Métronome Technologie Le DAC

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Digital to analogue converter DAC

Jason Kennedy

“I initially used Le DAC with a Métronome DSs streamer with a coaxial connection as that doesn’t have a USB output, I generally find coaxial connections to be less detailed but often more musical than USB and that proved to be the case here. The combo sounded nice and open with the ability to extract an awful lot of the vitality in each recording, so Jaco Pastorius’ bass bounces along on Joni Mitchell’s Dry cleaner from Des Moines and the brass section is energetic and vibrant, sitting still isn’t an option when the sound is this fresh. It’s not a bright DAC but rather an unusually ebullient one with the ability to deliver the energy from each recording you play. It’s not short on drive either, delivering tight but fulsome bass lines that propel the rhythm when it’s required and reveal its depth and power when the production lets it do so. I really enjoyed the musical flow it delivered with a variety of pieces of music and, despite my comments about coaxial connections, was impressed by the amount of detail that it revealed. I did find that the OePhi coaxial cable that we tested recently proved to be a usefully calming influence, regular (see relatively affordable) coax cables being a little forward with a DAC of this transparency.”