Hey @Roasty, sorry I read this when you posted a couple of week, then one of my darling kids gave me COVID, which was fun but if you are still interested: After finally settling back on the May KTE, after excursions with the Mola Mola and musetec, i've been furiously demo'ing preamps of colours and sizes some with headamp stages and some without. Long story short i concur with Goldensounds review, the serene is astonishing in performance and consequently value for money. Technically i've not heard better without getting up to the £15K, the bass definition is stunning, stereo image, placement, layering all exceptional. I would say it has a hint of warmth which gives it a much more natural sound than the surgical and comparitively compressed HPA4, but its not warmth like you get with PASS, which for my preference is a bit much.
I'm listening via my 2 channel set up quite a bit at the moment, but i have to make mention of how good the Utopia's sound with it. Prior to the serene i spent a happy 6 weeks with the OOR/Hypsos, the highlight of which, was the extra width they added to the Utopia's stage, as good as any tube amp i've tried, but the serene is on another level. You get the same wide staging, but its a fair more neutral linear affair than the ferrum which has the odd bump here and there, but the detail retrieval is improved as is tonal clarity is amazing, making tone almost three dimensional.
God, i love the Utopias, no matter how high i raise the bar with partnering kit, they just show me they have 6th and 7th then etc gear. The bass quantity and definition, driving dynamism and speed, listening the Focals with with Serene is hands down best i've heard. I've been listening to this slightly retro but beautifully produced IDM/ techno album by itallian producer Passarani...
and this analogue IDM 80s synth-fest by Biosphere
And just WOW, the May-Serene-Utopia combo, is just well WOW says it.
As for May v Mola Mola v Musetec. The Tambaqui isnt even at races and looks with hindsight a poor value proposition and i preferred that to bartok and DAVE (each for different reasons). The Musetec is now in my workshop and technically its superb in terms, but it cant match the all round peformance of the May which is better technically and has the natural yet holographic staging and natural realism that i've not heard elsewhere. I've read people say it can be a bit soft, but i dont hear this at all, i find driving, dynamic, with a real snap and thwack when the recording calls for it.
This is me done for a while at least it is on the preamp/headamp, DAC, HP'front.. that is until Focal make the announcement we're all waiting for!
So there's my rambling stream of consciousness attempt to answer to your questions
hey dude thanks for taking the time to reply! appreciate all the information you offered. from how you've described the Serene, it kind of makes me regret not getting it when i had the chance to. i'm now using a tube pre (and i love it!) but it cost almost double the Serene, so chances are, I wont be blind buying the Serene and hoping it bests the current pre i'm using. Will be looking into sourcing a local unit for demo before i decide to commit.
i've only tried the Pass Labs INT60 amp, but yes you're right, perhaps the Pass labs house sound, but it is indeed a warm sounding amp; it was really pleasant, alluring and romantic during the initial listen, but as time went on, it sounded just a bit over the top in smoothening things out, to the point of some boredom creeping in. the HPA4 was a bit of a disappointment for me; it was my first "TOTL" headphone amp, and it felt like i paid top dollar for a supposed feat of engineering, but somehow i felt there was a massive discordance between the neutral/clinical delivery and enjoyment that i was hoping to get out of it.
The Ferrum Oor/Hypsos combo is actually on my radar. I managed to find a really good deal for the combo and all that is left is just going down to pay for it. I'm thinking, between the Ferrum stack and the Serene, the Ferrum stack may be a better overall use for the money (?). It'll be able to drive everything I own, as opposed to the Serene which would require a power amp for the more demanding hps (and then desktop/rack real estate takes another big hit). Did you end up selling the Ferrum stack then?
The May KTE is end game for me (for now).. the only other dac i really want to try is the Rockna Wavedream. based on what Goldensounds has said about it, i'm thinking it may be right up my alley. My only issue with the May KTE is that I cant use both XLR and RCA out at the same time; i've tried it with a few components, and whenever I have both XLR and RCA connections in use at the same time, SQ takes a hit, and i get some audible distortion and sibilance which is really noticeable with vocals and quieter music.
