about) but dark it maybe, lacking in information it was not (now I sound like Yoda).

4. Image Size – This was perfect. Perfect, perfecto, perfect. The image size was like a small musk melon, yet it could expand and contract instantly as and when the singer raised his voice. Think of it like a light bulb with a dimmer. The size of the bulb stays the same, yet when you increase the brightness the glow grows and can contract immediately if you reduce the same.

I was listening to Seal's both sides now and the young James Morrison and the way they energized that space was perfect. Never did the voice grow too loud and overshoot or smear. It just expanded and contracted like the glow of a bulb in milliseconds, offering probably the best contrast of vocal micro dynamics that I have heard.

This micro dynamic aspect of the vocals and the warm golden texture made the voice so involving, it just kept drawing me in to the music. The micro dynamics and texture served as the attack or brush stroke whereas the warm golden hue served as the paint. Even when instruments came in they were sized perfectly and expanded and contracted without smearing each other in any way. I would attribute these characteristics to the ASR amplifier and the room treatments. I have heard this speaker in the same room with other components but it was only when the ASR came in did it develop this personality.

5. Bass – The Ascendo uses a bandpass design. I am not too fond of bandpass designs as I feel they are one notish and always leave a hole where they integrate with the mids. In the past I always felt this systems Achilles' heel was the bass but this time around it was fast, textured and didn’t drag as much (drier than before). I did feel it to be slightly lacking at the crossover to the mid region but then I guess a bandbass will always do that. The Ascendo uses a large 8ish inch mid driver so I guess it is better suited to handling this transition that other bandpass coupled speakers. The kick drum was superb. You could hear the texture of the drum skin decay vis a vis a simple dry thuck. But there was some darkness between the mid bass and lower mid region. It was well concealed but something appeared dark or amiss there.

6. Harmonics – I have already spoken about the tonality. I would just add that harmonically it was not suited for rock. I tried some rock music but I don’t think rockstars would like a dark, warm, golden hue, cuddly, chocolate, complex whiskey malt system. They are better suited to a raw gritty, Russian vodka mixed with absinthe kind (if you mix vodka and absinthe, you never read this here – editor please make note, actually please never try this ever, leave it to the short lived rockstars). [Ed: I think the stigma surrounding absinthe is a myth. I am actually a big fan of anisette flavored drinks, from pernod to ouzo to raki. Drank plenty on my trips to Greece and Syria. I am sure India has its own]

As mentioned before this was - Amperex + RCA 12AU7 tubes, sprinkling in a little of Telefunken magic which I again strongly feel is the ASR voicing followed by the Pavane and Audience cabling.

7. Listen for the singer – again superb, more so on male vocals. You could hear the singer moving the voice around, the voice changing weight and tone depending on if it was a head or chest voice (for those who don't get this look up vocal coach Beth Roars videos on Youtube in my last post), then changing micro dynamics as the singer increased or decreased air pressure. The system did not pressurize the room as I have seen some systems do. Instead the singer was left by himself on the soundstage just singing his heart out. I did not get the same feeling using female tracks. It was there but not as well done as the male ones.

All in all I thank Michael for hosting me over and kudos to him for pulling off a superb sounding system. It isn't meant to have that jump and presence factor that you get with high sensitivity speakers and small simple amplification circuits. It may not suit aggressive genres that sound good on raw systems but, what it did well, was beautiful, just beautiful, which made me think of the Sistine Chapel. Well done, Michael, you pulled off a Michaelangelo!

 Vintage Marantz RC programmed and controlling the system

"we can send a man to Mars and maybe even grow a tree on it but we cannot remake a classic remote like this. Why? Oh why!!!! Just look at the print and buttons..."

- audiopro

System components in the above setup:

Lector Digidrive cd Transport

Metrum Pavane
Linn LP12/ IttokLVii/ Lyra Delos
Jeff Rowland Cadence Phono stage with BPS1 supply
Intel NUC / SOtM SPS500, Metrum
Ambre , Melco N1A
ASR Emitter II Exclusive
Ascendo MS- SEW
Audience Au24SX Speaker Cables , Front Row Digital, Line Level XLR , Audience and Furutech Power Cables, SOtM Purist Audio Cat7 cables.
Audience power conditioning, Steinmusic Harmonizers, Blue Suns, Supernatural feet, ASI Resonators.
Kemp Electroniks QA and Schumann Resonator plugs
Vintage Marantz RC

Editor: My friend Sang in HK used to have an ASR Emitter I (2 box) which I have heard a lot (here). Indeed all these battery driven equipment would not be the last word in macrodynamics, but that's not what they are for. Part of the polite character may be due to the Metrum too. Eric L's lower level Metrum was deemed too polite by him. Just a guess. As for this flagship Ascendo, I have heard it twice: the first time was terrible (driven by Audionet); the second time pretty good at a show (here). A great write-up. Indeed it's not easy to hear a thoroughly musical system on home visits.

iFi Zen Blue Bluetooth H10U Metrum Adagio

This marks the first time a phone cam is highlighted in this blog; drooling! 😃🔯

Letter from Hong Kong (20-4): Streaming from a New Cellphone, Eric L Thinks Aloud! Where is he going?

Amended 7/26/20: mrgoodsound's Comment and Tidal Impressions added. Small change to mention of R2R DAC.

Editor: Since his last article, on his own will, Eric L has called a time-out, left paradise and re-entered purgatory (hell was beckoning)! He has upgraded his generic Taobao device H-09 to the same company's H10U. Also, he has gotten a new Cellphone, the top Huawei, known for its formidable camera (remember Eric is a photographer).

This article is divided into 2 Parts. Eric first wrote Part I. As the article was almost ready for publication, I was surprised, but delighted, to find Part II in the draft!

Part I. Struggle with my newly acquired Huawei P40 Pro+, dinosaur Air Mac, iFi Zen Blue and cheapo H10U

This would be an interim report. As a newbie in Streaming Music, I'm still looking for the best solution. I am toying with the idea of a DAC that can play high-res files, including DSD and 24-bit files (up to 200 MB per song!) In the meantime, I'm still struggling to find the best solution to my current setup, to the point that I almost stopped using my Sparkler CD Player completely.

I acquired a brand new Huawei P40+ smartphone since: 1) My Samsung S6 was really coming to the end of its life after 6 years of good service; thanks! 2) I want to be able to take great pictures with its Leica lens when I don't have my Fujifilm X100F on hand; 3) I can use it as a music player! 4) it looks sophisticated!

I joined both Tidal and MOOV (HK based music platform focusing more on local high res songs) within a day of buying the phone.

P40 Pro+ with iFi Zen Blue (Initially) I connected the new phone to my Zen Blue (ZB) for music playing. Well, the sound that came out was really polished, with each instrument well delineated and having the right amount of air surrounding it. I played through the sea of songs from Tidal, anything from R and B, classical, jazz and vocals, overwhelmed and dazzled by the choices it provides. I then asked myself, is this the sound that I'm looking for?

The A/B Hell One morning, knowing it is a painful exercise, I reluctantly opened the Pandora Box of HiFi and entered the Equipment A/B hell. I use Chris Botti and Yo Yo Ma playing (live) the song from Cinema Paradiso, both of which I like so much as both players play with such hearts. As this video can be found on both Youtube and from Tidal as well, I ended up testing with total of 6 combinations:

Youtube on AirMac with H10U or ZB
Youtube on P40+ with H10U or ZB
Tidal on P40+ with H10U or ZB

4 hours went by, and I even drew a table to tally up all the different combinations. But I threw it away as I collapsed exhausted - the A/B Hell was too much of a torture for my old soul! I just needed to relax and listen to the kind of music I like and played through the system with the correct virtues.

Results were pretty much in line with my original impressions. Having had some burn-in, ZB had become more approachable, but so had the cheapo H10U ! I don't know about the brand new P40+. After the test, I also did prolonged listening with my P40 Pro+, first with ZB and then H10U. The Air Mac has a mobility issue since the battery is completely dead and it must be hooked up to power, rendering it no longer a laptop; its BT also always stutters and I need to repeatedly disconnect and connect...Yikes!

H10U vs Zen Blue Here's the dilemma, the much improved cheapo BT device H10U (one up from the H9A  in previous articles) really possesses some magic! The ZB has better delineation of the instruments, better separation and airiness around as well! ZB ticked many boxes in HiFi terms BUT it simply lacks some magic: I no longer feel compelled to focus on the music, and can do other things while having it on as if it were background music! This is not what I want! Unplug the ZB and connect the H10U, suddenly the songs become interesting again: I can feel the emotion of the cellist, which has my poor soul bobbing up and down on a string; the trumpet of Botti has also become more purposeful. I sense a bit more the ebb and flow of music. The excitement factor is back (though not in full)! Less HiFi , more raw but more energetic and that's live music that audience can react and relate to! I think the Sabre DAC chip used in ZB is not my cup of tea...

Now most of the music is played through P40 Pro+/Tidal (and occasionally through the combination of Youtube/P40 Pro+/H10U). I still miss the sound of the Youtube/Air Mac/H10U combo but have to sacrifice for convenience rather than Sound Quality (SQ)...

To be or not to be?

Which brings me to another potentially important factor which DJ had mentioned: would an external DAC help to improve the sound? Both ZB and H10U does offer the option of hooking up to an external DAC. So for the last week, I have been searching for the right cheapo DAC that has the highest Price Quality Ratio. DJ suggested Micromega MyDac or MicroDac etc but they are so rare in the market and they do not play hi-res or DSD. Therefore, I have been thinking, whether I shall go all the way for best SQ and acquire a giant killer on the cheap? I have looked around, I'm most interested in a DAC which is NOS, R2R with FPGA. Don't ask me exactly what these terms means since I am not a techno savvy guy. I just know NOS can sound really good based on my experience with Sparkler CD Player. My only experience with R2R is the Musette from Metrum Acoustics which sounds a tad polite to me, but it's just the entry level unit using one R2R DAC per channel instead of 4 per channel used in their flagship Pavanne and Adagio. There are recent rumours on financial difficulties for Metrum and the designer Cees had left and formed a new company called Sonnet and released  a new DAC called Morpheus . Both Adagio (with world class digital volume control) , Pavanne and the new Morpheus received top accolades from 6Moons and many other HiFi review forums. I have no doubt that they are very good as my friend also distributes Metrum and he offers me a great deal on a like-new demo unit Adagio with a 12 month warranty. I need to audition it as it's way out of my budget, but if I can use it as a preamp, I can sell my icOn4 and Sparkler CDP and simply use the Sony BDP as a transport! In between, I almost bought a nice 2nd hand Meitner MA-1 v1 DAC for a real good price but even though I had reached a verbal agreement with the seller, I failed to get it since he had consigned it to a HiFi consignment shop and it was sold the day before unknown to him! Bummer! Ed Meitner is the designer of the famous DAC from EMM Lab and the brand Meitner is a scaled down version which was retailing at 7000 USD when new in 2011 and is now less than 1/4 of the price. MA-1 V2 is said to have big improvement but I am content with V1 since the sound that came out is very analog sound which I can easily live with (I had a brief audition at the consignment shop, though I definitely was not in a good mood.)

However, if I go cheap and DSD is not a must, my targets will be either Sparkler DAC, MyDac , Chord Mojo or Schiit Modi 3 [Ed: do you mean the Multibit?] as they are really compact and that's what I like about them. Size matters!!

My search is still frustrating and today I opted back to listen to more music from CDs. I bought a new pair of 47 OTA kit cable to hook onto my CDP via icOn4. I immediately notice that the new one fits much tighter to the female ends of the machines; the older ones likely have distorted in shape from extended use and suffered from loose fit.

Silver Lining: Youtube/Mac/H10U is still the most engaging combo and does wonder! Next step , I will find out if a new DAC is able to improve the SQ of my Tidal/P40+/H10U combo so that I can gain my mobility while keeping the SQ with loads of PRAT?

Part II. It's not over yet....the Door is still Revolving but it may stop soon

Flirting with Metrum Yesterday, I finally found some time for an audition of the Metrum Acoustics Adagio. Distributor Ben was really nice and had it set up with his own award-winning Volent speakers. The songs were played through ROON, then a Streamer, the luxury Bespoke TVC Preamp, the Adagio, and finally the Amp, the name of which I fail to remember.

I played through some of his DSD files and some songs which I normally listen through Tidal, sat back and enjoyed the sound, which I'd describe as smooth and natural, pleasing to listen to. The instrumental timbres were good and the soundstage was huge and deep. However, I began to feel a tad too at ease and comfortable on certain songs which usually would have me tapping my feet tapping and swinging my body! Like audiopro said, TIMING is KING ! And I totally dig it as I came from the LINN/NAIM camp of more than 30 years ago!

Metrum uses PCM/NOS/R2R. Unlike the Delta/Sigma used by Meitner, it cannot play DSD files (has to be converted to PCM first). So I would not be able to exploit fully on DSD, damn.

Due to limited time , I had to leave with some doubts in my mind. Perhaps I need another audition?

Back to BT This morning, I started playing some music from OPUS3 disc through my Sparkler CDP. It was really enjoyable and the new version does improve in airiness, instrument separation and the delineation of instruments without sacrificing too much of the PRAT that my older Sparkler aced. Then, I switched back to the Tidal/H10U combo and begin to play the same tunes that I had played yesterday at the Audio Shop. To my astonishment, I wasn't losing much SQ at all! Of course, I didn't have the uber fathomless soundstage nor the ultimate silkiness of sound, but the excitement was back again! And the musicality, when compared to my Sparkler, was comparable, which is saying a lot!

Then the most eye-popping moment came. I used my P40 Pro+ to play some of my favorite Tiny Desks Youtubes. Taimane's ukulele simply just explodes at will but on a dime becomes romantic when called for; the Cajon player is wicked, his fingers strumming out clean attacks and an engaging bass line. My body was possessed and started shaking and I even involuntarily screamed out with joy! if you have not heard of Monsieur Perine, I would heartily urge you to give them a try. I played their Sabor a mi and the sense of "being there" was so strong that I actually felt I was in the concert myself! Yes, my setup is not set up to be laid back, but to be as engaging and truthful as can be to reveal the essence of music! Suddenly my urge for an upgrade of DAC has vanished !!

Thinking Aloud Redux This Morning I rang my friend Kwong (who introduced the H9L , then H10U to me) and told him about my revolving door experience in the name of truth. I told him after all the tedious and the painful search for audio truth, I found out the answer has always been there, from Day One (sounds like a movie script, doesn't it?) I told him, the H10U rocks and actually trumps all others; the lowly BT is probably the most amazing audio discovery of my audio journey. He replied with a grin on his face (I actually visualized that even if we were just on the phone, lol), "With all the money you have saved (wait, I haven't even spent anything yet, lol), why don't you get a "super tweeter ", same one as used in MBL. With the right capacitor, it could improve the sound across the spectrum! And it would only cost less than $2k HKD even with Mundorf! You can also upgrade your power conditioner to a higher grade Long Yu and a second hand one is less than $3k!" What a devil he is! Or perhaps upgrade my laptop? I can't stop giggling~ Itchy still I guess...

Conclusion/Confession? I hereby proclaim that, Youtube/H10U/P40 Pro+ combo is the most HiFi, musical and engaging BT combo that I have experienced. It can give a lot of way more expensive rigs run for their monies! Mind you, the H10U costs only $8 USD and Youtube is free - that says a lot! Do I need a DAC? I would say yes, but it is less of a priority right now. If nothing is wrong, don't change for the sake of changing! I'd rather spend more time on enjoying music. My bar is actually quite low; I don't have any complaints for the music I'm listening to; their shortcomings are minor to me and I can happily live with them, through perhaps not forever after~

Here is the Botti/YoYo Ma Youtube on Cinema Paradiso!

Sabor a Mi was popularized by Eydie Gorme and Trios Los Panchos. I have the original
LP (the left half). Gorme is Sephardic; no wonder her perfect Spanish! A personal fav.

Editor's Postcript:
Everyone writes differently, and that's the fun of it. I myself (I think audiopro and perhaps mrgoodsound too) tend to write in a more presentation, google slide, style (except in some Diary entries). Eric L though has a more fun and dramatic style which I try to preserve as much as possible in my editing. Viva diversity!

This article actually is unique in that he is THINKING OUT LOUD! Some of it we have discussed in private emails. I think he has too many questions now so I invite our writers, friends and readers to weigh in! Let's make this a Roundtable of sort! My weighing in will be long.

Summary In a capsule, I think this is what Eric is going through: In terms of Bluetooth Streaming Device, Eric is sick of the limitations of his ancient Air Mac, BUT unfortunately it is still the better sounding. For convenience, he will rely on his new P40 Pro+ Cellphone. As for Streaming Platform, aside from his favorite Youtube, he has now subscribed to Tidal and Moov, which can provide more true hi-res music, hence his recent interest in DACs.

Bluetooth vs Hi-Res Streaming I think it is important not to lose sight of why we listen to BT in the first place: to explore, to discover and to enjoy new music on the cheap. Hi-Res Streaming will offer that too, but in a different way, as hi-res files are in the minority. Psychologically, unfortunately, Hi-Res Streaming inevitably skews the audiophile subscriber towards more unworthy but sonically good material. For a classical listener like me, NML (huge classical library, low-res; for me it's free) and Spotify together supply most of what I need to keep reasonably up to date with new releases, and these have a LOT more material than many other services, including possibly Tidal, not to mention Qobuz. As I have mentioned in my previous BT articles, when I am in exploration mode, I don't wear my reviewer's hat. Our own mrgoodsound, certainly an exacting individual, feels the same and now subscribes to Tidal (he's well versed in streaming, and is not using BT ). Caution also for Hi-Res Streaming: there are too many factors that affect sound, the computer settings (like buffer size), software (jRiver, Audirvana, Amarra etc), DAC etc and it is not unoften to hear bad sound. It is not going to be smooth sailing all the way. I know, not everyone has the right make-up to embrace BT, and many readers probably skip these articles or at least wonder why we are devoting so much space to low-res BT. Suffice to say, many highly experienced audiophiles I know use it for fun. Corollary: Hi-Res Streaming can easily sound less musical than simple generic BT.

Bluetooth Receivers Think about this, our HK friends, all experienced users, and I (a latecomer), all use very cheap units. I have said just experiment a little on the cheap and just feel it. It is great that Eric is honest to himself, and conceded that the more polished and branded ZB (as of present) doesn't connect with him as well as the generic ugly duckling. It is entirely possible that the Sabre DAC chip (superior measurements always but its name is foreboding and perhaps prophetic) does not sound as organic as a "lesser" chip (this happens too many times in the history of DAC's; the TDA 1543 and NOS were previously exclusively used in the lowest end, as in the Magnavox CDPs I wrote about).

Tidal This is anyway an excellent company, rated by What HiFi as still the best provider. What's commendable is that Tidal pays the artists significantly more than Apple and Spotify (though that is still not saying much). My HK friends like icefox all use Tidal. It is also open secret that friends can share a "Family Subscription" at even lower cost, bad for business but generous to you. Which Level for You? Now, this is interesting, my friend jules, a discriminating listener for sure, maintains the basic membership sounds better than the premium one (this seems corroborated by mrgoodsound, who in an email said, "...I tried it and I guess I must concur, the ‘high’ setting seems to sound less loud/rude and a bit warmer than the ‘hi-fi’ setting, which is glassy in comparison..." MQA Another factor that Eric did not mention is Tidal offers Masters or MQA, series (free now for HiFi Members, one rung above Premium) and that adds another dimension to the complexity, as MQA has greatly divided digital fanatics and much vitriol had been spilled. Am I curious? Yes, I'd love to hear it for myself. Am I going to go all-out? No.

Streaming Device As I intimated in one of my BT articles, every device sounds different. This is not surprising, as the BT signal goes through the device's player (automatically maxed, but controllable by the device's output volume control). For me, my Acer Chromebook 14 sounds significantly better (and louder) than my Windows HP 14. Two laptops work very well for me (the Chromebook also would be next to useless in China) as when I run out of battery on one I switch to the other (that's how much time I spend on this blog, almost 1.5 battery charges a day, including 2-3 hours of news in the morning), but I always use my Chromebook for streaming, even when it is charging. My iPad sounds the worst, and I don't even want to try my ancient iPhone 5S. If you can, stream from a computer, not cellphone. For Eric I highly recommend him to replace the battery, either through Apple or DIY (here), not expensive, but then the BT drop out issue likely will remain, though it is possible it can be improved (here). Of course, with a DAC that has USB, Eric can also stream through the USB. I am pretty sure streaming hi-res will also sound better through the Air Mac than through the smartphone.

DAC's One has to think very hard here. For old-timer me, it is much easier. With a huge vinyl and CD collection, I don't even think about Hi-Res files, despite trumpets blowing all around me. As far as I can see, there is no way any file sounds better than analog (including R2R), and I have heard all the bests. This is not a measurement thing, but a mechanical (direct touch) thing. SACD/DSD Although I like SACD (but I regard it as just a different form, not necessarily superior to PCM), and have a small collection and a hi-end player (Sony XA-5400ES), it is only an occasional foray and insignificant part of my diet, and so I would not consider DSD files. Also, a lot of the so-called DSD files are not native, but converted and PCM in origin. True DSD files have a heavily classical tilt (record labels like BIS, Challenge, Pentatone, Tudor, Channel), and jazz, rock and pop lovers can just forget about it. SACDs sound good, but their CD layers also sound close (I have probably listened to more SACDs than most people, as the library has tons of them in classical titles, though I usually just listen to the CD layer). But I understand the curiosity (even I succumb to hyperboles sometimes, unfortunately). Features Very few DAC's have everything (even less if you include MQA, though some software, like Audirvana, can unfold MQA) and I think even in those that do, some features are likely afterthoughts. I am a long-time student of DAC's but I am almost immovable in my stand. Vintage vs Present Every generation has a few outstanding products amid the vast sea of also-runs. Personally I'd rather listen to a vintage classic any time before I summon up the energy to listen to current jacks of all trades. Too many times in audition, a Studer 730 (16-bit, 1541A) sounded more musical than hi-res and expensive DACs. This is not to say I cannot be swayed. e.g. I loved the sound of the Berkeley Alpha (as heard here; solely PCM, no DSD, though some from Series II on supports MQA through a firmware upgrade) and would not mind testing it one day. That day will come, because DACs depreciate faster than anything else, with the exception of AV amps. No hurry. But That is one DAC that I want. Now, if I really want to experience all these hi-res files and MQA, I'd do it on the cheap and choose (mind you I have not heard it) the $200 iFi iNano DSD (original silver or newer BL) though it only has ONE input, USB (for BT digital out of the H10U, Eric can use his ZB). No, I haven't heard it, and don't have access to files, but it has received many good reviews (like HiFi+ and HiFi News). Of course, double the sum and one can have more connectivity (as in its big brother Micro iDSD and the Chord Mojo Eric has thought about). Ergonomics This is important. Say connectivity, much as I may consider Sparkler seriously, their connectivity sucks. Like mrgoodsound says, there is no reason why they only have 1 input to their DACs. I'd demand a custom one with USB and Coaxial (my own choice). The ergonomic consideration is also why I'd never go the current mode route. Multiple digital inputs is very useful, even necessary for someone like me. I miss my digital switchboard, the incredible Genesis Digital Lens!

The Metrum Audition Although I have never visited the place, I have heard it sounds good. But what Eric finds lacking may be part of the system's sound. A few years ago, my friend jules obviously thought it sounds good, as he acquired a pair of Volent 3.5. However, in my audition I found the Volent polite and bland compared to the cheapo vintage Dahlquist DQ20. His Volent quickly disappeared. In general, I don't like low efficiency loudspeakers (aside from some classic 2-ways), which more often than not do not deliver on PRaT. I noticed in the setup the ultra-expensive Bespoke TVC was inserted between the Streamer and the Metrum, maybe acting as a buffer? Very high end and complicated, but perhaps simple is best? On R2R DACs I remember our mrgoodosund said he doesn't like the ones with discrete ladders. Myself, I have only heard jules' 4-piece Totaldac; it was good but I didn't hear the qualities Sparkler and low-end Magnavox so consistently deliver. Also, for some reason, hi-end hi-res streaming is almost always emotionally vapid. This is part of the attraction of Bluetooth, which is sort of radio wave transmission. I have had the experience of hearing the same album sound better through the radio than my CD player! Yup!

Supertweeter Basically, all of these ribbon/panel tweeters are Chinese made. I found out from Eric the one his friend is urging on him is the (now Chinese company) Swan RT2E-A (here), which is well regarded and sold by reputable companies like Madisound. At 93 db, it may just work with Eric's Dynaudio Crafft (86 db) with just a cap and avoid the trouble of an L-pad. In the past, I have used Aurum Cantus and Fostex with my Tannoy's to good effect. Indeed, what Eric's friend is saying is that adding one can actually clean up the bass, which is my experience. However, it is cumbersome. Moderation!

Of course, I'd also love it if Eric gets a high-end DAC, as we'll all hear about it!

mrgoodosund weighs in:

I will comment on a few things.

-On hi-res: I think is a complete waste of time and effort. To elaborate on why would require a lengthy diatribe, but it ties into my philosophy regarding digital audio as a whole. Well, I would especially not bother with it if one is using Bluetooth.

-On bluetooth/streaming: I don't use it, I have no need for it in my current setup. I use an old laptop or Mac Pro as a dedicated file player. I assume ZB in this article is referring to the ifi? I have been really unimpressed with all of the iFi gear I have heard. It does not surprise me that a cheap taobao unit sounds better. I do use Tidal because it can communicates with a USB DAC in exclusive mode, something Spotify does not support. Otherwise, I prefer Spotify UI and that playback can be remotely controlled from another device. I recommend Eric sources an old computer for cheap and dedicate it to his streaming purpose, or maybe there is a RasPi solution. I am old school and not really versed in this area.

-On DAC: I will clarify I am not a big fan of discrete ladder R2R DACs (I think John wrote I don't like R2R DACs, quite the opposite!) of which Metrum falls under. I don't think very highly of Metrum DACs, although I have only heard one mid-level unit. I use a TDA1541 based DAC with a rather exotic implementation. I can recommend for Eric the Modi Multibit, or to buy a TDA1543 DAC board off ebay and add an active buffer like JELabs http://jelabs.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-good-bad-and-ugly-tda1543-nos-dacs.html

-Supertweeter: when I think of supertweeter I think of operation solely above 20kHz. it is not clear to me where the RT2E linked is supposed to integrate. I very much like and recommend the TakeT units from Japan, the most inexpensive of which are $60/pr and will breath life into sleepy inefficient two-way speakers. http://www.taket.jp/batpure/batpure.html

Eric's Dinner with Family: Octopus, Tuna and Shrimp in Citrus Sauce

 US Angus Wagyu Chuck from Snake River Farm

Of course!