CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — Métronome DST CD Transport

Métronome, the French maker of digital sources, offers the DST as a CD-only transport, and it is part of its Digital Sharing range together with the DSC mini and the DSS 2. It was launched in May and June 2025 at EUR 4,950 and is made in France. The DST plays Red Book CD only, has no DAC and is intended to feed an external converter through a choice of digital outputs, with built-in sample rate conversion.

Key specs that matter

Métronome uses a StreamUnlimited JPSL-33 slot-in mechanism. StreamUnlimited is an Austrian company founded by former Philips engineers. The disc is read at its native 44.1 kHz and 16 bit, and SACD is not supported. Through the RCA S/PDIF and AES/EBU sockets it sends PCM from 44.1 to 384 kHz at 32 bit and DSD64 to DSD128, and the I2S output keeps the same PCM ceiling while extending DSD to DSD256. Resampling and upsampling, including conversion from PCM to DSD, are available on all outputs. A 99 mm touchscreen with 480 x 128 pixels and an infrared remote control operate the unit, and a USB 2.0 port is used for firmware updates only. Power consumption is 21 W in operation and 6 W in standby. The chassis is steel and aluminium, finished in silver or black, and measures 250 x 70 x 250 mm with a weight of 4.7 kg.

Engineering and use context

With a slot-in mechanism the disc is pulled inside, which keeps the front compact and avoids a moving drawer. By leaving out the DAC, Métronome concentrates the DST on reading the disc and preparing the data, leaving conversion to a converter the owner chooses. The built-in resampler lets the transport output CD material at raised PCM rates or as DSD, so the converter receives the format it handles best. I2S keeps clock and audio data on their own conductors, and this is the output with the widest range of formats. All components of the Digital Sharing range share the same compact chassis format. The touchscreen shows track and format information and gives access to settings, including the choice of output format and sample rate for each connection.

Pairing

A DAC with an I2S input receives every format the DST can output, while a converter with only RCA S/PDIF or AES/EBU inputs is limited to the lower DSD ceiling of those sockets. Métronome's own converters from the Digital Sharing range are designed as its partners.

Alternatives

The Métronome t|AQWO 2 is the larger transport that also plays SACD and uses a separate power supply.