Metrum Acoustics Amethyst DAC/Amp Impressions

Yes, it is slightly warmer sounding and less sharp than the Pavane. Tonally it sounds more like the Adagio, though the Adagio just sounds cleaner, sharper, faster, more spacious, and more nuanced than Amethyst of course (Pavane similar but very slightly behind Adagio, former has a bit less warmth or thickness than either with DAC ONE modules at least).

Also, the more I listen to the HP out on the Amethyst with more headphones, it seems to favor the HD650 for some reason and just seems OK with anything else I've tried. Kinda weird.

 

and this (HD650 preference) differs from every other DAC/Amp pairing how?

 

LOL, you'll just have to hear it yourself over some drinks!

Well, I haven't heard the Jot with the DAC module (only heard has amp), but I don't think I need to in order to say they are both very different sounding solutions. I imagine most will want the Jot to sharpen up the 650 and give it a lot of grip. The much lower price is a plus too. But I would probably prefer the Amethyst myself for the 650, since A) it's part of a NOS, multibit DAC and B) it's less bright that the Jot, if I had to boil it down to two points. And the Jot is bound to be more versatile with a wider array of headphones.

 

More likely, you will probably sell off all your MHDT stuff.

 

I figured I'd tack on my impressions here instead of starting a new thread.

Metrum Amethyst Impressions

Amp: Cheap-ass Hood '69 Class A amp from AliExpress.
Speakers: 12" Beyma Woofers, Altec 511B horns with 802A compression drivers with beat up diaphragms which were probably the originals in there for 50 years.
Preamp: None. In purist mode mood right now.
Sources: Schiit Yggdrasil and modified Marantz CDP.
Sundry Accessories: Transparent Cable RCAs, CAT5 for speaker cable, Altec N801-8A xover with original caps, Sescom coax to AES transformer, Behringer DEQ2496 (EQ).

The Metrum Amethyst is basically what the A-GD S19 aspires to be. It's what the Musette should have been. It's an improvement upon the old Hex. The old Hex was a nice NOS DAC with a warm tone, slight high-end roll off, and sweet vocal reproduction; but it sounded excessively laid back - it lacked energy. The Amethyst takes the positive attributes of the Hex, brings back the missing liveliness and energy, and adds a bit of resolution.

My gripes with the Musette (reviewed here: http://superbestaudiofriends.org/in...-dac-stream-of-consciousness-discussion.3092/) were with its thin tonality, soft impacts, flat and upfront stage, and relatively poor microdetail and microdynamics compared to decent OS DACs. While the Amethyst doesn't exhibit TOTL performance, it does improve upon the Musette's shortcomings, significantly in some ways. The Amethyst is no longer thin sounding. It exhibits a bit of warmth, not excessive. Tone density, missing in the Musette, is back, but it's not over the top excessive. There is a lack of air, but this is typical for NOS DACs. The presentation is fluid, not coarse like some OS DACs. There is a sweetness to the vocal range which reminds me how of the old Quad and HEX DACs used to do it. This sweetness is a bit different from the Holo DAC, where it resides in the treble. Transients are crisp. Clarity and blackness are actually very good at its price point.

The downsides to the Amethyst are as follows: slight tendency to sound congested during busy passages (e.g. Daft Punk's Morodor), lack of extension at the extremes, lack of ultimate resolution (to be fair, much better than expected for this design, actually impressive), and a small tendency toward a flatter softer sound. As expected with NOS, the stage is flat with no depth cues of instruments; however, the fact that the stage is localized deeper makes up for that.

However, these downsides are easy to overlook. The best quality of the Amethyst is that it sounds "together" with timbre, tone, transients working cohesively as one. It's like the baseball player who is better than what the stats would indicate. The Amethyst just sounds good, and is certainly an viable alternative to the Gungnir MB to those who would like an alternative presentation.

 

Yep, that all makes sense to me. As I said earlier, for its shortcomings, it just sounds cohesive. Together is a good way to describe it too. For NOS fans and the sound its targeting, it's a good choice!

I will say that the Amethyst kinda reminds me of the Modi Multibit in the Metrum lineup (no, I'm not comparing prices). Modi Multibit just sounds really well balanced despite any shortcomings. Just really agreeable and easy to get along with. Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil open up the doors and step it up to another level. Pavane and Adagio open the doors relative to the Amethyst. I just wish Metrum had lower prices across the board.