HOLO Audio MAY DAC

[oneguy]

11 hours ago, lpost said:Is USB straight from source as good as SU-1 KTE or Matrix spdif2 (I have both, along with an Intona 4055-C). I'm thinking none of these will do anything for the new USB input.

Interested in answer to above question too. I bought a May KTE as I was moving to Japan. I’ve had it for about 3 weeks but the rest of my gear and belongings don’t arrive until Monday so I’m forced to look at the wonderful May for 2 more days and not listen to it. 

[oneguy]

11 hours ago, lpost said:

Is USB straight from source as good as SU-1 KTE or Matrix spdif2 (I have both, along with an Intona 4055-C). I'm thinking none of these will do anything for the new USB input.

Interested in answer to above question too. I bought a May KTE as I was moving to Japan. I’ve had it for about 3 weeks but the rest of my gear and belongings don’t get delivered to me until Monday so I’m forced to look at the wonderful May for 2 more days and not listen to it. 

[oneguy]

7 hours ago, lpost said:

I'll be interested to hear your impressions of the May vs. Spring and whether you think the SU-1 improves the May the way it does the Spring.

 

Hopefully you've had the May powered on for the 3 weeks. Even without signal some run-in will occur.

I haven’t had it plugged in because I don’t have place to put it off the floor until my furniture arrived. I did however, buy it used from the original who had it plugged in 24/7 for 4 months but only 25-50 hours of playing music. 
 

I’ll post impressions of the May vs the Spring once both have had time warm up so probably Friday. Plus I want to pump more music through the May to allow more music playing burn in to occur.

 

5 hours ago, MichaelHiFi said:

You taking Monday off? ;)

Actually Monday off , Tuesday off and don’t leave for work until 4pm on Wednesday ;).

[oneguy]

20 minutes ago, lpost said:

I understand used May KTE or any 'level' are a rare breed. Lucky bastard.

Haha, yeah it was the first one that I had ever seen on the used market so I jumped on it. Right place and time with a wallet looking to be lightened.

[oneguy]

The May has a remote labeled “RMT-1” and the Serene has a remote labeled “RMT-2.” I wonder if they are cross compatible. Same buttons on each. 

 

EDIT: They sell the RMT-2 as a replacement for the May so I guess that answers that question.

 

[oneguy]

Setup: 

-USB to Holo May KTE to KGGG to SR-009S

-Upgraded SU-1 vis I2S to Holo Spring 1 KTE to KGGG to SR-009S

 

Bottom line up front: The May will spoil you and you won’t be able to listen to anything at a lower tier

 

The Spring KTE is no slouch by any standard. I felt the Spring was the best DAC I had heard for headphones when I got it and second best for speakers (Yggy A2 beat it there). After listening to the May for the past few days I found the Spring kind of blah. Obviously the Spring didn’t magically dip out once the May arrived but my knowledge of what was possible with a DAC has just elevated. I won’t resort to the normal hyperbole used to describe things so I would say that what you get for your 2x price increase are substantially better separation in different voices and instruments as well as a more dynamic presentation. Sounds build and decay in a very clear and independent manor. By that I mean you can perceive the rise and decay of sounds different sounds at the same time vice those changes sometimes getting lost. Hallelujah by Straight No Chaser brought chills to me the when I listened it because the voice presentation seemed so personal like they were right in the room with me as the sound swept across the channels. Detail retrieval in Lose Yourself to Dance by Daft Punk revealed additional nuances in the sounds that accompanies the instrument heard in the first few seconds that I had no idea were there. The entire song seemed like it had more life than before due to the beat being better integrated with the vocals. Even though beat and get vocal were more distinct they also held more impact. 

 

Overall I’d characterize the improvement as more than incremental and a clear cut upgrade from the Spring 1 KTE. 

 

Anyway, I hope you found my babbling helpful. The Spring KTE will be going up for sale since I don’t have a need for 2 DACs. Next up will be evaluating the USB vs I2S input of the May to determine if I need to keep the the SU-1. First I need to rearrange things so that I have room to put the SU-1 on top of the May DAC section. 
 

 

[oneguy]

1 hour ago, lpost said:

I very much enjoyed reading your rambling. Thank you.

 

I’ve got a SU-1 KTE as well and will try with the May but I suspect it won’t do anything.

 

is the kggg a preamp?

The KGGG (Kevin Gilmore Ground Grid) is a headphone amp for electrostatic headphones. You can see it in the photo above the Spring. 

[oneguy]

From my comparison with I2S vs. USB I’d say USB was marginally better. Not a huge difference but even a small difference that allows me to simplify my system is a win. Of note, I couldn’t make my 3” HDMI cable work without rearranging a bunch of stuff which I wasn’t wiling to do so I used my 0.5m cable instead. 

[oneguy]

I DIY'ed my own solid core 8AWG magnet wire power cables with rhodium plugs. I think solid core is the way to go. The best power cables I have heard so far. The biggest pain though is getting rid of the thin but really durable enamel on the wire. So far I've only done my DAC and headphone amp but I bought a 200ft spool to do more.

[oneguy]

Anyone have any idea where Tim is? I ordered something that listed as in stock from Kitsune on Monday before opening and haven’t seen a shipping notification. I sent an email on Wednesday inquiring about this and so far no response. Just trying to see if you guys have heard anything outside of normal, reasonable processing times.