ЦАПы — Métronome c|AQWO 2

Métronome, the French maker, builds the c|AQWO 2 as a DAC, sold as a two-box design in which the converter itself and a separate power supply sit in their own aluminium cases. The company lists it in the AQWO family, where it is joined by the AQWO 2 player and the t|AQWO 2 transport, and both boxes are offered with silver or black aluminium finishes.

Key specs that matter

Two conversion lines run side by side inside the drive unit. One is built on the AKM AK4499EX chip and the other on the ESS ES9039MPRO, and Métronome quotes separate figures for each - THD+N of -124 dB with a 135 dB S/N figure on the AKM path, and -122 dB with 137 dB for the ESS path. Digital inputs cover two I2S connections, S/PDIF, AES/EBU, Toslink and USB. PCM is accepted from 44.1 kHz to 384 kHz at 32 bits, and DSD from DSD64 up to native DSD512, depending on format. The analogue side offers RCA outputs with 100 ohm impedance and XLR outputs with 150 ohm impedance, each delivering a maximum of 3 V. The drive unit measures 420 x 120 x 425 mm and weighs 11.6 kg, while the power supply case is 420 x 85 x 425 mm and 12.8 kg.

Engineering and use context

Splitting the supply into a second chassis keeps the transformers and power circuitry away from the conversion boards, and the two cases are joined by cable. Power draw is 65 W in operation and 45 W in standby. A 7 inch touchscreen with 1024 x 600 resolution sits on the front panel for input selection and status. Métronome keeps its long running choice of output stage here as an option - a tube output can be ordered, letting the owner switch between transistor and tube modes at any time. A second option adds streaming, with dual band Wi-Fi at 2.4 and 5 GHz, a 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, a USB 2.0 socket for external storage and MQA rendering across the same PCM sample rates.

Pairing

With two I2S inputs on board, the c|AQWO 2 can take a signal from the t|AQWO 2 transport in the same family as well as from a computer over USB. The balanced XLR outputs connect to amplification that accepts a balanced feed, while the RCA sockets serve single ended equipment. Buyers who do not need network playback can leave out the streaming board and feed the unit from an existing streamer through AES/EBU or S/PDIF.

Alternatives

The Métronome Le DAC 3 from the Classica line is a one-box converter with an optional streaming module, PCM playback up to 768 kHz and DSD up to DSD1024.