[kyrill]

Hi Bill how do I need to interpret yr remarks?
For instance yr ears tell you that the Burson DA-160 is less then pdx or the W4S with the Off ramp, the U3 is dark and fuzzy compared to the Audiophilleo. This sets the differences between the components irrespective of how good or how bad they are compared to the majority ( by the dozens , if not hundred)

Or do I have to interpret your findings especially compared to the majority: the Burson is bad sounding, the U3 is flawed?

I think you mean the first but difficult to make up from the text. for instance: "the U3 was fuzzier and had an unnatural darkness to it." That by itself could be interpreted as don't buy it, it sounds unnatural. I have the notion,  as I have heard the Stello U2 its previous and  less sounding unit and it sounded wonderfully better than USB alone, that the U3 sounds very good and worth its money but probably not as good as the Audiophilleo and certainly not as good as the audiopghilleo in yr set up. Like wise the Burson is still a very good musical DAc better than dozens out there of the same price but lesser than one or 2 others of the same price ( depending partly on setup) and definitely lesser than twice or more the price with careful searching.

[bhobba]

Hi Kryill

I am scratching my head about any confusion you may have.  First I never said any product was bad - do not buy it.  I have supplied information on what I, and quite a few others have heard.  The U3 is not bad - the Audiophello is simply better - and it is not just my opinion - others heard it as well.  I forked out my own dosh for the U3 and am now going to sell it for a nearly $200.00 loss.  I got it to check out and tide me over until I got my Off-Ramp back and was lucky to get a comparison with a friends Audiophello.

As for the Burson I compared it to quite a few DAC's with a number of others and reported my and the others findings.  The Burson is not bad - but some others are better.  None of them were up to the standard of the much more expensive PDX - not exactly an earth shattering revelation. And since this is a Metrum thread all I can do is reiterate what I and others heard -  the other DAC's I have posted about except the PDX were easily bested.  And the PDX again is a lot more expensive.  Exactly what is your issue?

Thanks
Bil

[kyrill]

thx Bill

you answered my question.

you compare things with the best you have and considering you have price no object very good things, the Off ramp, the Pdx, i must read yr comments in that light.

[bhobba]

Hi Guys

My Off-Ramp has arrived back from being fixed and having the USB power supply regulator upgrade installed. I have popped it into my system using the Metrum. HOLEY CRAP - either my ears are on the blink or this thing is way above either the Stello or Audiophello. Some guys are coming on over Sunday to pick up the Stello that I have on-sold and hopefully they will confirm my findings - but I suspect it will be a lay down misere really.

Its accuracy and the detail it reveals is amazing.

Based on a comparison I have just done I would say the improvement the Off-Ramp over the Audiophello is about the same as the improvement of the Audiophello over the Stello.  But the listening session on Sunday will undoubtedly shed more light.

Thanks
Bill

[kyrill]

there is a contender for the off ramp  quality and sadly price wise  as well,
the Berkley Audio  alpha USB. My intuition says it would be a serious contender
http://www.berkeleyaudiodesign.com/products.html

[bhobba]

Hi Kryill

Sigh.  Sadly this does seem to be an area where the more you pay the better you get.

Thanks
Bill

[bhobba]

Hi Guys

Yesterday I was with my mate from Toowomba and we checked out the Stello, Audiophello and Off-Ramp. That is the exact order as far as performance goes - the Off-Ramp is in a different class compared to the Audiophello, just like the Audioiphello is in a different class compared to the Stello.  I have some others coming over Sunday and will check it out again, however I will be very surprised it they don't find exactly the same thing.

Thanks
Bill

[bhobba]

Hi Guys

A few hours ago I just completed a listening session with two other guys where we compared the Stello U3, the Audiophello 2 and Off-Ramp With Turboclocks via the Metrum.

First up we listened to my reference DAC, a PDX, through my Trafomatic SET. It sounded lovely but it was felt for a comparison like this the speed of my Audiosector Patek may have been better. We switched over to that and immediately more detail was apparent - but that lovely palpable SET midrange was gone.

Rather than continue with the PDX we decided to get stuck into it and first up was the Stello U3 using Sammy Davis Bye Bye Birdie. It sounded good but I could detect a darkness in the sound and the detail was not as precise - the finger snapping in the song did not sound as well - snappy - like if you clicked your fingers into your ears. This is not to say it sounded bad - if you heard it you would be happy with it, its just it falls short of what you hear with a better source. One guy commented he thought notes etc had a nice round quality. Although I didn't say anything I thought it was a euphonic byproduct of jitter. However later we used what was thought to be a better SPDIF cable and things did improve.

We then switched over to the Audiophelleo and played the same song. Immediately I thought it was in a different class. Less dark, more musical, detail seemed more precise. the finger snapping sounded more real and the rounded character diminished. The other guys thought yea its better but not a different class better. This was especially apparent when compared to the Stello with a better SPDIF cable. I however still thought it was a different class better. It was thought the advantage of the Audiophello may not be so much that it has better jitter but rather because it does not use a SPDIF cable and has a special output circuit to inject it directly into the DAC.

Last but far from least was the Off-Ramp. From the first few notes it was obvious to me it was in a different class again. But at nearly 4X the price you would expect that. Was it worth the extra dosh - of course only you can really judge that. For the other two guys - no - for me with more money than sense - yes. Darkness gone (famous last words - it seems every time you get a better source you think its gone but when you hear a better source you realize that's not true), clarity increased, much more detail apparent, the finger snapping had a real snap to it like clicking your own fingers. Things only got better with a better SPDIF cable and we also mucked around with USB cables that had power and data separated. Even though the Off-Ramp had its own power supply it seemed to benefit a lot from the cable. One of the other guys thought with all these changes it was now a lot better than the other two.

We listened to the various sources again using another of my reference tracks Dianna Krall - A Case Of You and Girl In The Other Room. Basically it gave results the same as with Sammy Davis.

We also tried two different USB cables that separated power and data but it was inconsistent in being able to get them working - one would work on one DAC, the other on another DAC. However when it did work it was a noticeable improvement.

Thanks
Bill

[bhobba]

A good audiophile aquantance of mine, John Darko, who runs a review site, and also reviews for 6 Moons, has got the DAC and posted some initial impressions:
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net.au/index.php/news-blog-and-showcase/john-darkos-blog/item/297-metrum-nos-mini-dac-octave-first-impressions
'There is an overriding sense of intense transparency. It's not squishy or spongey (as is the tendency of other NOS DACs). There is no evidence of frequency extreme roll-off. It isn't (what some may call) 'analogue', it isn't smooth or velvet-tongued...it isn't really anything. The Metrum Octave is mineral water in a world of carbonated soft drinks.'

That's it - it really is very very hard to ascribe a character to this DAC. Having had the DAC for quite a while now and comparing it to other stuff with other audiophile brethren I can detect two very very slight traits - a slight hardness in the treble and a slight lower midrange bloom that may be related to how you orientate the separate power supply. But otherwise its not analogue like other DAC's, it isn't smooth, when upsampled it isn't NOS (not upsampled myself and others did detect a NOS signature - its a bit mushy) - its basically nothing - I describe it like you get the feeling the recording has been transcribed directly to your speakers. Whether that type of sound is your bag is another thing but everyone interested in getting a new DAC should see if they can audition it to see if it floats your boat.

Thanks
Bill

[OzarkTom]

I was afraid of that Bill, that one is not for me.

Thanks for the review and the update.

[bhobba]

I was afraid of that Bill, that one is not for me. Thanks for the review and the update.

I love the DAC - for me coupled with a device like the Audiophello 2 it blows away any DAC I have head under $2.5K.  But over that other DAC's such as the PDX, Killer and the Lampizator start to come into consideration and people should listen to those as well.  Also it is an extremely transparent sounding DAC without any character I can really ascribe to it - if you want a analogue sounding device or some other kind of character it not really the DAC for you.

I most definitely, despite some people saying its analogue like, do not ascribe that character to it.  The Tranquillity DAC for example is analogue like - this DAC isn't.

Thanks
Bill