Metrum Musette Impressions

Not quite ready to go deep with this DAC yet, but thought I'd bookmark a thread for it. A couple of quick, early impressions:

• Fast and dynamic.
• Very good tonality (inc. harmonics, attack, decay, etc.).
• Good synergy with S7 and modded TIII.
• Not so good synergy with Studio.

Didn't have too much free time for listening today (family in town from MI, airport trip, visiting, etc.). I did setup a test rig by my desk that has REGEN with PS feeding Mutec 3+USB, output via coaxial to the Musette, output to TIII, driving my HE1K's. I'll be listening to this rig through the weekend. Quick listening test to verify everything's setup properly and wow. I'm really enjoying TIII right now driving the HE1K's, but feeding it with the Musette has a fantastic, musical synergy.

Sometimes it's really hard to listen critically - especially when the synergy is stellar and the music just flows. This will be one of those times. @Hands - you're going to really dig this chain.

* 3/11/16: REGEN (LPS)->Mutec 3+USB->Coaxial->Musette->TIII(modded)->HE1K. Really great synergy with this chain. A couple of Musette specifics. Detail - and plenty of it. Musette presents detail very well localized within the sonic staging. The air / space around instruments is spot on. Tonality / Timber / Decay - this is one of my favorite aspects of this DAC; these attributes are authentic, and contribute to a visceral sense of the performance itself being real. Musette may not be the last word in detail, but it's the first DAC in this price range that gets this right (that I've heard). Of course, none of this means anything until I have 423.5 hours of burn-in

 

Well, it is a tad bright, but there seems to be something else going on; it's not linear. I'm talking out of my arse as I need to spend more time with it, but the bottom end is largely absent. The previous owner thinks he was close to the recommended break-in, but didn't track it closely.

I have some thoughts on it, but it's premature. Need to dig in a bit.

 

Bottom end is pretty healthy from the Pavane, might be something going on internally. Yggdrasil definitely has more slam though.

 

Very interesting I have the same type of experience with @Provisus's latest version of the HEX. All Metrums I've heard before were less fast, while this isn't the last call on resolution, it sure to heck was better than those. Though very close with Bifrost Multibit, will be interesting when we do the next shoot out since it would be pretty much burned in by now if that is even the case.

 

All this supposed several hundred hours of burn is really making me angry. How is anyone supposed to be able to read reviews and make informed decisions when there is always the "oh, it was a little lean because it only had 200 hours on it" catch. Gimme a break.

If the gear really does sound like crap with zero hours on it I'm thinking manufacturers should start selling pre-burned in units. It's not hard, some time and 20-40 cents of electricity does the trick. And if there is a difference you can ensure that all the units you send out are going to sound their best instead of potentially sitting out there sounding horrible at trade shows and in demo rooms. And at the same time you can also make sure the units work and won't be back for warranty anytime soon.

These supposed burn-in requirements are getting out of hand. I wonder how much of it is true and how much of it is BS to get owners to keep something they don't like or which doesn't fit in their system.

 

Yea, bottom end is really solid driving S7 and TIII. I'll do some more digging into the Studio situation - just too soon to know what's going on.

 

Ha, I should.. I'll do one soon and yes I replaced one of my Yggys with the Pavane - it plays nice with the Studio. Really busy right now, but will try to find some time.

 

I assure you, I am sufficiently broken in! Haha. My response to the matter is very linear. Like an opinion with gain.

Seriously though.. 10, 20 maybe even 30 hours of recommended burn-in is perfectly fine and understandable. But when you start quoting over 200 hours of burn you're just taking a piss. What you're really saying is that these units may never sound any better than this but hopefully you've gotten used to the sound by then, and if not the trial period has probably passed anyway.

Anyway - rant over.

 

OK - naive question:

What exactly are S7, TIII & Studio?

 

Thanks!

 

I wonder how well is the Musette in comparison with Gungnir Multibit,especially about detail retrieval? May @MisterRogers can help us provide some impression.

 

I'd rate Gungnir Multibit slightly ahead in detail retrieval. Where Musette excels though, is in its very natural presentation and musical flow. Of course, Gungnir Multibit's no slouch, but Musette can be 'more funner'.

 

I came super close to getting a Mussette back before Christmas. I actually ordered one, then cancelled the order.

Really interesting products. Really good noise performance.

 

Yea, it's really growing on me. Greed has great things to say about the Pavane.

 

@MisterRogers is it relatively more important to use DDC and stuff like that on NOS DACs like the Musette? Or is it pretty comparable to Gungnir Multibit in terms of the benefits of bypassing USB? Just curious, since I remember reading somewhere on here that NOS are more demanding in this regard.