Yeah there’s 2 drivers you have to install on a PC, the Sonnet usb driver and the amanero driver. I installed them both, and I’m not hearing any issues on the usb side.
I’m listening to Peter Gabriel So right now. I’ve used this album as one of my main auditioning sources for audio gear since it came out in 86. I know exactly what this album should sound like and I’m satisfied with the usb rendering.
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Plankton is an SBAF term for low level information in the recording. Micro details.
But people argue back and forth about whether it really exists. It’s one of those audiophile “either you hear it or you don’t” terms.
The saying attributed to Frank Zappa applies here “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture”.
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Good catch @splayname
I always thought plankton was the microorganisms that feed sea life, that is what I learned in Biology class when I showed up. I must have been sick the day they explained the audio description 
Plankton are microscopic organisms that constitute the sustaining base of food chains in the ocean.
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That was before Global Warming. The plankton in the sea are all gone now.
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plankton, okay, I have an example from this terrific You Tube review of the Holo May he refers to a spot in a recording. I had to tweak my HQplayer filters to hear this tambourine as a tambourine and not a different percussion instrument and the Morpheus, in my set up, does not resolve what he says the May Dac does. I’ll continue to tweak my set up until it does The song is “The Appeal” by the Toadies on the Heretics album. The tambourine comess in just after the bass drops, don’t be surprised if you can’t hear it or hear it well. https://youtu.be/HPtsWvhjLxA?t=1240
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Damn you climate change!! I remember growing up near the beach and certain times of the year there was some species that lit up a nice blue neon color at night. Was freaking amazing, and has nothing to do with this DAC.
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“Those who liked it praised the black background, texture, bass and something called “plankton”, which was a new term to me.”
That’s what I am hearing with mine from the coax, but I do have a Hermes streamer on the way so I can use the I2S connection on my Morpheus. I think some of the guys at SBAF listen to speakers and are not fans of NOS dacs, at least that’s what I got from reading the thread over there. So far I have 4 days on my Morpheus and it is blowing my mind, coming from a Gungnir Multibit. I am starting to notice more texture and “plankton”, with killer bass and 3 d stage. The sound is not soft, but smooth and fatigue free.
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And it still is. Its seems some people just make up some term and bingo its an audiophile term. It can get rather silly trying to keep track.
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Anyone with kids that grew up in late 90s and into the 2000s know what Plankton is.
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I love that bioluminescence! It happens once or twice a year in San Diego and it is gorgeous
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algae bloom. 20 characters
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Really good review of this spectacular DAC, with comparisons from some heavy hitters. Spoiler alert, the Morpheus smokes them all!
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I am absolutely loving this streamer and DAC! The holographic sound stage this combo creates with my RH-5 and VC is nothing short of magical, and it seems like the sound fills my entire room and the headphones just disappear. What more could you ask for from a headphone experience? 
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This is a beautiful looking stack @Wes.
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@Wes_S saw your stack in the current setup thread, and started doing some research on DAC options - how is the single ended outs to the Pendant treating you? Have you had a chance to compare performance of the Morpheus between its SE and balanced outs?
Both outputs are said to sound close, but I have not compared them directly yet. I am currently using single ended to my Pendant and balanced to my RH-5 and both sound incredible. Obviously the DAC is best from it’s balanced outputs and I eventually plan to add the Black Box XLR to RCA converter from AmpsandSound and use the preamp function with lossless volume control of the Morpheus to handle the hotter signal and I also want to try my Rogue RH-5 as a preamp to the Pendant with the Morpheus to take advantage of the DAC’s balanced outputs as well. However, for now I am loving it single ended. I have read that the Morpheus’s design is such that it sounds killer from both it’s balanced and single ended outputs unlike some other DAC’s in it’s price range (Schiit Yggy), which are said to sound much worse from their single ended outputs vs. their balanced outputs. For now though, I am content with single ended and it’s nice knowing I can most likely eventually squeeze some more performance out of my system latter down the road, going balanced with a converter.
Another thing worth mentioning, and what I actually feel is the most important part of using this DAC, is how you connect to it. This DAC sounds much better from the I2S connection, than it does with Coax and especially USB. The ultimate way to experience this DAC is with the Sonnet Hermes Streamer connected with I2S.
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The stack has improved since my last pic, with a few stands added.
I highly recommend not stacking gear directly on top of each other, and once the gear gets to a certain level of performance it makes a difference.
This Streamer and DAC combo continues to blow my mind with how detailed but never harsh the sound is and how open and immersive the stage is. Everything just sounds so right and lifelike.
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I’m glad you brought up the Hermes/I2S piece because I’ve been doing a lot reading on that piece over the past few days!
I believe I have a dilemma, but maybe you can shed light on this - I can get an Hermes setup and have no issues with getting an Ethernet cable to it. I don’t currently use Roon, but I use Tidal and I’m sure I could get Roon setup for myself. The issue is that I also use my audio setup as an audio source for my PC, not just music - how would I accomplish that while not compromising on sound? Would that require me to get the Matrix converter for the AES connection straight from my PC, or is there a way to connect into the Hermes so I can enjoy the I2S connection?
Hi, Don’t mean to hijack the thread, but thought I’d put this here in case anyone was interested.
https://forum.headphones.com/t/fs-sonnet-morpheus-nos-dac/14211?u=jthvac
There’s discussion about the USB, one of the things that’s come up is that it seems many people only install the amenero driver. There’s a second driver that also needs to be installed specifically for the Sonnet. I’ve used this USB connection extensively and its right there with the optical and coax in my opinion.
As far as the synergy with the Hermes, I can’t speak to it, but I’d be inclined to trust Wes’ ear on that one. I’m sure it’s all he says it is.
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I have my iMac and Hermes both connected with ethernet straight from my router each with their own cables, I then connected my Hermes to my Morpheus through their I2S ports with another shorter 10 inch ethernet cable, so I think you should be good with what you have. The computer and Hermes communicate over the network if I am understanding it correctly, but I am not much of a computer guy and I just use my iMac for entertainment and Roon. I just followed the instructions on setup.
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