Metrum Acoustics Metrum Onyx

Pursuit Perfect System found the Onyx full, textured, energetic, and immediate, with a wide soundstage and a pleasing degree of smoothness. Compared with the Chord TT2, it was described as slightly less crisp in timing but smoother and less tense through the midrange and treble; its mild gloss was regarded as beneficial to the music.

The Onyx was said to provide a very nice amount of detail alongside solid bass, greater refinement, and a more focused, direct presentation. Alpha Audio also points to high channel separation and precise instrument placement, although neither review presents it as an outright detail-retrieval benchmark.

Alpha Audio characterizes the Onyx as a discreet, set-and-forget DAC that lets the music speak rather than drawing attention to itself. Pursuit Perfect System heard it as smoother and less tense than the TT2 in the midrange and treble, but also found its timing marginally less crisp; the reviews provide little direct listening commentary on noise or digital artifacts.

Alpha Audio calls the cabinet neatly made, while noting its deliberately sober appearance. The supplied reviews say little about internal construction, long-term durability, or component execution beyond the published specification.

The Onyx supplies USB, coaxial, optical, and AES/EBU inputs, plus both RCA and balanced XLR outputs. Alpha Audio notes that the USB module can be exchanged for I2S, and the minimalist remote allows quick input selection; format support reaches 24-bit/384 kHz via USB, but there is no stated DSD capability, volume control, display, or headphone output.

At approximately $2,399 to $2,999, the Onyx sits in a serious specialist-DAC segment. Pursuit Perfect System praises its full, textured blend of smoothness and immediacy, but neither supplied review directly compares its price with competing DACs or makes a firm value-for-money judgment.