RME out of the gate is impressive with it's bass and soundstage (I own the ADI-2 DAC). But I was impressed with the Metrum on the first track with it's magical mid-range and seemed less sibilant. I'm listening through headphones (Neumann NDH-30). Great comparo. I do have "one" least favourite dac and the others are clearly very good.
Thank you for this comparison. I wish more people would do recorded dac comparisons online. While it doesn't equate to live listening you can still kind of tell what you prefer
Indeed, but I'll add that this essentially applies to all components. It's unfortunate that the excuse of "you can't really get the entire audible picture with just a simple recording in order to make decisions about equipment" has dominated HiFi on UA-cam. In reality it's a pathetic excuse to either be lazy, have little faith in products in comparisons which translates to fear of losing financial sponsorship etc., or they just simply don't know how to record something that results in quality and acceptably accurate representation of the components. Regardless, it's pretty ignorant to put it nicely. Great comment 👍🏻
Obviously the difference between the DACs is pretty small which is for me a valuable conclusion. Because of that the RME with its DSP allows to significantly change the sound and is for me the winner. @6:22 the RME is supposed to play but does not show anything on its display. Other than that well done!
@@TheAlphaAudio the RME is about 1000 Euros and for me it really sounds great. What DAC would you recommend as an upgrade? Shouldnt be more than 2000 Euros
@@Vikings_FAN_05 In that price range its more about preference than upgrade, a Chord Qutest will give you a different presentation, more intangibles. Other popular options are Denafrips Ares II or Pontus II, Merason Frerot, ...
Always enjoying the content you put up...lots of work so much appreciated. Unless my ears are dead...for this setup can't tell much different except would prefer RME and Metrum (sounds almost the same to RME) and Audio GD. Perhaps playing the same clips, instead of cycling the whole song, for each DAC would give easier distinguish....For Audio Lab i felt like someone just pour in some water in a perfect single malt!
@@TheAlphaAudio which dac in this group and what dac that you ever heard at any price would you say had the least amount of S and the most smooth highs ? ty ty
Would like to see a DAC test showcasing DAC's at different price levels and topologies pitted against each other. I suspect the differences won't be as large as some make out.
for binary choice of yes or no I will say yes for RME only. And strict no for ifi dac. Do you know other DACs smooth like RME with lower price, similar only in smoothness irrespective of 'high, mids, lows' and everything else when 'natural is the only requirement;. I admire these actual audio comparisons, not very common them
That does not look like R1NOS it is the previous model R1. How do I know, the R1NOS have white characters on the display in both models silver/black. The display also is not still showing only volume. It is switching between different informations
They're all good but they all have a somewhat colored characteristics to their sound except the RME which stay very neutral across the spectrum. I prefer the RME.
I have the RME and the Metrum. I don‘t know if it is my system or the DAC but I really got tired of the RME. On my system the sound stage was very flat, I missed liveliness in the music. I recently bought the Metrum, this immediately felt right for me. My RME now sits on my desktop and drives my desktop-speakers (I know, a little bit of a waste …)
Thanks for the test. Unfortunately no Denafrips or Musician DAC. But keep on your good work. RME sounds very analytical and dry to me, a real surprise. Glad I didn't buy it. M-DAC has for me the worst sound, Audio GD and Metrum sound best in this round.
AUDIOLAB wins for me.... Listened to it on Jabra mini jack HP connected to Mojo 2 with flat EQ dac from a Honor magic 5 Pro phone. Audiolab sounds the most organic, airy and the sound stage is best as well. Listen to trebles, percussion... Sounds best on MDac. Also audiolab is forward facing (how I like it) whereas adi 2 is linear more reserved and is for me the second spot. Only audiolab stands out of the bunch.
Verschillen zijn ook ontzettend klein. Als je gaat letten op het hoog en de S-klanken ga je het merken. En ook in lucht en imaging. Maar dat is vrij lastig op te vangen. Echter: ik heb een dag heen en weer zitten schakelen en het is bijzonder lastig. RME en Audio GD was het grootste verschil.
verschillen zijn klein, vind de audiolab wat donkerder klinken, audio Gd lijkt iets frisser, rest ligt heel kort bij elkaar. Mocht het kunnen zou ik de metrum en audio gd eens uitproberen, het zal natuurlijk afhangen van de rest van uw set. Grtz Phil
I think you have just demonstrated that within an environment with good power and a clean, time precise signal feeding the DAC, the differences are really small. If I had to listen to this blindly, I would have a very hard time telling what is what consistently. Except for one I think, the Audio GD which sounds different to the rest, lacking some refinement. iFi and RME are a bit more on clean higher notes and speed, where Amethyst and Audiolab are a bit more balanced and having notes sound longer. But you will only notice when listening with intent and concentration. If you would be listening like you normally would to music, it wouldn't matter that much. I guess when the power and the signal isn't optimal, then you will start to notice more differences. In other words: direct your money to power and signal (streamer) and DACs in this price category will go a long way.
I was thinking the same. The mutec delivers a very nice and clean signal. That makes the life of these dacs more easy. A decent power supply on the RME made a huge difference.
I thought the R1 stood out as well, but not for lacking refinement. It has the most open, three dimensional sound stage and the deepest bass with more texture. But if you prefer a more focused sound, it's oversampling modes will give that to you. I know, I own one. I use it for headphones with a Master 19 and I'm very happy with it. However, when I take this stack and plug it into my amp and speakers in the living room, I actually feel like the sound stage is too forward. It's nice for pure music, very three dimensional and puts the band right in the middle of the room. But if I want to watch TV or a movie, that sound stage feels disconnected from the screen. I wish I could keep the same depth, but just push the whole thing back. Any tips? EDIT: I think the video said the R1 was runing NOS, but someone pointed out it's in 8x OS mode and they are correct. Putting it in NOS may diffuse the sound slightly, but it makes the sound stage that much more spacious and tube like. At least on headphones, I've come to prefer NOS.
Hello. Verry nice tests on your's channel I watched. Im interresed focal sopra 1 and set like on this film. I have question what cable you use between pre a power - xlr i think, but model , and the same between source a pre. Thanks. Superb video and tests !
Very close....I think the Audio GD sound was the most non fatiguing and sounded the most like Real Music.....R2R Dac's are the best sounding on all genre's of music.IMHO
Bass boom boom with RME and Audiolab, metrum and audio gd more dynamic and bass good. I own a Metrum amethyst, Gustard X26 pro and Audio gd master 7, Gustard is really better than Metrum but the Audio gd is the better of three.
The Massive Attack track is a good test, I find it lacks propulsion in your system. Daft Punk, Random Access would also be a good test (hirez version).
IFI - lacks detail, mashes mids together RME - good detail and separation but sounds slightly synthetic Audio GD - not offensive nor special in any way, slightly bland M - DAC - Brighter than RME with no more detail and more synthetic sounding. Metrum - slightly warmer, nearly all the detail is there from MDac and RME, more natural, less synthetic, although lacks some definition in the leading edges - still overall this is probably the better sounding DAC.
@@TheAlphaAudio Cheers, I'm a bit of freak I guess 😜 I'd really love to hear the Metrum Pavane one of these days, the Onyx looks like it may be a really good cheaper option.
@@MusicLover-01 well... You got good ears! Check out the Sonnet Morpheus. It's made by the same Guy as Metrum Gear. Sonnet is basically an improved Metrum.
@@TheAlphaAudio Thanks bud, Sonnet looks like an awesome option, will check it out more closely. Amazing how the mainstream UA-camrs aren't covering this great gear...
Vrij onzinnige video. Hoe kan ik nou via de speakertjes van mijn laptop of de dac van mijn telefoon horen welke DAC het beste klinkt? Er zijn veel te veel parameters die onzeker zijn, zoals: met welke microfoon is dit opgenomen, wat is er aan editing gedaan van de opname van de installatie, hoe hard wordt er afgespeeld. Daarnaast zal het geluid van UA-cam zelf ook niet dezelfde dynamiek hebben als die van de live installatie.
Ik hoop dat je ook andere methoden hebt om te luisteren. Pak een goede hoofdtelefoon en laat je verrassen. De micrfoons en opnameketen staat letterlijk vermeld in het begin van de video.
On the video we see O84 which is oversampling - enabled, mode - times 8, input n 4. What we don’t know is if the tda simulation is enabled (makes sound more lean back, relaxing, less defined, and brings interesing dynamics.
Waarom moet alles zo duur wezen - kom eens met bijvoorbeeld een SMSL-Do200 kost ongeveer €525,- en is heel goed. - hoge resolutie en een prachtige instelbare klankkleur -
@@TheAlphaAudio Sound the same to me, except maybe the ladder DAC sounds a little different but I can’t be sure. I guess my hearing is a bit crap. Or maybe very crap 😟
False. It lacks the fullness to any given note or sound that makes something actually sound coherent and life-like as a result of excessive feedback and smeared time domain artifacts. This is the very reason THD measurements are perhaps the most worthless audio "measurement" that has ever been used as a standard as opposed to IMD or complex multi-tone standards. The ONLY one that sounded like it was on the playing field of truly natural was the Metrum DAC. The Audio GD was pleasant but was warm and "closed-in" sounding which is not real life whereas the Metrum, in comparison, sounded like a blanket had been removed and perhaps could he be described as neutral with warm harmonic undertones (natural) and open with solid dynamic capability. R2R and NOS or multibit sound better with anything under a few grand than a comparable delta sigma dac mostly due to my original statement.
@@RC-qc2nz You can't tell for sure, because you where not in the listening room. It would be wise to not speak in absolutes. Your opinion is solely based on listening to a sound sample in compressed form from a UA-cam channel trough your own system in your own home. The only certainty you have is that you can not tell the difference in these circumstances. People in the listening room might be able to pick up these small differences.
@@andymill8552 i know what you mean but I did many blindtest and double blindtests and there's no difference between many dacs. Like I said the difference is the room the loudspeakers and the positioning.
RME out of the gate is impressive with it's bass and soundstage (I own the ADI-2 DAC). But I was impressed with the Metrum on the first track with it's magical mid-range and seemed less sibilant. I'm listening through headphones (Neumann NDH-30). Great comparo. I do have "one" least favourite dac and the others are clearly very good.
Thank you for this comparison. I wish more people would do recorded dac comparisons online. While it doesn't equate to live listening you can still kind of tell what you prefer
Indeed, but I'll add that this essentially applies to all components. It's unfortunate that the excuse of "you can't really get the entire audible picture with just a simple recording in order to make decisions about equipment" has dominated HiFi on UA-cam.
In reality it's a pathetic excuse to either be lazy, have little faith in products in comparisons which translates to fear of losing financial sponsorship etc., or they just simply don't know how to record something that results in quality and acceptably accurate representation of the components.
Regardless, it's pretty ignorant to put it nicely.
Great comment 👍🏻
Audio-GD is the best, most natural and spacious sound.
That's what I hear
Obviously the difference between the DACs is pretty small which is for me a valuable conclusion. Because of that the RME with its DSP allows to significantly change the sound and is for me the winner. @6:22 the RME is supposed to play but does not show anything on its display. Other than that well done!
Differences are small. I gravitate towards Metrum and Audio GD but then again i love R2R dacs so no surprises there.
well true no sybilants in case of r2r, others seem to be sounding not natural headache guaranteed after a while
1. Audio DG (the richest sound) 2. RME (good low end, good scene) 3. Audiolab (not good low end) 4. Metrum (a bit sharp). 5. EFI (a bit flat)
You are almost correct DG(ovarall best) RME(too clean highs) and IFI(more body) is the top players
the audiolab was the worst performer....the vocals dissapears
I really like the RME. Really happy with mine.
Great dac!
@@TheAlphaAudio the RME is about 1000 Euros and for me it really sounds great. What DAC would you recommend as an upgrade? Shouldnt be more than 2000 Euros
@@Vikings_FAN_05 I like Atoll dacs as well. Very fluid en nice handeling of treble.
@@Vikings_FAN_05 In that price range its more about preference than upgrade, a Chord Qutest will give you a different presentation, more intangibles. Other popular options are Denafrips Ares II or Pontus II, Merason Frerot, ...
Always enjoying the content you put up...lots of work so much appreciated. Unless my ears are dead...for this setup can't tell much different except would prefer RME and Metrum (sounds almost the same to RME) and Audio GD. Perhaps playing the same clips, instead of cycling the whole song, for each DAC would give easier distinguish....For Audio Lab i felt like someone just pour in some water in a perfect single malt!
The differences are actually small. Smaller than I suspected. It's mostly in S's and stage.
@@TheAlphaAudio With the SteadyClock FS in the RME, do you think the Mutec MC-3+ is redundant? Thanks again and keep up the great work!!!
@@TheAlphaAudio which dac in this group and what dac that you ever heard at any price would you say had the least amount of S and the most smooth highs ? ty ty
@@phillipmorris9847 Audiolab is pretty smooth overall. DCS and MSB are the best I know in smoothness and purity.
At the speakers I have, that is, below 5K, I certainly don't feel the difference. Thanks for the test!
Welcome. Differences are pretty small indeed.
Would like to see a DAC test showcasing DAC's at different price levels and topologies pitted against each other. I suspect the differences won't be as large as some make out.
We can do that.
@@TheAlphaAudio Can you please have the RME in the test? I feel like it won this comparison!
@@TheAlphaAudio 😁
@@TheAlphaAudio Would be great if you can still do it ;)
@@TheAlphaAudio hz
I may be a bit biased ,but the rme sounded probably the best with my own rme 2 dac fs with 5 year old sennheiser hd600 😊
Hahahaha... :-)
hahaha... just a bit biased: definitely sounds best with my adi-2 pro fs😉
for binary choice of yes or no I will say yes for RME only. And strict no for ifi dac. Do you know other DACs smooth like RME with lower price, similar only in smoothness irrespective of 'high, mids, lows' and everything else when 'natural is the only requirement;. I admire these actual audio comparisons, not very common them
That does not look like R1NOS it is the previous model R1. How do I know, the R1NOS have white characters on the display in both models silver/black. The display also is not still showing only volume. It is switching between different informations
They're all good but they all have a somewhat colored characteristics to their sound except the RME which stay very neutral across the spectrum. I prefer the RME.
I have the RME and the Metrum. I don‘t know if it is my system or the DAC but I really got tired of the RME. On my system the sound stage was very flat, I missed liveliness in the music. I recently bought the Metrum, this immediately felt right for me. My RME now sits on my desktop and drives my desktop-speakers (I know, a little bit of a waste …)
Thanks for the test. Unfortunately no Denafrips or Musician DAC. But keep on your good work. RME sounds very analytical and dry to me, a real surprise. Glad I didn't buy it. M-DAC has for me the worst sound, Audio GD and Metrum sound best in this round.
RME is the best for my preference, the first-runner up would be Audio GD.
AUDIOLAB wins for me.... Listened to it on Jabra mini jack HP connected to Mojo 2 with flat EQ dac from a Honor magic 5 Pro phone.
Audiolab sounds the most organic, airy and the sound stage is best as well. Listen to trebles, percussion... Sounds best on MDac.
Also audiolab is forward facing (how I like it) whereas adi 2 is linear more reserved and is for me the second spot.
Only audiolab stands out of the bunch.
Leuke upload weer heren .het zal wel aan mijn oren of ipad liggen of een combinatie van beide , maar ik hoor weinig verschil .😂
Verschillen zijn ook ontzettend klein. Als je gaat letten op het hoog en de S-klanken ga je het merken. En ook in lucht en imaging. Maar dat is vrij lastig op te vangen. Echter: ik heb een dag heen en weer zitten schakelen en het is bijzonder lastig. RME en Audio GD was het grootste verschil.
verschillen zijn klein, vind de audiolab wat donkerder klinken, audio Gd lijkt iets frisser, rest ligt heel kort bij elkaar.
Mocht het kunnen zou ik de metrum en audio gd eens uitproberen, het zal natuurlijk afhangen van de rest van uw set.
Grtz Phil
I think you have just demonstrated that within an environment with good power and a clean, time precise signal feeding the DAC, the differences are really small. If I had to listen to this blindly, I would have a very hard time telling what is what consistently. Except for one I think, the Audio GD which sounds different to the rest, lacking some refinement. iFi and RME are a bit more on clean higher notes and speed, where Amethyst and Audiolab are a bit more balanced and having notes sound longer. But you will only notice when listening with intent and concentration. If you would be listening like you normally would to music, it wouldn't matter that much. I guess when the power and the signal isn't optimal, then you will start to notice more differences.
In other words: direct your money to power and signal (streamer) and DACs in this price category will go a long way.
I was thinking the same. The mutec delivers a very nice and clean signal. That makes the life of these dacs more easy. A decent power supply on the RME made a huge difference.
I thought the R1 stood out as well, but not for lacking refinement. It has the most open, three dimensional sound stage and the deepest bass with more texture. But if you prefer a more focused sound, it's oversampling modes will give that to you. I know, I own one. I use it for headphones with a Master 19 and I'm very happy with it. However, when I take this stack and plug it into my amp and speakers in the living room, I actually feel like the sound stage is too forward. It's nice for pure music, very three dimensional and puts the band right in the middle of the room. But if I want to watch TV or a movie, that sound stage feels disconnected from the screen. I wish I could keep the same depth, but just push the whole thing back. Any tips?
EDIT: I think the video said the R1 was runing NOS, but someone pointed out it's in 8x OS mode and they are correct. Putting it in NOS may diffuse the sound slightly, but it makes the sound stage that much more spacious and tube like. At least on headphones, I've come to prefer NOS.
Hello. Verry nice tests on your's channel I watched. Im interresed focal sopra 1 and set like on this film. I have question what cable you use between pre a power - xlr i think, but model , and the same between source a pre. Thanks. Superb video and tests !
Both are Grimm TPM.
RME on AK 4493 or ES9028?
Good question.
Very close....I think the Audio GD sound was the most non fatiguing and sounded the most like Real Music.....R2R Dac's are the best sounding on all genre's of music.IMHO
Which filter was set for RME - there are 5 different filters - i prefer NOS
Not sure anymore. I guess minimum phase.
Audiolab m-dac+....any recommendation
Bass boom boom with RME and Audiolab, metrum and audio gd more dynamic and bass good.
I own a Metrum amethyst, Gustard X26 pro and Audio gd master 7, Gustard is really better than Metrum but the Audio gd is the better of three.
Not that I can hear any difference b/w all of them, but for me I think RME and Audio GD, sounded a touch better. 🙂
For me: RME with a nice power supply.
@@TheAlphaAudio
Thanks, so I'm not completely deaf, yet! 😄
@@TheAlphaAudio Do you mind telling us, which exact model RME your guys using? Thanks. 🙂
@@JoroIrl ADI-2fs
@@JoroIrl :-)
The Massive Attack track is a good test, I find it lacks propulsion in your system. Daft Punk, Random Access would also be a good test (hirez version).
Wonder what speakers/amp/DAC setup you have (in relating to "it lacks propulsion in your system". Thanks!
@@quattr03 Was listening to Tidal hifi on my mobile/headphones..
It gets more 'oemf' with the Pavane.
Audio GD for me.
Is RME DAC better sounding DAC than AudioGD ?
Depends on your taste...
@@TheAlphaAudioand on the selected filter
@@Cool-ng5rh true
i own MDAC but feel Audio GD is much better here... might need to a/b them to be able to tell
IFI - lacks detail, mashes mids together
RME - good detail and separation but sounds slightly synthetic
Audio GD - not offensive nor special in any way, slightly bland
M - DAC - Brighter than RME with no more detail and more synthetic sounding.
Metrum - slightly warmer, nearly all the detail is there from MDac and RME, more natural, less synthetic, although lacks some definition in the leading edges - still overall this is probably the better sounding DAC.
That is impressive!
@@TheAlphaAudio Cheers, I'm a bit of freak I guess 😜 I'd really love to hear the Metrum Pavane one of these days, the Onyx looks like it may be a really good cheaper option.
@@MusicLover-01 well... You got good ears! Check out the Sonnet Morpheus. It's made by the same Guy as Metrum Gear. Sonnet is basically an improved Metrum.
@@TheAlphaAudio Thanks bud, Sonnet looks like an awesome option, will check it out more closely. Amazing how the mainstream UA-camrs aren't covering this great gear...
@@TheAlphaAudio can you please test the Wattson Madison, this is a DAC, streamer, preamp with Leedh volume control all in one
RME>Metrum>Audiolab>Ifi>Audio GD.
I agreed. The worst, without any doubt is Audio GD R1.
RME and Metrum are the best.
Vrij onzinnige video. Hoe kan ik nou via de speakertjes van mijn laptop of de dac van mijn telefoon horen welke DAC het beste klinkt?
Er zijn veel te veel parameters die onzeker zijn, zoals: met welke microfoon is dit opgenomen, wat is er aan editing gedaan van de opname van de installatie, hoe hard wordt er afgespeeld.
Daarnaast zal het geluid van UA-cam zelf ook niet dezelfde dynamiek hebben als die van de live installatie.
Ik hoop dat je ook andere methoden hebt om te luisteren. Pak een goede hoofdtelefoon en laat je verrassen. De micrfoons en opnameketen staat letterlijk vermeld in het begin van de video.
what settings do you use for the R1
I dont know anymore. I think NOS
On the video we see O84 which is oversampling - enabled, mode - times 8, input n 4. What we don’t know is if the tda simulation is enabled (makes sound more lean back, relaxing, less defined, and brings interesing dynamics.
RME !!!
Waarom moet alles zo duur wezen -
kom eens met bijvoorbeeld een SMSL-Do200 kost ongeveer €525,- en is heel goed.
- hoge resolutie en een prachtige instelbare klankkleur -
We testen ook goedkopere spullen.
3:11 3:33
4:30 4:58
7:40 9:10
No difference to hear, record equipment or and amp and loudspreakers are to low in quality. It cant
be me....
I can’t hear any difference.
Ok... Not even between the AudioGD and RME?
@@TheAlphaAudio Sound the same to me, except maybe the ladder DAC sounds a little different but I can’t be sure. I guess my hearing is a bit crap. Or maybe very crap 😟
To bad, or maybe, lucky you
Your desktop setup?
Easy to hear , Audio Gd far better !!!!I have R2R.
@@balazsbukovics3569 r2r isn't always better.
The RME is the only one that’s truly HiFi and uncolored. The rest are all flawed and the sound is colored, making them non high fidelity IMO.
False. It lacks the fullness to any given note or sound that makes something actually sound coherent and life-like as a result of excessive feedback and smeared time domain artifacts. This is the very reason THD measurements are perhaps the most worthless audio "measurement" that has ever been used as a standard as opposed to IMD or complex multi-tone standards. The ONLY one that sounded like it was on the playing field of truly natural was the Metrum DAC. The Audio GD was pleasant but was warm and "closed-in" sounding which is not real life whereas the Metrum, in comparison, sounded like a blanket had been removed and perhaps could he be described as neutral with warm harmonic undertones (natural) and open with solid dynamic capability. R2R and NOS or multibit sound better with anything under a few grand than a comparable delta sigma dac mostly due to my original statement.
It sounds all the same
No... but the differences are very small indeed.
@@TheAlphaAudio not really. A blindtest would show that there's no difference. Speakers and room acoustics are way more important
@@RC-qc2nz You can't tell for sure, because you where not in the listening room. It would be wise to not speak in absolutes. Your opinion is solely based on listening to a sound sample in compressed form from a UA-cam channel trough your own system in your own home. The only certainty you have is that you can not tell the difference in these circumstances. People in the listening room might be able to pick up these small differences.
@@andymill8552 i know what you mean but I did many blindtest and double blindtests and there's no difference between many dacs. Like I said the difference is the room the loudspeakers and the positioning.
Yes can't hear any serious difference.
Audiolab won for me, metrum and audio gd second, ifi 3rd and RME last. But Im bald and I ran out of hairs to split.
А зачем такое количество лишних коробок?
Денег куча, прироста ноль целых хрен десятых %..