The Volumio Motivo Sound
Contents
We mainly tested the Motivo in our main system in the listening room. However, it also played many hours in the “small” system in the office where we edit articles. There it was paired to the Hypex DIY system and a pair of Sonus Faber Lumina II. We also listened through a pair of Focal Elear headphones. After all; it is a head-fi system.
In all cases, we hear a similar signature: open, fast, detailed, but never sharp. Very impressive what Volumio has put down here in this price range. Let’s explain.
The Volumio sound
After testing all their devices, we think we can now speak of a Volumio sound. The Rivo, the Primo, the Integro, and now the Motivo, have a distinct signature sound. All Volumio players have a playful character. The Italians combine this with an airy reproduction and suppleness. We hear sufficient detail (not abundant, but enough) and a remarkable absence of sharpness. The Integro can have some sharpness, but that is due to other things. The Primo, Rivo and also the Motivo certainly do not present any sharpness.
If we switch between our reference streaming setup (AlphaPC with Jcat cards into a Mutec MC3 USB with Mutec REF10-120 and then the Sonnet Pasithea converter) we obviously do hear a difference. But when we consider that we compare a 18,000 Euro (gulp!) setup next to 1750 Euro device, it honestly doesn’t make any sense: they are so close. This is a textbook example of having to invest a lot more for small – but sometimes important! – steps.
We played a lot of music. From Massive Attack to Beth Gibbons, A Perfect Circle and, of course, Mammal Hands. With all genres, we have to listen intently to hear that the reference setup does offer a bit more calmness, roundness and grip. Overall, the Volumio Motivo sounds a little lighter and a little coarser. But the difference is and remains subtle. That is very confronting!
That slightly lighter – or is it thinner? – sound perception will be because the Motivo offers a little less “tone depth,” as colleague Martijn calls it. If you listen into the structure of a tone – for example at the touch of a piano – you will hear more structure and depth – and also reverb – with the reference setup. But let’s face it: you should, given the price difference: you buy ten Motivo’s from one reference setup…. ouch.
The Volumio Motivo offers an insanely high performance level for 1750 Euros. Frankly, we wonder what more anyone needs. In a quality HiFi setup, the Motivo does not sound out of place at all. And this with the standard adapter (which turns out to be very good!). We do not have a 9 Volt linear power supply available, so we cannot compare. Colleague Hans Beekhuyzen did and already reported that it is actually not needed. We agree. The measurements substantiate that.
The screen?
We understand the screen very well in head-fi use. However, your author is not really a head-fi guy. Fellow Yung is. He will be happy with the addition. Although the volume (and on / off) button is not really pleasant to use. It looks beautiful and it finishes the design. But the button is small and does not turn smoothly. Who knows, maybe it is our first batch…. it could be.
But as mentioned, for this review we listened mostly using the main system. And then, frankly, you do not need the volume knob (is just at 100%) and you do not need the screen, given its orientation (it points upwards…). Something to keep in mind. Perhaps Volumio is going to port the platform from the Motivo to a next Primo? That would be pretty cool!
Your review is thorough and technical, which I really appreciate. However, I have some reservations about the usefulness of measuring factors like jitter. The main issue is that it only reflects the performance of the specific unit you tested, without accounting for variability between different units of the same model. There’s always a risk that your test unit could be an outlier, either particularly good or bad, which might skew the overall conclusions of the review.