I just A/B'd my Level 2 May DAC (fully broken in, in NOS mode, with balanced outputs) w/ my Chord Qutest (with Teddy Pardo LPS and unbalanced outputs) just prior to listing the Qutest for sale. They both sounded amazing (extremely quiet, excellent speed), but the biggest difference between them that I could tell was that the Qutest was more crisp-sounding, with less "air" or reverb/decay. The May let the reverb linger for much longer, which to me makes it feel more "real" or "live" in recordings that emphasize this. However, the Qutest had such a clean crisp sound to it, and some/many might prefer that, especially for more synthetic music. Otherwise, I'd say the May's overall sound was a little fuller/warmer/richer which made the Qutest sound a little quieter, volume-wise. Can't go wrong with either, but the May won me over for good.
Holo Audio May DAC
Just read a very nice review of this in Stereophile this month and after doing some research it looks like this one could be a very nice option for me.
https://kitsunehifi.com/product/holo-audio-may-dac/
It's made in China I think (or could be Taiwan?, and yes, I am very well aware that these are two very different countries. ;)), and employs a direct to consumer model to keep the price as low as possible. This does not worry me after purchasing a Jay's Audio transport from Vinshine Audio and having zero issues.
Just curious if anyone here has heard one or purchased? I'm very intrigued. I know the Denafrips Terminator is another highly regarded DAC with a similar ordering model, but costs a couple grand more than this one. Considering that one as well.
Thanks
https://kitsunehifi.com/product/holo-audio-may-dac/
It's made in China I think (or could be Taiwan?, and yes, I am very well aware that these are two very different countries. ;)), and employs a direct to consumer model to keep the price as low as possible. This does not worry me after purchasing a Jay's Audio transport from Vinshine Audio and having zero issues.
Just curious if anyone here has heard one or purchased? I'm very intrigued. I know the Denafrips Terminator is another highly regarded DAC with a similar ordering model, but costs a couple grand more than this one. Considering that one as well.
Thanks
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As far as I know Lampizator no longer utilizes R-2R. They have their own ‘engine 53’ delta sigma now. Besides that, all Lampi units are tube based and the May is not. You may know these two facts but thought I’d add them just incase. What I’m curious about is how the May and the Mojo Audio EVO compare to each other —both ss and both R-2R... |
Here's a great review of the Holo May DAC. One bit that got my attention was this: It’s worth noting that John Atkinson of Stereophile, among others, have measured the TKE May DAC finding unparalleled performance, This implies a resolution of more than 22 bits, which is the highest I have encountered. https://twitteringmachines.com/review-holo-audio-kte-may-dac/ All the best, Nonoise |
@nonoise Indeed. I just don't buy the pure measurement perspective pushed by ASR, but it appears that this dac measures quite well and is a real technical achievement: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-holo-audio-may... |
There's something very right about Holo DACs. I only heard one, years ago, at an audio show when I sat down to listen to some headphones. Holo was still new and when I put on the headphones, it was the first time I thought I could listen to this sound all day long and not want or need for anything. All the best, Nonoise |
@snackeyp The Holo Audio May DAC 3 won the Product Of The Year in Stereophile this month. so does it sound even better today knowing this???? sorry -- i just couldn’t help myself LOL -- have fun and happy listening!!! :) |
to be serious for a moment, there is no doubt a component being named by a major magazine or website publication as ’recommended’ or ’best of’ is an accolade to be proud of - it is also important confirmation of that component being very very good at what it sets out to do the other point to keep in mind on this topic is that media outlets get their bread buttered too, so inclusion of an item is often a measure of what is paid in advertising, or fees, or public relations legwork by the maker or dealer ... the key point is that competing units NOT included in such publications are not necessarily worse or unworthy this takes nothing away from the holo may - which is undoubtedly a lovely sounding well built high end dac |
I’d be curious, too, if anyone had heard this and the Rockna. Also, anyone compared this to the PS Audio direct stream? I know I’m asking for the impossible with all these comparisons, but anyone that went from the Spring to the May, feel free to weigh in. I’ve been seriously looking at the Spring and Pontus. Currently have a Teac NT-505 which was a nice step up from streaming on my integrated. |
@cd45123 I'm still naïve in regards to the Holo products, but I've had the Directstream DAC in my system (posted on agon) twice for extended periods. It just never worked for me. My theory is that some people (and systems) are particularly sensitive to phase coherency and that something about the DSD's processing is influencing phase. Whatever it is, that product sounds like it puts the music into a blender to my ears. I was so happy to find a R2R dac (the Audio Mirror T3-SE) that eliminated whatever was happening and just sounded so much more natural to my ears. Clearly other people with different ears and systems are having a *very* different experience with the DSD. I'll note that I had a PS Audio PWD II for many years and loved it. I downgraded back to it the two times I tried to move on to the DSD. |
My theory is that some people (and systems) are particularly sensitive to phase coherency and that something about the DSD’s processing is influencing phase. Whatever it is, that product sounds like it puts the music into a blender to my ears. I was so happy to find a R2R dac (the Audio Mirror T3-SE) that eliminated whatever was happening and just sounded so much more natural to my ears.When doing PCM (Redbook 14/44, 24/96, DXD) Probably has something to do as Mojo Music states, that R2R Multibit conversion when done right is "Bit Perfect". Where DS (Delta Sigma converters) can only give a "facsimile" of it. But DS can do DSD, and now the some of the later discrete R2R Multibit dacs can too!! MoJo Music. "When a PCM file is played on a native DSD Delta Sigma single-bit converter, the single-bit DAC chip has to convert the PCM to DSD in real-time. This is one of the major reasons people claim DSD sounds better than PCM, when in fact, it is just that the chip in most modern Delta Sigma single-bit DACs do a poor job of decoding PCM." Cheers George |
Thanks George. I was just reading about the Directstream and the designer was discussing how they paid special attention to phase preservation, so perhaps that's not the source of my issue. Perhaps it is just as simple as being bit-perfect (although I haven't really had that issue with other non-bit-perfect dacs). |
I am interested in the May as well. However, I read that May sounds best when feed with DSD512 up-sampled stream from HQPlayer. This puts a big requirement on the compute requirement of HQP on the up-sampling server and I certainly don't want to go down that path. For those who are using the May, what are you feeding with ? Also, if you are feeding with upsampling stream, how big of a difference are we talking about between feeding native vs upsampled bitstream ? |
@jriggy The high bitrate upsamplers will always say a DAC sounds best that way. yes i think this is true in my pursuit of streaming and digital file playing, i have focused on what makes cd quality material sound as close to and ’analog’ like as possible - this objective is important as so much/most music out there exists in this resolution higher bitrates/mqa/dsd etc etc are icing on the cake, relevant side dishes, not the main meal deal |
I think he's just referring to the AK4137 chip that handles all upsampling. But you're right that the standard r2r modules are still involved. See below: From: https://www.kitsunehifi.com/product/holo-audio-may-dac/ "The oversampling is done by AK4137, ‘OS PCM’ converts the input stream to PCM no matter it is PCM or DSD, then send to DAC. ‘OS DSD’ converts the input stream to DSD no matter is is PCM or DSD, then send to DAC. ‘OS’ over-samples the input stream. If it is DSD input, it over-sample to DSD256. If it is PCM input, it over-samples to PCM384K or 352.8K ‘NOS’ does no oversampling. send the input stream directly to DAC module.' |
The Halo May Level 3 and the AudioByte Vox | Zap | Hub stack seem like advancing DAC technology without breaking the bank. I am looking at these 2 to supplement or replace a Benchmark DAC3B. The AudioByte vs the Rockna Wavelight is also very interesting since they come from the same designer and are priced around the same. |
I've had my Holo May KTE DAC for a couple of months now. It's as impressive today as it was the day I got it. It never dissapoints. I do now use HQPLAYER and Roon, but I actually prefer PCM 20bits (per Jussi)/1.536MHZ to DSD512. I find it a tad more resolute, and detailed honestly. I also think DSD512 is also very good, but just a hair smoother too me and maybe that's preferred by some or it's just the synergy between running source-direct to my Pass Labs XA25 amplifier and then on to my Tekton Encores. I use Roon for volume attenuation which manipulates HQPLAYER's built-in volume control. I've only got two digital sources and no analog sources. I've always preferred the sound source-direct and not through a preamp. I'm a big fan of the shortest signal path. I've used mostly SET Tube Amplifiers for 25 years. The XA25 is the first solid-state amplifier to change my mind with its unreal set-like midrange and Pass's signature bass which is outstanding. I've also enjoyed the Holo May KTE DAC very much with no hqplayer processing on redbook lossless in NOS mode of course. It's superb, but I drank the Hqplayer kool-aid recently after swearing I'd never buy it for years while settling for Roon's upsampling as sufficient. Eitherway, it's definitely the best sounding DAC I've owned or heard in my experience. |
@lordcloud Sorry for the delay, I don’t get updates on this thread even though I’m subscribed for some reason. The Benchmark DAC3 HGC is a great Sabre chip based dac, but the Matrix XSabre Pro MQA DAC is $2k and a superior sounding dac. There’s a slight upper-midrange glare or minor harshness at higher volumes I’ve noticed over the years that the Matrix XSabre Pro MQA doesn’t have. It’s just a better execution and better sounding DAC. Now, with regard to the Holo May KTE DAC, no Sabre dac I’ve ever heard (Manhattan, Aurelic etc) sounds as real and natural as the May. It’s really in its own league. It’s kind of like going from 2d to 3d for sound. Guitars are frightenly real. Jazz/acoustic/bluegrass/blues/classical instrumental images are well delineated in their own space, and their decays hang in the air. Transients effortlessly leap out and microdynamics are retrieve and rendered flawlessly. It nails harmonic richness and timbre is stellar. It’s really a notable gestalt that is hard to put into words, but realism is the best I can attribute to the experience. It’s presentation is attention grabbing, emotionally connective, and just an absolute blast to experience. |
I just bought the Matrix Mini-i 3 Pro (for headphones) and will compare it with my existing Benchmark DAC3B. The Mini is supposed to be close to the Element X. I would like to get the Halo and AudioByte VOX to maybe move up the DAC ladder. How are people connecting to the Halo DAC? Is the new USB component in the LEVEL3 as good as i2s . If i2s is preferred, what digital converter is being used to output i2s? Anybody get the Denafrips IRIS to connect to the Halo via i2s? |
Well, the boredom associated with social isolation and the threat of dying upon leaving the house finally got me to place an order. Curious to hear how the May compares to my lovely Audio Mirror T3-SE. Twice the price, but who knows in this hobby. I believe in NOS, silver, and separate power supplies, and it’s rare to see all 3 in a DAC... regardless of price. The stereophile product of the year award doesn't hurt either. |
Ha! Indeed. And it appears that there is significant consensus that the May is better in NOS mode. I'm solely redbook pcm, so the NOS performance was the primary reason I chose the May. When I got my Audio Mirror I had seven different dacs in the system over a month or two period and became convinced that R2R was the best way forward for redbook (although I'd happily perform no-risk trials of other approaches!)... |
@cal3713
Tell us how it compares to the
Audio Mirror T3-SE. There are so very few reviews of either. |
@thenewguy007 I presume you've seen the Audio Mirror T3 thread (https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/another-new-dac-audio-mirror)? Quite a few users reporting back in there (and you can see my personal review where I compare it to the other recent dacs I'd had in the system... PS Audio PWDII, PS Audio DSD, Lampizator Amber 3, ifi iDSD Pro, Shiit Bifrost 2, & Matrix X-Sabre Pro). Regardless, I'll certainly report back here at some point. Gonna be a while until I get the May unfortunately... they say 4-5 weeks. |
I'm personally against USB, but am probably just biased from using a non-specialized computer input long ago. As long as you've got a quality USB out, it looks like the May's USB input measures very well (and supports higher input rates if that's your thing). https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/kte-may-technical-measurements.8933/ |
