HOLO Audio MAY DAC

[lpost]

I'm impressed with the sloppiness on the botton given the near perfection on the top side.

 

My fan moves enough air to drop the surface temp from 99 to 85. Ambient is 74, all in F. 

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On 4/22/2021 at 1:39 PM, lpost said:

Since my gear is away in an open closet, I can't hear any fans. Though this one is super slow and quiet. Just moving a touch of air makes a significant difference in case temps.

 

 

After a day of 'cooling' I prefer the sound of the May at ambient 37-38C. I'll save the fan for the warmer summer months. Same goes for my amp. I have fans for when the hot summer months are here but I prefer the sound with it at it's normal temp with no air movement.

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2 hours ago, Schafheide said:

I have had my gorgeous May KTE for about 125 hours. Can anyone advise if it is worth experimenting with the orientation of the fuse?

It’s certainly quick and easy to try. Try it and let us know your experience.

 

I have not tried it yet. I’m enjoying the music too much!

 

1000 hours today.

 

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, Hiker said:

Anyone else experienced a delay like this  ? ,..This past Monday Tim forwarded a tracking number for my KTE May dac , according to the DLH tracking information my dac hasn’t moved out of a Hong Kong service centre since Saturday April 24th ,,... jeesh ,,.5 weeks was a tough wait and now ,...

DLH just haven’t picked it up yet ,,

Mine was similar. I received tracking info from DHL and it appeared to sit waiting for pickup for a few days. I think I received the tracking info from Tim on the day I received it.

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21 minutes ago, scintilla said:

And I mean out-of-the-box without resorting to  ensuring my a/c fuse is aligned with a meridian...

I thought you already had one? Apparently not. Mine sounded good out of the box but has some very rough patches on it's way to ~500 hours. Now at 1000 hours it sounds great all the time but don't give up on it too soon as I suspect some have and sold it.

 

If I were to do it again, I would probably give it power and signal and not listen to it for a few weeks.

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I like both Groove salad streams but mostly do Classic...though one could hope for a bit better SQ. Taking them up to 32fs helps a bunch with the crunchy treble.

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I should play around more with the input capabilities in HQP. I'm sure FM does sound way better moving the noise way out. It's tough to beat the convenience of internet radio though. Try 5EC too. I like it a bit more than 7-nonEC. I can't do 7EC.

 

Be sure to try PCM too. I like it better than DSD 90% of the time with the May. It's vastly easier for the HQP machine too, bonus. I go between poly-sinc-lp, ext2 and sinc-m. If I need or want to reduce the dymamics or the highs are too hot, DSD is the ticket (with the May). Think late at night or badly mastered 80s tracks of my wasted youth.

[lpost]

Oh yeah, native NOS also rolls the highs off in a very pleasant way...when needed. I do detect a loss of clarity overall without any upsampling/noise shaping but I could easily live with the May NOS with nothing but native rates.

 

I'm sure the new M2 chip will kick some DSD butt. They just entered mass production this week apparently.

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Single-ended or balanced? It's a bit hotter than my departed but well appreciated DirectStream. Balanced with both.

 

I've not listened to Kerosene Hat for a good number of years. I wonder how it will go once the Trinity Sessions SACD is over?

[lpost]

200-400 hours had some rough patches - same soundstage shrunk and upper-mid lower treble was irritatingly harsh on some tracks. 500 and beyond just seems to get more sublime.

 

It seems as though passing through 1000 has been just a bit more relaxed but the 'bad' sounds are far behind at this point.

 

Have faith, press on.

[lpost]

'So yep, basically any source should work with the may and be absolutely ideal. 

It truly is a remarkably and wonderfully over-engineered product. '

 

I suppose this explains why I hear zero difference when changing power supplies that feed my UP gateway NAA computer (Intel Cherry Trail SoC) that connects to the May via USB. 

 

I have my May and PS separated only because I built the shelves and could easily separate them some. The DC cable is generously long allowing for this so why not if able. It certainly cannot hurt to have separation though it also may not matter/help anything audible and at the end of the day audible is all that really matters (to me).

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1 hour ago, GoldenOne said:

Also just thought I'd post here in regards to USB sources for 1.536mhz for the may.

I was previously using an SMS200 Ultra, but couldn't do 1.536mhz from HQPlayer with it.
You have to use an intel device in order to reliably get 1.536mhz working. (Some other PCIe cards work on and off but intel is the only thing that works reliably).

This limits you to not massively ideal devices in terms of your source. I bought a NUC as I could then run a roon core on it, and also use it as a source for the may.
 

 

I've been super happy with the UP gateway based on Intel Cherry Trail SoC. Does 1.5MHz flawlessly and runs HQP NAA boot image perfectly. It's also on Jussi's recommended hardware list.

 

I run the $12 smps they offer as a companion and there is zero difference compared to using the iFi iPower Elite I evaluated for 30 days.

 

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

 

They even include the emissions testing data allowing one to compare the noise emitted (RF) to others that give such readings. I suppose they all have to test for FCC and Euro regulations but may not make the data so easy to access.

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7 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I keep seeing people suggest that Intel chipsets are a requirement for 32fs playback. This isn't true. As I type this, I'm listening to 32fs through a Sonore signatureRendu SE optical. 

 

 

Good not know! I wonder which USB chipset the Rendu uses? (edit: Chis is using a Denafrips not Holo May)

 

I had no luck with AMD USB nor with the plethora of cheap PCI-e USB boards on Amazon. None would do 32fs even at 16-bits. But I've heard some have had RPi4 do 32fs and others, including myself, not. All combined with May dac.

 

Jussi recommends 20-bit for the May to allow the noise shaper to do it's best job. Running at 32-bit is of no advantage and I guess he would argue a disadvantage vs. 20-bit.

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7 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

It comes down to a combination of chipset and drivers. Using Windows on CAPS 20.1 as an endpoint, I couldn't get 32fs working. Switching to Linux NAA image, it worked flawlessly. Intel hardware didn't change, only software changed. 

All of my various hardware trials where all done with Jussi's images, either HQPe with just NAA daemon loaded (for easy bridge network support) or NAA. Apparently what we're asking the USB hardware to do is out of spec but clearly not a bandwidth issue.

[lpost]

1 hour ago, TA75 said:

1) I don't have another shelf to run the dac and power supply separately, do you find the performance better this way or is stacked basically the same?

2) Has anyone tried footers under the dac (when placed on top of the power supply or on a shelf)?

3) Is there any upgrade to the existing umbilical chord that runs from the power supply to the dac?

4) My amp has a true balanced circuit so I'm guessing I should run XLRs from the dac for the best sound correct?

 

1) I've tried it both ways and I don't hear a difference though I had the space so I have them separated vertically by a couple inches.

2)I use footers under both but only because I already had them. The included footers seem to do a nice job. I'm currently using Herbies Tenderfoot (3) feet under the dac and mini Iso-pucks (4) under the ps.

3)The included cable is a high quality and I see no reason to change it. I'm not aware of any alternatives.

4) Yes. Probably. Likely. Not guaranteed to make a difference though. Depends on length and environment. Common mode rejection gains you nothing if there is little or none to reject. Likely depends on the differences between single-ended and balanced architecture internal to the amp. 

 

I would stick with your source until the May has a few thousand hours on it before considering a change. The May seems less affected by the source than most DACs DDC.

 

@GoldenOneHas made some measurements to affirm this in his review of DDCs.

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I keep thinking to myself when does the May L3 stop improving?! Mine just crossed 1400 hours and it took a nice tick up about ~1300 hours. Amazingly good.

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On 6/1/2021 at 8:49 AM, MichaelHiFi said:

I'd barely know where to start but I'll say this. I've done countless cable comparison's. Countless. 

 

Last night I finally got a chance to make a USB comparison, but only locating 2 cables, a ~$250 dollar cable and a freebie still in plastic wrap. 

 

I had a Intona Ultimate USB cable that thankfully I purchased used and had used it with the May for 1500 hours. I decided to try the USB cable included with the May for a few days. I was unable to hear any difference whatsoever. I switched back to the Intona for a few days. No change. Sold it for a modest profit. My take away, the May doesn't need anything but a built to spec USB cable to shine.

 

Regarding 3014 vs 3012 firmwares and 1.5Mhz. You need an Intel USB port to get 1.5Mhz. If you run HQP I strongly recommend the UP gateway $200 Intel SoC computer. GoldenOne/GoldenSound has used another variant with Intel Cherry Trail chip to good effect too.  See recommended devices on Signalyst.com. 

 

I was not able to get my AMD machine to output beyond 768k.

[lpost]

19 hours ago, Extreme_Boky said:

That May in the review is running v1.30; mine is running v1.20. Does any one know what the difference is?

 

0.1 

 

sorry I couldn’t resist. Mine is 1.20 as well.

[lpost]

What is your source? Sounds like it could have too much jitter for the pll to lock sometimes. You can turn off pll to test this theory.

[lpost]

On 6/15/2021 at 7:06 AM, audio.bill said:

For anyone in the US who's purchased the KTE Holo DAC from Kitsune, is it shipped directly to you from Holo Audio? If so I'd be curious to know how much duty, taxes and related fees are typically assessed. TIA for sharing your experience.

Shipped direct from Holo out of Hong Kong. Kitsune does not receive them. No duties. Just the price plus shipping.

[lpost]

20 hours ago, mr. Fancypants said:

The DAC is shipped from Kitsune Audio (in Washington state?), so there are no issues with international shipping.  There is some assembly done by Kitsune, so if you place an order today, the DAC does not ship immediately.  I ordered a KTE a few weeks ago and was told to expect around 5 weeks before it would be ready. 

Not according to Tim at Kitsune. All levels are built by Jeff Zhu's team of enthusiasts and shipped from China/Hong Kong. Tim does not mod the May.

[lpost]

Sorry you guys are having issues with your remotes. I haven't used mine except to check that it works months ago. May has been powered on for a few weeks straight and I just checked and the remote is working as normal. Mine shipped with batteries despite saying it would not.

 

I'm really liking DSD now after a couple hundred hours play time through that path. It was way too soft and nice early on but I'm coming to appreciate DSD256 and 5EC modulator.

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1 hour ago, Quadman said:

I got a new 3060 video card and can now do DSD1024 with the lightest filters

 

What cpu and motherboard? Have you measured the total watts while cranking away on DSD1024?

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23 minutes ago, Quadman said:

 UPS for total PC draw.

Thanks, I'm most interested in total PC draw. You were lucky to find a 3060 let alone a higher end one.

 

Just before Covid hit I built two mega image processing PCs for a group at work (exceedingly high resolution tissue scans, billions of pixels and 10x depth levels. The app wants Tensor cores), both with dual 3090s. And these to replace the Titans from a year or so ago. Crazy. 

[lpost]

Hey all,

 

Is there anyway to reduce or eliminate the little snap that occurs when DSD starts? Path is Roon Windows Core to HQPeOS x64 PC to NAA endpoint USB to May.

 

I've read Jeff Zhu tried hard to reduce it as much as possible but seems to have not been terribly successful.

 

If I don't interrupt the flow of tracks from Roon, no snap, but if I skip or change to another radio station causing the stream to start over I get a snap in only my left channel.

 

Enabling DoP has reduced it considerably. The May still decodes DSD so I'll take it.

 

Looks like DoP is needed for Linux:

 

"HOLO Audio is the world’s first to support DSD natively on R2R DAC, so far the only one. This is not the DSD converted to PCM before digital-analog converter, but directly by the discrete components of the DSD digital to analog converter. Supported currently on MAC (DOP)and Linux (DOP), and Windows/PC (Direct Native and DOP).“