HOLO Audio MAY DAC

[Jean Paul D]

19 hours ago, Miska said:

 

At the moment May is too expensive for my current R&D budget for buying DACs. The tunings for Spring 2 also match May the same way though. May is just otherwise better. I hope I can obtain a Spring 3 though when such arrives.

 

From testing point of view, DSD1024 with best modulators is not a problem since I can process the test signal conversions offline with HQPlayer Pro.

 

In DSD mode, DSD256 is sweet spot for Spring 2. In PCM mode, the 1.4112/1.536M 20-bit is sweet spot. For May, I would need to have the device to measure if it is the same, but I'd say it likely is.

 

 

AKM chips have traditionally been switched capacitor. Same for Cirrus Logic.

 

The May is too expensive for me. Says @Quadman earlier in this thread : May trounces his once beloved T+A DSD8 ; is it true of the Spring as well ? should I get a  Spring2L2 rather than a T+A DSD8?

 

Someone further up this thread reported that his Spring is "blah" compared to the May. Is this general opinion or law of diminishing returns allows me to hope to get  most of the good things reported in this thread about the May with a Spring?

 

[Jean Paul D]

11 minutes ago, scintilla said:

Spring 2 is discontinued and Spring 3 is imminent and will approach the asymptote.  I think it might actually cannibalize some sales of the May unless May is also updated and the price goes up.  

thank you, I should have stated my budget is for second hand, forthcoming S3KTE being announced close to 2x the price @juanitoxsold his S2L2, in France where I live, recently but before I got interested. 

This being, if S3 is really reaching the asymptote, I might stretch the budget 

[Jean Paul D]

1 hour ago, fds said:

While I have no experience with the Spring, I am really very happy with the T+A DAC8DSD. However, in my view, the latter will make sense only if you will feed it with DSD512 obtained from PCM ideally by using HQPlayer. If you do not want to use DSD512 for some reason, a Holo Audio DAC may be better ... but I do not know for sure since I have no first hand experience with Holo Audio yet. While the PCM DAC of the T+A is quite good as well, its DSD DAC is the one that allows for that magical realism with DSD512, which seems to be the consensus among most of its fans out there.

I have recently acquired HQPlayer and a Mac Mini M1. Hopefully 512 capable ; do you prefer the T+A @512 with non EC modulator or  @256 with 7EC? i'm limited to 128 nowadays but love 7EC

[Jean Paul D]

2 minutes ago, Quadman said:

As fds says above, the T+A is made for DSD512 via HQP.  It is an incredible dac and it is better if you can utilize the balanced out as opposed to the SE (RCA) outs. I could only use the RCA out.  Herb Reichert said the difference between the Spring dac and the May was not subtle leading me to believe the T+A at 512 DSD or perhaps 256 DSD with EC7 modulators is going to beat the spring.  My listening notes 3 days before the Holo appeared said "does it get any better than this, how can the May beat this".  The T+A is an amazing dac and I was in audiophile nirvana with it.  I took the leap primarily because the reviews were so positive on the May's sound and the real clincher was the May's stand alone PSU.  In my experience the better PSU always wins.  Think Naim with their box and the better versions of that box were simply better PSU's.  You can't go wrong with a T+A if you play DSD as described above.  The PSU between the spring and T+A are similar, in chassis designs, so I'd give the edge to the T+A.

Thank you, seems either I go for a  easy to find, or so it seems, second hand T+A or more than triple the budget for a May that seems to be only available new. I have juste got HQP plus a Mini M1, have a lot to explore, and get more and more confused : on the one hand I hear a lot of differences with modulators and filters and that convinces me that there might be huge differences in the digital realm and on the other hand I'm reluctant to spend huge amounts to hear differences. If I interpret correctly @bluesman recent article, and the man does not seem to spend much on individual DACs, there is more to be gained from educated listening than from gear changes and I could even convince myself I haven't yet reached the limits of my modest DAC. I have just listened to Mingus Ah Um in Classic Records 45 rpm edition and it was a delight from start to finish, and I could not help but go and put the 4 records one after the other while last time I listened to the MFSL SACD (and I like MFSL) I got tired after a few tracks : this could have me spend more on a DAC if I was convinced it's the difference between ordeal (almost) and delight and I read how you guys praise the May as analog. OTOH yesterday I listened to another great classic : Out of the Afternoon by Roy Haines et al and I'm sure it's the SACD that would have been picked as analog by a blinded invitee while in the end I listened to more tracks from the LP with its rawer more direct drums. 

[Jean Paul D]

18 minutes ago, jiminlogansquare said:

If you don't mind my chiming in, I prefer my T+A DAC 8 DSD at DSD512 with non-EC modulators (specifically ASDM7) to any DSD rate with EC. Caveat of course being that I am unable to do DSD512 with EC (not enough processing power). And on preview, as @Quadmanstates, you have to update the Amanero USB input board to run DSD512 with any source other than Windows PC.

I sure don't mind ! Thank you. I'm also thinking of using a little machine with @Miska 's image, so Linux, as NAA. 

[Jean Paul D]

16 minutes ago, Quadman said:

May would be 2x maybe 2x+ over used T+A,  if you can stretch, the may is the clear choice.  It is that much better almost an endgame dac.  My SME30 mk2 TT and dynavector XV1s cartridge just sit idle as my digital has surpassed it in SQ (even the T+A at 512 was the equal to it). I briefly tried the T+A direct to my amplifiers like @fds does and it was very good, but I have a buffered preamp with a very simple circuit and very high parts quality and really heard no difference between direct to amp or through my buffered pre.  So I keep my buffered preamp in the chain.

 

I also, last weekend, made an upgrade to my L2 May (making it almost a KTE minus the copper R2R board covers) and will report on that tomorrow after one more long listening session.  Dang I just love the MAY.

nice vinyl rig ! I have a lesser XX1 Dynavector and the idler in my 60's studio TT is noisy (don't pay attention when a record plays though) but I'm under the impression things won't get that easy for me, that, even if digital would prove better on audiophile editions of the same record cut by the same guys (ie Steve Hoffman Kevin GRay for both SACD and vinyl) I would still feel like going vinyl for this or that record, for mastering, for history etc. My preamp has a bypass input to which I could connect the DAC I guess and still use the preamp to connect the phono preamp. But -3dB for headroom (HQP), -6 for DSD vs PCM with a Holo DAC, - 8 9 10 dB maybe more if I choose convolution in HQP rather than eQ through my Meyer CP10 : I can't see how I could reach satisfying SPL without gain set in preamp (offers up to 20 and is balanced so I could connect a T+A balanced). Holo DACs are more expensive in Europe and I can't find a trace of a used May.

[Jean Paul D]

2 hours ago, lpost said:

Sorry, link to the UP gateway.

 

https://up-shop.org/up-gateway-atom-x5-z8350-w-4g-memory-32g-emmc-board-w-vesa-plate.html

 

or from Mouser if you're in the US.

I have ordered one. Booting Miska's image on a laptop fed as NAA was quite convincing. Has anyone ever played with the UP's USB plugs and try to determine if one sounds better than the others?

[Jean Paul D]

On 4/16/2021 at 10:56 PM, Quadman said:

May would be 2x maybe 2x+ over used T+A,  if you can stretch, the may is the clear choice.  It is that much better almost an endgame dac.  My SME30 mk2 TT and dynavector XV1s cartridge just sit idle as my digital has surpassed it in SQ (even the T+A at 512 was the equal to it). I briefly tried the T+A direct to my amplifiers like @fds does and it was very good, but I have a buffered preamp with a very simple circuit and very high parts quality and really heard no difference between direct to amp or through my buffered pre.  So I keep my buffered preamp in the chain.

 

I also, last weekend, made an upgrade to my L2 May (making it almost a KTE minus the copper R2R board covers) and will report on that tomorrow after one more long listening session.  Dang I just love the MAY.

someone compared our TTs. My tonearm is different though. With mono albums I can make the hum and idler rumble disappear but with stereo it's far from perfect black background. But very exciting sound https://www.inner-magazines.com/audiophilia/sme-30-2a-versus-emt-930st/

 

How about the almost KTE upgrade?

[Jean Paul D]

6 hours ago, scintilla said:

You may think anything you like.  I am listening with my ears, not my thoughts.  I report what I hear.  I have heard nothing to indicate any change in sound quality so far in any direction.

 

As an aside, I will note that when I played Kind of Blue, I was struck by the quality of the brush sound on the snare in Blue in Green, a track I have listened to countless times.  The brush sound was palpable.  I know that sound quite well because I have made it myself on my own snare. That was one of the distinctions I have noted so far between May and the other dacs I have owned.  

do you confirm, though, that differences with your Topping D90 are subtle ?

[Jean Paul D]

2 hours ago, ted_b said:

A few updated comments on my listening/testing with Tim's demo Holo May:

*  as per Quadman (thanks @Quadman ) I lowered HQP Windows 10 dac bit setting from 20 bits (hf hash) to 18 bits and 32fs sounds much much better, but at 18 bits and simple mobo USB port I am comparing it to 16fs at 20 bits with my Startech externally powered USB card.....and it's too close to call, but I think I prefer the 16fs and better USB port.

*  After updating HQP to 4.10.3 (I love 4.9 but it has NAA issues) and booting up Jussi's NAA image on my NUC I am now listening to 32fs at 20 bits and all is well.  Best of both worlds.

 

I'm not sure what I will do long term as my NUC was updated by Larry (thanks @lmitche) to be my Roon server (updated AL, new NVME 4 TB Sabrent SSD, SSD heatsink and anti-RF/EMI material, new 8GB Apacer RAM), so I will either look to Startech's unreleased Asmedia 3142 card and stay direct Windows output, or buy something to be my 32fs-capable NAA.

 

Net/net, I'm now able to finally sit back and listen to both 32fs and DSD256 (higher when non-EC) without having to do any pyrotechnics.  😎

hOW much better is the MAY vs your Spring and in which way?