Metrum Amethyst

NOS DAC and headphone amplifier

Entry level NOS DAC using 1x DACTWO transient module per channel, analogue volume control with amplification for headphones.
The AMETHYST is our entry model NOS DAC using our praised forward correction technology. As a result music will be more exciting as details on very low levels will be audible. The AMETHYST can meet the best systems today in terms of sound quality as it borrows all the good things from our top models. In addition we have implemented a powerful headphone amplifier with volume control. The AMETHYST is using 2x Transient R2R ladder DACTWO modules. This results is an extremely fast and accurate impulse behaviour and brings your listening experience on a much higher level. Despite the fact that both DACTWO modules are present on the same board, a high channel separation of 110 dB is realised. This contributes to flawless positioning of instruments.

The built-in headphone amplifier gets its power from a powerful 30VA toroidal power supply and is capable of driving impedances down to 16 Ohms. When the AMETHYST is used as a DAC this power will be available for the DAC only. Even though the AMETHYST is a ‘mini’ integrated design, incorporating both digital and analogue circuitry, the noise floor is extremely low (-145dB @ 2V RMS). These low noise figures indicate how the fine detail retrieval Metrum is known for is made possible.
The RCA outputs have a fixed level of 2V @ 0dBFS, so the AMETHYST can be used as a stand-alone DAC. When headphones are connected the RCA outputs are muted and volume control becomes active. When disconnected, the RCA outputs become active again with the volume control disabled.

Box Contents:

• Amethyst
  
• IEC power cable
  
• USB type A to B data cable
• Manual