[EMINENT]

Had my hopes up for 14th gen intel to not require extreme oveclocking for DSD1024 with EC-super/v3, but alas it seems to be terrible

Do you have?
Yeah, I have AI overclocked with my Asus board 14900k and can do EC Super/V3 at 1024x44.1 rates but I could do this on 13900k.

 

[Superunknown2]

When I first got my Spring 3 I was probably using HQP about 90% of the time. These days though often prefer going without it. If this is your first R2R dac then you may find the upsampling via HQP sounds much better and more impressive initially until you get used to NOS.

Why do you not use HQP much anymore? Does it sound better than NOS but you don't think it is worth the hassle? Or do you think it doesn't really even sound better, but only different?

 

[Leto Dal]

With Holo May it just sounds slightly less natural and lush to my ear. Maybe I have to try certain setting that benefits my Caldera or VO. I am very open to suggestions, but after a week of trying highest possible settings (13900k here) I couldnt find anything that sounded as fun as NOS.

 

[genefruit]

With Holo May it just sounds slightly less natural and lush to my ear. Maybe I have to try certain setting that benefits my Caldera or VO. I am very open to suggestions, but after a week of trying highest possible settings (13900k here) I couldnt find anything that sounded as fun as NOS.

a perfect illustration of the subjective nature of this exercise and how the flexibility of the May platform provides one the opportunity to craft their desired sound.

 

[mfgillia]

Why do you not use HQP much anymore? Does it sound better than NOS but you don't think it is worth the hassle? Or do you think it doesn't really even sound better, but only different?

Once HQP is setup in Roon then there's really no hassle. Can just switch back and forth clicking on Transfer zone.

My preference has changed a bit over time. Initially I preferred the sharpness / sense of clarity from oversampling to the maximum bit rate. These days though using Atriums as my daily driver I generally seem to prefer the slightly more laid back and organic sound from NOS.

Once the Tungstens arrive my preference may change back again. I also haven't spent much time really playing around yet with DSD so want to try that too at some point and see how that compares to PCM.

 

[incredulousity]

I have a Bliss and Spring on the way, so I am trying to figure out if the extra hassle of using HQ player will be worth it. I hear it can be difficult to use because of the options to choose from and the amount of computing power required. For the people here who use HQ player, do you find yourself using it most of the time you are listening to music, or is it just something you use occasionally to spice things up?

Almost always.

 

[kingoftown1]

Fwiw once I found my preferred configuration, hqplayer became a set-and-forget type of program, with roon as the front end.

 

[newToAudio100]

What amps beat the holo bliss kte? I had the bliss kte and loved it. I tried the Niimbus and it beat holo bliss in clarity and resolution, with very powerful dynamic range. I am curious about other amps. It seems like it might not get better than the Niimbus if one seeks clarity. Mjolnir 3 is very good for the price relative to multi thousand dollars amps. I have yet to try wa33 or any high end tube amps outside of dna starlett and stratus with hd800s.

 

[MatW]

I have both Bliss/Dave/M Scaler and Bliss/May, but the latter is not connected to a computer but directly to a Roon Nucleus, so I don't have Hqplayer as an option. But I love both of these setups.

 

[incredulousity]

I have a Bliss and Spring on the way, so I am trying to figure out if the extra hassle of using HQ player will be worth it. I hear it can be difficult to use because of the options to choose from and the amount of computing power required. For the people here who use HQ player, do you find yourself using it most of the time you are listening to music, or is it just something you use occasionally to spice things up?

You can demo HQPlayer for free, and it is limited to something like 30 minutes per session. It is much easier to feed HQP with Roon, rather than using HQP’s own client player.

 

[Mavwong]

With Holo May it just sounds slightly less natural and lush to my ear. Maybe I have to try certain setting that benefits my Caldera or VO. I am very open to suggestions, but after a week of trying highest possible settings (13900k here) I couldnt find anything that sounded as fun as NOS.

Similarly here. Once I hear NOS (of course with proper optimized setup) I now love it to a point I don't miss upscaling at all. It just sound much natural, smooth yet dynamic, etch with pitch black background. could listen to detail even at low vol.

 

[saudio7]

What amps beat the holo bliss kte? I had the bliss kte and loved it. I tried the Niimbus and it beat holo bliss in clarity and resolution, with very powerful dynamic range. I am curious about other amps. It seems like it might not get better than the Niimbus if one seeks clarity. Mjolnir 3 is very good for the price relative to multi thousand dollars amps. I have yet to try wa33 or any high end tube amps outside of dna starlett and stratus with hd800s.

I think it depends on the setup and headphones, I sold Niimbus because Bliss had more resolution and better deeper sound stage.

 

[newToAudio100]

I think it depends on the setup and headphones, I sold Niimbus because Bliss had more resolution and better deeper sound stage.

For me bliss was softer, more tube like for a solid state. Bliss has slightly longer decay, less texture, more blended sound stage. Niimbus is revealing micro detail within micro detail, and it is the most clear and revealing amp I've ever heard. It also does this while remaining neutral and not bright. Soundstage is wider, deeper and more precise off the Niimbus I was hearing sounds wrap around my head with delicate revealing textures or big dynamic punch. It's really down to preference if someone wants more of a blended experience or clear experience.

 

[Leto Dal]

Heard Nimbus with Caldera and Holo May as Dac (only couple of hours). In the short time I had it, it had less micro-resolution than Bliss with less deep soundstage. Yes Bliss is slightly warmer. But microdetail, was just not there like its there on Bliss. Due to slightly brighter nature I felt that Niimbus had bit better macrodetail, but overall Bliss felt more natural and deep, with more subtle details.

 

[newToAudio100]

Heard Nimbus with Caldera and Holo May as Dac (only couple of hours). In the short time I had it, it had less micro-resolution than Bliss with less deep soundstage. Yes Bliss is slightly warmer. But microdetail, was just not there like its there on Bliss. Due to slightly brighter nature I felt that Niimbus had bit better macrodetail, but overall Bliss felt more natural and deep, with more subtle details.

Interesting take on it. If I really listened with the bliss I could hear everything but it sounded like the space between notes was shorter and things were less separated on soundstage depth. I felt I could hear the room better on Niimbus where with bliss the decay could cover part of the room texture. Bliss almost felt like it had a very slight tube flavor to the sound for me.