[chesebert]

I heard May a few times in 2 channel and headphone systems, and each time was "meh" for me. My BS meter did go to 11 when I kept on hearing that May needs 300+ hours to break in. With my limited interaction, I don't get the hype TBH.

 

[Arniesb]

I heard May a few times in 2 channel and headphone systems, and each time was "meh" for me. My BS meter did go to 11 when I kept on hearing that May needs 300+ hours to break in. With my limited interaction, I don't get the hype TBH.

What is not meh?

Distortion heavy r2r dacs?

Just curious.

 

[chesebert]

I have nothing against r-2r, I actually don't really care about the underlying tech so long as it sounds good. All I am saying is that my limited experience with May has so far not given me any desire to own one.

 

[Arniesb]

I have nothing against r-2r, I actually don't really care about the underlying tech so long as it sounds good. All I am saying is that my limited experience with May has so far not given me any desire to own one.

Wanted to say: Maybe you prefer more distortion since May is very low distortion dac like chip ones.
Not everyone prefer super clean dac or amp.

 

[801evan]

I heard May a few times in 2 channel and headphone systems, and each time was "meh" for me. My BS meter did go to 11 when I kept on hearing that May needs 300+ hours to break in. With my limited interaction, I don't get the hype TBH.

100%. Think people rely on the praise and validation of other people (hype) and feels the security of that in owning one. It's not bad but, it's far from stellar.

 

[chesebert]

Wanted to say: Maybe you prefer more distortion since May is very low distortion dac like chip ones.
Not everyone prefer super clean dac or amp.

What distribution are you talking about? Modern dacs are generally one of the best measuring pieces of gear in anyone's setup. I am actually not aware of any dac from well-known hifi brands that are high in distortion, unless they deliberately decide to tack on a tube output stage, even those generally measure well.

 

[Arniesb]

What distribution are you talking about? Modern dacs are generally one of the best measuring pieces of gear in anyone's setup. I am actually not aware of any dac from well-known hifi brands that are high in distortion, unless they deliberately decide to tack on a tube output stage, even those generally measure well.

Many high end amps or dacs dont even measure well, not all, but many.
Majority of the manufacturer dont even have high end analyser to confirm good design. Just because dcs or msb costs an arm and a leg doesnt make them magical?
What kind of parts does they contain to make them better?

 

[chesebert]

Many high end amps or dacs dont even measure well, not all, but many.
Majority of the manufacturer dont even have high end analyser to confirm good design. Just because dcs or msb costs an arm and a leg doesnt make them magical?
What kind of parts does they contain to make them better?

oh boy, I think you have been severely misguided. Don't mean to get get off topic and you should definitely continue to enjoy your gear and pay no attention to my experience.

 

[Chartreuse]

Many high end amps or dacs dont even measure well, not all, but many.
Majority of the manufacturer dont even have high end analyser to confirm good design. Just because dcs or msb costs an arm and a leg doesnt make them magical?
What kind of parts does they contain to make them better?

Now we're getting into the ASR argument again. I've heard it, I've tried it, and I've had a number of different designs, but I'm convinced that the measurements are useful but insufficient to describe what's really going on. SINAD is an important metric (and the May performs well there), but it's like measuring horsepower and then telling me that's all you need to know to choose between a Hellcat and a Porsche 911, and cars are a "solved" technology. Now, I don't know how you measure the things I hear on the May - which is primarily just an INCREDIBLE separation and level of detail - but you can't measure that with SINAD or a sine sweep. And it's not something that knocks you over the first time you hear it necessarily, it's something you have to listen to for a while to appreciate. That's probably where the burn in numbers come from, but it certainly didn't take me 300 hours to appreciate it (more like 3). I was pretty amazed early on, but I was listening pretty critically to decide whether I should be using a DAVE, a May, or an ASR favorite, the SMSL SU-10. I kept the May.

 

[801evan]

I mean, May sounds like a less edgy, less hard version of a topping d90. They do share the same sinad values. While the Tambaqui's SINAD value tracks closely to the May and d90, it's SQ performance is so much ahead. And the Dave where the SINAD values is much lower, it's SQ is closer to the Tambaqui than the May and D90 is.

 

[Chartreuse]

I mean, May sounds like a less edgy, less hard version of a topping d90. They do share the same sinad values. While the Tambaqui's SINAD value tracks closely to the May and d90, it's SQ performance is so much ahead. And the Dave where the SINAD values is much lower, it's SQ is closer to the Tambaqui than the May and D90 is.

Interesting. I had a DAVE as my primary DAC for about 5 years and switched over to the May. I'm finding that I enjoy the May more. Haven't heard the Tambaqui

 

[801evan]

Interesting. I had a DAVE as my primary DAC for about 5 years and switched over to the May. I'm finding that I enjoy the May more. Haven't heard the Tambaqui

I do line Conditioning with the Dave. It doesn't have any noise rejection on the incoming mains so if plugged straight to wall, it will sound analytical and have too much upper energy, and poor blacks which some users report. Holo May comes with a line conditioner with the psu. So one is basically paying for a line conditioner and fancy USB board with the May.

 

[rangerid]

Having owned both as well, I'd say May and DAVE are literally on opposite ends of the sonic spectrum. They sound fundamentally different the way music is rendered - I wouldn't necessarily say one is better and most will have a strong preference one way or another, I too much preferred the May but DAVE is absolutely on the same level. OP if you can stretch just a tiny bit or buy used, my first pick by far would be the Mola Mola Tambaqui then upsampled with HQP, it is unbelievably good, it's basically all the strength of the May and DAVE combined. However, whenever you're buying integrated especially where the primary function is the DAC, the headphone amp if included is usually tacked on as almost an afterthought and a definite bottleneck.

 

[Atriya]

Having owned both as well, I'd say May and DAVE are literally on opposite ends of the sonic spectrum. They sound fundamentally different the way music is rendered - I wouldn't necessarily say one is better and most will have a strong preference one way or another, I too much preferred the May but DAVE is absolutely on the same level. OP if you can stretch just a tiny bit or buy used, my first pick by far would be the Mola Mola Tambaqui then upsampled with HQP, it is unbelievably good, it's basically all the strength of the May and DAVE combined. However, whenever you're buying integrated especially where the primary function is the DAC, the headphone amp if included is usually tacked on as almost an afterthought and a definite bottleneck.

Thanks for the suggestion of the Mola Mola!

About the Weiss DAC501: I read some feedback on the headphone output in particular, and got the impression that it is better than in most DAC-first products.

 

[Deolum]

I don't know how much the 2022 Utopia differs from the older one but i've enjoyed the older one significantly more with a mushy/dark R2R Dac and hybrid amp combination than with a clean sounding ds dac + solid state amp combo.