[TDinCali]

The May Kitsune was my favorite dac for a long time. I preferred it over numerous others, including all the chord stuff and the Lina dcs.

 

[vonBaron]

What is your favorite dac now?

 

[Frankie D]

The May Kitsune was my favorite dac for a long time. I preferred it over numerous others, including all the chord stuff and the Lina dcs.

Looks like you like the Rockna now, correct? What was it about the Rockna that made you switch?

 

[walterboss]

I'm sure I remember Goldensound mentioning May besting Rockna, but I failed to find it in his YouTube review. I might be misremembering. Either way, I've heard nothing but praise for Wavedream of late. I'm so happy with May though, it's not worth the extra KKKKs, for me.

 

[dudeX]

I'm sure I remember Goldensound mentioning May besting Rockna, but I failed to find it in his YouTube review. I might be misremembering. Either way, I've heard nothing but praise for Wavedream of late. I'm so happy with May though, it's not worth the extra KKKKs, for me.

GoldenSound's review of the Rockna Wavedream pretty much places it above the May. But the latest Signature is way ahead.

 

[GoldenSound]

GoldenSound's review of the Rockna Wavedream pretty much places it above the May. But the latest Signature is way ahead.

I don't put the Wavedream over the May (Else I'd have sold May and bought WD ).
They're pretty much the same tier but with tradeoffs. The WD has the edge in incisiveness but is also overly aggressive on some tracks.

I'd probably go WD if I was pairing with a tube amp, or if you really don't want to use HQPlayer/MScaler but generally I'd definitely go May.

Either way you're not going to be unhappy, they are my overall two favourite DACs to date

 

[Leto Dal]

I don't put the Wavedream over the May (Else I'd have sold May and bought WD ).
They're pretty much the same tier but with tradeoffs. The WD has the edge in incisiveness but is also overly aggressive on some tracks.

I'd probably go WD if I was pairing with a tube amp, or if you really don't want to use HQPlayer/MScaler but generally I'd definitely go May.

Either way you're not going to be unhappy, they are my overall two favourite DACs to date

Are you talking about signature or standard variant?

 

[GoldenSound]

Are you talking about signature or standard variant?

WD Signature Balanced (Also with Wavedream NET)

 

[Leto Dal]

WD Signature Balanced (Also with Wavedream NET)

Hmm Koji from convincemeadio places both in very different tiers, just like higher end lapizator dacs.

Havent heard any and pretty happy with May on Envy even without hqplayer filters.

 

[GoldenSound]

Hmm Koji from convincemeadio places both in very different tiers, just like higher end lapizator dacs.

Havent heard any and pretty happy with May on Envy even without hqplayer filters.

Unfortunately my subjective impressions on both headphones and source gear hardly ever align with Koji's.

 

[trollbearpig]

Hmm Koji from convincemeadio places both in very different tiers, just like higher end lapizator dacs.

Havent heard any and pretty happy with May on Envy even without hqplayer filters.

How do you like the pairing of tube amp + NOS for electronic music ( or in general ) ? Do you think it looses some edge and becomes too soft ?

 

[Darion]

I need some advice. I already asked a similar question in Holo Red, but not quite correctly. We need your experience using different strimmers with May.

In a couple of weeks I will receive my may. Currently I am using wiim pro along with chord hugo tt 2. Connection via toslink.

I'm considering buying a Holo Red or another streamer to connect to may via an i2s connection. To improve the sound.

I listen to tidal and qobuz services. I'm testing roon and hqplayer, but I like the sound from wiim > toslink > Hugo tt2 more than through roon > hqplayer > usb > hugo tt 2. Most likely I will test it once I receive May again.

Question, will I get an audible difference in sound if I buy a streamer and connect it via i2s to May KTE? How much better will the difference in sound be than now with wiim and toslink. This difference can be approximately 5-10%, or significantly more. I have no way to find a streamer with an i2s output to check this. Holo Red - delivery no less than a month. I want to convince myself to buy it (or the Matrix Element S, it's available for quick purchase). Or abandon this idea and stay with wiim pro. I don't know how much difference there is in sound when transmitting a signal via toslink and i2s. If I buy it thoughtlessly, I will then think that the sound is better, but at the placebo level, and not a real difference in sound quality.


Thank you.

 

[TDinCali]

Looks like you like the Rockna now, correct? What was it about the Rockna that made you switch?

Pretty much as Goldensound said. I prefer tube amps and listen to R&B, Rock, dance, edm and the Rockna gave me everything the May did but with more impact. I could see why Holo designed their amp to be so punchy as it probably pairs so well with the May’s extremely smooth presentation. I needed a bit more bite because I mainly use the WA33.

 

[kingoftown1]

I need some advice. I already asked a similar question in Holo Red, but not quite correctly. We need your experience using different strimmers with May.

In a couple of weeks I will receive my may. Currently I am using wiim pro along with chord hugo tt 2. Connection via toslink.

I'm considering buying a Holo Red or another streamer to connect to may via an i2s connection. To improve the sound.

I listen to tidal and qobuz services. I'm testing roon and hqplayer, but I like the sound from wiim > toslink > Hugo tt2 more than through roon > hqplayer > usb > hugo tt 2. Most likely I will test it once I receive May again.

Question, will I get an audible difference in sound if I buy a streamer and connect it via i2s to May KTE? How much better will the difference in sound be than now with wiim and toslink. This difference can be approximately 5-10%, or significantly more. I have no way to find a streamer with an i2s output to check this. Holo Red - delivery no less than a month. I want to convince myself to buy it (or the Matrix Element S, it's available for quick purchase). Or abandon this idea and stay with wiim pro. I don't know how much difference there is in sound when transmitting a signal via toslink and i2s. If I buy it thoughtlessly, I will then think that the sound is better, but at the placebo level, and not a real difference in sound quality.


Thank you.

Some people prefer I2S over USB on Holo products, others don't hear a difference. The majority seem to use USB. I'd worry about the quality of the source more than the output format, and try to demo a couple different devices to see if you notice any improvements. And don't forget I2S vs USB cables -- those introduce yet another variable.

 

[plumpudding2]

Some people prefer I2S over USB on Holo products, others don't hear a difference. The majority seem to use USB. I'd worry about the quality of the source more than the output format, and try to demo a couple different devices to see if you notice any improvements. And don't forget I2S vs USB cables -- those introduce yet another variable.

The May is engineered to be usb-source immune. The USB interface is galvanically isolated from the rest of the dac and it uses asynchronous USB so it only uses the May's extremely high quality internal clock.
Usb is the superior connection method as it allows you to upsample to high rate PCM and DSD with HQPlayer.

I2S is an inferior transmission method as it generates the clock at the source and not in the dac. Clock signals are extremely sensitive to interference and should be generated as close to the place they are used as possible. The PLL of the May will fix most of these issues though.

The only reason to use a streamer with the May is if you want to physically move the dac away from your computer, which is both physically (fan/harddisks) and electrically (airborne RFI/EMI) noisy.