HOLO Audio MAY DAC

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1 hour ago, firedog said:

Where is the May actually available? Or is it? I can't find it online. 

Contact Tim at Kitsune Audio directly on the site.

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On 1/13/2021 at 2:25 PM, barrows said:

I understand, as you are primarily concerned with OS to PCM, which is less demanding.  My needs are for OS everything to DSD 256 with the EC modulators.  I chose a i9-9900K for this, with its higher base clock rate, and because with the advent of the 10 series the prices came down on the 9900K.  I am not concerned about having a silent machine, so no need for passive cooling for me, I have a fan based cooling system on my new machine build as the server is another part of the home and I use a Sonore Signature Rendu SEoptical as NAA.

My Bricasti M3 loves DSD 256 input.

I guess that this means that you got your new build back from Andrew and it now works. Congrats

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On 1/19/2021 at 7:34 AM, GoldenOne said:

Holo v5.0 drivers are out

HoloAudio_v5.0.0_2020-12-15_setup (1).exe 2.27 MB · 27 downloads

Is this the ASIO driver for the server or is there also a USB driver update for the DAC in this package. Thanks 

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48 minutes ago, mrkoven said:

Has anyone moved from USB to I2S with a Singxer DDC or otherwise? I'm wondering if it's worth switching from USB to I2S. 

On my Spring 2 KTE, I have tried both and USB (with new the module and drivers) was just as good or better than I2s using my Singxer SU-1. The May should be even better with USB as it has enhancements the Spring 2 does not have.

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56 minutes ago, MichaelHiFi said:

Does anyone know if the Holo May DAC provides its own power on the USB input? I'm looking at buying a USB cable built by Bill Dion (Grannyring) that has no power. He has 2 flavors, a doublesmoked and a  helix designed... forgot that flavor.

Email Tim at Kitsune to find out for sure. 

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23 minutes ago, mrkoven said:

Anyone using HQP w/ May? Wonder if it's worth setting up HQP server for upsampling. Currently using NOS w/ redbook mainly. 

HQP with my Spring 2 KTE is amazing. The May should be even better.

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This thread is WAY off topic.

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3 hours ago, Schafheide said:

I understand that I would need to change the firmware to play PCM1536.

I only listen to DSD.

Do I have to change to the same firmware so I can play DSD1024 ??

Yes

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11 minutes ago, Quadman said:

My buddy has a Holo May KTE with 30.14 firmware installed, it was mfg'd late spring of last year (21) so it has the original USB module.  I emailed Tim asking what firmware is best to install for DSD1024 playback.  He never responded (amazing I own one and my buddy owns one due to my recommendation and Tim will not reply, Cheez).  Based on new users experience what firmware should my buddy install to get DSD1024 playback ability.  His new server will be intel based so 30.12 I know will work, but the newer firmware's should also allow 1024 playback.

On that older USB module I think the only choices are 30.12 and 30.14. The newer firmware is only for the newer USB module. He could have the USB module upgraded if he wants to use the most recent firmware.

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2 hours ago, drjimwillie said:

Thank you

I will Install the latest driver.

The instructions for how to do it are on the Kitsune website. It is not intuitive.

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1 hour ago, drjimwillie said:

Hi Bob or anyone,

I am on the Kitsune website and I do not see specific instructions on how to install the driver.  You are right, this is not intuitive.

 

also, I received my May September 30 2021, so it should have the USB 2.1, This is some thing I want to verify as part of this process. Tim says if my current firmware is higher than 30.14 I have the USB 2.1. 

I received a message from Tim saying I should load the V5.30 Driver and because I am running Linux I should install the 31.44 firmware.

 

I have fake memories of doing something like this on my spring DAC previously.

I remember once I had to open the case, but I don’t remember why. I see at the end of the download and links there is a link to how to open the case, but it does not tell you why.

 

I have an AMD CPU and I am running Euphony which is Linux. 
 

I remember once, I used my Windows laptop to update the firmware. But I don’t remember much else.

 

because I am using LInux I don’t need a driver, correct?

 

so here is my best guess from the clues above:

 

I load the V5.30 Driver onto my windows laptop. I plug the USB cable from my laptop into the May. I run the driver software.

 

 

in the Driver software I am able to see the current firmware installed on my May. 
somewhere I will be able to choose the firmware 31.44 and install it.

 

Any help or confirmation Hugely appreciated
 

My memory is from doing a firmware upgrade on my Spring 2. You do not need to open the case. That is only if you needed to upgrade/replace the USB module. I did mine on a Win 10 machine and it was along while back. I remember that you had to install the correct windows package for Holo DACs and then connect a USB cable to the DAC. Then you had to put the desired firmware in a folder and hit Run. I don't remember much past that. I am certain that there was a written instruction for doing it. Maybe Tim can direct you to it. Good luck and be careful.

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9 hours ago, Johndubya said:

Thanks MrDerrick,

I found the downloads page. It was pretty well hidden! 

Now I need to determine whether updated firmware is needed to use the new USB module Tim sent me.

I have asked Tim Connor about this and have gotten no answer at this point. He must be very busy running his business?

The module comes pre-loaded with the new version of the firmware. You should only need to change if you want to do PCM 1.536 or DSD 1024.

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33 minutes ago, Johndubya said:

Thanks so much, Bobflood. I guess I'm all set. I'll change out the modules today at last!

Hope it goes well.

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38 minutes ago, barrows said:

If you really want the May DAC, and you really want to use that amplifier, it is not that hard to apply a -3 dB to -6 dB level reduction  with a simple resistor pad at the input of the amp.  If done properly this will not adversely affect the sound quality.  A good electronics tech can make these for you.  If the amplifier has wires connecting the XLR jacks internally, a good tech can just add these (4 resistors per XLR jack) internally (best case scenario), but if the XLR jacks are PCB board mount they would need to be added externally.  They can also be added to ones XLR cable internally, again at the amplifier end, by a good technician.  For sound quality, just be sure to use high quality metal film resistors, matched to .1 % or better to maintain "perfect" balance of the signal.  As long as the pad is placed at the amp input and uses good resistors it will affect the sound quality.  

Or, if you use HQP or Roon one can just apply the same via DSP volume control.

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If there ever was a DAC that screamed “you better know what you are doing before you buy me “ the Holo May ( and Spring) is it.  These are true “ Computer Audiophile “ DACs and require some expertise to get the maximum performance from them. The rewards are worth the effort however.

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5 minutes ago, musicman1 said:

@Quadman, thanks for your suggestions. It took some time and much trial and error for me to set this up considering the very limited experience I have with HQplayer and no experience with Roon. I'm using a Trial version of both. I finally got them to work together but still have some tweaking and experimenting to do. The troubleshooting was throwing me off because HQplayer would stop working every 30 minutes since it was a trial version. After listening to a few songs and ramping up the oversampling rate I think it actually brought a tear in one of my eyes! I know I had goosebumps on at least 2 different occasions, and I had to force myself to stop listening to get some dinner. 

 

The highest setting, I tried so far was 48K X 1024 and that showed up at 768K on my May display in NOS mode.  I did have to change a couple insignificant changes you recommend like Max volume and Max sample rate but everything else was the same. Simply amazing sound and this is using a computer grade USB cable that I haven't upgraded yet. I am also going to purchase the convolution filters designed for my headphones from Accurate Sound that are highly recommended by Chris (The Computer Audiophile) in these forums and use them in HQplayer.

 

My system consists of RAAL Requisite VM-1a Tube amp (Listening in Triode mode) with the RAAL SR1a Ribbon Headphones and of course the Holo Audio May KTE DAC. To date, this is the best I have ever heard this system. Also using Triode Wire Labs Power cables, Seven Plus and Digital American series along with Zavfino "The Fusion" interconnects. Thanks so much for your help with this. Honestly in my circumstances I'm not sure if I would have kept Roon by itself, but in its current configuration in using it with HQplayer its definitely something that's staying. I'm just going to continue paying monthly for now but will be buying HQplayer. Can't wait to do some additional tweaks on this. I appreciate your suggestions. Hopefully you don't mind if I ask you some additional questions at a later date.

 

 

If it is showing 768 then you are getting PCM from HQP. If you want DSD make the output selection is set to SDM (DSD). Also, to get DSD 1024 you will have to change the MAY’s firmware which is not trivial.

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20 minutes ago, musicman1 said:

 

Thanks Bobflood, I assume I have the latest firmware since my May is only a few weeks old and ordered directly from Kitsune.

You do have the latest but there are two versions. The one they ship it with is good up to PCM 768 or DSD 512. The other will do 1.536 PCM or 1024 DSD. I would stick with DSD 256 or 512 with a EC modulator. The developer of HQP has stated that the Holo will perform best at DSD 256 using ASDM7EC v2 and Gauss filters. Give it a try.

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34 minutes ago, musicman1 said:

 

Not sure what's going on. It appears to be setup that way.

Just looked at these settings. If you are playing direct from a Windows machine then you need to download the Holo ASIO driver from the website to that machine and select it instead of WASAPI. This should get DSD working.

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1 minute ago, musicman1 said:

 

After fiddling with it, I finally got it showing DSD in the display. DSD 1024 did display but no sound. DSD 512 has sound but badly skipping. Only DSD 256 is playing without problems. I assume I am lacking the power on my computer to play anything higher. Are their any other settings I can look at to help with this?

Yes, in the BIOS of your Windows machine make sure that Profile1 is set. Without this your machines memory is only working at the base rate not the DDR rate and there are other performance enhancements as well in Profile1.

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9 hours ago, musicman1 said:

 

Yeah, my XMS memory was already setup correctly. Looks like I'm stuck at DSD 256 unless I buy a faster processor. Thanks for the tip. I also changed to one of the Gauss filters because I was occasionally having a skip on the DSD 256 setting.

If you can do DSD 256 using ASDM7ECv2 and Gauss filters you are all set. Be careful that you don't get into the chasing big numbers trap. The best filter combo I have found on my Spring2 KTE is PS Gauss xla for 1x material and PS Gauss hi-res lp for nx material. Try adaptive out fully checked. This will eliminate rate family conversion which isn't really necessary and takes up a lot of CPU power when going from 44.1 K to 48 K. Also set you PCM to 768 max as the firmware you have only goes that high. Have fun.

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11 hours ago, musicman1 said:

 

Not sure what's going on. It appears to be setup that way.

Looked at this again. Your Volume Max setting needs to be changed to -3db or even better -4db. When upsampling, distortion can be introduced if it is higher than than -3 db on most material. Some material may even need to have it be as low as -5db to prevent distortion. I leave mine at -5db all the time so I don't have to worry about it. If you want to compare DSD to PCM then put -6.00db  in the box below Quick Pause and put the same filters in both PCM Defaults and SDM Defaults. This will equalize the volume so that PCM won't sound louder. You can then just switch back and forth to compare. Also, with PCM 768 and DAC bits 20, set the Dither to LNS 15. This will shape the PCM output for the 20 bit output.

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1 hour ago, Quadman said:

I have to disagree completely with you on this one.  Have you heard DSD1024?  My buddy and I always say you don't know what you don't know until you do and then you know.  DSD256 w EC is a far cry from 1024 w no EC.  It's certainly very good but not great.  This is in reference to the Holo May dac as I have never heard DSD1024 on another dac.

I have heard it one time and yes it is very good but I did not think it was necessarily better than 256 with 7EC. The reason I did not encourage its use in this case is that it would require a lot of stuff that a beginner might not want to take on (firmware update, higher level processor, Bios tweaks, and on and on). Someone like yourself with the experience and equipment to make it work should definitely use it if it sounds best to you. I did not want to overwhelm a newbie to all of this. After some time and experience is gained he may wish to try it but if he can do 256 with 7EC modulators and Gauss filters he should be happy for quite awhile. He has a lot to learn and there is no need to push it just yet.

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22 minutes ago, Quadman said:

I need help from anyone who has the new Holo USB module 2.1.  Looking at the firmware package I see only 2 versions, Fixed volume, the default the new dacs ship with, and a variable volume version.  Although it does not say so I assume the new USB firmware can handle DSD1024, further in the body of May information it says dsd1024 and in theory 2048 even.  I think why musicman1 could not play 1024 was that he was using waspi output not ASIO.  So does the new fixed firmware handle DSD1024?

 

Musicman1's PC is already very capable with 12700K and 3080 gpu (as long as he checks Cuda offload, not grey'd as it was above) so not much to add there and maybe his firmware is fine with ASIO selected.  We'll see.

 

I run 11900K and 3060 GPU, his rig should at least match that with 3080 I would think.

Could be fine. I might be confusing it with the two prior firmwares before the new 2.1 module. I have a Spring 2 KTE and I now use I2s so I have not changed the USB module. Tim, if you are still monitoring this thread could you please weigh in. Thanks 

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1 hour ago, bobflood said:

Could be fine. I might be confusing it with the two prior firmwares before the new 2.1 module. I have a Spring 2 KTE and I now use I2s so I have not changed the USB module. Tim, if you are still monitoring this thread could you please weigh in. Thanks 

I apologize! I was thinking of the old dual firmware situation (30.14 and 30.12) from the 2.0 USB module. The new 2.1 module does come with the 3144 fixed volume firmware installed at the factory. This is the correct one for most all situations and should support DSD 1024 and PCM 1536. It still might be a stretch to get DSD 1024 (depending on the modulator) but PCM 1536 should be no problem at all. 

 

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8 hours ago, Schafheide said:

dear

Hi bobflood

This is very cross topic, but, on the Sonore forum, I saw your query re the latest NAA for the ultraRendu.

Are you aware that you can update the NAA version yourself?  I recently went to 4.2.0 and heard improved SQ - not game to go to 4.2.3 in case I cannot go back!

Yes, I have the gear to flash a card and I did it once and it worked fine. But, I will just wait for Sonore to put it in the next update. Thanks