[BobWrights]

I did the same thing, had 2 months old Burson (which I loved very much) with Spring 3 KTE, and bought Bliss. The stack looks much better and Bliss is even better amp than Burson is.

What Burson amp was it? The Burson Soloist 3XGT was the first product to really introduce me to high-end sound. I haven't looked back since.

 

[tcode]

What Burson amp was it? The Burson Soloist 3XGT was the first product to really introduce me to high-end sound. I haven't looked back since.

Exactly that one, the Burson Soloist 3x GT, red edition (there is my ad for it in the Classifieds).

 

[SLC1966]

As anyone used Bliss as a pre for their 2 channel system? I did a couple days ago just because the Bliss was on the same rack as my 2ch setup. Well am I impressed. Sounds wonderful. It is my new 2 ch pre as well as one of my HP amps. Now I am wondering how good the Serene must be.

 

[ThanatosVI]

As anyone used Bliss as a pre for their 2 channel system? I did a couple days ago just because the Bliss was on the same rack as my 2ch setup. Well am I impressed. Sounds wonderful. It is my new 2 ch pre as well as one of my HP amps. Now I am wondering how good the Serene must be.

Just wanted to ask how it Stacks up to the Serene as pre

 

[SLC1966]

Just wanted to ask how it Stacks up to the Serene as pre

Yes, if anyone has tried both Bliss and Serene as a pre for their 2 channel?

 

[mfgillia]

As anyone used Bliss as a pre for their 2 channel system? I did a couple days ago just because the Bliss was on the same rack as my 2ch setup. Well am I impressed. Sounds wonderful. It is my new 2 ch pre as well as one of my HP amps. Now I am wondering how good the Serene must be.

Haven't used it as a pre in a 2 channel setup yet but did use it to replace a Goldpoint switch I was using to connect my DAC to the XLRs on the Bliss and Cayin HA300 MKII.

No idea why this would be the case but... to my ears I swear the Cayin sounds noticeably better and more dynamic going through the Bliss than the switch.

 

[Doug2507]

Just ordered the Bliss and have the US5. Agree that this is going to be an interesting comparison.

And how did they compare?

I see a few Niimbus owners in the thread have been asking for comparisons but no ody has been able to give one yet.

 

[incredulousity]

Just wanted to ask how it Stacks up to the Serene as pre

Bliss sounds a little bit better to me than Spring3 preamp. Serene is supposed to be a little better, but I’m fairly certain that I would not be able to tell the difference on my lowly 2 channel system. When Holo makes a speaker amp, I will probably care more! Right now, I like Bliss as preamp to my Audioengine HD6 speakers. Yes, clearly my priority is the headphone setup.

 

[oronymo]

FWIW I had AHB2 mono and Bliss. I very much enjoyed the AHB2, but I will admit that going from one unit to mono was not that noticeable, ymmv.

What's your impression of AHB2 vs. Bliss?

 

[alxw0w]

I literally burst out laughing. Nice one

 

[TonyNewman]

After having my gear in storage for 18 months I have finally got headfi rig setup and running:

Chain is: PC (Roon) -> LAN -> Metrum Amber -> I2S -> Metrum Pavane (upgraded to DAC2 modules) -> XLR -> Holo Bliss KTE.
Early days, but already the sound is very pleasant. A few more days for the NOS DAC to settle down and the Bliss to burn in and this rig should be singing.

I have been through a bunch of SS amps over the years - Simaudio 430HA, Violectric V281, Headamp GS-X Mk2, Auralic Taurus Mk2. None of them quite hit the spot, but I have high hopes for the Bliss.

 

[krude]

I have arrived at the endgame of the endgame :
Key components : May L2 NOS -> (ofc XLR) -> Bliss KTE -> (pure copper XLR) -> 1266 TC + 2m AQ Blizzard -> AQ Niagara 1200 -> 1m AQ Blizzard -> Bliss

I will try to put some words together, but it will sound like total gushing over this setup, but holy $hit has it elevated my TC experience.
TC has amazing synergy with May, Bliss and AQ power conditioning. All elements are needed to get to the sound I'll try to describe.

- TC sounds natural and slightly warm from this setup. YES TC SOUNDS WARM OFF NEUTRAL, everyone who put some hours on the TC knows this is not something that happens often. In fact it sounds warmer than any tube amp I've tried, warmer than Ferrum. It's not warm warm, but it's really warm for TC.
- Treble is very controlled and smooth, it's very rarely sibilant and only when the track has sibilance issues.
- Treble is not grating nor tiring
- Mids are still down (it's a TC trait), but they are the most filled in I've heard from TC with lower mids having warmth
- Bass is super clean and punchy
- Clarity is awesome, but it's combined with smoothness
- Timbral accuracy is the best I've heard from TC
- Fully holographic sound, space between instruments is insane without sounding harsh or unnatural

If I take AQ power from this and just use standard high current IEC cables the sound loses smoothness and air between instruments aspect. It's still very very good, but loses I would say last 20% of the jaw dropping smoothness and space. And if you know TC you know that it is NOT a smooth headphone. Not sure if anyone ever described the TC as smooth and timbrally accurate. Now this stack is Susvara smooth but with trademark TC clarity and space.

I'm in ave ... time to wrap the system up with top notch interconnects, rest of power cabling, fuses etc. to make sure I'm getting full fat 100% ... but even now it is glorious!

This system has the endgame qualities : I never want to skip tracks (in fact I want to listen to the whole track practically every time), everything I throw at it sounds amazing.

 

[Doug2507]

I have arrived at the endgame of the endgame :
Key components : May L2 NOS -> (ofc XLR) -> Bliss KTE -> (pure copper XLR) -> 1266 TC + 2m AQ Blizzard -> AQ Niagara 1200 -> 1m AQ Blizzard -> Bliss

I will try to put some words together, but it will sound like total gushing over this setup, but holy $hit does it elevated my TC experience.
TC has amazing synergy with May, Bluss and AQ power conditioning. All elements are needed to get to the sound I'll try to describe.

- TC sounds natural and slightly warm from this setup. YES TC SOUNDS WARM OFF NEUTRAL, everyone who put some hours on the TC knows this is not something that happens often. In fact it sounds warmer than any tube amp I've tried, warmer than Ferrum. It's not warm warm, but it's really warm for TC.
- Treble is very controlled and smooth, it's very rarely sibilant and only when the track has sibilance issues.
- Treble is not grating nor tiring
- Mids are still down (it's a TC trait), but they are the most filled in I've heard from TC with lower mids having warmth
- Bass is super clean and punchy
- Clarity is awesome, but it's combined with smoothness
- Timbral accuracy is the best I've heard from TC
- Fully holographic sound, space between instruments is insane without sounding harsh or unnatural

If I take AQ power from this and just use standard high current IEC cables the sound loses smoothness and air between instruments aspect. It's still very very good, but loses I would say last 20% of the jaw dropping smoothness and space. And if you know TC you know that it is NOT a smooth headphone. Not sure if anyone ever described the TC as smooth and timbrally accurate. Now this stack is Susvara smooth but with trademark TC clarity and space.

I'm in ave ... time to wrap the system up with top notch interconnects, rest of power cabling, fuses etc. to make sure I'm getting full fat 100% ... but even now it is glorious!

What have you used previously with TC?

 

[krude]

What have you used previously with TC?

From iFi Micro iDSD range, Hugo 2 (as dac), May, Dave, Soloist 3x, Soloist GT (variety of op amps), Ferrum, HA6a (variety of tubes), Bliss. Admittedly not the best range missing likes of WA33 and XI Audio, but I can't think of anything that could be impreved anymore with TC. I'm sure there's another level when spending about 3x the cost (MSB, dCS, maybe Envy, Octave V16, maybe Accuphase A-Class) ... but I can't even imagine what it could bring to the table.

 

[BobWrights]

I just placed an order for the KTE yesterday. These posts are killing me as I wait for production and shipping .