Aurender N20 Streamer & Holo May DAC vs Analog

@vonhelmholtz One other thing I recall is that you were just resent a new Holo after your last one failed. From what I read in the past, the Holo May requires up to 600 hours of play time to fully burn in. Where do you think you are with the unit timewise?

In my case, my digital chain and analog chain cost me almost the same. Knowing your analog chain and having owned many similar pieces (VPI table and tonearm, MSL cartridge, Audionet phono), it is all very high quality and capable of exceptional reproduction. In my experience, the Holo, while coveted by many in the community, has a very different character - one that I find to side on the more articulate vs the musical and soulful. I tend to categorize it alongside the Tambaqui and DCS Bartok, where many will say it is musical while being articulate, but when compared to other DAC manufacturers like T+A, MSB, Gryphon, EMM, one can hear where the latter brands just have more tonal density, texture, air, and breath and the former brands sound more brittle and dry in comparison.

Circling back around, it required me to equal the investment I have in my analog rig to get my digital rig to perform about as well. While you can get much farther with digital with less when you are just starting out, once you’re in the endgame stage, digital becomes equally expensive to achieve similar endgame results that analog can offer.