HOLO Audio MAY DAC

[JeroenD]

On 11/28/2023 at 8:39 AM, 1laraz said:

You can also try ifi micro iUSB3.0 which has a better performance-to-cost ratio. The difference with an added reclocker is not dramatic of course, but quite obvious. 

Thanks for the extra input. I don't mind spending good money on improvements but first would like to have a little more background and feedback from others who did experiment with "improving" the digital signal fed to the DAC (in my case the Holo May DAC). 
But good to know that the experience you had with the Innuos PhoenixUSB and a good LPSU was positive regarding the overall sound quality improvement it generated.

[1laraz]

2 minutes ago, JeroenD said:

 but first would like to have a little more background and feedback from others who did experiment with "improving" the digital signal fed to the DAC (in my case the Holo May DAC). 
 

There is nothing wrong if you start just with the Holo May as it already has a decent galvanically isolated USB input. But the reality proves that there is still headroom for further improvements.

[JeroenD]

2 hours ago, flkin said:

 

1. I don't have a Holo May but I was using a Pink Faun USB card with a basic Connor Winfield OCXO clock for a while. Then I upgraded to a Pink Faun Ultra OCXO clock. The upgrade was a clear improvement in natural sound and imaging. A further big improvement came when I added a good external power supply - a custom, double regulated Paul Hynes. Was like a component upgrade and more.

4. I heard PF's I2S card alongside their USB card playing to PF's own designed DAC (not for sale) containing a Burr Brown 1795 playing to a max of 192kHz and liked what I heard. I suppose it depends on the DAC too but it was my preferred sound on that day.

The Pink Faun USB card is probably also a very nice USB card comparable with the USB card of Jcat (Jcat USB EX) I am using at the moment. Also Jcat is offering a clock upgrade for this card which is one of the options I have that could improve the sound quality of my system.
Nice you did do this upgrade of the clock on the PF USB card.
What kind of DAC did you use hearing this difference after upgrading too the PF ultra clock?

[flkin]

19 hours ago, JeroenD said:

...
What kind of DAC did you use hearing this difference after upgrading to the PF ultra clock?

 

My DAC is the Vinnie Rossi DAC 2.0 (AK4497EQ). It allows me to play in NOS (non-oversampling) mode which is my preferred way. 

[JeroenD]

11 hours ago, flkin said:

 

My DAC is the Vinnie Rossi DAC 2.0 (AK4497EQ). It allows me to play in NOS (non-oversampling) mode which is my preferred way. 

Nice DAC, I hope you are happy with it.
I did have a look at your profile and see you have the Pink Faun 2.16 Streamer and also played around with their ultra clocks on USB and motherboard. Same things I am think of and curious about what it takes and delivers.
Also replacing existing clocks on a motherboard is interesting ;-).
Thanks for sharing it so I can read it. I will probably have some more questions about this later.
P.s. I live in The Netherlands and know Pink Faun a little because it is a Dutch brand.

[flkin]

13 hours ago, JeroenD said:

Nice DAC, I hope you are happy with it.
I did have a look at your profile and see you have the Pink Faun 2.16 Streamer and also played around with their ultra clocks on USB and motherboard. Same things I am think of and curious about what it takes and delivers.
Also replacing existing clocks on a motherboard is interesting ;-).
Thanks for sharing it so I can read it. I will probably have some more questions about this later.
P.s. I live in The Netherlands and know Pink Faun a little because it is a Dutch brand.

 

Sure, please reach out to me privately and I can share my experiences. Jord and Pink Faun is in Rhenen, worth a visit to listen to his Euphrosyne system - all components made themselves and mostly not for sale!  Pretty amazing sound and you can ask to listen to their I2S card too. Also ask him about his new Ultra USB card. Just about to be launch this month (I think) - I'm expecting it to be the new gold standard for USB cards. I recently made a trip there and wrote about it here.

[Jared2500]

What's up guys-- first post. I've been a May owner for 2 months now and it's proven to be a superb DAC. I am a huge fan of NOS mode, and I have been experimenting with different high shelf PEQ settings to apply a correction to the rolloff (below). I was wondering if anyone here has already accomplished this to satisfaction. 

[scintilla]

HQPlayer is your friend.  It was made for DACs like the May and can optimize your results.  Do a trial.  

[Jared2500]

17 hours ago, scintilla said:

HQPlayer is your friend.  It was made for DACs like the May and can optimize your results.  Do a trial.  

HQPlayer is great. I alternate between NOS by itself and HQ Player frequently, and I love both. This inquiry is more for frequency response purposes. 

[Extreme_Boky]

On 1/5/2024 at 5:54 PM, Jared2500 said:

What's up guys-- first post. I've been a May owner for 2 months now and it's proven to be a superb DAC. I am a huge fan of NOS mode, and I have been experimenting with different high shelf PEQ settings to apply a correction to the rolloff (below).

 

Which app are you using to apply EQ settings?

 

On 1/5/2024 at 5:54 PM, Jared2500 said:

I was wondering if anyone here has already accomplished this to satisfaction. 

 

 

The main issue here is the danger of the amp not being able to cope correctly with rubbish at above 50kHz...

 

It is safe to say that the May analog stage is designed and performs very well in NOS, so the May analog stage in itself is not a problem.

 

However, if you apply a very mild PCM oversampling to get rid of NOS rool-off (of some 3-4dB at high audio frequencies), the audio band frequency response will be flat, and the out-of-band rubbish will shift far to the right... which should be a non-issue even for a very high input impedance & very wide frequency response amps with questionable phase response / unoptimised feedback loops (or no feedback at all...!!). With appropriate dither applied, the dynamic range would also increase a  fair bit. 

 

So, in a nutshell, -> keep May in NOS and try the above vs DSD vs pure NOS. Each mode will have its flavour. 

 

Also, get the best out of each mode, and then use them as the different moods strike...

 

To be sure, you could use an oscilloscope and check what you are getting at the amplifier input (out of May in NOS) vs. amplifier output @ various types of loads (a bit of capacitive load to simulate real-world speakers and speaker cables makes bad things very obvious very quickly). Then you can decide what settings are best for you.