An exploration of Chord DAVE, MScaler, Qutest, and Holo May, HQPlayer

[Palyodgree]

He's is looking for whatever he wants. In my opinion, that is the hidden beauty of this hobby; it is deeply personal and personally customizable. It's so rare to find a hobby like that...

That said, it's pretty obvious that guy has tumbled down a serious rabbit hole (or a series of them)

Well your right about the rabbit hole though the few comments I read he didn’t come across happy or anywhere near content with anything,.I was thinking with all that money tied up in all that stuff he could of bought a DCS Bartok or Chord Dave either one would of rocked his world however then again I think he’s just lost ,,.

 

[rkt31]

Yggy, Bartok and holo, what is common between them ? They all are/were deliberately pushed by certain quarters based on some subjective claims like r2r is more natural or nos has no ringing artifacts and blah blah. Better to get some analog out recordings of group of dacs and post here for blind comparison which I know nobody will do as then how one will claim that nos has better timing reconstruction , no ringing artifacts and blah blah.

 

[VintageAudio]

TLDR: He says your Holo May DAC sounds no different than 200$ delta sigma DAC.

Yah, he's been saying DACS sound the same for years and his low budget fandom love hearing that. Then he ate his own words when he used some better headphone amps that allowed him to differences in DACS, now he claims the budget DACS are so good he can't hear the difference anymore. They've definitely improved and you can way better quality than before for less money. The high end stuff is still better, you just have to pay a premium that get those last 5% to 20%. Its not for everyone, some people are happy with less - but I don't like how he's trying portray himself as the people's champ against high-end gear so all the budget audiophiles can "atta boy him" because that's what they want to believe.

In the audio chain, I would partially agree... I think sound of headphones are more discernible, then probably the amp, and to a lesser degree DACS. But...big but...DACS do not sound all sound the same. You've got to have sufficiently good headphones and amping to better hear DACS. The low/mid-fi stuff sometimes homogenizes the sound or does not scale to the extend that will allow you to hear DAC differences. DAC sound differences are more subtle and nuanced - just like differences in DAC filters are are hard to hear.

 

[rkt31]

Problem is the headphone listening. Headphones due to placement of driver direct towards ears can't portray the imaging correctly except for binaural recordings. Better depth perception in headphones is apparent in the form of less soundstage width which fools you into thinking that some dacs have constrained presentation. But you try those dacs in speaker set up and you instantly know the more accurate placement of instruments in the soundstage. A source with better depth perception in headphones is Iike you have instruments studded on a dome around you but a dac with less depth perception can portray the image "flat" giving the impression of more soundstage width. For appreciating the difference of better imaging through a better source in case of headphones requires longer listening.

 

[Palyodgree]

Yggy, Bartok and holo, what is common between them ? They all are/were deliberately pushed by certain quarters based on some subjective claims like r2r is more natural or nos has no ringing artifacts and blah blah. Better to get some analog out recordings of group of dacs and post here for blind comparison which I know nobody will do as then how one will claim that nos has better timing reconstruction , no ringing artifacts and blah blah.

You chimed in to save us ! ,..Hooray !! What digital products have you developed and brought to market to be so smug about ?

 

[rkt31]

You chimed in to save us ! ,..Hooray !! What digital products have you developed and brought to market to be so smug about ?

I said " better post recordings "

 

[Bonddam]

Why does he make sound demos. All that it does is set a different eq curve to my speakers and I'm sure the GL2000 doesn't sound like my 1266. Should know I own GL2000. What ever filler he needs to make his video quota. Why does he praise that really expensive dac if all DAC's sound the same. The proof is out there just watch his videos. When he put the May on that Italian amp he wasn't giving it the correct input voltage. That amp requires way then 4 volts balanced. When I buy a porches I'll put 87 in it because there's no difference. Watch his videos you'll catch him. If there's no better then 200 don't praise a dac over a grand. Thanks for the sound demos Zeos know I how my speakers sound like if they had babies.

 

[zorilon]

I saw the video, I speak to zeos semi-regularly and have been his patron for years. (he actually mentioned me briefly near the beginning of the vid)

He feels that all dacs sound the same, I don't find that to be the case at all.

People have different hearing, just how it is.

GoldenOne, now is your turn for the Holo May review!
(I already ordered this DAC, it will arrive later in March)

 

[GoldenSound]

GoldenOne, now is your turn for the Holo May review!
(I already ordered this DAC, it will arrive later in March)

My review is coming soon^tm.
Need to get through some other stuff people have sent me first.

Also I'll have a review up for the holo serene preamplifier likely before the may itself as I'm hoping to get one of the first reviews out if i'm able to.
But may review will be done as soon as i'm able

 

[VintageAudio]

You chimed in to save us ! ,..Hooray !! What digital products have you developed and brought to market to be so smug about ?

Yggy, Bartok and holo, what is common between them ? They all are/were deliberately pushed by certain quarters based on some subjective claims like r2r is more natural or nos has no ringing artifacts and blah blah. Better to get some analog out recordings of group of dacs and post here for blind comparison which I know nobody will do as then how one will claim that nos has better timing reconstruction , no ringing artifacts and blah blah.

I think in a blind comparison is a fair test for pure, RELEVANT sound comparison and enjoyment however, I would not dismiss subjective claims.

They do matter and I think you can't scientifically prove a subjective claim wrong right? lol

For sure, in the end, the listener decides what they like despite what objective/subjective data is shared by others.

I've bought tons of stuff that measured well and did not sound good.

Also tons of stuff that reviewers/users glorified, and to me it was like...meh.

If a product measures better or is more expensive, isn't it only relevant if the person listening can hear a difference and actually care enough about that difference to pay for it?

If you have money and it makes you happy there's nothing wrong with people pursuing their passion.

I don't think someone spending over $1000 for a DAC they think is better is a bad thing.

Outside of pure sound quality - there is an emotional connection to the physical gear too.

I do care about looks, form factor, usability and the story when selecting equipment.

The same applies to buying a car, house and so forth. The home or car that looks best on paper, is the most pragmatic, doesn't always win.

I wouldn't confuse which DAC can most accurately reproduce a waveform and has the lowest measurable distortion with what sounds the best.

Measurements are indicators of potential performance and and valuable in evaluating gear for sure - those are the first things I look at.

But your ears should be the ultimate decision maker.

Maybe we just need other types of measurements that can accurately describe the things that current measurements do not - but the current slew of specs are not able to describe what sounds good to my ears.

Which is color is better red or blue? Its personal preference. Some like analytical detail and others prefer warm, smooth with a big soundstage.

 

[rkt31]

I think in a blind comparison is a fair test for pure, RELEVANT sound comparison and enjoyment however, I would not dismiss subjective claims.

They do matter and I think you can't scientifically prove a subjective claim wrong right? lol

For sure, in the end, the listener decides what they like despite what objective/subjective data is shared by others.

I've bought tons of stuff that measured well and did not sound good.

Also tons of stuff that reviewers/users glorified, and to me it was like...meh.

If a product measures better or is more expensive, isn't it only relevant if the person listening can hear a difference and actually care enough about that difference to pay for it?

If you have money and it makes you happy there's nothing wrong with people pursuing their passion.

I don't think someone spending over $1000 for a DAC they think is better is a bad thing.

Outside of pure sound quality - there is an emotional connection to the physical gear too.

I do care about looks, form factor, usability and the story when selecting equipment.

The same applies to buying a car, house and so forth. The home or car that looks best on paper, is the most pragmatic, doesn't always win.

I wouldn't confuse which DAC can most accurately reproduce a waveform and has the lowest measurable distortion with what sounds the best.

Measurements are indicators of potential performance and and valuable in evaluating gear for sure - those are the first things I look at.

But your ears should be the ultimate decision maker.

Maybe we just need other types of measurements that can accurately describe the things that current measurements do not - but the current slew of specs are not able to describe what sounds good to my ears.

Which is color is better red or blue? Its personal preference. Some like analytical detail and others prefer warm, smooth with a big soundstage.

Long posts prove nothing. Better post some recordings.

 

[GoldenSound]

Long posts prove nothing. Better post some recordings.

What is it exactly you're wanting a recording of? What would you be looking for in said recording?

 

[rkt31]

What is it exactly you're wanting a recording of? What would you be looking for in said recording?

So your adc is repaired ?

 

[GoldenSound]

So your adc is repaired ?

If you're happy to answer the question or have a reasonable discussion then I'm happy to try to provide what you might be looking for.

If you're just looking to have a jab or fill the thread with drama then I, and I think I can alsospeak for the other participants in here so far, am not interested.

 

[Gadget67]

Long posts prove nothing. Better post some recordings.

I don’t think he’s trying to “prove “ anything. He is providing useful information for others to pursue further if so inclined. Lighten up...