[ClicketEKlack]

Stradivarius is out of the violin biz -- hard pass!!

 

[dirtrat]

IMO your comparison is not really a good one. I'm not ragging on any one company but it's a very real problem that people need to consider prior to making a purchase, especially a very expensive one. As a matter of fact, in another thread here in these forums I'm discussing the new RAAL Requisite VM-1a tube amp I bought that costs $6500 and I noticed the company just changed their warranty documents on their website to indicate the warranty is now 1 year instead of 5 years as they originally advertised. Understand this amplifier was JUST released. The owner is pretty much a one man show and just today indicated he is 64 years old and doesn't know if he will be around in 5 years to honor the 5-year warranties so from this point forward all warranties on this amplifier are 1 year. My point is this may be an acceptable risk for some people but not everyone. Each of us has to make that decision for ourselves. BTW I think the Holo Audio products are exceptional as are the RAAL products.

 

[dirtrat]

Stradivarius is out of the violin biz -- hard pass!!

This violin can last for hundreds of years. Do you think your DAC will last that long?

 

[ClicketEKlack]

This violin can last for hundreds of years. Do you think your DAC will last that long?

I doubt my ears have twenty years left. I have a Sony tuner/amp that’s a good 25 years old and works as well as it did the day I bought it, so I’d hope that a solid state DAC should last a while.

 

[dirtrat]

I doubt my ears have twenty years left. I have a Sony tuner/amp that’s a good 25 years old and works as well as it did the day I bought it, so I’d hope that a solid state DAC should last a while.

I completely understand. I'll be 62 this year and wonder if I will even be able to appreciate all of these high end purchases. Unfortunately I was bitten by the Audiophile bug when I was in High School and could never shake it.

 

[NoTimeFor]

My quick impression on May so far. Right out of the box, it sounded pretty relaxed and clean. I can tell it sounded definitely step up compare to DACs I had previously experienced with. However, May did not Wow me nor pulled me into the music. I did not have any desire to stay late into the night and trying one last song before my eyes shut. I actually thought about selling it. Now I have burned it about 85 hours so far, and I think the sound quality has improved quite a bit. Tonality became more natural, more precise imaging and soundstage separation. It sounds good, and it should be given the cost, but digital music never sounded so natural to me. One example I can share is that I have some Chinese songs where 'shz', 'chi', 'shi' sounds are prevalent in the music. With other DACs, they can sound from outright harsh to noticeable. That's one of the tests I do for DAC. With May, I do not hear any harshness, it is silky. One negative aspect of May is it gets hot - I can touch it but it definitely runs hot ... I also do not like how it looks. I know most of you like Holo design, but I do not. It reminds of an old DVD / CD player for some reason. Wish I can transfer circuit boards into McIntosh case

 

[Shmuel]

Does anyone know the weight of the dac and power supply, as separate units?

I want to buy isoacoustic feet for each.

Thanks.

 

[chesebert]

Does anyone know the weight of the dac and power supply, as separate units?

I want to buy isoacoustic feet for each.

Thanks.

I think 3 Orea 8lb version will work for each unit.

 

[dirtrat]

Well, I ordered the Holo May KTE last night. I do have some concerns about it but decided if it doesn't work out for me, I will just sell it on the used market. Hopefully it won't take more than a few weeks to get it.

 

[ExtremeBoky]

It is important to keep DAC and PS units separate. Do not stack them. Both the sound and DAC unit cooling will benefit.

The sound-absorbing/sound isolation measures are not needed and not desired. The original feet work really well; the whole DAC has been tuned to perfection in the factory to work & sound great with its original feet.

The latest May models come with an "upgraded" USB module; one that does not have an XMOS chip but uses an additional combination of ICs to provide the same functionality. What they did is as follows:

XMOS IC = {ALTERA max II + ALTERA max II + ARM Cortex processor + USB Host IC}

Well, whoever worked with digital audio PCB design will know why 4 switching IC's, on such a limited ground-fill area, will sound vastly inferior to only one IC.

... as such, to me (extensive A/B comparison of old vs. new USB module + fair knowledge & experience in digital and analog electronics) the new USB module sounds vastly inferior to the original one. It ruins May DAC potential (which is unprecedented at the moment in the whole digital audio reproduction industry, worldwide).

If you can still get the old USB module - get it! May will sound extended, natural, specious... beautiful. The new module makes the sound cold, 2 dimensional, unnatural and fatiguing... same as the plethora of cheap 1000 - 2000 bucks DACs that get rave reviews on audio science review website, for example.

Even better, get both modules; DO NOT return the original module, and then do A/B for yourself....

 

[F208Frank]

Well for me, I plan to use HDMI instead of USB despite the USB being their favorite option.

 

[ericx85]

I honestly didnt hear any difference when I changed USB modules to the updated 2.1 version. And im in the camp of dacs do sound different from each other. That said, I really dont think they would go through the trouble of replacing the module entirely, without having the original as an option if it sounded worse. Maybe the updated module sounding worse is system dependent? I think the update was originally done because of AMD based systems not wanting to play nice with the original to hit 1.5mhz rates

 

[dirtrat]

It is important to keep DAC and PS units separate. Do not stack them. Both the sound and DAC unit cooling will benefit.

The sound-absorbing/sound isolation measures are not needed and not desired. The original feet work really well; the whole DAC has been tuned to perfection in the factory to work & sound great with its original feet.

The latest May models come with an "upgraded" USB module; one that does not have an XMOS chip but uses an additional combination of ICs to provide the same functionality. What they did is as follows:

XMOS IC = {ALTERA max II + ALTERA max II + ARM Cortex processor + USB Host IC}

Well, whoever worked with digital audio PCB design will know why 4 switching IC's, on such a limited ground-fill area, will sound vastly inferior to only one IC.

... as such, to me (extensive A/B comparison of old vs. new USB module + fair knowledge & experience in digital and analog electronics) the new USB module sounds vastly inferior to the original one. It ruins May DAC potential (which is unprecedented at the moment in the whole digital audio reproduction industry, worldwide).

If you can still get the old USB module - get it! May will sound extended, natural, specious... beautiful. The new module makes the sound cold, 2 dimensional, unnatural and fatiguing... same as the plethora of cheap 1000 - 2000 bucks DACs that get rave reviews on audio science review website, for example.

Even better, get both modules; DO NOT return the original module, and then do A/B for yourself....

Interesting observation and completely contradicts what I have seen in reviews.

 

[ExtremeBoky]

Interesting observation and completely contradicts what I have seen in reviews.

Hmmm.... but the May reviews of late are reporting issues. Mostly listening fatigue and need to burn in for a very long time (to force your brain to accept the sound and the new "Enhanced" USB module). All reviews of late are reporting some form of dissatisfaction with the sound.

Check the few years old reports; they state that the sound doesn't change much with the burn-in and that the sound is really nice and pleasing straight out of the box.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Hmmm.... but the May reviews of late are reporting issues. Mostly listening fatigue and need to burn in for a very long time (to force your brain to accept the sound and the new "Enhanced" USB module). All reviews of late are reporting some form of dissatisfaction with the sound.

Check the few years old reports; they state that the sound doesn't change much with the burn-in and that the sound is really nice and pleasing straight out of the box.

Are you still using the USB or are you using a something different like optical or i2s?