[sajunky]

Only you can decide which sound you like. There are those that prefer the sound of one dac and some who prefer the other. I have owned the May L2 and directly compared it to DC4 Dave + Mscaler. This was probably somewhat unfair because the Dave was being powered by the DC4...

The same way comparison of Mcaller + Dave vs. HQPlayer + Dave is unfair, as Mscaller separate a DAC from ground loops, the same as a good DDC does. It is why DDC should be considered mandatory at this level of refinement when a source is PC.

+1 to the comment on Roon.

 

[WilliamWykeham]

A few weeks ago @llamaluv brought over his Dave so we could compare my Holo May KTE. Both were connected to my custom server which has a JCAT USB XE card with two USB connections. A SRC sat between the computer and the Dave. Each dac was fed with 16 full scale HQPlayer upsampled files via Euphony Stylus. I am a 2-channel guy these days so we listed to a variety of speakers including Magnepan 1.7i, B&W 702s, and Ascend Sierras. We started with the Maggies, and to my dismay the Dave pulled out clearly ahead, it was not even close. The biggest differences to me were in soundstage and imaging, which I felt were much more precise. There was a sense of physicality and roundness next to which the Holo seemed somewhat flat. llmaluv also strongly preferred the Dave. The only instance when I thought the Holo might have something of an edge was when we hooked up the B&W 702s and listened to rock. Unfortunately I did not think to compare the May in NOS; for some reason upsampling seems to narrow the soundstage in the May. But I believe the Dave would have retained its edge. Listening to the May in NOS I am initially seduced by that wide soundstage, but after about 20 or 30 minutes, and especially with instrumental music, something starts to just feel a bit off. I had owned a Dave four years ago, made the mistake of downgrading to Qutest, then tried out a Terminator, then the May, and now I'm coming back to a Dave. One day after I upgrade the Dave's power supply I'll invite @llamaluv back so we can report on a comparison to his new Bartok.

 

[Triode User]

A few weeks ago @llamaluv brought over his Dave so we could compare my Holo May KTE. Both were connected to my custom server which has a JCAT USB XE card with two USB connections. A SRC sat between the computer and the Dave. Each dac was fed with 16 full scale HQPlayer upsampled files via Euphony Stylus. I am a 2-channel guy these days so we listed to a variety of speakers including Magnepan 1.7i, B&W 702s, and Ascend Sierras. We started with the Maggies, and to my dismay the Dave pulled out clearly ahead, it was not even close. The biggest differences to me were in soundstage and imaging, which I felt were much more precise. There was a sense of physicality and roundness next to which the Holo seemed somewhat flat. llmaluv also strongly preferred the Dave. The only instance when I thought the Holo might have something of an edge was when we hooked up the B&W 702s and listened to rock. Unfortunately I did not think to compare the May in NOS; for some reason upsampling seems to narrow the soundstage in the May. But I believe the Dave would have retained its edge. Listening to the May in NOS I am initially seduced by that wide soundstage, but after about 20 or 30 minutes, and especially with instrumental music, something starts to just feel a bit off. I had owned a Dave four years ago, made the mistake of downgrading to Qutest, then tried out a Terminator, then the May, and now I'm coming back to a Dave. One day after I upgrade the Dave's power supply I'll invite @llamaluv back so we can report on a comparison to his new Bartok.

Your post echoes pretty much what I heard with the May vs Dave comparison. I tried all options/settings with the May to see if I could close the gap between it and Dave but it never got close. I wonder if the fact that you and I use speakers has anything to do with it.

 

[RustyGates]

A few weeks ago @llamaluv brought over his Dave so we could compare my Holo May KTE. Both were connected to my custom server which has a JCAT USB XE card with two USB connections. A SRC sat between the computer and the Dave. Each dac was fed with 16 full scale HQPlayer upsampled files via Euphony Stylus. I am a 2-channel guy these days so we listed to a variety of speakers including Magnepan 1.7i, B&W 702s, and Ascend Sierras. We started with the Maggies, and to my dismay the Dave pulled out clearly ahead, it was not even close. The biggest differences to me were in soundstage and imaging, which I felt were much more precise. There was a sense of physicality and roundness next to which the Holo seemed somewhat flat. llmaluv also strongly preferred the Dave. The only instance when I thought the Holo might have something of an edge was when we hooked up the B&W 702s and listened to rock. Unfortunately I did not think to compare the May in NOS; for some reason upsampling seems to narrow the soundstage in the May. But I believe the Dave would have retained its edge. Listening to the May in NOS I am initially seduced by that wide soundstage, but after about 20 or 30 minutes, and especially with instrumental music, something starts to just feel a bit off. I had owned a Dave four years ago, made the mistake of downgrading to Qutest, then tried out a Terminator, then the May, and now I'm coming back to a Dave. One day after I upgrade the Dave's power supply I'll invite @llamaluv back so we can report on a comparison to his new Bartok.

Nice read. Can you post your up sampler settings in HQplayer? Also, you we definitely using NOS mode with the May when fed by HQplayer yeah? (Not keeping it in OS mode, thus rubbish second stage filtering).

 

[zen87192]

Has anyone connected an M Scaler to the Holo May? Can it be done? If so, what were the thoughts on this combination? Thank you very much.

 

[XVampireX]

Has anyone connected an M Scaler to the Holo May? Can it be done? If so, what were the thoughts on this combination? Thank you very much.

 

[GoldenSound]

Mscaler works well with non-chord dacs too.

Imo hqplayer does produce a better result. But mscaler is a lot more convenient.

I'd say that hqp is a better option for both chord and other brands but if you need something plug and play mscaler works well

 

[WilliamWykeham]

Can you post your up sampler settings in HQplayer? Also, you we definitely using NOS mode with the May when fed by HQplayer yeah?

Sinc-L, 705/768, LNS15, in NOS mode while using HQP.

 

[GoldenSound]

Nice read. Can you post your up sampler settings in HQplayer? Also, you we definitely using NOS mode with the May when fed by HQplayer yeah? (Not keeping it in OS mode, thus rubbish second stage filtering).

I'd recommend these settings:

If you'd like to just import my settings file you can grab it here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/106xSVmY-4ct2IZMJX4jY81vZlkaNitU0?usp=sharing

Keep the stuff like 'dac bits' and max vol correct.

 

[Zaurux]

Dop, not direct ?

 

[GoldenSound]

Dop, not direct ?

That's the Input settings section. Those settings aren't used

 

[damascato]

I own 3 good DACs:

• Holo May Lev 2
• Chord TT2 + MScaler
• Burson conductor 3XR

Yes, the May is the one with better soundstage and imaging, the one with the best sense of "space".

But, amongst the 3 aforementioned, is definitely the one with less punch and kick. With headphones and listening to hard/prog rock or metal I find it quite boring. Great with acoustic and live music, though.

Just 2 cents for someone (relatively) new to this world.

 

[Rukley]

I own 3 good DACs:

• Holo May Lev 2
• Chord TT2 + MScaler
• Burson conductor 3XR

Yes, the May is the one with better soundstage and imaging, the one with the best sense of "space".

But, amongst the 3 aforementioned, is definitely the one with less punch and kick. With headphones and listening to hard/prog rock or metal I find it quite boring. Great with acoustic and live music, though.

Just 2 cents for someone (relatively) new to this world.

Do you use the amp in the TT2 or an external amp?

 

[damascato]

Do you use the amp in the TT2 or an external amp?

I use amp out the XLR with adaptor. I drive 4z, XC and Clear so not particularly hard to drive cans...

 

[sajunky]

Yes, the May is the one with better soundstage and imaging, the one with the best sense of "space".

But, amongst the 3 aforementioned, is definitely the one with less punch and kick. With headphones and listening to hard/prog rock or metal I find it quite boring. Great with acoustic and live music, though.

NOS DACs have an excellent punch and kick. Something that can be disturbing for some people taste. This one is losing to Delta Sigma in this aspect, but I know, it is not NOS.