ЦАПы — Métronome Le DAC 3

Le DAC 3 is a standalone converter made by the French company Métronome, part of its Classica range alongside Le Player 4, Le Player 4+, Le DAC 2 and Le Streamer. It was presented in July 2026 at about USD 9,000, and a built-in streaming board can be added for roughly USD 2,400 more. The design centres on an ESS converter chip and a wide choice of digital inputs, including two I2S connections for high-end transports and servers.

Key specs that matter

The ES9026PRO processor handles conversion, and Métronome quotes THD+N of -110 dB and 124 dB of signal-to-noise. The asynchronous USB port accepts PCM from 44.1 kHz to 768 kHz at 32 bits and native DSD from DSD64 up to DSD1024. Each of the two I2S inputs takes PCM up to 384 kHz and native DSD64 to DSD256. Coaxial S/PDIF and AES/EBU both run PCM to 384 kHz and DSD64 to DSD128 via DoP, while Toslink is limited to 192 kHz PCM and DSD64. Analogue signals leave through RCA sockets with 100 ohm output impedance and XLR sockets with 150 ohm, and both deliver up to 3 V. The case measures 450 x 120 x 420 mm and weighs 12 kg. Métronome specifies 24 W in use and 18 W on standby.

Engineering and use context

Because only the USB port reaches DSD1024, a computer running a player program is the route to the highest native rates, and USB drivers are supplied for Windows. I2S suits transports that output that format directly and avoids the S/PDIF encoding step. With the optional module fitted, a gigabit Ethernet port turns the converter into a network player handling PCM from 44.1 kHz to 384 kHz and DSD64 to DSD256. That board handles DLNA and UPnP, Audirvāna and JPLAY, plus Spotify Connect, Deezer, Qobuz Connect, vTuner and TIDAL Connect, works as an MQA renderer and adds two USB 2.0 ports for external drives. A front display handles control and status readouts. The maker gives an operating range of +5 to +35 degrees Celsius and 5 to 90 % humidity for the unit.

Pairing

The fixed output level needs a volume control downstream, so the converter goes to a preamplifier line stage or the high-level input of an integrated amplifier, and the balanced XLR connection is the better choice for longer runs to a balanced preamplifier. A CD transport from the same Classica family can connect over I2S, while a computer or streamer with USB output covers file playback without the optional board.

Alternatives

The Métronome Le DAC 2 is the other digital-to-analogue converter listed in the Classica range.