HOLO Audio Spring DAC - R2R DSD512

[juanitox]

a new challenger for the T+A DSD8 ?

[juanitox]

is anyone have compared the Holo spring 2 with  T+A DAC8 DSD  or Denafrippss dacs in DSD 512 ?   seems iinteresting to know which one  is the Nemesis

[juanitox]

6 hours ago, Milt99 said:

Give me $20K & I'll do the most thorough comparo you've ever seen

 

thanls : sure it will help , please send me your Paypal adress in pm. 😁

[juanitox]

i have received my Holo spring 2 level2 ,  is it better than my T+A Dac8 DSD in  DSDx256 with EC modulator  no  i don't think so ,   is it better in PCM  than the T+A  , absolutely Yess ..      is the  1.4M PCM better than the DSDx256 with the HOLO ,  i will say it depends of the mood of the day , PCM with the HOLO goes higher with the dynamic and  details ,  DSD sounds more intimate and softer  ( some call it analog) 

anyway it's a very good sounding Dac to play with HQP  ..

[juanitox]

5 minutes ago, shahed99 said:

@juanitoxExcellent feedback! I'm not surprised that it can't beat T+A DAC8 on DSD. I still haven't heard about any DAC that is better at DSD than the DAC8, at least not under 5-10k. There's this RT Audio Design Pure DSD DAC that I'm curious about though. A review from monoandstereo.

 

Can you offer any DSD sound characteristics comparison between DAC8 and Holo Spring 2?

 

it is not night and day , and i would say the T+A is more 3D and seems to give more Bass  but it is purely subjective.   as it must be the same DSD resitor based dac inside.  perhpas it is the different analog part .. 

the HOLO have 2 hours and the DAC8 4 years .   but where the HOLO shine  is running it in NOS PCM mode with Polysinc LP Tpdf dither at  1.4MHZ     being a long fan of DSD upsampling with  the T+A  , i 'm finally able to listen in PCM again :) 

[juanitox]

41 minutes ago, shahed99 said:

Reportedly Holo takes ~300 hours to break-in. So, there's potential for it to pull ahead of T+A. Being able to upsample PCM at 1.5Mhz is much kinder on the music server than DSD. It's awesome that long time DSD fans can listen to PCM again! Btw, what made you pick Spring2 Level 2 over Spring2 KTE?

because it"s the same , except some fancy parts , i could add golden capacitor myself later i ll need but the remote is a nice add so that(s why i didnt take the Level 1 ..    i don't beleive in break in too or special fuse and silver cable etc...  

 

yess DSD x256 with EC modulator is not an easy task , with 1.4M PCM  , i can finally use my PC without freezing HQPlayer .

i have sold my T+A to my best friends so we will continue to compare the two dac for fun.. 

 

[juanitox]

Softer doesn't mean rolled of in my mouth ,  and it is very dependent with the HQP filter .   to simplify in DSD x256 i can listen all my library  and in PCM mode let say 2% of my music will sound a little too much " in your face" .  but with very good recording and High res Quobuz  i can hear more things in PCM 1.4MHZ.    again it is not night and day but it  is noticiable..     also i must reduce the level by 6db in PCM to match the DSD level so maybe i'm not perfectly at equal level..

[juanitox]

i had a problem with distorded sound with my spring dac in PCM mode 2 but unfortuantly it happens also with 16/44 playing so

i had to return my unit for checking ,   bad luck for me 😑

[juanitox]

10 hours ago, shahed99 said:

 

Sorry to hear that. Was this only happening for PCM but not DSD? Also, are you using windows OS and motherboard USB?

 

yes i am using my asus motherboard USB ,  and the problem was only in PCM not DSD and only on one channel , so it must be an hardware problem.  i am in touch with the wilsdim guy and a my Dac card will be replaced soon .

[juanitox]

is it me or do you also find that PCM 1.4 or 1.5 is a little better on good recordings than DSD 256 even with ECmodulator?  it s not easy to go against my belief ,  but for sure with this dac PCM rules again :)    , with difficult ones the DSD round touch makes the things more easy :)

[juanitox]

2 hours ago, ted_b said:

Two questions:

1) do you mean PCM recordings, or is this with DSD to PCM too?

2) "with this dac PCM rules again" refers to your (signature) T+A or this thread's subject, the Holo (If Holo, which one)?  Edit: Nevermind, I see you sold your T+A, and have the Spring 2.  :)  Update your signature sometime.  :)  And Happy New Year.  :)

 

you are right ,  as a DIYer my system is in constant change so i'm not up to date at all 😄

 

DSD recordings   upsampled to DSD256   still better for me than PCM to DSD  ,   but PCM upsampled to 1.4mhz is so good with the spring 2  than the PCM to DSD conversion is not an urge as with the T+A  .

 

i have sold my T+A DAC8 to a friend so it is easy to compare both ..    the T+A is more expensive but you have a remote with an analogue volume control and higher max output level than the Holo.

the T+A needs an Usb isolator to shine the  HOLO seems more immune to the Usb source.🙂

 

better new year for all crasy dac lovers