Metrum Acoustics Bankrupt

A

ADCO

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As an owner of the Metrum Pavane level 3 it’s sad to say that these guys are now done, bankrupt ...
It is fairly common knowledge that the lead designer is now Sonnet Audio and that their dac and bridge have more similarities than differences .

I contacted Sonnet to see if their i2S module would fit my Pavane and if so I’d buy their network bridge. They apparently use the same manufacturer that Metrum used and they know their are spare parts available but can’t get access until the bankruptcy is sorted

Feel bad for anyone in need of service in the short term but the undertone I got is that Sonnet would at least be able to supply parts at some point in the future
 
Metrum Octave NOS DAC was all the rage 8-9 years back when Srajan review came out on 6moons. They had to increase their production capacity by several folds to meet the demand at the time. And now bankrupt. A reminder how fragile small boutique manufacturers are in this business.
 
The Metrum Onyx was in my system for a few months, I enjoyed it. Denafrips could be called their Asian nemesis as they both bring to market really good sounding ladder DACs at reasonable prices. I wouldn't balk at buying a 2nd hand Metrum in spite of this, if the price was right just enjoy it until its unserviceable.
 
Wow, I thought Metrum was a company that most digital DAC”o” holics like myself would know about. ...

Ya, the boutique brands have a tough go no doubt .

On my system , in my room, the Pavane is a dam fine dac . It does t call attention to itself , it’s very honest for better or worse. In other words if you feed it junk it will exploit it as junk.

Anyway, strangely it might just be that us Canadians have been sold more of them ... but I have three acquaintances that have their products.

Or it could just be a sign of the times because there is some solid quantifiable tech in there products .

All that said , ya hate to see people’s hard work go down in general
 
Hmmm... could be I’m just playing in the wrong sandbox as it were.... different snack bracket that is..... (lol)

I’m a confessed NOS dac lover , Metrum was of no ill repute in that type of pared down type of machine
 
I bought the Metrum Octave out of curiosity a while back. It was a good back. Denafripis with lower production costs may indeed had been their nemesis.
 
That’s a shame. I owned 4 Metrum DACs starting with the octave, and still own their baby ambre streamer. Their gear is very reliable and well built, sounds great, and in their heyday they were very responsive via email. Metrum founder/engineer Cees Ruijtenberg started Sonnet as mentioned above, and I look forward to trying his new DAC and streamer at some point as he’s very good at designing and voicing his components!
 
That’s a shame. I owned 4 Metrum DACs starting with the octave, and still own their baby ambre streamer. Their gear is very reliable and well built, sounds great, and in their heyday they were very responsive via email. Metrum founder/engineer Cees Ruijtenberg started Sonnet as mentioned above, and I look forward to trying his new DAC and streamer at some point as he’s very good at designing and voicing his components!
 
I run the TOTL Metrum Acoustics Adagio DAC in my reference system and find it to be an exceptional performer. Its only real limitation in my view is that it's strictly PCM with no DSD support, typical of its purist ladder DAC design. Unlike most other companies Metrum developed their own unique DAC modules which they used in their top models. A shame that the company was so poorly managed since being sold by the original designer.
 
Your thoughts of the Adagio is where I’m at with the Pavane L3. It’s an exceptional dac

I guess dsd support would open a few doors but I have about 4K ripped CDs on file and perhaps another 1000 various high resolution files and Tidal streaming

I honestly do not feel left out in any way .

But ya, as a business owner myself I know how it feels to skirt with disaster and management is almost always at the root of the problem assuming you have a good product
 
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Metrum Acoustics was quite a popular brand here in Holland and Belgium.
Then the good Sonnet reviews were coming, stating that this newcomer had all what the older Metrum DACs had, but in a even more refined way.
You could sense the beating heart of the company had moved to Sonnet...
 
Vincent Kars said:
They?

To the best of my knowledge Cees Ruijtenberg was the founder and owner of Metrum Acoustics.
In 2018 he sold Metrum.
The new owners tried to turn it from a technical driven company into a marketing driven one.
Obvious they failed.

Ruijtenberg founded Sonnet.
Part of the story can be found here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/all-things-metrum-acoustics.799682/page-22
Click to expand...

Didn’t know the company was sold in 2018. One of these days maybe I’ll check out Sonnet products.
 
Wow. Metrum's website has an interesting message to Cees.

Captured for historical purposes.
 

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