[chesebert]

They've used May and Pontus too. Personally Pontus didn't impress me with my LTA MZ3 so is sold and I am looking for a better option.

We are talking about speaker setup, right?

 

[George Hincapie]

We are talking about speaker setup, right?

Sorry, no. Headphones. Apologies.

 

[rangerid]

@Davidv100 if your budget is more or less limited to May price point, you won’t find better DAC. But you have to keep it powered on for the best experience, that’s right.

If the price isn’t an issue, I’d suggest to try MolaMola Tambaqui. It’s small, power efficient, have all necessary connectivity and it is a better DAC to my ears. Well...maybe not completely "better". In a way I might still prefer May, but MolaMola’s sound has its upsides, like the depth of the stage and the wonderful tone of the treble. Tambaqui have something in common with Chord DAVE in sense of good soundstage and overall refinement, but have nicer tone and doesn’t sound as “clinical” as Chord. I sold my DAVE after listening to Holo May and while I haven’t yet decided if I want to switch from Holo to MolaMola I’d recommend Tambaqui over DAVE for sure.

As for HQ Player, it’s not as mandatory, as it might seem from forum posts. There is so much HQP discussion on the forum because most of the people here use computers as their main source, plus that software has a lot of settings that can be changed. I tried HQP and didn't like the effect at all. I listen to May in NOS mode without any additional processing, often it's just a CD out of a CD transport. Positive reviews of Holo May in Stereophile and Twittering Machines are also written about listening without external upsampling.

I made the transition from May/DAVE to Tambaqui a few years ago when trying different DACs. If you get the Tambaqui, you must try it with HQPlayer, I forgot the profile I had but it was like the maxed one. Tambaqui scales more with HQP than May did, I was never a fan of taking a native NOS Dac then upsampling it, always felt a bit silly to me. Tambaqui with HQP is legit competing with DACs in 30-40k range without external upsampling, performance was just nuts... May is a fantastic DAC for the money and a no brainer at its price range but if one can get the Tambaqui with HQP, it is next level than some...

 

[Davidv100]

Thank you Rangerid.

But I would be using only native PCM files (not oversampled, not converted to DSD), and the May in NOS mode. I assume we have different approaches, Rangerid

Your way might sound better indeed,
but for me, I prefer not to alter the sound (and also keeping it simpler and casual, no HQP, no computer involved). This is purely a personal convenience choice obviously.

 

[dsyzling]

I made the transition from May/DAVE to Tambaqui a few years ago when trying different DACs. If you get the Tambaqui, you must try it with HQPlayer, I forgot the profile I had but it was like the maxed one. Tambaqui scales more with HQP than May did, I was never a fan of taking a native NOS Dac then upsampling it, always felt a bit silly to me. Tambaqui with HQP is legit competing with DACs in 30-40k range without external upsampling, performance was just nuts... May is a fantastic DAC for the money and a no brainer at its price range but if one can get the Tambaqui with HQP, it is next level than some...

The Tambaqui can only accept 384kHz/32 (and I'm not sure it can accept that over USB - or may be that is a Roon only limitation?) so you were only using HQP to up sample PCM to this level? The Tambaqui is then going to upsample higher internally anyway - so HQP is better up to 384/32 - the first processing stage - than the inbuilt Tambaqui upsampling algo which is going to take over from 384/32 upwards anyway? Were you using an HQPlayer NAA to connect over I2S or USB? I've just never heard someone suggest the Tambaqui was improved by HQP - I've seen reports of hearing no difference in the past, so they decided to drop HQP when used with the Tambaqui. I've also heard people suggest AES to the Tambaqui is an improvement over USB and Network connection from certain streamers (MU1 and Antipodes K50)

 

[Ragnar-BY]

The Tambaqui can only accept 384kHz/32 (and I'm not sure it can accept that over USB - or may be that is a Roon only limitation?)

USB and Roon. For some reason their i2s input is limited to 24/192 max and no DSD at all. i2s limitation is my main argument against Mola Mola TBH. Otherwise, I'd be shopping for it already.

 

[gfwyzxj]

Wondering if anyone is having issue with PCM 1.536

My May KTE works under PCM to 768k but 1.536 has bad distortion in right channel (left seems to be fine). Mine is with the new USB gen2.1 board.

I tried to flash old and new firmware (3144, 3140, 3128, etc) also tried with Intel PC, AMD PC, and Pi4 streamers, different USB cables, none of them fixed the issue.

DSD modes all the way up to DSD1024 work fine though.

I started to suspect that my unit needs an RMA so I contacted Kitsune 2 weeks ago but haven't got a reply yet.

Just see if anyone else is having trouble with 1.536Mhz

 

[OneEyedHito]

Wondering if anyone is having issue with PCM 1.536

My May KTE works under PCM to 768k but 1.536 has bad distortion in right channel (left seems to be fine). Mine is with the new USB gen2.1 board.

I tried to flash old and new firmware (3144, 3140, 3128, etc) also tried with Intel PC, AMD PC, and Pi4 streamers, different USB cables, none of them fixed the issue.

DSD modes all the way up to DSD1024 work fine though.

I started to suspect that my unit needs an RMA so I contacted Kitsune 2 weeks ago but haven't got a reply yet.

Just see if anyone else is having trouble with 1.536Mhz

It needs the newest windows drivers on the Kitsune site. I had same issue until I removed the Holo audio drivers and reinstalled these windows USB drivers not the DAC firmware, scroll down the page to “Downloads & Links”:

https://www.kitsunehifi.com/product/holo-audio-may-dac/

 

[gfwyzxj]

Thanks for the pointer. Tried but still, PCM 1.536 does not work. This was a fresh install of OS and driver v5.30 with firmware 31.44. Also tried with firmware 31.40.

I have a holo red on order and will try PCM 1.536 with that streamer also.

 

[OneEyedHito]

Thanks for the pointer. Tried but still, PCM 1.536 does not work. This was a fresh install of OS and driver v5.30 with firmware 31.44. Also tried with firmware 31.40.

I have a holo red on order and will try PCM 1.536 with that streamer also.

Sounds good, is Kitsune sending you a new USB card just in case, I am sure they will.

 

[gfwyzxj]

Sounds good, is Kitsune sending you a new USB card just in case, I am sure they will.

Yeah will keep this thread posted for any updates

 

[EMINENT]

Thanks for the pointer. Tried but still, PCM 1.536 does not work. This was a fresh install of OS and driver v5.30 with firmware 31.44. Also tried with firmware 31.40.

I have a holo red on order and will try PCM 1.536 with that streamer also.

At least try unplugging your usb and restarting May. I moved my pc to bedroom and noticed some random pops and cracks, and that fixed it for me. Maybe something got tripped through the shuffle.

 

[gfwyzxj]

At least try unplugging your usb and restarting May. I moved my pc to bedroom and noticed some random pops and cracks, and that fixed it for me. Maybe something got tripped through the shuffle.

Yeah tried that no luck. Also tried rebooting NAA, different version of NAA, different version of HQPlayer, no luck. That's why it makes me thinking about the May itself to be the culprit. Mine was built in mid-late 2021 just after they switched over to Gen2.1 USB board so wondering if the early revision has any issues.

 

[Rayon]

FYI: made HQPlayer review which some may find interesting: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/signalyst-hqplayer.26379/reviews#review-30348

 

[George Hincapie]

FYI: made HQPlayer review which some may find interesting: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/signalyst-hqplayer.26379/reviews#review-30348

That is a superb write up, thank you.