[damascato]

Care to elaborate?

The extremely dynamic sound of the Bliss really works with the fullness and roundness of the sound of the Caldera

 

[XVampireX]

Yeah, I've noticed it DEFINITELY feels like a fast amp, as hard as it is to describe sound. But how does everything else synergises for example the blackness of background, the Class A warmth and cleanliness, etc... ? and the overall Neutrality of things

 

[rmsanger]

Has anyone compared the bliss kte vs serene kte ? I’m in need of a great pre and hp amp but cannot afford both units. I understand that likely the serene will be a better pre and bliss a better standalone hp amp. So I guess my specific question is which unit is a better more balanced performer across both applications?

 

[OneEyedHito]

The Bliss gets you 80-90ish of the Serene’s preamp with a legit TOTL HA. While the Serene can power the Susvara the consensus is that the Bliss is markedly better. I believe @GoldenOne has made a statement on this here and my 80-90ish statement above comes directly from Kitsune.

 

[GoldenSound]

I had read Golden’s measurements on that and figured that may be why.. I’ll leave it at that I was just curious if anyone else could actually hear the difference. TBH I guess I’m a little surprised there is a difference but maybe I shouldn’t be?

It'll depend on the headphone. But for lower impedance stuff and IEMs in particular there may be an audible difference. Which you prefer will be upto you (and in some ways you could argue having both options is kinda nice), but easy workaround is to grab an XLR-4 to 4.4mm adapter

The Bliss gets you 80-90ish of the Serene’s preamp with a legit TOTL HA. While the Serene can power the Susvara the consensus is that the Bliss is markedly better. I believe @GoldenOne has made a statement on this here and my 80-90ish statement above comes directly from Kitsune.

Yeah the Serene is amazing for most headphones but Susvara was a bit soft on it. Bliss drives them way better.
There are differences in sound with other headphones too, mostly the fact that Bliss is punchier, but honestly if you don't have Susvara, and are primarily going to be using the product as a pre, I'd go for Serene.
I'd go for Bliss if either you're running Susvara or are primarily using it as a headphone amp.
Both devices serve the purpose of preamp and headphone amp very nicely and you can't really go wrong with either, it's just a case of what use case you'll be utilising most frequently

 

[auded33]

It'll depend on the headphone. But for lower impedance stuff and IEMs in particular there may be an audible difference. Which you prefer will be upto you (and in some ways you could argue having both options is kinda nice), but easy workaround is to grab an XLR-4 to 4.4mm adapter


Yeah the Serene is amazing for most headphones but Susvara was a bit soft on it. Bliss drives them way better.
There are differences in sound with other headphones too, mostly the fact that Bliss is punchier, but honestly if you don't have Susvara, and are primarily going to be using the product as a pre, I'd go for Serene.
I'd go for Bliss if either you're running Susvara or are primarily using it as a headphone amp.
Both devices serve the purpose of preamp and headphone amp very nicely and you can't really go wrong with either, it's just a case of what use case you'll be utilising most frequently

Kind of supporting what Goldensound has said. I have have both Serene and Bliss KTE versions and May L3 KTE Dac.
Listening to my Bliss as a pre today, it is very good indeed and it’s hard to tell the difference between it and the Serene as a pre. So, unless you have Susvara or have need of more input options, I would say get the Bliss.

 

[EMINENT]

Kind of supporting what Goldensound has said. I have have both Serene and Bliss KTE versions and May L3 KTE Dac.
Listening to my Bliss as a pre today, it is very good indeed and it’s hard to tell the difference between it and the Serene as a pre. So, unless you have Susvara or have need of more input options, I would say get the Bliss.

When did you get it?

 

[auded33]

Kind of supporting what Goldensound has said. I have have both Serene and Bliss KTE versions and May L3 KTE Dac.
Listening to my Bliss as a pre today, it is very good indeed and it’s hard to tell the difference between it and the Serene as a pre. So, unless you have Susvara or have need of more input options, I would say get the Bliss.

…Oops, meant to say only get the Serene if you need more inputs. Bliss is a no-brainer for me.

 

[auded33]

When did you get it?

If you mean Bliss, I received couple of weeks ago. Serene and May I’ve had for several months.

 

[George Hincapie]

If you mean Bliss, I received couple of weeks ago. Serene and May I’ve had for several months.

And what do you make of May? Worth the expense for you?

 

[auded33]

The May is fantastic value for money in my estimation. I've had a lot of DAC's over the years, including Chord Dave/MScaler combo. The May is the best.

 

[tcode]

The May is fantastic value for money in my estimation. I've had a lot of DAC's over the years, including Chord Dave/MScaler combo. The May is the best.

I think the May is fantastic DAC, but fantastic value for the money title goes to the Spring 3 in my opinion.

 

[Rhodey]

I think the May is fantastic DAC, but fantastic value for the money title goes to the Spring 3 in my opinion.

True, or you can find a used Rockna Wavelight for 3.5-4k and I think it bests the May . This is all preference tho.

 

[auded33]

Yes, there is the subjective element when it comes to preferences. I'm using HQ Player 4 Desktop to upsample to 1.4MHz PCM with the May... And it does make a noticeable improvement. So I think the May is very hard to beat under these operating conditions.

 

[GoldenSound]

Measurements of the Bliss are up!

https://goldensound.audio/2023/02/06/holo-bliss-kte-measurements/

It's a seriously high performer. Having this much power, whilst also being on par with the very quietest amps using nested feedback opamps etc, AND having this level of performance in a discrete Class A design, is kinda crazy.
Well done Jeff!