[lukeslens]

All these pages of talk about settings and HQ Player as a needed upgrade has me worried. I was thinking Cyan2 might be my next DAC, but I don’t use a PC as my source, just a Node 2i streaming Qobuz via digital out to my DAC. Would the Cyan2 still be a good option for me?

So I've spent the past several days trying out HQPlayer with the Cyan 2. Granted, it's the first time I've every played with it and I'm not 100% sure that I've got all the settings fully locked in for the BEST presentation (I appreciate @GoldenSound sending his settings here as I'm going to try those as well), but I will say this: so far I don't think I need it. I'm not getting a radical enough difference between NOS and HQP to justify the cost or overhauling my digital system to allow for it (I have an Eversolo DMP-A6 which is not compatible with NAA so can't be used with HQP).

I will continue to do more testing in case my settings aren't fully correct, but like I said, so far I'm beyond happy with the Cyan 2 in just NOS mode. I'm just not getting the benefits from HQP that I've been told about. Now, full disclosure, when I'm not using HQP I am also using Roon's upsampling, and I will say that there is a small improvement there in soundstage but even when I use something as low-grade as Spotify, with no upsampling, the sound I get is absolutely marvelous. Just rich and enveloping. If you're interested in the Cyan 2, don't let the HQP discussion distract you too much. It's a phenomenal DAC all on its own. HQP is just, it seems, taking it to another taste level.

 

[flyte3333]

Guys too much HQPlayer discussion here

As multiple people have mentioned

Perhaps starts a "Cyan2 + HQPlayer thread"

 

[LXMc]

Seems like my 5800X3D + 7900XTX probably wouldn't be the best for HQPlayer then. Might sway things back in favor of the Frerot for me

Don't want to continue the HQP discussion but just wanted to follow up after moving my troubleshooting to the HQP thread - I figured out the cause of my issues running DSD through HQP was not my CPU/GPU, it was the USB hub I had the DAC connected to (was a secondary DAC so just plugged it in where I had space). After I plugged it into a high-speed port directly on my motherboard I could run the higher end filters no problem (couldn't test beyond DSD256 due to DAC limit).

Sorry all, my HQP stuff was in service to deciding if it would be worthwhile considering the Cyan 2 in my scenario.

 

[JerseyD]

Tyler likes it! "Could be the end-game DAC for 95% of audiophile users..."

 

[jonathan c]

Mikey likes it! "Could be the end-game Do All Cereal for 95% ..."

FTFY...[Reg. TM; © bcowen: 2021.]

 

[M700LTR]

Tyler likes it! "Could be the end-game DAC for 95% of audiophile users..."

Not much words on Cyan 2 sound, mostly on build quality. There was a comparison made to TT2, where detail and imaging Cyan 2 > TT2. Guess that's pretty high praise considering it is $1200 vs $4000. Also, per his preferences Cyan 2 > Yggy (though there wasn't any elaboration why). Anyway, as he mentions, Holo build quality is pretty solid, so that was a "safe" blind buy for me.

 

[Lvivske]

Yeah, unfortunately his review in the sound department consisted of "it's good bang for your buck, i like it, it works"

"excellent detail retrieval, imaging & separation, not overly smooth" is all that was described in that final 30 seconds on the topic

 

[Picard7]

I don't want to give the impression that the Cyan 2 Is worse than the Frerot because It's not the case, It comes all to my genre of music and the pairing with the he1000 stealth that are my HP of choice, this Is the only reason.
the cyan 2 (as i'm listening it without hqplayer ecc my laptop can't handel It ) brings the music too forward and has got more depth so if gives me a tunnel effect on the stealth closing the soundstage, the merason instead exalts all the traits that i love of the stealth. About detail retrival they are really on par It changes the way they are presented.
As always for me.

Thanks - so, the Cyan 2 narrowed the soundstage and put the audience at the front of the stage. I'll be using 1000SEs which may present in a similar way.

 

[Louisiana]

Why is the analog voltage output so low?

 

[Lvivske]

Why is the analog voltage output so low?

Is it? 2 (rca) & 4v (xlr) seems to be pretty standard from brands I just looked up. 2.5 & 5v would be hotter than average.

 

[Louisiana]

Oha, looked at the values from DSD, thanks for the clarification!

 

[Erick Muller]

Is it? 2 (rca) & 4v (xlr) seems to be pretty standard from brands I just looked up. 2.5 & 5v would be hotter than average.

I think he means when using DSD 128X, which I wasn't aware it dropped the output voltage.

 

[Louisiana]

I've ordered, now it's time to be patient

 

[GeraltDHowl]

Thanks - so, the Cyan 2 narrowed the soundstage and put the audience at the front of the stage. I'll be using 1000SEs which may present in a similar way.

In my opinion without hqplayer roon ecc It has that signature that doesn't pair well with the stealth, but i had the se and i think that they will be a terrific combo, because the cyan will enanche all the qualities of the se (depth separation detail) adding a touch of the r2r analouge warmth and man the decay Is beautiful.

 

[TylersEclectic]

Yeah, I didn’t dive too deep down the sound category with it. I personally own the Spring3 kte3, and find the Cyan2 to be very similar to that without any of the whiz bangs… or basically a no frills bare bones version of it. Or in other words it gets you 90% of the way to a spring3. Sound wise, I felt it was detailed and has nice depth, and above average stage, but not super wide stage. Imaging and separation has a nice “natural” sound without sounding “fake” or trying too hard. Overall I found it to be an amazing deal for the quality of audio and build.

Regarding Yggy, I always felt the Yggy was too dry. The Cyan has a more balanced sound to me. But take with grain of salt as I don’t have a Yggy on hand to properly compare, and just going off memory.

If I was to describe it in as little words as possible: Natural, balanced with very good detail, imaging and separation.

I should have taken more time to describe sound. Thanks for the feedback! Helps me get better at talking about this stuff.

Cheers,

Tyler