Holo Audio May DAC

 @jjss49 I’ve heard one person say the Terminator+ is a bit brighter. I think it was a person who owned both, but it may have been a reviewer. It was a while ago

Ron at New Record Day on YouTube definitely preferred the Holo May KTE over the Terminator and it’s his new reference DAC. He did both reviews back to back. One of the best reviews he's ever done.
https://youtu.be/HPtsWvhjLxA

As an aside, John Lavorgna added the May DAC KTE to his favorite DACS list. https://twitteringmachines.com/twittering-machines-favorite-dacs/

HoloAudio KTE May DAC ($4999.99)

The two-chassis KTE May DAC from HoloAudio was built to be a statement DAC and what a statement it makes. From my review — With the Holo Audio KTE May DAC we have a digital to analog converter that pulls off that rare feat of turning data into music without imposing the fingerprints of the process, which is all too commonly found with most DACs. That it does so at this level of sophistication at its price is remarkable.

@jcarcopo

thank you for your post

when i had the denafrips dacs (ares thru term, still kept a pontus for fun), i also felt the treble is a little too forward for my personal tastes, even though the overall musicality was very nice

it is good to know that the may is less forward than the denafrips voicing, i will look to try one at some point

as for ron at record day, i know he tries hard, produces quite good videos and they are complete and thoughtful, but i find his videos hard to watch from start to end... reminds me a bit of some ex colleagues and friends who were randomly way too chatty and far slow to come to the point... (i know this is as much a comment on my sensibilities as his...)

@jjss49 I think he’s improved a bit. 😁 He catches himself when says something dorky or goes off script and makes light of it. I only brought him up because I know he reviewed both DACS in question back to back, so I thought it was relevant. Since I own the May, my bias may be coming into play here since he was rather blunt about the May’s DAC incredible instrumental positioning, decay, depth, and soundstage advantage over the Terminator (or any DAC for that matter) assuming your speakers aren’t against a wall and poorly setup.  I do agree with his assertions. 

@in_shore Re: your comment that the Holo May KTE in combination with the 432 Evo Aeon have produced  "by a large margin the best playback of well recorded music I have ever experienced in my home so far" - I was wondering how much of that improved sound is due to the KTE vs the Aeon. The reason I ask is that  I have a 432 Evo Aeon coming for an in-home evaluation  this week (currently have a Innuos Zen Mk III). I just stumbled across this thread about the Holo May KTE and now I am very intrigued about it.  I'm not surprised to hear about the great playback you are getting, given the wonderful things I'm hearing about both products. I currently have a Lampizator Big 7 (about 6 years old) with DSD 256, and curious about improvements that could be gained with the May KTE. And wondering which component to prioritize for upgrading, the streamer or the DAC (Of course, in reality if I like the Aeon I'll get it and then have to consider how much more improvement I could expect with a new DAC). 

Also curious on anyone's experiences or thoughts about the KTE vs Lampizator. I'm actually very happy with the sound I'm getting with my current set up but the question is "What am I missing?". I would have been blissful in my ignorance, but hard to ignore what I'm hearing about the KTE now that I've discovered it. 

@hchilcoat My guess is that you're most likely to move sideways from the Lampi, regardless of the dac you try.  That's not to say sideways won't end up better for your particular preferences, but I doubt anything's going to absolutely blow away the Big 7.  

The thing that struck me most about the May KTE was how cleanly it reproduced every part of the frequency spectrum.  If you're finding your current presentation somewhat colored, or feel that a particular part of the audio range is being over/under emphasized, the May could be a wonderful sounding solution.