Brief follow up: I'm about six weeks into ownership of this DAC and can say with confidence I have zero regrets.
I've been doing a lot of streaming from Tidal recently since my CD transport is in the shop. I like streaming while I'm multi-tasking, and one of the funny things is I continuously get fooled by this DAC. The music will be playing and when it reaches the end of a certain track I'll subconsciously get up to change the LP side, only to remember that I'm not playing records! This DAC, combined with my Innuous Zenith Mk3 and Phoenix Reclocker, is as close to analog of any digital product I have ever heard.
In honesty, my analog setup beats the digital setup by a small margin, so doing an A/B between them, the analog system wins. That said, the May DAC does not sound like any DAC I've ever heard. There is no trace of square edges around the musical notes at all. No harshness, no glare. No analytical detail, yet plenty of detail! I can listen for hours without any fatigue. Excellent stereo separation, imaging and soundstage. $5K is a real bargain for this wonderful DAC. I'm extremely happy with it.
I've been doing a lot of streaming from Tidal recently since my CD transport is in the shop. I like streaming while I'm multi-tasking, and one of the funny things is I continuously get fooled by this DAC. The music will be playing and when it reaches the end of a certain track I'll subconsciously get up to change the LP side, only to remember that I'm not playing records! This DAC, combined with my Innuous Zenith Mk3 and Phoenix Reclocker, is as close to analog of any digital product I have ever heard.
In honesty, my analog setup beats the digital setup by a small margin, so doing an A/B between them, the analog system wins. That said, the May DAC does not sound like any DAC I've ever heard. There is no trace of square edges around the musical notes at all. No harshness, no glare. No analytical detail, yet plenty of detail! I can listen for hours without any fatigue. Excellent stereo separation, imaging and soundstage. $5K is a real bargain for this wonderful DAC. I'm extremely happy with it.