HOLO Audio MAY DAC

[Hiker]

I’m about to order the May KTE , I have asked a set of questions to the dealer in the US and haven’t received a reply yet .

One question I have does the May dac need a vbus powered USB cable ? 
Thank you 

[Hiker]

15 minutes ago, MichaelHiFi said:

 

Hi Hiker,

 

I asked this question and this is what I got from Tim regarding USB and power. It's a bit cryptic to me but it looks like you do not need to carry the 5 volts through the USB cable. Others are welcome to correct me.

 

"Michael,
Correct. This is only used for a handshake.
So there is no need to use a cable without it. Since the voltage ripple from the power never will reach the dac. A
Standard usb cable is highly recommended.
And if you want a zero compromise usb cable than I highly highly highly recommend the intona usb cables we sell. The premium trade or reference grade are as good as it gets.

Super tight impedance specs of 1.8ohms+\- for premium grade or 88.2-91.8ohM range. Super super tight. Better than 99.9% of audio grade usb cables already.
The reference is even better at 0.8Ohms +\- or 89.2-90.8 ohm. This is ideal for highly sensitive measurement gear and a bit overkill for audio, but it’s a no compromises solution without a doubt."
 

Thanks Michael, That is a cryptic reply ,. Well currently I use the non 5v USB cable from Sablon Audio .

 

 

 

[Hiker]

2 minutes ago, Solstice380 said:

This not correct.  The 5V through the USB “is required for the handshake” means it is required.  The 5V just does not power the USB input.  You can disconnect the 5V after your DAC connects.  Split cables with separate 5V-only USB connectors have been around for a long time.  Primarily they are used for providing a separate 5V source, but are also used to pull the 5V after the handshake.  

OK then , thank you ,..

[Hiker]

On 3/2/2021 at 8:44 PM, Diavolo said:

I decided to go ahead and order the Holo Serene preamp since it measures exceedingly well and although I get by running source direct using Roon or Hqplayer for volume control of the May and this works 90% of the time, but sometimes if I play music via YouTube et al I occasionally forget to adjust master windows volume and application/browser volume down which is necessary to avoid sending too loud of signal to my amp. 

 

If anyone is interested I'll let you know my thoughts in a few weeks. 

 

 

What model of the Holo Serene did you purchase ?  they are beautiful looking preamplifiers and of course a great preamplifier with a select volume control can make a world of difference with playback.
My Sparkos Lab Aires preamplifier uses a 64 step Reed attenuator being very transparent to the source up stream from the dac a well designed preamp can make a big difference most of the time .

[Hiker]

4 minutes ago, Diavolo said:

I went with KTE version to better match the May KTE. 

Great , look forward to your thoughts on it , it’s really beautiful looking inside & out .

[Hiker]

GoldenOne looking forward to your YouTube Channel review of the May KTE and KTE preamplifier,

[Hiker]

4 minutes ago, Diavolo said:

Whats the you tube channel name? 

Ha , sorry I don’t have a clue however I’m sure GoldenOne will provide a link , 

[Hiker]

3 hours ago, lpost said:

The May DAC made Michael Lavorgna favorite DAC list:

 

https://twitteringmachines.com/twittering-machines-favorite-dacs/

 

About Michael and his Barn:

 

 

That was a well written thought out review , 

[Hiker]

16 minutes ago, lpost said:

6 weeks will be tough. I'm just over a month into my wait time. Fingers crossed I get shipping info soon.

I once waited 8 months for a beautiful piano black Supratek tube preamplifier that I sold after using it for 5 months ,,..

[Hiker]

47 minutes ago, lpost said:

Ouch. Just didn’t do it for you? Hope the hit wasn’t too bad.

 

I’ve made two sales over the 20 years in this hobby where I made money and oh so many I didn’t.

The preamplifier didn’t perform to the fan based testimonials in my opinion however it sure looked nice , also had a separate matching power supply not shown ,...

[Hiker]

7 hours ago, scintilla said:

Call me cynical if you will, but the L3 versions from any distributor look exactly to me just like a way for a distributor to increase their profit-per-unit over factory designs with essentially cosmetic additions that are characterized as proprietary "tuning" and "voicing" which is purported to be unique and vastly improving.  Nope.  Not buying it. Jeff already knew what he was doing when he designed the May and applying lipstick for an up-sell might be smart business for the distributors for the gullible, well-heeled or neurotic but it is hardly necessary at this maturity of design; those dac covers are magnetically permeable and also will not resist RF but they sure are pretty. You spends yer moneys and you takes yer chances.  Caveat emptor.

Sure however you do not know that for sure at best your guessing,

 

The L2 May to the KTE model there’s a $700.00 and change difference.....I’m neither well healed nor neurotic maybe a little OCD infection its telling me to spend that extra or suffer later ,... if later on several people did direct comparisons between the L2 May and KTE and found little or no differences , oh well , it’s $700.00 , as crazy as that may sound to you I have lengths of wire connecting my components and speakers that cost a lot more then $700.00.

 

[Hiker]

I finally heard back from the dealer , my order is in for the May KTE dac ,..

[Hiker]

2 hours ago, lpost said:

Who did you order through? Tim at Kitsune or a dealer in Canada?

Tim , no dealer in Canada .

[Hiker]

Question for those whom placed an order from Tim , How long did it take for Tim acknowledge your order,,,.Thank you,,...I placed an order last Thursday, filled out everything per instructions for international customers and still waiting for a PayPal invoice from Tim ..am I being too impatient? 

[Hiker]

3 minutes ago, Diavolo said:

I ordered 15 days ago and definitely paid via PayPal. Did you not get the ability to pay through paypal? I did and paid for the Serene using my PayPal credit account.

 

Just waiting a month or so more for delivery.  When I login to check my order it's just sitting there with button for view invoice and a paid invoice I can look at comes up. 

The ordering set up the dealer have for international customers like myself is once all relevant information is filled out including the specific component you are purchasing it’s stated a PayPal invoice will be sent ,.

 

I hope sales isn’t lumped in with random questions , this kinda worries me because of the wait time for a simple reply to a couple of questions summited twice , weeks went by with no reply I then summited the same questions a second time this time it took about week .

 

 

 

 

[Hiker]

6 minutes ago, Quadman said:

I have seen many people post here that communication is slow, at least initially, with Kitsune.  Now an order was placed Thursday and an invoice has not been sent.  That is not very good communication and reflects on the company itself.  I get it they are busy, but I remember when Alex from uptone audio was slamming, working in the shop 10+ hours a day and constantly replying to emails and forum questions in a timely manner.  He just got er done.  It looks like the dac's come direct from China as ordered L1,L2 KTE so Tim does not have to mod himself in house.  I can't imagine what is keeping them so busy they can't reply to new inquiries or orders in a timely manner.  I am seriously thinking of ordering this dac but these issues keep me from pursuing it further.  Hire someone..cheez

I could be making too much of a deal about it however I just hope sales isn’t mixed in with general questions by the apparent enormous amount of questions this dealer gets . ,..I’d sure be on it if someone was ready to purchase a top product from me .

 

Anyway they need to look at how functional their web page is ..Then number one take care of sales also I would suggest set up a self serve Q&A at the top of their web page they must get a load of questions asked repeatedly though sales should be their priority.

[Hiker]

39 minutes ago, JMD54 said:

I placed an order last night and the receipt was sent to me by PayPal, not Kitsune, immediately plus as was said earlier it is on the Kitsune website under your account. If it didn't come in your e-mail look in your account under orders. 

Tim’s web page is set up primarily for American buyers , I can’t set up an account, there’s no option for my country or address ,,There’s a spot for international orders you click on that where you fill out a order form then it’s stated a PayPal invoice will be sent ,,...

[Hiker]

1 hour ago, Johndubya said:

New here, but I ordered a Holo May yesterday. The web site was very slow. The order eventually went thru. I got an invoice from Tim as well as an apology for the web site. Apparently it's a problem with Microsoft services. 

The dealer site now has a Live Chat feature no one at the dealership is manning ,.lol ,.I’ve been trying since 8:00 AM this morning, My last note I left started with Please Help ,...it’s now 4:20 so some of you know what that means ,.

[Hiker]

23 minutes ago, ted_b said:

I would assume that, like Holo's earlier wonder dacs like my Holo Spring KTE, the OS modes in the May use cheap DSP chips and cannot compare to even using Roon upsampling, let alone HQplayer or an outboard processor like the Chord M-Scaler.   May is meant to play at NOS mode IMO.  And yes, I would assume, again, that Jeff's great R2R design makes PCM upsampling (to PCM) a real winner.  I never liked crossing over to PCM-to-DSD.  I leave DSD in its own domain, upsampling it to DSD256 via ASDM7EC.  Can't wait to hear May's PCM at 32fs!  👍

This is one of the reasons I want to purchase this dac ,....however there seems to be dark forces at work that won’t allow my order to go through including anyone at the dealership return any of my multiple queries thus far .
 

The sites Live Support seems to have passed away ,...

[Hiker]

Tim just came through with an invoice for a Holo May KTE dac,..I had re-ordered ,... Tim was very apologetic however this was a technical issues as mentioned by another member ..

 

[Hiker]

I should also point out Tim mentioned last night he’s facing some hostile potential customers over this Microsoft program screw up he worked tirelessly to figure out , he did . ,..After reading that I’m glad that I kept my patients and never had a single complaint,....

[Hiker]

3 hours ago, lpost said:

‘Microsoft program screw up‘

 

which one? They are so frequent. I know most of the world was impacted the past few days by an update that broke much of the authentication to cloud services but this has been rolled back 

I don’t use Microsoft ,  Tim said there were weeks of unread emails ,..

[Hiker]

1 hour ago, lpost said:

That's quite a feat to use nothing Microsoft. Everyone has some connection as you found out with the problems on Tim's site.

Well what I understand is that Tim wasn’t getting emails because of the issues with Microsoft , he explained it to me exactly what the problem was , I didn’t go into details, it has nothing to do what I use.

[Hiker]

22 minutes ago, lpost said:

My only other 'real' DAC has been the PS Audio Directstream for the past 3 years. In the last few months I owned it I replaced the transformers and analog power supply. Both opened my ears to better sound but both pale in comparison to the first few hours with the May DAC. No contest.

 

Initial thoughts and feelings. A natural sound that well sounds real to my brain. Dynamics are improved significantly. Decay is silly good, the DS has zero in comparison. Trailing notes or ambient space reflections seems to go on in a very natural way fading as they would in real life.

 

There is an increased feeling of ease despite the increase in dynamics as if the energy is delivered in time much more precisely vs. the DS. Time domain goodness. It just feels right. I don't want to gush too much as I expect there will be some dark break in days to come but I'm confident we'll come through those based on what I've heard already.

Exciting observations, 

[Hiker]

I will be using a stupendously good preamplifier with my KTE dac , Sparkos Lab Aries , built in Colorado and for 3k it’s a stupid good bargain.
Sure that puts in about the same price category as the Serene however the Sparkos Lab has much to offer , transparency in spades including a list of other attributes this preamplifier has.