Metrum Acoustics Metrum Adagio
The Metrum Adagio pairs analogue-like flow with lightning-fast dynamics, stripping away digital glare while uncovering lifelike voices, tight impactful bass and expansive imaging. The Ear found its clever DAC-based volume control preserves resolution at any level, making this balanced DAC/preamp a formidable minimalist-system centerpiece.
WATT RECOMMENDS
Save your favorites. Compare them anytime.
Create a free HiFi Hub account to save products to your Wishlist and compare your favorites side by side.
Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
95/100
Build Quality
50/100
Features Connectivity
81/100
Value for Money
88/100
Pros
Exceptionally natural, emotionally engaging presentation with reduced digital glare and excellent musical flow.
Extremely fast, dynamic sound with tight, detailed bass and strong transient impact.
Expansive, precise imaging and a deep soundstage that lets loudspeakers disappear.
DAC-based volume control works without compromising resolution, enabling direct connection to a power amplifier.
Cons
No analogue inputs, limiting flexibility for systems with analogue sources.
A high-end standalone preamplifier may still deliver greater drive and a wider soundstage in some systems.
WATT RECOMMENDS
Save your favorites. Compare them anytime.
Create a free HiFi Hub account to save products to your Wishlist and compare your favorites side by side.
What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 95/100
The Adagio is described as an exceptionally natural and immersive converter, replacing digital coloration with ease, flow, emotional impact, and realism. The review also praises its speed, unrestricted dynamics, expansive imaging, and ability to expose fine musical information without sacrificing musical coherence.
Tonal Balance and Musicality
96/100
The Ear found that, over longer listening, music became increasingly real and less colored by digital glare. It describes the presentation as music with "emotion and impact" and calls the Adagio Metrum's best converter to date.
Resolution and Detail
94/100
Compared with the M51, the Adagio was said to offer superior ease and flow alongside a clear lift in realism. The reviewer specifically heard improved dynamics and increasingly apparent tiny details, while retaining a relaxed, natural presentation.
Digital Performance
95/100
The review's central impression is that the Adagio progressively removes digital glare, leaving a convincing sense of unforced music-making. Its extremely fast response and "unlimited dynamics" further support a clean, controlled conversion character.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
50/100
The supplied review focuses on listening performance and operation rather than cabinet construction, internal layout, parts quality, or long-term reliability. Reviewers say little about the Adagio's physical build quality.
Features Connectivity
81/100
The Adagio provides optical, dual coaxial, AES/EBU, and USB or I²S digital connectivity, plus both RCA and balanced XLR outputs. Its remote-controlled volume function can allow it to serve directly into a power amplifier, and the reviewer found its converter-reference-voltage implementation to work flawlessly.
Value for Money
88/100
At roughly $4,995–$6,499, the Adagio is positioned as a premium DAC/preamp. The Ear suggests that a first-time buyer could reasonably forgo a separate preamplifier and buy the Adagio instead, giving its integrated volume control meaningful system-level value.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
No forum mentions found yet
Specifications
- Digital To Analog Converter Type
- Non Oversampling
- Audio Bit Depth (Resolution)
- 24 bits per sample
- Correction Type
- Forward (FPGA) corrected
- Metrum DACTWO Transient chips per channel
- 4
- Noise Floor
- -155 dB
- Output Impedance
- RCA 100 Ohm, XLR 320 Ohm
- Outputs
- 2x RCA (stereo), 2x XLR (stereo)
- Inputs
- 1x Optical, 2x Coax, 1x AES/EBU, 1x USB or I²S
- Total Harmonic Distortion
- 0.006% THD
- Sampling rate Optical
- 44.1 - 96 kHz
- Sampling rate Coax and AES/EBU
- 44.1 - 192 kHz
- Sampling rate USB
- 44.1 - 384 kHz
- Products Dimensions
- 44 x 32 x 85 cm
- Product Weight
- 10KG
- Remote controller
- YES, with volume control
Manufacturer's Description — Metrum Acoustics
The Metrum Acoustics flagship DAC with volume control. Connect this digital pre-amplifier directly to your power amplifiers or active speakers. Volume control done right by steering the DC voltage of the R2R ladders.
We were aware that our flagship DAC, the Pavane, is hard to beat. Adding a neutral volume control out of the signal path further improves performance and user experience.
Experiments on the Pavane were done and we found that the best sound was coming directly from our proprietary DAC modules. Adding a potentiometer and buffer, no matter how superbly implemented, would result in audible differences. Fortunately, our R2R ladder DAC modules permit us to control the analog output voltage by changing its reference voltage. To fully integrate volume control into the ADAGIO, dedicated DAC boards were designed to get the best regulation possible.
Like in the Metrum Pavane, proprietary forward correction techniques are used to drive both mono DAC boards. The result of this process is low noise and an extremely high linearity, right down to -155 dB, which gives the Adagio a realistic 24 bit dynamic range; information from the most delicate lowest bits is extracted. The ADAGIO is a step forward as an analog pre-amplifier can be omitted. ADAGIO, like the Pavane, has separate oversized toroidal power supplies for analog left, analog right and digital circuitry, ensuring that digital noise can't creep into the analog parts. Dividing the analog supplies results in better channel separation. ADAGIO uses larger and higher voltage transformers than Pavane for the analog circuitry, in effect also lowering the impedance of the power supply, while lowering noise and increasing linearity. The result is that the ADAGIO has weight and pace; transients are effortlessly projected into the listening space. It is musical, honors the non-oversampling (NOS) principle and simultaneously incorporates the technological progressions that have been made over the years. A solid aluminium IR remote control with 4 buttons completes the listening experience.
Verified Dealers
Online Dealers
All Dealers
Zoom out the map to see more dealers
Authorized dealers for Metrum Acoustics Metrum Adagio
- Audio Art Cable — online and in-store — San Diego, California, United States (website)
- Elise Audio — online and in-store — Paddington, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Elite Audio UK — online and in-store — Pittenweem, Escocia, United Kingdom (website)
- HiFi Heaven — online and in-store — Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States (website)
- ZMFheadphones — online and in-store — Lyons, Illinois, United States (website)