[kopczas]

Got a nice rack for my Cyan2

Hey,
Which Gustard' mode is compatible with Cyans 2 I2s input?

 

[Zaurux]

Hey,
Which Gustard' mode is compatible with Cyans 2 I2s input?

I switched from Gustard A26 to Holo Spring 3 in I2S without any change (cable or settings). No issue

 

[proMC]

I will however be A/B testing the Cyan 2 and R26 when I'm home using my various headphone setups and my Van Alstine M225 monoblocks with Buchardt S400 MKII speakers.

R26 vs Cyan 2 sound comparison please! You seem to be the only one who can do it justice. No HQ, No Roon.
Just raw, no Diddy

 

[Louisiana]

I wonder how many people this is happening to. Interesting phenomenon, usually a cheaper and almost as good product winds up cannibalizing sales of the more expensive product. But I guess for us audiophiles who are always lusting over the latest and greatest, it just serves as advertisement to buy the more expensive models

My case is a little different
When I started with the hobby and saw a Holo Audio device for the first time, I was immediately in love - for my taste the most visually beautiful DACs on the market.
Unfortunately, there was no BLISS at that time, and it was not foreseeable that Holo would launch a headphone amplifier on the market, that's how I ended up with the Pro iDSD and Pro iCAN.

When the BLISS came on the market, I was overwhelmed and couldn't imagine anything better than owning a Spring & BLISS stack, but there is no dealer for Holo Audio in Germany, and I was unsure about Magna Hifi's return policy.

When the Cyan2 arrived, I took the opportunity to test the Holo "house sound" and to make a deal with Magna Hifi.
What can I say, I was so impressed with the Cyan2 that after the third or fourth week I said I'd sell it and buy the Spring 3 KTE.
I wrote to Magna to see if the device was in stock, and they immediately offered to take the Cyan back, which I hadn't expected, and was very pleasantly surprised.
They also accommodated me a little with the price

So I sent the Cyan to the Netherlands straight away, and Magna had already sent my new Spring, even though the Cyan hadn't even arrived yet.
I can only recommend anyone to buy from Magna-Hifi, they are super friendly and helpful, even at weekends and at unusual times, and the whole service is just perfect.

Long story short:
The Cyan2 was planned as a "test object" from the outset, but it remains to be seen how much better the Spring will be.
In any case, I bought the sexiest DAC on the market

 

[dbull12]

To my ears the Cyan 2 does a much better job at this than most other DACs I tried. Output voltage on RCA is half of what you get on XLR, but after volume matching the two outputs sound very, very close to each other. To a degree that it would be challenging to tell them apart in a blind test. This actually surprised me as the sound degradation is a lot more obvious on some other DACs when using RCA out: soundstage collapse, poorer dynamics and clarity. Luckily that doesn't seem to be the case on the C2. With quick A/B switching XLR still has a shade better clarity dynamics and soundstage due to the completely separated channels, but it is impressive, how close RCA comes on this DAC. I think, you should be happy with RCA out on the C2, it does not feel like a compromise as it does on other DACs. Still, balanced is balanced and especially with a balanced amp, that is how you can squeeze out those last drops of performance.

Thanks so much, this sounds promising!

I'm considering replacing my iHA-6 with a Pietus Maximus which only has SE inputs, but I'm still very interested in the Cyan 2. Since my dac1421 is SE only that would be a good option to stick with, but if anyone is able to compare the Cyan 2 via its RCA outputs to the Qutest and/or dac1421 that would be a massive help!

 

[LXMc]

Also glad to hear the SE/RCA side is comparable to XLR as I would definitely be looking to utilize both between v226 & ha-3a (and v226 only takes RCA in)

 

[gammi]

R26 vs Cyan 2 sound comparison please! You seem to be the only one who can do it justice. No HQ, No Roon.
Just raw, no Diddy

Working on it. Attached is the setup I configured, Cyan 2 and R26 both going into the Holo Bliss. What I do is I start playing on the Cyan, wait 5 seconds and then start playing on the R26, since the Bliss can switch between XLR inputs, I can instantly hear a 5 second section on the R26 that I just heard on the Cyan when I switch. Couldn't get any more A/B than that.

And to be completely honest? So far I haven't been able to discern a single damn difference between the two... That was NOS PCM straight from Roon over USB. Only thing I "added" was -3dB headroom for both. This was listening with Susvara, I want to try listening with my X9000 as well and also mess with DSD256.

Also just fyi I had an odd situation last night where HQPlayer/Cyan 2 got stuck in PCM. I would switch to DSD and it would just go back to PCM. Closing and reopening HQPlayer didn't fix it, unplugging and replugging USB on the Cyan didn't fix it, I needed to fully power off the Cyan and then it was fixed.

 

[betula]

Thanks so much, this sounds promising!

I'm considering replacing my iHA-6 with a Pietus Maximus which only has SE inputs, but I'm still very interested in the Cyan 2. Since my dac1421 is SE only that would be a good option to stick with, but if anyone is able to compare the Cyan 2 via its RCA outputs to the Qutest and/or dac1421 that would be a massive help!

To me the Cyan 2 even through RCA out is a step up from the Soekris 2541 in pretty much everything, especially dynamics, bass control and overall clarity. I suppose, the difference is even bigger between the 1421 and C2. Qutest is very different. Even though it uses a custom FPGA, it is still a d/s DAC, although a good one from those. Qutest is thinner sounding, perhaps more delicate. It has good depth and imaging, but where it falls short to me personally is natural body and timbre compared to R2R DACs. In this regard I consider Chord DACs to be somewhere halfway between traditional d/s and R2R DACs. IMO even 3K-4K d/s DACs don't produce that natural tone and timbre 1K-2K R2R DACs do.

On a different note, I think the C2 (or perhaps even the Qutest) might be a bit overkill for an amp like the Pietus (or even IHA-6). Both are very good amps at their respective price range, but IMO neither of them will be able to let the capabilities of the Cyan 2 fully shine through. For that I think you need an amp with higher transparency and resolving power. I think, the jump in sound quality will be higher if you upgrade your amp first to some good value options in the 1K-2K price range and keep using your 1421 until you can afford another jump to the Cyan 2. This of course is debatable; in case you are planning to upgrade your amp in the future anyway but prefer to start with the DAC for some reason. Just my thoughts.

 

[LXMc]

And to be completely honest? So far I haven't been able to discern a single damn difference between the two... That was NOS PCM straight from Roon over USB. Only thing I "added" was -3dB headroom for both. This was listening with Susvara, I want to try listening with my X9000 as well and also mess with DSD256.

lol sounds like my attempts to A/B DACs

 

[dbull12]

To me the Cyan 2 even through RCA out is a step up from the Soekris 2541 in pretty much everything, especially dynamics, bass control and overall clarity. I suppose, the difference is even bigger between the 1421 and C2. Qutest is very different. Even though it uses a custom FPGA, it is still a d/s DAC, although a good one from those. Qutest is thinner sounding, perhaps more delicate. It has good depth and imaging, but where it falls short to me personally is natural body and timbre compared to R2R DACs. In this regard I consider Chord DACs to be somewhere halfway between traditional d/s and R2R DACs. IMO even 3K-4K d/s DACs don't produce that natural tone and timbre 1K-2K R2R DACs do.

On a different note, I think the C2 (or perhaps even the Qutest) might be a bit overkill for an amp like the Pietus (or even IHA-6). Both are very good amps at their respective price range, but IMO neither of them will be able to let the capabilities of the Cyan 2 fully shine through. For that I think you need an amp with higher transparency and resolving power. I think, the jump in sound quality will be higher if you upgrade your amp first to some good value options in the 1K-2K price range and keep using your 1421 until you can afford another jump to the Cyan 2. This of course is debatable; in case you are planning to upgrade your amp in the future anyway but prefer to start with the DAC for some reason. Just my thoughts.

Another really helpful post, thanks so much. I agree that there's a bit of a quality/price imbalance between the amps and DACs I'm looking at. It's tricky because I move around and transport my system somewhat frequently so I want amps and DACs that are solid state with relatively small footprints and that synergizes well with ZMF. It seems there's not a whole lot above the iHA-6, Homage, Pietus Max, and V202/V222 that fits these requirements until you get up to the DSHA-3FN, and I'm not sure I'll ever feel comfortable spending that much on an amp. I've heard that the Pietus scales well and seems like it's probably the best value pick of the slightly "tubey" small SS amps that tick all the boxes for me, but yeah it's really hard to know if it would be good enough to benefit from going to the Cyan 2 or Qutest from the dac1421. Also admittedly one reason I'm looking at the Cyan 2 and Qutest is that I like their aesthetics more than the Soekris and the Cyan 2 would stack nicely under the Pietus whereas the Soekris isn't as long as the Pietus but is deeper so it's not as ideal. And of course Qutest is tiny which is part of the appeal

 

[betula]

Another really helpful post, thanks so much. I agree that there's a bit of a quality/price imbalance between the amps and DACs I'm looking at. It's tricky because I move around and transport my system somewhat frequently so I want amps and DACs that are solid state with relatively small footprints and that synergizes well with ZMF. It seems there's not a whole lot above the iHA-6, Homage, Pietus Max, and V202/V222 that fits these requirements until you get up to the DSHA-3FN, and I'm not sure I'll ever feel comfortable spending that much on an amp. I've heard that the Pietus scales well and seems like it's probably the best value pick of the slightly "tubey" small SS amps that tick all the boxes for me, but yeah it's really hard to know if it would be good enough to benefit from going to the Cyan 2 or Qutest from the dac1421. Also admittedly one reason I'm looking at the Cyan 2 and Qutest is that I like their aesthetics more than the Soekris and the Cyan 2 would stack nicely under the Pietus whereas the Soekris isn't as long as the Pietus but is deeper so it's not as ideal. And of course Qutest is tiny which is part of the appeal

I see, transportability is important for you. In that case you might find the C2 a bit heavy with its 3.5kg. Qutest is only 770g. Maybe for traveling that is a better choice with the Pietus. Or if you want a warmer sound, perhaps you could consider Woo Wa8.

 

[Clemmaster]

Working on it. Attached is the setup I configured, Cyan 2 and R26 both going into the Holo Bliss. What I do is I start playing on the Cyan, wait 5 seconds and then start playing on the R26, since the Bliss can switch between XLR inputs, I can instantly hear a 5 second section on the R26 that I just heard on the Cyan when I switch. Couldn't get any more A/B than that.

And to be completely honest? So far I haven't been able to discern a single damn difference between the two... That was NOS PCM straight from Roon over USB. Only thing I "added" was -3dB headroom for both. This was listening with Susvara, I want to try listening with my X9000 as well and also mess with DSD256.

Also just fyi I had an odd situation last night where HQPlayer/Cyan 2 got stuck in PCM. I would switch to DSD and it would just go back to PCM. Closing and reopening HQPlayer didn't fix it, unplugging and replugging USB on the Cyan didn't fix it, I needed to fully power off the Cyan and then it was fixed.

A/B doesn't have to be quick. Try to listen to full songs, instead of 5 sec segments. You'll never be able to distinguish DACs that way...

 

[betula]

A/B doesn't have to be quick. Try to listen to full songs, instead of 5 sec segments. You'll never be able to distinguish DACs that way...

+1. Swap after a couple of hours, or even days and give your ears time to adjust. The result of quick A/B swapping can be misleading.

 

[gammi]

A/B doesn't have to be quick. Try to listen to full songs, instead of 5 sec segments. You'll never be able to distinguish DACs that way...

I'll be doing both. I do however think the quick/direct A/B test has value though. I can do things like compare cymbal hits, vocal timbre, etc very directly.

Audio memory is awful, leaving a couple hours or even days between listens leaves a lot of room for error. Even listening to the same equipment on two different days sometimes it sounds nicer to me one night vs another. Something as simple as having a bit higher blood pressure one day than another or how well I slept could affect my hearing.

 

[betula]

I'll be doing both. I do however think the quick/direct A/B test has value though. I can do things like compare cymbal hits, vocal timbre, etc very directly.

Both approaches have value and are necessary, we just need to be aware of their limitations and allow enough time (days, weeks) to draw thorough and correct conclusions. Quick switching is good to discover major differences, but longer time is needed for full adjustment of the ears/brain and a deeper understanding of the new sound.