All
Métronome
Website:https://www.metronome.audio/
Est. year: 1987
Metronome Technologie is a French maker of digital sources, founded in 1987 and based in Montans, a small town near Albi in the Tarn department of southern France. It builds CD and SACD players, D/A converters and streaming clients, and it runs Kalista as a separate higher-end brand from the same site. For its first years the company sold only in France, and today it works with distributors on five continents.
Range & what it's known for
The current catalogue is organised into three families. AQWO is the disc range for CD and SACD collectors, offered as the integrated AQWO 2 and AQWO 2+ or as the two-box t|AQWO 2 transport with the c|AQWO 2 converter. Classica is the more affordable family, with the Le Player 4 and Le Player 4+ disc players, the Le DAC 2 and Le DAC 3 converters and Le Streamer. Digital Sharing covers network playback with the DSS 2, DSC, DSC Mini, DST and DSAS. Kalista adds the DreamPlay collection, whose first product appeared in 2003, with sculptural casework and a top-loading disc approach.
Who owns it and where it's made
The company was started by a group of devoted audiophiles with modest commercial goals. Jean Marie Clauzel, an experienced businessman, later took over the management, reorganised the firm and turned it toward export. Development and final assembly are done in the Montans facility by a small, skilled team, while chassis parts and circuit boards come from specialised partner firms in the region. Every unit passes several test stages and a listening check before it ships, and the maker states that all products are designed and built in France.
The lineup in this catalog
Disc players and converters, costing from about EUR 5,000 to over EUR 20,000.
Who it's for
Metronome makes sense for listeners who keep a large CD or SACD library and want a dedicated source from a specialist rather than a general electronics company. Classica is the most affordable line, with a single player or converter at the lower end of the price span. The AQWO family suits owners after SACD playback or a separate transport and converter, and Digital Sharing serves those moving their library to files. Kalista sits above all three for buyers who want the same engineering in a more sculptural form.
Range & what it's known for
The current catalogue is organised into three families. AQWO is the disc range for CD and SACD collectors, offered as the integrated AQWO 2 and AQWO 2+ or as the two-box t|AQWO 2 transport with the c|AQWO 2 converter. Classica is the more affordable family, with the Le Player 4 and Le Player 4+ disc players, the Le DAC 2 and Le DAC 3 converters and Le Streamer. Digital Sharing covers network playback with the DSS 2, DSC, DSC Mini, DST and DSAS. Kalista adds the DreamPlay collection, whose first product appeared in 2003, with sculptural casework and a top-loading disc approach.
Who owns it and where it's made
The company was started by a group of devoted audiophiles with modest commercial goals. Jean Marie Clauzel, an experienced businessman, later took over the management, reorganised the firm and turned it toward export. Development and final assembly are done in the Montans facility by a small, skilled team, while chassis parts and circuit boards come from specialised partner firms in the region. Every unit passes several test stages and a listening check before it ships, and the maker states that all products are designed and built in France.
The lineup in this catalog
Disc players and converters, costing from about EUR 5,000 to over EUR 20,000.
Who it's for
Metronome makes sense for listeners who keep a large CD or SACD library and want a dedicated source from a specialist rather than a general electronics company. Classica is the most affordable line, with a single player or converter at the lower end of the price span. The AQWO family suits owners after SACD playback or a separate transport and converter, and Digital Sharing serves those moving their library to files. Kalista sits above all three for buyers who want the same engineering in a more sculptural form.
