Metrum Acoustics ONYX Balanced NOS Digital to Analog Converter (Silver)

With the goal of creating a very affordable, yet superior DAC in mind the designers of Metrum Acoustics have developed a new DAC, the ONYX By Metrum Acoustics.

It was an unprecedented challenge, which was eventually solved by using an entirely new chip, which has been exclusively developed by Metrum Acoustics and was first used in the PAVANE.

The parallel driven R2R ladder networks as used in the four DAC modules performs , especially when combined with our FPGA-driven “forward correction module”, on a higher level. This module splits up the audio samples for each channel into new separate data streams. Each dac cluster processes a portion of the data in the most linear region of the dac chips. The result of this process is an extremely high linearity, right down to -140 dB, which gives the ONYX a realistic 24 bit dynamic range. Due to the dual mono design over the entire frequency range an extremely high channel separation of 120 dB is realized. This contributes to the flawless positioning of instruments.

In short, the ONYX is a DAC that has taken all the lessons and experiences that her designer has learned over the years, and combined them in an ambitious DAC that can fit in every system. It is musical, honors the Non-oversampling principle while simultaneously incorporating the technological progress that has been made over the years.

Working principle:       balanced Digital to Analog Converter
                                      24 bits non oversampling
                                      Forward correcting technology
                                      2x DAC TWO modules per channel

Power:                          15 VA toroidal transformers

Mains voltage:             110/115V AC 220/230V AC 60/50Hz

Input:                            1x optical, 1x AES/EBU 1x coaxial and USB

Output:                         RCA : 1x stereo pair single ended
                                      1x stereo pair XLR balanced

Frequency response:  1Hz – 20 khz -1dB. 44.1 kHz sampling
                                      1Hz – 65 kHz -1dB .192 kHz

Distortion:                    0.006 % THD

Noise floor:                  -145 dB related to 2 Volt RMS

Output impedance:     RCA 100 Ohm
                                      XLR 100 Ohm

Sampling rate:             Optical 44.1 – 96 kHz
                                      Coax and AES/EBU 44.1 -192 kHz
                                      USB 44.1 -384 kHz

Output Voltage:           RCA Max. 2 Volts RMS
                                      XLR Max 4 Volts RMS

Dimensions:                290 x 250 x 60 mm

Weight:                         3.1 kg