CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — Métronome t|AQWO 2

Métronome's t|AQWO 2 is a two-box SACD and CD transport, the drive in one case and the power supply in another. Having no DAC of its own, it is designed to feed an external converter, with user-adjustable sample rate conversion on its digital outputs. It is priced at about EUR 30,650. The permitted operating range is +5 to +35 degrees C at 5 to 90% humidity.

Key specs that matter

The t|AQWO 2 plays CD at 44.1 kHz and 16 bit and SACD in native DSD64. Its coaxial S/PDIF and AES/EBU sockets deliver PCM from 44.1 to 384 kHz at 32 bit and DSD64 to DSD128 over DoP, while the I2S output delivers PCM up to 384 kHz at 32 bit and native DSD up to DSD256. Upsampling and downsampling can be set by the user. The front carries a 7 inch touchscreen with 1024 x 600 pixels. Power consumption is 45 W in operation and 26 W in standby. The main unit measures 420 x 120 x 425 mm and weighs 12.9 kg, and the power supply measures 420 x 85 x 425 mm and weighs 11.2 kg. Finishes are silver or black. An optional upgrade turns the transport into a network player.

Engineering and use context

The external supply, which Métronome calls Elektra, puts the mains transformer and rectification in a second case, well apart from the drive and the digital output circuits, which react to magnetic fields and transformer vibration. Reading SACD requires a drive that can access the DSD layer of hybrid discs, and the t|AQWO 2 passes this data out in native DSD64. Through I2S, native DSD reaches the converter without packing it into PCM frames as DoP does. The coaxial and AES/EBU connections serve converters without I2S inputs. User-selectable resampling lets the owner decide whether the converter receives the original CD or SACD format or an upsampled version. The large touchscreen shows track information, output format settings and the resampling choice. The optional network upgrade adds dual-band Wi-Fi at 2.4 and 5 GHz, Ethernet, USB 2.0 and MQA rendering, with DLNA/UPnP, Audirvana, Spotify Connect, Deezer, TIDAL Connect, Qobuz Connect and vTuner, so the transport can also play files and online services.

Pairing

The t|AQWO 2 suits external DACs with I2S inputs for native DSD, including Métronome's own converters, as well as any converter with AES/EBU or S/PDIF inputs.

Alternatives

The Métronome AQWO 2 builds the same platform into an integrated SACD and CD player with a hybrid DAC and streaming.