Metrum Hex vs. Pavane or Menuet?

I have owned the Octave II, Hex and Pavane.
The Hex is a good sounding DAC that displays the reason many enjoy the NOS sound.  It sounds very natural and musical but it is indeed bettered by the Pavane, which is a very good DAC.  The Pavane removes a touch of coarseness that is not apparent when listening to the Hex alone, and also adds resolution and impact at all frequencies.
I have also auditioned the Adagio in my home for a couple of weeks.  The Adagio, which uses Metrum's new Transient DAC TWO modules displayed an almost eerie clarity and natural sound that may give some a reason to sell their vinyl rigs.  Although the Adagio's volume control worked quite well, I liked the sound better when played through my preamp so I really did not need it.  The Adagio is a better DAC than the Pavane, but there were aspects of the Pavane's sound that I enjoyed more.  Luckily, Metrum offers the best of both worlds and I just received my Metrum Pavane DAC back from The Netherlands after being upgraded with the same Transient DAC TWO modules that are used in the Adagio.  The transparency is exceptional and the result is an analog-like relaxed musicality - transparent, resolving, nuanced but very natural sounding.
I have not heard the Minuet but you may want to read Jan de Jeu's review since he gave it his "Product of the Year" vote.  The review concludes with,

"If I were in the market for a new DAC at this price point, the Menuet would be on the top of my ‘must hear’ list."

 Minuet review:
http://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/metrum-menuet-digital-analogue-converter

thanks for that info mitch. been thinking about trying a metrum for a while now.

Looks like I'm a bit late to the party but I'm currently a Menuet owner & sampled the Musette before it to confirm the Metrum Acoustics house sounds is what I was after.

To the OP, the Menuet has replaced the Hex & is the better sounding of the two.  Their lower end DAC's feature trickle down tech from the Pavane, when they first released the Musette it was a nice jump up from the Octave it replaced & had closed in on the performance gap between it & the Hex.  So the Menuet has again upped the performance vs the Hex & is now positioned between the old hex & the Pavane.

When speaking with Meturm they rated their DAC as ~, if Adagio is 100%, Pavane is 95%, Menuet is 80% & Musette is 50% (This was before Metrum started to offer the DAC TWO module upgrades to the Pavane).  Many have called the Menuet the poor mans Pavane (85% of its performance for ~50% the price).

I was told Metrum will be offering the DAC TWO module upgrade for the Menuet in the future.  This upgrade brings the Pavane very close to the Adagio & in turn the Menuet very close to the original Pavane (from what I was told by Metrum).

Even when listening to the Musette is was the first DAC I've had that made me go WOW right from the start.  It replaced a Teddy Pardo DAC (previously used a Simaudio 100D & the OPPO BDP-95).  Teddy was the best of the previous bunch, Musette was much better then the Teddy to these ears/what I'm looking for in a DAC.

Was always looking for the next upgrade in DAC's but is no longer the case.  I will likely get the Menuet upgraded with the new DAC TWO modules in the future, as it sounds like a cost effective way to squeak out a bit more for performance for not much $.

No, but suggest you look at the PS Audio DirectStream. It's stunning since the Huron software release.