[GoldenSound]

Thank you GoldenOne/GoldenSound.
I seize the opportunity to ask if you are planning to test the T+A DAC 200.
I would be delighted to read/view your analysis.

Thank you

I've not been offered a unit to review at the moment.
Would definitely like to test one out though

 

[dudeX]

I also have another question...
It seems most people are oversampling with HQP and I get that.
But in my case, I want to keep it very simple, just stream Apple Music Lossless/Hi-Res via USB to the Holo May KTE in NOS mode.
I read many people on this forum and on audiophilestyle.com saying that the Holo May is actually not that good with low PCM (I mean 48/96/192 KHz).

Is this true ?
Is the Holo May actually not the right DAC for my use case ?
I am extremely looking forward to your answers as I am about to decide and I feel a bit lost right now.

But please do not tell me "Yes, but much better with HQP - you should definitely try - it is another level", as I definitely don't want to do that.

I am with computers all day long, and I am overdosing a little bit. I don't want to enter that rabbit hole.
When I listen to music, I want not computer in the mix, just listening, reading a book and relaxing.

Thank you very very much for your advice.

I use May on NOS without HQP or other oversampling software 95% of the time.
I find that based on my chain, the May has a good organic natural sound. And for the proof of this is listening to music from 8 and 16 bit consoles or MIDI music with low or high end samples, which have at best have 22 kHz sampling rate and a much more limited voice of expression. On most DACs chip tune music can sound bright and glare-y but with the May it sounds listenable.

The impression that I get for, say, low quality drums of Sega Genesis/Megadrive is that it sounds like the real thing but it’s lost a lot of information, as opposed to what I would normally hear as a noise that is suppose to be a percussive instrument.

Music sounds pretty good overall, but if you’re too familiar with a track you might think that a voice sounds thin or a guitar lacks bite. Then you can use HQP or other oversampling software to add more density to the music so that it sounds better.

 

[Ragnar-BY]

I read many people on this forum and on audiophilestyle.com saying that the Holo May is actually not that good with low PCM (I mean 48/96/192 KHz).

Is this true ?
Is the Holo May actually not the right DAC for my use case ?
I am extremely looking forward to your answers as I am about to decide and I feel a bit lost right now.

It’s fine. I do use HQP (DSD256) now, but I’ve listened to May in NOS node without any processing for more than a year and had a great time. HQPlayer can improve sound further, but May is still a great DAC even without it.

 

[Davidv100]

I use May on NOS without HQP or other oversampling software 95% of the time.
I find that based on my chain, the May has a good organic natural sound. And for the proof of this is listening to music from 8 and 16 bit consoles or MIDI music with low or high end samples, which have at best have 22 kHz sampling rate and a much more limited voice of expression. On most DACs chip tune music can sound bright and glare-y but with the May it sounds listenable.

The impression that I get for, say, low quality drums of Sega Genesis/Megadrive is that it sounds like the real thing but it’s lost a lot of information, as opposed to what I would normally hear as a noise that is suppose to be a percussive instrument.

Music sounds pretty good overall, but if you’re too familiar with a track you might think that a voice sounds thin or a guitar lacks bite. Then you can use HQP or other oversampling software to add more density to the music so that it sounds better.

No no, I am really looking for the most natural sound. Without any artifacs. The purest sound, as recorded. For example I do not want a bass drum to have more bass that it actually has, nor a voice to be brighter than it is…

But after reading that so many people are HQP-oversampling I had the impression that the Holo May may actually “lack” information to reproduce the natural sound without HQP.

For example, my speaker are Martin Logan Summit X electrostatic panels (very natural), and all my audio chain is oriented toward natural sound.

In a perfect world, I would like to be unable to tell if the band is playing in front of me, or if it is a recording.

 

[Ragnar-BY]

But after reading that so many people are HQP-oversampling I had the impression that the Holo May may actually “lack” information to reproduce the natural sound without HQP.

HQP is so good with May not because May “lacks” something. It sounds so good because May has that NOS mode in which you can fully utilize HQPlayer’s oversampling. Many DACs will sound better with HQPlayer and right settings. Holo is just the most popular option among HQP enthusiasts because of its extremely good price/quality rate.

 

[GoldenSound]

HQP is so good with May not because May “lacks” something. It sounds so good because May has that NOS mode in which you can fully utilize HQPlayer’s oversampling. Many DACs will sound better with HQPlayer and right settings. Holo is just the most popular option among HQP enthusiasts because of its extremely good price/quality rate.

This pretty much.

I've yet to find a DAC that wasn't improved to some degree by either HQPlayer or PGGB. But true NOS dacs are able to fully take advantage of the improved noise shapers from these tools, and the combination of true NOS and the performance the May offers is something you currently can't get anywhere else. As a result the combination is pretty standout

 

[NEXTLEVEL5]

All, Is there a serious downgrade in performance when not using NOS as this DAC? I currently have an Yggy LIM but now that I've ordered the Bliss I was thinking of trying the May out as well. However, Not all of my music plays through HQPlayer or Roon.

 

[Frankie D]

This pretty much.

I've yet to find a DAC that wasn't improved to some degree by either HQPlayer or PGGB. But true NOS dacs are able to fully take advantage of the improved noise shapers from these tools, and the combination of true NOS and the performance the May offers is something you currently can't get anywhere else. As a result the combination is pretty standout

HQP does not support ALAC or Apple Music Streaming correct? Do you know of anything that does the same for them?

 

[Baten]

HQP does not support ALAC or Apple Music Streaming correct? Do you know of anything that does the same for them?

HQ Player + Roon.

 

[Davidv100]

HQP does not support ALAC or Apple Music Streaming correct? Do you know of anything that does the same for them?

I am in the same situation.
I used to have a significant music database, all downloaded in High-Res, sometimes having the add the titles myself or the artwork…

And I don’t want to do this anymore, ever. Only streaming.
I like the huge quality offer of Apple Music (a lot is in high res + classical), I think it is way beyond anything else…

Only current limitation today is indeed that there is no Apple Music output to HQP, and no native streaming on current DACs. (Therefore I have a dedicated iPad connected to the DAC)

 

[Davidv100]

HQ Player + Roon.

I think the question of Frankie is the other way around : How to upsample ALAC / Apple Music

 

[Davidv100]

All of this is also part of the reasons why I am now thinking about T+A DAC 200. It has “real” HDMI ports which will come handy when Apple TV will (I hope at least) output Apple Music Hi-Res some day. So I will use Apple TV as a headless music streamer.

Additionally, although I am a speaker listener, I welcome the headphone amp and output of the DAC 200. Free bonus.

I have the humble feeling that Holo Audio missed a maketing opportunity here. Instead of a optional preamp on the Spring3 (who needs that ?), I think an optional headphone amp and output would have been a smarter move for a wider market.

 

[GoldenSound]

HQP does not support ALAC or Apple Music Streaming correct? Do you know of anything that does the same for them?

Not sure about ALAC but no it doesn't support apple music streaming.

You could probably do a workaround using something like VB-Hifi cable out of apple music, into HQP though, but may be a bit convoluted

 

[Zachik]

but may be a bit convoluted

So... perfect for audiophiles?

 

[dudeX]

I think the question of Frankie is the other way around : How to upsample ALAC / Apple Music

I use Rogue Amoeba’s loopback adapter on the Mac to output Apple Music to HQPlayer. It works but it’s clunky.