Streamer DAC

Motivo

A streamer DAC with an 8-inch touch screen, a dual headphone amp, and digital outputs for the DAC you already own.

Buy in the shop, Motivo Compare with Primo V3 Find a dealer

Motivo from the front left: a flat black case with a touch screen and a red button on top.

Premium features built in

The highlights

Volumio OSinside: TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify Connect, AirPlay and Roon, with every Premium feature built in
384kHzPCM at 24-bit and DSD512, from the built-in DAC, with multiroom off
8inchtouch screen, to browse and play your music without a phone
2headphone outputs on 6.3 mm jacks: one for high-impedance headphones, one for low
4Vrmsbalanced XLR output, and 2 Vrms on RCA
Preampmode, hardware volume set from the knob or the app: connect straight to a power amp

Motivo on a wooden sideboard between two white bookshelf speakers on stands, in a living room with plants.

Motivo is designed and made in Florence.

Two Volumio team members check a main board at the assembly table in Florence, with a stack of finished boards beside them.

Made in Florence

Assembled by hand, in Italy

Motivo is designed in Florence and assembled there by hand, by the team that also writes its software. Each unit is checked before it leaves the lab.

More about Volumio in Florence

Look inside

A streamer, a transport and a headphone amp

Motivo plays through its own DAC, sends a clean digital signal to an external one, and drives headphones. Each section has its own power and its own parts.

Close-up of the Motivo board behind the XLR outputs, with the Motivo name printed next to the analog audio, DAC, control unit and linear supply sections. — The analog audio and DAC sections, behind the XLR outputs.

Close-up of the Motivo board at the power input: three capacitors and the section printed Filtering, next to the Ethernet port. — The filtering stage, where the power comes in.

ES9038Q2M DAC

An ESS Sabre DAC, fed by a custom USB bridge developed with Amanero Technologies. It reclocks the I2S and DSD signals for lower jitter. Pick one of 7 DAC filters to fine-tune the sound.

Linear power for the analog section

A linear regulator makes a clean 6 V supply inside Motivo, and every part of the analog section gets its own low-noise regulator after it. You don't need an external linear power supply.

Dual headphone amp

A Texas Instruments TPA6120A2 class-AB amp, connected differentially to the DAC and powered by dual-rail linear regulators. One output is tuned for high-impedance headphones, the other for low.

The transport from Rivo, improved

Reclocking, galvanic isolation and separate power rails for each digital output. A Murata transformer isolates the S/PDIF coaxial output, and a Microchip USB hub rebuilds the USB signal.

Connections

Network in. Every kind of out.

Stream over Gigabit Ethernet or dual-band Wi-Fi. Then play through the built-in DAC to an amplifier or headphones, or send the digital signal to an external DAC.

Two hands holding Motivo on a white table, with its touch screen showing an album and headphone and power cables plugged in at the back.

In

Ethernet: Gigabit, 10/100/1000
Wi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 and 5 GHz
Bluetooth: 5.0
USB-A × 2: For USB drives, 900 mA each
Power: 9 V DC / 4 A

Out

Analog: Built-in DAC, up to PCM 384 kHz / 24-bit and DSD512, with multiroom off
Balanced: XLR, 4 Vrms
Unbalanced: RCA, 2 Vrms
Headphones × 2: 6.3 mm jacks, for high- and low-impedance headphones
I2S over HDMI: Up to PCM 384 kHz / 24-bit and DSD512, with the pinout set to match your DAC
S/PDIF coaxial: Up to PCM 192 kHz / 24-bit
S/PDIF optical: Up to PCM 192 kHz / 24-bit
USB-A × 2: To a USB DAC, up to PCM 1536 kHz / 32-bit and DSD1024, with multiroom off

Motivo

Tech specs

Motivo audio specifications

DAC: ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M
DAC filters: 7 digital filters for fine tuning
Supported resolution: Up to PCM 384 kHz / 24 bit and DSD512, with multiroom off
Preamp mode: Hardware, volume set from the knob or the app
Headphones output: 6.3 mm jack, dual-output amp for high- and low-impedance headphones, up to PCM 384 kHz / 24 bit and DSD512, with multiroom off
Analog balanced output: 4 Vrms
Analog unbalanced output: 2 Vrms
USB output: Up to PCM 1536 kHz / 32 bit and DSD1024, with multiroom off
I2S over HDMI output: Up to PCM 384 kHz / 24 bit and DSD512, with multiroom off
S/PDIF coaxial output: Up to PCM 192 kHz / 24 bit
S/PDIF optical output: Up to PCM 192 kHz / 24 bit
Supported formats: DSD, WAV, FLAC, ALAC, AAC, Vorbis, MP3 and others
Supported services: AirPlay via Shairport Sync, Spotify Connect, TIDAL and TIDAL Connect, Qobuz and Qobuz Connect, Roon
UPnP/DLNA: Renderer with OpenHome support
Plugins: YouTube, Squeezelite, Radio Paradise, Podcasts, Pandora, Fusion DSP, SoundCloud, Mixcloud