Sonnet Digital Audio's Morpheus Reviews

What a dumb hill to get executed on

 

Funny you mention it. I used to own one but for various not so interesting (or so sane) reasons I sold it. I miss it a bit now, I'd like to hear what it sound like with the DSHA-3F and Verité I have now. What I liked about the HS (and kind of miss now sometimes) is the almost super-saturated rendering of low-to-mid range on headphones. I didn't like it with my then speaker system, though, stage was weirdly stretched out horizontally, to the point that the two ends of the piano sounded like 10 ft apart.

I'll confess I have a Morpheus arriving soon (quarantine fever?) but traitorous thoughts about the Spring 2 (thanks @atomicbob ) keep intruding... I can't leave NOS alone, that's all I can say.

 

Yes, KTE Spring2. Measurements found here:
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/kte-spring2-technical-measurements.9258/

And latest recreational listening setup here:
System Synergy - Special Sound

Turns out I'm a closet NOS type for recreational listening. Note, not used for production work.

 

Actually they did, a little bit. In Metrum DAC line USB was a total crap. In Morpheus they use Amanero Combo 384 which is better but still not the best.

 

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(Initial) SETUP:
I have refrained from reading too much "other" stuff here or elsewhere, only quickly skimmed, so apologies if I repeat anything.

Default for others is probably going to be AES so I'm going to use optical first. PC optical out --> Morpheus --> Mogami RCA Cables to Stellaris --> Stellaris with 6N1P (single wire getter) + RCA 2A3 + Raytheon 5U4G --> SE out to HD6xx w/ stock cable // XLR out to Bocote Auteur w/ Atmos Silver Cable.
Initial output of Sonnet set to 0db (volume knob goes from mute to -63db minimum to 0db max).

Will listen against Yggdrasil A2 (or whatever B serial numbers are) w/ USB 5 (summer 2019 purchase and production) and Soekris 1421. EC Af, different headphones, tube rolling, diff inputs, and a little nervosa type stuff in subsequent posts.

1hr ride home in a warm trunk + 6 hours warm up before listening.
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Initial stream of consciousness:

TLDR version: Dense, definite and very prominent NOS sound (with all included good and bad characteristics), non-offensive signature, detail, resolution, and plankton better than Yggdrasil A2.

Yep, it has the NOS sound. First thing I noticed (immediately). Not for everyone as others have already said. This is not my first foray into NOS sound but I'm definitely NOT an expert regarding NOS sound. Haven't screwed around with sampling rates, etc. yet. Very thick / dense sound but not in a modern kind of congested or sometimes syrupy way - almost old school sounding. Here it's in a way that some may initially perceive the sound as unclear.

Very non-offensive sound for those sensitive to sibilance, digital nasties and glare, treble hotness / spikes as good NOS often is (although you will still here the hot treble when it comes in - you just don't get stabbed by it if that makes sense). As a matter of fact, I did a slow sine sweep from 20-20k, still unpleasant, but not nearly as annoying as it should be @14khz+.

Polite sound signature so far - like HD650 level of polite but not the same sound signature. You can definitely hear/feel the rolled off highs of NOS. The extra color and texture you get from sound above 10 or 12k is definitely not as prevalent. Caveat ALL COMMENTS BELOW WITH THIS STATEMENT (not faulting the DAC, just clarifying what I hear / feel with NOS).

Low end bass is not as strong/present but not rolled off per se - think of going from a sub or HE6 to "just" an normal dynamic headphone - it's that type or level of loss. Not as much as the loss that you get going from dynamics to SR1a. Ex: 2:46 in Daft Punk Doin' it Right goes low enough... but it just didn't hit or feel right. Switched to Yggdrasil and repeat section - much better. Bass drums and string bass (both stand up and an acoustic bass guitar) sounding muffled. Could use more impact.

Very good detail, resolution, and plankton under what I think is about 10kHz - noticibly a step above Yggdrasil for me (if both are fed using optical). Texture is amazing. Kind of odd to me though when 10kHz+ is missing a lot of color at the same time.

A lot of long notes / decay / background sound is easier to hear and pick out too (not in a resolution or plankton sense) - this is even more amazing given how dense this DAC is. The first time in a long time just listened and said "wow". For reference with Yggdrasil, you can hear a lot of this, but comparatively, even in a much less dense sound-space, it's blurry, kind of mashed together, and blended into the main song, etc.

PRaT is not good here - edit - a little better with warmup. Listened to Tornado of Souls and Ace of Spades - barely wanted to tap my feet (normally I get into it). I did not want to groove along to Santana or jazz very much. I did not want to smash/punch stuff and flip my desk over like I often do with Arch Enemy's Kill with Power cover. No dancing to dance music. Etc.

Staging - you don't get individual placement or much depth (which matches past NOS experience) but rather vague 2.5-D zones of sound. It's not bad for a NOS DAC though - nothing hugely odd that sounds "broken". I can tell I'm in the front half of the auditorium/venue, but this DAC doesn't have a distinct row 1 vs a row 30 presentation to me. Cymbals were the only exception to this "zone of sound" thing on some tracks - everything is in a zone, but the cymbals still feel precisely located (as much as a large object can be).

Cello and tenor sax (2 of my favorite instruments) are very nice on this DAC even if it sounds like something is slightly... missing. Better than on Yggdrasil or 1421. Better than all other DACs I've tried based on memory, maybe tied with or slightly better than Crane Song Solaris (but good for different reasons). Drum and guitar heavy music I prefer Yggdrasil but I'm going to miss hearing all the little stuff so clearly when this DAC goes.

Listened to music for 4 hours straight - no fatigue.
Random - changing Stellaris output from high Z to low Z (IEC vs Low) makes much less of a difference with this DAC. Not surprised given NOS.

Conclusion - I wanted another DAC that synergizes better with Stellaris (per my preferences) than Yggdrasil A2. So far this is not it for me (and not purely b/c NOS). However, I do think it's a pretty good DAC and I would say with 90% certainty the SBAF loaner isn't broken.

Spoiler: Other DACs I'm considering

I will have to compare other DACs in the $4-5k range such as Rockna Wavelight (while I don't like Chord's pricing/performance ratio and some of their other silliness, the good parts of FGPA implementation were made clear), maybe the Bricasti M3 (which seems like an interesting approach), or maybe even a more extended session the Holo Spring or Holo May (for a different type of NOS sound).

EDIT: Shortened this a little.

 

Update / more stream of consciousness impressions:

After last night, I put my rhead (in standby mode) on top of the Morpheus to use as a heater. rhead when stable is a tiny bit less warm than Yggdrasil, a little more than 1421. With both DACs being resistor ladder designs, I figured Morpheus sweet spot should be around the same temp as rhead. Setup has not changed.
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OK, this DAC is better after warming up:

Immediately noticed that PRaT has improved. Still not at the same level as other stuff, but dance music at least made me move in the chair, Santana made me groove a little, and my favorite rock + metal songs feel alive again - just not at flip the desk levels.

Macrodynamics have improved, but still not at Yggdrasil level, and it's not b/c of NOS. Bass, in particular bass drums and slam... hmm... hard to describe... it's more of a hit / pop / thud, but it's not still not "tactile/there". I guess in other words, you can physically feel it a little bit now (in b4 over-subjective crap - play some <10Hz noise at resonance in your dwelling and see if the walls don't shake) but it doesn't go BOOM or make bass tactile like a big 15"+ woofer.

Heard even more background sound and details in the music than yesterday (again, not resolution / plankton sense).

Presentation is a bit less over-polite, but still very much on the polite side. There is a little more energy in some songs than yesterday. No umph and strong tight grip on the sound (umph + strong grip = think of how a Phonitor amp does sound). However, not a loose noodle / unstructured wall of sound either though - think of various low-fi gear.

Neutral in terms of being analytical vs musical (but again, note PRaT is still not strong). Probably also neutral in terms of being wet/dry in sound (wet/dry of Stellaris and Af didn't change much, other DACs I've tried with these do cause a change).

Incisive - About an average and correct amount to me. Less than Yggdrasil, tied or a hair more than 1421. More so than yesterday.

Sound is not as dense as yesterday but still on the dense side. Busy music is easily handled despite the sound being so dense. Important to me as I listen to a lot of busy music.

Blackground is there but it's not like a wet inky black or dry void / isolation chamber foam room black (dry vs wet in the sense of dynamics you get when coming off of silence / black) - this may be the single wire getter 6N1P - this tube have never given me a perfect black ground. I will most likely tube roll this later. EDIT: tube rolling made it a little blacker, from 7.5 to 8-8.5/10 but still not wet inky black or dry void black. This is with no noisy equipment like a SMPS plugged into the surge protector.

Transients - About the same as earlier. A very "middle of the road" sound - not fast, not slow. Cymbals ring, decay, and stop properly, but with NOS sound over it. EDIT: forgot to mention, slight roundness to edges - still middle of road in my experience.

Lows - Aside from low bass not being all there, it's pretty good. Rolling bass lines being unclear which I find to be problematic on a lot of DACs are not a problem here.
Mids - The best part of this DAC. Full sound (not b/c of dense sound). Fleshed out and rich. Minimal loss of color via NOS.
Highs - Color starts to be lost per NOS sound starting to drop off above 10kHz. See above regarding how this tames highs and nasties though.
Even transitions between ranges throughout.

Overall coherent vision / sound here but doesn't 100% come together. Reminds me of my old (probably B rated) LCD3 in the sense that, assuming enough current in proper amp, if you pick out any one thing, it sounds good. However, as a whole, it didn't sound cohesive, except it Morpheus only has this a little bit.

Listened to some foreign language music knowing that other languages have certain sound / speech / mouth patterns that are not in English. Handled well.

Spoiler: details regarding language

This time listening included music in Arabic, French, 1 song in Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, a few in Russian, and Spanish. I am not fluent in any of the above, but have heard them enough to know how they should roughly sound *to me*, including regional / social class accents for some of the above (but again, I'm not fluent). All were rendered properly. I mention this b/c I notice occasionally some equipment does not handle the subtleties of other languages not similar to the designer's language as well as they should, especially when having to cross the phonetic vs tonal bridge. I have no idea why this is - while different languages probably have different average sound spectrum densities and you probably use test tracks in mostly your own language, it's not like signal theory and design are based on any one language or chips can be designed for/around this. I can only say I've noticed this.

Last set of impressions later will probably be due to gear swapping/changing and any final changes/observations.

 

Final Listening Notes:
A few well done recordings such as many Michael Jackson songs (listening to Billie Jean as I type this sentence) sound really weird to me... yet better than I've ever heard them before at the same time. Other well done recordings sound "normal" but with Morpheus sound.
I don't happen to listen to a lot of folk music but folk music is pretty amazing on this DAC.
Low cello notes and acoustic bass guitar notes are really good now. Just wow. Holy cheese balls. Initial muffled sound of acoustic bass is gone now.
Slow acoustic guitar strumming - very textured and detailed, it felt like the DAC + amp were pulling apart the recording at the seams b/c the recording couldn't keep up.
NOS sound is not as pronounced on the Af, but it's still very prevalent. It makes the Af lose it's signature sound a little bit.

Sampling rates: Raising sample rates will make it sound a little "less NOS". However, still definitely the NOS sound, I would say total effect is like making a heavy headphone 10-20g lighter - yes you'll probably notice, but more than anything it's still going to feel like it's a heavy headphone. Also, while still sounding NOS, it injects a tiny bit of the "digital strain" that I sometimes get if sampling is set to 192khz or above. (Note that this is normally not very much strain anyways and it just may be a system or setup thing).

Commonly changed components / setup:
In short, common changes like tubes, cables, etc. are audible to some degree or another - DAC is not the limiting factor as one would expect at this price point.

Spoiler: Component changes and nervosa stuff

- Tubes: Rolled input tubes. Changes mostly match changes I get on both 1421 and Yggdrasil. Changes between rectifiers are less pronounced than normal (most rectifier changes were already subtle with Stellaris and I only have 1 rectifier for Af right now). Based on this I'm going to say power tubes matter too - don't feel like rolling anymore.
- RCA vs XLR output: XLR output is slightly better than SE. I realize most people here probably go XLR by default for various reasons, but some amps / setups need RCA. Note that even when running XLR out of Yggdrasil vs SE out of Sonnet in and AB test, SE out on Sonnet will still trounce the Yggdrasil in terms of resolution, etc.
- Different Inputs: Yep, it makes a difference. I don't have a coaxial in but I'd say roughly AES > optical > USB. May vary per components / chain / etc.
- Changing interconnect and headphone cables: Yes, it makes a tiny or small difference. I'm not going to screw around with this anymore. Point is the DAC, as expected, is not the limiting factor here.

Nervosa type stuff:
- Warmup / Thermal Stability: Cut power to rhead earlier this evening before tonight's listening session (but left it on top), minimal to placebo level difference from yesterday. I am not a semi-conductor materials expert, but my understanding is that for something like an R-2R DAC, thermal stability within operating temp range is the vast majority of it, hitting an exact temperature is a cherry on top (of course, higher temperature is supposed to yield more noise regardless).
*If someone more knowledgeable about this would like to comment about this - please chime in. Help SBAF save time with new DAC warmup... or explain how this is "speed of electrons" type stuff.
- Pre-amp / volume knob - Placebo level difference between this and using Stellaris, with Stellaris being slightly better volume control (set Morpheus to 0dB output, all adjustments via amp). Can't tell the difference when using Af.
- Other miscellaneous nervosa: Based on above, I'm sure you will hear a small difference somewhere, but beyond that, I don't care enough to try/find out.

Misc points:
- I don't play FPS games competitively or know what it takes to play competitively, but since it came up on the forum the other day, I played CS:GO for 10 minutes out of curiosity - I could hear footsteps pretty precisely from pretty far away. Better than any other gear I've used before.
- Interface is very straightforward in a good way. Mentioned in other reviews, but poor UI / interface or unnecessary complications really irk me. Screen is not overly bright.
- Build quality - Competent. To me, most stuff past $1k is mostly yes/no, lack of comments =/= a complaint.
- Weight/balance of unit suggests transformers inside (I won't open a loaner unit). Put slightly noisy stuff on top to try to pick up or generate noise via transformers - nothing. Placing right beside Af or Stellaris - nothing.

Final conclusion:
Same as TLDR initial impression. If this same amp were available but with about 1/3-1/2 of the current level of NOS sound, a little less politeness, and at least 50% more PRaT, I would buy this very, very, quickly. Unfortunately, I'm going to keep looking, it just doesn't compliment Yggdrasil and fit into current setup properly.

Main take away is also the same as TLDR above - detail, resolution, and plankton are all much better than Yggdrasil. As a matter of fact, if I pause, immediately switch to Yggdrasil mid-song, and continue listening, my Yggdrasil sounds muddy for the rest of the song, on a few tracks it straight up sounds defective/broken. This is with Auteur, Clear, and even the HD6xx to a smaller degree with either amp. Based on memory, I'd say this is tied with or slightly beats Solaris at resolution and detail (best I've heard before this). This definitely has more plankton than Solaris.

EDIT: 3 nights later after final listen to Morpheus, details are still jumbled up in the Yggdrasil, the resolution is not quite there, texture is missing, etc. In short, all of the strengths of the Morpheus are glaringly absent. Never had this happen after a loaner tour before, and definitely not 3 days nights later. Yggdrasil still synergizes better per my preferences/needs, but if you can live with the shortcomings of the Morpheus and you aren't anti-NOS sound... I'd say it will be better than Yggdrasil overall for many.
Vanatoo T0 straight up sounds low-fi (still) right now... I'll admit these speakers were never anything mind blowing, but they got the job done before with a 12" sub - especially when considering the price of B-stock + no amp / DAC needed.
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Apologies if too long - given that some are not as familiar with NOS + high cost and relative newness of the unit to market, I wanted to be more explicitly clear about what I think is due to NOS vs what I think is due to DAC itself. And a big thank you to @zach915m for lending us the unit.

 

Great work @fp627
Thanks for the work.
Could you also try some software upsampling to see if it comes close to your preference as from your impression it feels like this DAC is so near yet so far from your preferred sound signature. So upsampling may tip it towards your preference.

 

Wow what a great write up! It's been interesting for me to watch this thread and question my personal sensibilities - I think your post helped me work through some of my own preferences and thoughts. I listen to a lot of acoustic music recorded on a single or dual mic set-up, it's definitely magic on the Sonnet.

I have noticed that with the Morpheus I have been more apt to pair the DAC with fast sounding solid state and tube dac's. My favorite pairing is the Morpheus with the ECP Ravenswood with Amorphous core. The speed and slight zing of the amorphous core combined with the subdued correct-ness of the Morpheus just really hits the right note for me when paired with either of the Verite's.

In contrast - when I have it hooked up to the Glenn, I switched to Chatham 6as7g tubes because they are brighter and faster sounding than the Tung Sol 5998's I had in there, although with most upscaling DAC's the Tung Sol's are better tubes, more natural sounding, with the Morpheus I like pairings that add some excitement, although I don't find the Morpheus particularly boring.

The Morpheus seems to have an ability to present stage in a rounded and deep manner, without glare or harshness, which is possibly the trait I like most about it. I've always strived for this with our headphones, to create a stage that is deep enough, wide enough, but not accentuated beyond a natural quality. The Verite's and auteur are probably the best example for me of this.

I think the Morpheus definitely makes me pay attention to what pairing I have going with it as far as chain, but I've found the rewards to be great when finding the right synergy. I definitely enjoy that part of the hobby, which is probably why I get caught swapping and trying new tubes so much![/spoiler]

 

^ I've only rolled maybe an average amount of tubes on my amps (average 3-4 different options per socket, per tube - only exception being 18-20 input tubes on Stellaris), but unfortunately tube rolling so far on most amps including Stellaris and Af haven't resulted in any significant PRaT changes or a faster/slower kind of sound.

I did experience a small change in "speed" with the BH Crack when modding and tube rolling - and similarly I also experienced some changes in tone, how relaxed or not the sound was, how natural it all sounded, etc. Unfortunately the BH Crack had to go to make space for Stellaris and Vanatoo speakers.

Agree with the rest of your comments. Thanks again for loaner!

 

DSHA-3F Amorphous coming today and Blackwood Auteur tomorrow. I should be able to confirm @zach915m impressions!

And yes, I will post impressions (I'm not the verbose type publicly - hence why I don't post reviews/impressions, but rather comparisons -, but I usually elaborate more via PMs coz I can just throw out thoughts without much structure).

 

Yeah, looking at my review now, it's too long, but I guess it's already done. Oops. Hopefully doesn't detract too much from quality of thoughts presented.

EDIT: didn't quote properly at first

Sample rates was done by changing the setting in software/players for music already on computer, playing different files for the same song in different formats and sample rates (you can often download different formats/rates of the same songs when buying music), and changing Qobuz streaming settings (seems like the changes stuck based on what I heard and interface, but Qobuz interface isn't that great so there is a small chance I screwed up here). Results were more or less similar enough.

 

It’s not too long at all.

(not what she said)

 

Way too early impressions, close to zero warm up: Pi2AES>coax(I2S board in the mail)>Morpheus>DSHA-3F nickel>ZMF Verité silkwood. Listening to my first test album, Vijay Iyer's Accelerando (Redbook). Dense tone as I was expecting from NOS. More stage depth than I was expecting, drums and piano separate well. Lots of detail, a bit disjointed. Speaking of drums, good dynamics, lovely cymbals and snare. Least convincing: piano is a bit thick, muddled. Now switched to my other canonical test, Reiner/CSO Living Stereo Scheherazade (88.2/24 SACD remaster). Again, good stage depth. Orchestra layout makes sense. Dynamics good too. Lots of detail, again maybe not all fitting totally together. Violins and woodwinds are lovely, real instruments come through. Brass a bit congested.

From memory (which of course is hazy now), not as over-saturated as Holo Spring KTE 3, more dynamic than Onyx. Quite different from the Yggdrasil A2, which is more assertive in the lows, more together (but then it has been on for months), a bit less polite in the mids. In some ways, Morpheus reminds me of a more saturated Soekris dac1541 with a bit of high rolloff (can't do the comparison now as mine is on a long-term loan to a friend).

All in all, a positive early feeling for how it will pair with the DSHA-3F and Verité. Not that the Yggdrasil was a bad pairing, it's staying with the Af for sure, but I think I'm starting to get a bit of what @zach915m has been drinking

 

Been busy with work, chores, and trying to get out of the house in (relative) COVID-19 safety, so I've not done as much careful listening with Morpheus as I had hoped. However, I've noticed that it puts out a rather high amplitude for the DSHA-3F: to keep the 3F's volume knob at around 12 o'clock, I need to set the Morpheus volume to -35dB. At 0dB, I have to keep the 3F volume at 7-8am, and it doesn't quite sound right. I'll have to play with the tradeoff more, but if anyone with this combo has found a better tradeoff than my current one, I'd like to experiment with it.

 

Jazz piano mids are still weighty, but no longer muddled (Morpheus has been on since Friday). I may have time to do more careful side-by-side with Yggdrasil this weekend, but current impression is that notes are tad more liquid with the Morpheus, and leading edges a bit slower and more rounded (PS: This is 44.1/16, where the NOS difference is greatest).

 

Tale of two chains and jazz trio:

1. Pi2AES I2S > Sonnet Morpheus > ecp DSHA-3F > ZMF Verité silkwood (open)
2. Pi2AES AES > Schiit Yggdrasil A2 > Eddie Current Aficionado (no feedback) > ZMF Verité

The excellent new Hero Trio release led by Rudresh Mahanthappa (Edit2: this is 44.1/16, so maximal difference between NOS and upsampling). Tried to do volume balance by ear, probably should try something more accurate. I heard this trio live just before COVID-19, so I have prior expectations about how they'd sound. Given my age, I don't trust myself on high frequencies, and I can't say I get clear sense of roll-off on 1.

Differences:

• Mahanthappa's sax has more edge, bite, grain in 2; maybe a bit too smooth in 1
• Bass is a bit bloomy in 2 compared with 1, where if feels better delineated
• 1 is more conducive to paying attention to detail, better instrument separation
• 2 is a bit more exciting
• Really liking all the fine print of the bass in 1, more articulated than in 2
• Edit: 1 has a better defined, deeper staging than 2, with the sax closer and the drums and bass further
• Edit2: really surprised how Morpheus NOS is able to stay inside the lines at 44.1/16, compared with previous NOS DACs I've owned (Holo Spring KTE3, Metrum Onyx)

Can't say I prefer 1 or 2, it's more like listening to the same trio in two different venues. If you are a Bay Area jazz fan: SFJAZZ for 1, Art Boutiki for 2.

 

Bass quality is the first thing that jumped at me with the Morpheus and overall one of its standout attributes.
And that’s coming from the Jade fed by Ambre I2S, which had been the best DAC I’d heard in my setup until then. Better than Yggdrasil A2, DirectStream Jr and iFi pro iDSD. Bass was always something I felt was clearly better on the Jade.

Morpheus is undoubtably better than that, and it’s evident on both headphones (Hifiman Arya and even HD660S, which might surprise some) and nearfield speakers (Solo6 Be).

Second thing that I noticed was the deeper stage. At the very least, the center part of the stage is pushed back quite a bit, which makes the presentation more 3D like. It’s still NOS, mind you, but it’s less upfront/flat than the Jade.

Third thing I noticed is the sheer amount of detail across the board. Yet another step up from Jade.

Alas, the 4th thing I noticed - and that’s only when listening critically (for me that means laying in bed, eyes closed, lights and computer off - just me and the music) - a sort of veil in the sound!
Despite all the improvements mentioned above, I felt there was a layer of smoke/haze imparted on the sound. Like sending a limited range signal to a monitor set to full range. This was distracting with some music and I think it’s a shame, because it could have been a home-run and a no-questions-asked upgrade over the Onyx/Jade.
The two ended up sounding quite a bit different, with the Jade being more saturated overall (more contrasted) and the Morpheus (quite significantly) better technically.

That was with the DSHA-3F + HD660S.

In subsequent critical listening with the Arya (same amp), I didn’t feel the veil was quite as present, however. Either the veil was in the HD660S and the Morpheus + DSHA-3F was allowing me to hear it, or I got used to the sound and didn’t mind it as much anymore? Not sure.

I had the opportunity to briefly compare the Morpheus to the Burl B2 DAC. Despite being NOS, I felt Morpheus was brighter overall and with better bass quality (impact, articulation, pitch differentiation, you name it).

I didn’t optimize my chain for the Burl, yet, so these aspects might improve as I figure things out.
I just ordered a LattePanda V1 to run as a lightweight roon endpoint with Dante, instead of my desktop PC which brings noise to the audio chain (even when not participating to the audio playback and despite being on a different power strip and the audio setup being on its dedicated Furman conditioner ). We’ll see if that improves things...

 

Exactly how I felt about Yggdrasil vs. Sonnet. There are trade-offs with either.

I hear it too. Not quite sure what it is, maybe a combination of high end roll-off and tone density and something else. Becomes quite apparent vs. the Rockna, but also vs. the Yggdrasil.