Metrum Menuet DAC Measurements

Discussion in 'Source Measurements' started by Hands, Nov 21, 2016.

  1. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Used a Surface Pro 1 + Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (1st gen) for measurements. Note, this is an incredibly modest rig, so don't expect AP-level results. Source is Soundaware D100 Pro into AES on Menuet.

    Balanced output and input, with 10dB XLR attenuator at input of 2i2. Otherwise signal gets too and distorts the unit. Note that because I had to manually adjust the gain after, that could add noise or affect results, plus means channels won't be precisely matched. Similarly, -3dB on most tests for my strikes a good balance between being less likely to overload the DAC chip/module, less likely to overload the ADC, and still provides similar results to 0dB or -1dB signals. (If I'm too far out from baseline requirements, please move to unsanctioned sub-forum.)

    1KHz Sine at -3dB, 16/48

    1 Menuet - 16 48 - 1k -3dB.PNG



    1KHz Sine at -3dB, 16/48, spectrum extended out to 48KHz (ADC at 96KHz)

    2 Menuet - 16 48 - 1k -3dB Long Spectrum.PNG


    1KHz Sine at -60dB, 16/48

    3 Menuet - 16 48 - 1k -60dB.PNG


    1KHz Sine at -90.31dB, 16/48

    4 Menuet - 16 48 - 1k -90dB.PNG


    1KHz Sine at -90.31dB, 16/48 - Note the 3 discrete steps. A little noisy due to the extra gain on the ADC, but this is a good result taking that into consideration.

    5 Menuet - 16 48 - 1k -90dB Sine.PNG


    1KHz Sine at -90.31dB, 24/48

    6 Menuet - 24 48 - 1k -90dB.PNG


    1KHz Sine at -90.31dB, 24/48 - Note that the 24-bit, low-level sine is relatively well represented.

    7 Menuet - 24 48 - 1k -90dB Sine.PNG


    1KHz Sine at -100dB, 24/96 - I didn't grab a shot of the waveform, but while it was fairly noisy, the 1KHz wave was clearly present.

    8 Menuet - 24 96 - 1k -100dB.PNG
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2016
  2. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    19KHz Sine at -3dB, 16/48 signal with ADC at 96KHz

    9 Menuet - 16 48 - 19k -3dB.PNG


    13KHz and 14KHz Sines at -3dB, 16/48 signal with ADC at 96KHz

    10 Menuet - 16 48 - 13k 14k -3dB.PNG


    19KHz and 20KHz Sines at -3dB, 16/48 signal with ADC at 96KHz

    11 Menuet - 16 48 - 19k 20k -3dB.PNG


    60Hz Sine at -3dB, 16/48

    12 Menuet - 16 48 - 60Hz -3dB.PNG


    60Hz Sine at -3dB, 16/48, zoomed in from 10Hz-1KHz

    13 Menuet - 16 48 - 60Hz -3dB Zoom.PNG


    250Hz and 9KHz Sine, 4-to-1 Ratio (Note that file itself is misnamed)

    14 Menuet - 16 48 - 250hz 4k 4-to-1.PNG

    Jitter results (ARTA JTest, 24/48) - Accidentally overwrote the 16/48 image...

    16 Menuet - 24 48 - Jitter.PNG
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2016
  3. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Quick thoughts - Much improved over the first gen Metrum DACs. Even the basic 1KHz THD test is somewhere around 0.0075% at worst to 0.0056% at best, depending on what software you use and settings. Compare this to the Hex's 0.015% at worst to 0.01% at best THD. Basically all measurements across the board see these sorts of improvements.

    Clearly Metrum has made some big strides in their DAC approach, subjectively and objectively. Still, I've seen better results from non-oversampling DACs, and certainly from OS DACs...FWIW...might not matter subjectively.

    If you want my RightMark results, which I'll refrain from posting, please PM me. You'll need RMAA 6.4.1 to open the save file and can view or even generate an HTML report page to your heart's content.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2016

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