The Métronome DSS 2 and DSC Mini: Digital Done the French Way
There's a particular kind of conversation that happens in the showroom when someone's been streaming music for years, knows the kit they have is competent, and is wondering whether there's another level available to them. The answer, usually, is yes. The question is how to get there without rebuilding everything.
The Métronome DSS 2 and DSC Mini arrived at Martins Hi-Fi as a pair, and they make a compelling case that the route to better digital is not necessarily a bigger box.
A Different Scale
Both units share the same compact footprint — 25cm wide and 7cm tall — which is either a feature or a puzzle depending on your rack. It's a feature. Métronome have kept the chassis small deliberately, and the discipline shows in how the engineering is focused rather than sprawling.
The Métronome DSS 2 is a network transport. It handles the retrieval and delivery of digital music files — Roon Ready, UPnP and DLNA certified, Audirvāna compatible, and certified for both Airplay 1 and Airplay 2. Wi-Fi is built in. It plays native DSD files up to DSD256. In practical terms, it talks to everything, and it does so without requiring a separate box of tricks to make the connections work.
The Conversion Question
Where the DSS 2 retrieves, the Métronome DSC Mini converts. The DAC is built around an ESS ES9026PRO chip — a serious component. Métronome apply a single digital filter, a deliberate choice that keeps the signal path short and the character of the conversion consistent.
It handles PCM up to 384kHz/32-bit and DSD512 depending on input. The DSC Mini is made in France, built to the standards Métronome are known for. That detail matters not as a marketing point but as an explanation of why the tolerances are what they are.
"Le Son Vrai"
Métronome describe their approach as le son vrai — the true sound. It's a phrase that could mean almost anything, but in context it points to something specific: an ambition to make digital sources that behave more like analogue ones. Not warmer in the soft, euphonic sense, but more at ease — less obviously processed, less clinical in character.
Whether that's achieved in practice is something you'd need to hear for yourself. Which is, conveniently, possible.
Hear Them at Martins Hi-Fi
If you're running a streaming system and wondering whether the source end of the chain is holding you back, the DSS 2 and DSC Mini are worth an afternoon of your time. They're also worth considering alongside the rest of the Métronome Digital Sharing range — the Métronome DST CD Transport and the Métronome DSAS Music Server sit in the same family, built to the same brief.
Martins Hi-Fi has been in Norwich since 1968. Elizabeth Gould runs the business today, and we stock only brands we have heard properly and stand behind. Dave and Chris can talk you through how the DSS 2 and DSC Mini fit into your system — and what else in the Métronome range might be worth hearing while you're here. Contact us at info@martinshifi.co.uk, call 01603 627010, or WhatsApp on 07554 687137. You can read more about how we work on our Why Martins Hi-Fi page. We are at 85–91 Ber Street, Norwich, NR1 3EY.
