[Jake2]

What I meant there is

HQplayer + Roon via LAN is better than DMP A6 which is better than just using upnp, Spotify or tidal streaming via LAN.

I thought you meant that, thanks for clarifying. Interesting. R26 can sound very good indeed via its internal HQP NAA renderer, especially with as low noise a LAN as one can manage, it easily resolves every even minor network tweak I’ve made. Even better with super clean power, better grounding and a bit more RFI shielding if you’re so inclined.

Btw for those using Roon remote or other control apps whether for the R26 or other streamers, once your system gets sufficiently resolving the device used as a wireless remote, and how it is used, makes an appreciable difference. I posted a few weeks back about it over on the Roon optimisation thread. Not just me, some Roon users over at the What’s Best Forum also concluded the IPad Air 5 is the best sounding device they’d tried as Roon Remote. Same held true for me with BubbleUpNp and JPlay direct to the R26, as did my other observations re damping and airplane mode etc. Give it a go.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/roo...-increased-sound-quality.968792/post-17998421

 

[amrutmhatre90]

Btw for those using Roon remote or other control apps whether for the R26 or other streamers, once your system gets sufficiently resolving the device used as a wireless remote, and how it is used, makes an appreciable difference. I posted a few weeks back about it over on the Roon optimisation thread. Not just me, some Roon users over at the What’s Best Forum also concluded the IPad Air 5 is the best sounding device they’d tried as Roon Remote. Same held true for me with BubbleUpNp and JPlay direct to the R26, as did my other observations re damping and airplane mode etc. Give it a go.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/roo...-increased-sound-quality.968792/post-17998421

I don't think roon remote does make a difference, maybe placebo or mind games.
Try a blind test comparison with someone else testing and you are the one listening.

 

[Jake2]

I don't think roon remote does make a difference, maybe placebo or mind games.
Try a blind test comparison with someone else testing and you are the one listening.

I will sometime, travelling currently, but it definitely does in my system. Can't speak for yours of course. Each of the things I mention.

 

[Jake2]

I should add my expectation was it would make no difference as unlike BT (where I'd noted similar differences in experimentation last year) it's not a continuous stream of music data sent from the wireless device to the DAC/receiver, just a few commands along with some background sync data presumably. So I was pretty surprised when it did make a difference. Repeatably, with the various factors I mention. Pretty easy to hear, not some marginal cable or DAC filter difference say. While all apps benefitted, it narrowed the gap between BubbleUPnP & Jplay vs Roon/HQP considerably. Like a lot, a lot. To the extent I was surprised not to have read of others finding similar. Apart from it seems that WBF thread someone else pointed me to.

 

[BShaw]

Oy, another day, another rabbit hole…..
For about a year I’ve been using a cheapo $99 BYOBOO (for real) Android tablet to control Roon playback, never considered it might make a difference. This really makes no sense, until you buy a decent emi/rf meter and start to see what a soupy mess is swarming around us and our playback systems. I’m more receptive to things like the above lately, especially after swapping in shielded ICs and sp cables to my horns and hearing things calm down and open up. These are tiny, oh so delicate signals, perhaps the phones/tablets are pinging away or have a constant low level interface with the LAN renderer on the r26?

 

[Zaiden]

Just ordered a Holo Audio Cyan 2, looking forward to comparing with my R26 when it arrives in 6 weeks or so.
Possibly the only R2R DAC to really rival the R26 in terms of performance per $.

FWIW the rated dynamic range on the Cyan 2 is 127dB which lets me go up to 21 bits in HQPlayer vs 116dB (19 bits) on R26. So there's at least one objective benefit to the switch. As for whether that's audible remains to be seen. Holo May is rated at 130dB so that's quite impressive that their "budget" DAC at 1/4th the price does 127dB.

Also regarding EMI shielding, I can quite literally hear the noise floor lower when I throw EMI blankets over certain components. Specifically the RCA to XLR converter box I use for my speaker setup was picking up some interference (I think from my WiFi router) recently and it instantly goes away when I put an EMI blanket over it and then instantly comes back when I remove it. I can even hear noise from my wireless mouse sometimes and what's really crazy is if I increase the polling rate on my mouse from 1kHz to 4kHz I hear the tone of the noise increase too. Wild stuff.

Just to let you know, there are many people lurking these R26 threads, waiting for you to give your verdict on Cyan 2 vs R26 as if you were the Lisan-Al-Gaib.

Edit: I should also mention I'm personally looking for the one with more airiness/openness in the treble, and sumptuous female vocals. Must admit I don't really care about bass too much, so if you could assist me on that re Cyan 2 vs R26 that would be greatly appreciated!

 

[camrector]

@gammi you should also lower that R26 bit rate to 15.
Using the R26 measured SINAD of 96 will give you an ENOB (effective number of bits) of 15.7.

 

[Zaiden]

There's a new Facebook group for the R26/A26 DACs:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1464283990787594/

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Nice! But they don't have 573 pages to backread...

 

[Jake2]

FWIW the rated dynamic range on the Cyan 2 is 127dB which lets me go up to 21 bits in HQPlayer vs 116dB (19 bits) on R26. So there's at least one objective benefit to the switch. As for whether that's audible remains to be seen. Holo May is rated at 130dB so that's quite impressive that their "budget" DAC at 1/4th the price does 127dB.

Not exactly the same thing as dynamic range, but FYI the measured linearity of the May and Spring's PCM output/R2R ladder is 20 bits, by Jussi, creator of HQplayer. Holo certainly achieves some impressive measurements and performance for R2R and if the Cyan 2 is in the same ballpark as it's bigger brothers at a much lower price that's awesome for the hifi consumer.

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/which-hqp-filter-are-you-using-2015-2023/6061/1489

 

[gammi]

Not exactly the same thing as dynamic range, but FYI the measured linearity of the May and Spring's PCM output/R2R ladder is 20 bits, by Jussi, creator of HQplayer. Holo certainly achieves some impressive measurements and performance for R2R and if the Cyan 2 is in the same ballpark as it's bigger brothers at a much lower price that's awesome for the hifi consumer.

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/which-hqp-filter-are-you-using-2015-2023/6061/1489

I got my Cyan 2 finally and was listening vs the R26 last night. I had it setup so I could instantly switch between R26 and Cyan using the input switcher on my Holo Bliss.

And the result? I couldn't tell a single difference lol.
I'll be messing around with it more this week, trying out DSD oversampling, etc. Maybe a difference will appear.

 

[Jake2]

I got my Cyan 2 finally and was listening vs the R26 last night. I had it setup so I could instantly switch between R26 and Cyan using the input switcher on my Holo Bliss.

And the result? I couldn't tell a single difference lol.
I'll be messing around with it more this week, trying out DSD oversampling, etc. Maybe a difference will appear.

Cool, cheers for sharing your first impressions - you should give the Cyan some burn-in time to be fair.

Interesting to see the similarities and differences in layout etc as one moves through the Holo range and vs the R26 (and yes, I am very clearly at a loose end, seeking distraction from work).

 

[camrector]

I got my Cyan 2 finally and was listening vs the R26 last night. I had it setup so I could instantly switch between R26 and Cyan using the input switcher on my Holo Bliss.

And the result? I couldn't tell a single difference lol.
I'll be messing around with it more this week, trying out DSD oversampling, etc. Maybe a difference will appear.

Cyan 2 DSD measurements can be found here.
https://community.roonlabs.com/t/best-native-dsd-dacs-for-use-with-hqplayer/132298

 

[camrector]

Best measuring/performing for native DSD according to Jussi are all the Holo dacs, the A26, and a smsl d6.

 

[MikeLS]

What I meant there is

HQplayer + Roon via LAN is better than DMP A6 which is better than just using upnp, Spotify or tidal streaming via LAN.

Have you tried HQplayer + Roon > DMP A6 > R26. Sorry I don’t use HQplayer or Roon and basically just stream Tidal connect so I don’t know if this is possible. But I will possibly use them in the near future. Thanks