Sonnet Digital Audio's Morpheus Reviews

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by sahmen, Mar 25, 2020.

  1. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    So I stumbled upon something today - I think part of the lack of PRaT may have actually been due to a band somewhere above 10kHz+ being rolled off (as expected due to NOS). Before I thought it was 100% due to the Morpheus. Rather, it is only maybe 60-80% of the cause. Note that I do not have headphone measurement tools, am not an expert on what happens at every frequency, etc. so maybe this is old news to those who know.

    I didn't think this was correlated before as I've heard other headphones or gear with rolled off or otherwise "incorrect" highs and didn't have any issues with PRaT (or if there were PRaT issues, it's b/c the gear wasn't good and had a lot of other issues already, was just limp or lifeless, etc. - not something I could attribute to rolled off highs alone). I have never seen any chart, guide, text, etc. correlating PRaT to any particular region above 10kHz+. I also haven't experienced a significant loss of PRaT with other NOS gear before - it was very slight at most, if it even happened (like less than 5-10% - not something I previously thought to attribute to NOS).

    Suspect this may be related now because during current HE6se modding, in trying to dial in the last 5-10% of the sound, I managed to reduce the PRaT by a significant amount when I deliberately muted out parts of the 10kHz+ region (I don't know what region or how in precise detail as I don't have a way to measure). Note that a complete and overall reduction above 10-20ish kHz alone (via software, so take it for what it's worth) did not kill PRaT and I don't have a way to reliably reduce bands 500 or 1kHz at a time (ex reduce 10-10.5k, 13-14k, etc.) to pinpoint the phenomena.
     
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I assure you it isn't. It's simply a sleepy DAC, something other folks noticed and even @Hands has acknowledged, when in comparison to others from Metrum. All you need to do is apply -3db rolloff at 20kHz with -1db at 10kHz knee to test on any other DAC you feel has better PRAT.
     
  3. BIG POPPA

    BIG POPPA SON OF BIG D

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    Have the Morpheus scheduled to be delivered today. Kinda excited about it.
     
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  4. bilboda

    bilboda Florida boomer

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    And it may seem sleepy compared to the others which may be caffeinated. I really don't know. It clearly upped my resolution and stage with nothing nasty in the mix. I am treble deficient, moreso in my left ear. I am rolled off 5db at 8kHz already, if internet hearing tests are reliable, tinnitus may be masking things in that range, cause is partially dietary but I gotta have my coffee! Sugars are definitely out, not just for my ears sake either.
    Considering a HOLO MAY down the road.
     
  5. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    I own both Morpheus and Holo Spring 2 KTE, in different locations. Spring 2 KTE is definitely faster and less thick in the midrange. I've also owned Metrum Onyx, Holo Spring level 3 KTE. IMHO Spring 2 KTE has the best balance of NOS tonal density, dynamics, detail, and layering among all of those. You may look for @atomicbob's discussion of May and Spring 2 on this forum to decide whether the extra May cost would be worth it for you. I decided to go with Spring 2 myself.
     
  6. bilboda

    bilboda Florida boomer

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    Unless used, it would have to be Spring 3 now. And there is a new, not so expensive pre on the horizon as well, developed for the Springs.
     
  7. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    Everything varies, i preferred the Jade (the Onyx with pre that @earnmyturns mentioned) to the Spring 2 but it was a hard, long, decision but in the end i felt the Jade married better with the Crimson and DNA amp and the pre-amp was a big bonus. About the new Spring, i think that the biggest difference is that it uses the same USB module as the May:

    "Exclusive to the Spring 3 KTE model; The enhanced USB module found in the MAY DAC, which includes Titanis 2.0 FPGA circuit."
     
  8. barbz

    barbz New

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    Having been through this thread a couple of times now I'm intrigued by the Morpheus (+ Hermes via i2s).

    Theres been a few comments on genres which work well with the Morpheus but I was wondering if anyone who owns/demo'd/loaner'd the unit could comment on how it handles electronic music - chemical brothers, deamau5, fatboy slim, massive attack etc.

    Thank you
     
  9. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    I don't listen to much electronic music, but for all genres I listen to -- which include electronic instruments/electronic modification of other instruments in both jazz and modern classical -- I think that the Holo Spring 2 KTE (now discontinued, but being replaced by Spring 3) beats the Morpheus: it has the desirable high total density of the better NOS DACs but it is overall nimbler, faster attacks and natural decays, better instrument separation, less smeared. For NOS and R2R DACs I've owned or own, overall:

    Holo Spring 1 KTE < Metrum Onyx < Sonnet Morpheus < Yggdrasil A2 < Holo Spring 2 KTE

    The Yggdrasil is the DAC in this price bracket that I've kept longest, FWIW. I may replace the Morpheus by a Spring 3 KTE or a May KTE later this year.
     
  10. StageOne

    StageOne Friend

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    I think for EM music you won’t be happy with the Morpheus. I compared the loaner Morpheus to my then and current DAC the Gungnir and while the bass texture was far better, it lacked punch and slam. Comparatively, the bass is a little rolled off and soft, not the combination I want for EM. It does other things amazingly well, but there were a few trade offs I wasn’t willing to accept.

    The Schiit Gungnir, Yggdrasil or maybe Burl B2 maybe be a better option.
     
  11. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    In addition to what @earnmyturns and @StageOne said - IMO the biggest weakness of the Morpheus for me the PRaT. I don't listen to that much electronic music - but the stuff I do listen to suffered because of this. Additionally, the strengths of the Morpheus were often lost on most electronic music. Lastly, the bass was slightly rolled off as mentioned.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2021
  12. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    FYI- I know of a couple Sonnet Morpheus (demo) units for sale at good prices.
    anyone interested send me a PM.
     

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