[GU1DO]

oh, sorry I dont have any clues on shipping times for you then. I myself tried to contact Kitsune 3 weeks ago and never got a reply. Oh wait, I did get an automated one saying that a real reply should be expected (or not, really, in which case I should keep trying) in 4-10 business days. Because of too much inquires. I can only assume they are receiving some thousands of inquires per week, good for them!

BTW magna-hifi and wildism in Europe/HK both kindly replied within hours and had the Spring basically ready to ship and the May would be ready in few weeks time. I do recognize such estimates are very dynamic as I was checking this for a few months while considering options.

I bought Holo serene from wildism,, highly highly recommended dealer ,, seriously i cant recommend him enough ,, fast reply , update with every step , fast shipping

 

[DJJEZ]

How do you burn in May? Do you run the DAC 24/7 while playing music and amp off?

Yes this is how I did it

 

[NoTimeFor]

May has arrived! I would say 3 weeks of wait time was not really that bad. Do you leave the DAC on 24/7?

 

[DJJEZ]

May has arrived! I would say 3 weeks of wait time was not really that bad. Do you leave the DAC on 24/7?

Yes leave it on 24/7.

 

[chesebert]

Maybe this snippet gives you an idea of why they are working like this:

Just read that a few days ago in the Stereonet review of the May. You can read that here if you'd like.

I can respect someone just sticking to his trade - designing audio products - instead of trying to build up a large company. As long as the distributors are doing a good job of supporting their customers, I think that's an okay business model. It has it's pro's and cons.

0 comparison to other dacs - might as well read an ad.

 

[chesebert]

As far as I know there is no pre-amp in the May and yes, it seems there are opamps in the output stage so the those are not fully discrete designs.
Why Holo audio doesn´t have a webpage to see and ask about all these questions? Spending 2000-60000$ in a product that only have info about them at distributors pages is just strange. They are in the market for a few years now and it´s very strange they doesn´t have a webpage and only gives support (downloads, tech support, etc) through it´s distributors network.

Jeff kind of relies on word of mouth (also including shills and posers among actual users) to sell his products - it’s an unique marketing approach for sure. I suspect the reason Holo Audio doesn’t have a website is because it’s not an actual company - not registered at least. I believe he is a one man show which makes me nervous.

Hope someone can prove me wrong.

Edit: for comparison Denafrips is a real company based in Shenzhen China, the company is registered in Guangzhou and Denafrips is a real trademark registered in the US.

 

[Triode User]

Jeff kind of relies on word of mouth (also including shills and posers among actual users) to sell his products - it’s an unique marketing approach for sure. I suspect the reason Holo Audio doesn’t have a website is because it’s not an actual company - not registered at least. I believe he is a one man show which makes me nervous.

Hope someone can prove me wrong.

Edit: for comparison Denafrips is a real company based in Shenzhen China, the company is registered in Guangzhou and Denafrips is a real trademark registered in the US.

If Holo Audio doesn’t have a website that is only because they either don’t want one or don’t need one. Not operating as a company has no bearing on that. I know this because I took the decision not to trade as a company and prefer to be a sole trader. From my customers point of view I am actually more accountable to them that way. If things go wrong a company can be dissolved leaving customers high and dry.

So I would not be put off Holo Audio for any of the reasons you mention.

 

[mmwwmm]

From my customers point of view I am actually more accountable to them that way. If things go wrong a company can be dissolved leaving customers high and dry.

So I would not be put off Holo Audio for any of the reasons you mention.

But you are a manufacturer that deal directly with your customers. If there is a question, a problem, etc they can come to you.
With holo audio you cannot access directly to the manufacturer asking for technical support, deep technical questions, etc etc. You only have the reseller for these duties. And let me remind you these are no "new in the market cheap devices". Holo Audio has been on the market for a few years and prices for Holo Audio DACs range from €2,000 to €6,000.

Very expensive devices from a brand that only exists through its three resellers.
If these resellers disappeared tomorrow, where would we go if we had a problem?

 

[Baten]

But you are a manufacturer that deal directly with your customers. If there is a question, a problem, etc they can come to you.
With holo audio you cannot access directly to the manufacturer asking for technical support, deep technical questions, etc etc. You only have the reseller for these duties.

Kitsune and Wildism have decent/good customer support though. Magna hifi eu probably does too.

 

[mmwwmm]

Kitsune and Wildism have decent/good customer support though. Magna hifi eu probably does too.

Sure, but they are just sellers. Not Holo Audio.

 

[chesebert]

If Holo Audio doesn’t have a website that is only because they either don’t want one or don’t need one. Not operating as a company has no bearing on that. I know this because I took the decision not to trade as a company and prefer to be a sole trader. From my customers point of view I am actually more accountable to them that way. If things go wrong a company can be dissolved leaving customers high and dry.

So I would not be put off Holo Audio for any of the reasons you mention.

I hope you still like building cables in 10 years when one of your customers asks you for service. I just sent one of my Cardas power cords I bought 10 years go back to Cardas for service - even a relatively simple passive part like cable needs service. Can you imagine if George Cardas were a one man show - I would be SOL with expensive cables; actually Cardas would have long stopped making cables and servicing their customers.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I strongly agree lack of direct access to the manufacturer/accountable party is a serious shortcoming. I bought a CD / DAC unit for 1200 euros and when I couldn't get the DAC to play DSD 256 (although 64 and 128 worked fine) I contacted the manufacturer. They told me I must deal with the local distributor. I contacted the "main" distributor and he referred me to a different distributor who tried a few things and gave up. In the end, although the product is superb from a sound quality point of view and mostly in terms of function (DSD256 is nice to have for the future but is not really a practical issue at the moment due to lack of media) after the manufacturer's irresponsible hiding behind incapable distributors, I would not buy their gear again.

 

[chesebert]

God forbid if something does happen to your dac and you went back to the dealer that sold you the dac asking for service and the dealer said sorry I don't know how to fix this thing and the guy that made the dac is retired. The dealer would then tell you they are just a sales channel.

I believe based on my limited research that Jeff is just a guy with no registered company, no principal place of business and no registered capital (it's a requirement for Chinese companies; it's like a minimum amount of capital the owners must invest in the business). Again, someone feel free to set the facts straight if different.

Obviously people are free to buy whatever they want. I buy DIY stuff that's made by a guy and I understandably take on the risk of service and support. If you are okay with the risk, then by all means go ahead with the purchase.

 

[dirtrat]

There is always a risk with these small boutique companies. We have seen what happened with Cavalli Audio and Eddie Current. Some of these companies are 1 man shows and if that person is gone the companies are pretty much gone. I've always had these concerns also and always take this into consideration especially when buying very expensive items. Unfortunately, sometimes these companies make some of the best products.

 

[OneEyedHito]

There is always a risk with these small boutique companies. We have seen what happened with Cavalli Audio and Eddie Current. Some of these companies are 1 man shows and if that person is gone the companies are pretty much gone. I've always had these concerns also and always take this into consideration especially when buying very expensive items. Unfortunately, sometimes these companies make some of the best products.

I don't find it unfortunate but I find it the definition of Boutique. Plenty of folks with a Singer Porsche out there that are very happy with their cars that aren't backed by Porsche and if Singer goes caput then so does their ability to scream at someone. This is the game of Highest End anything. Race Cars aren't backed by the big 3 automakers but go to any drag strip and see 100's of uber High End performance vehicles. The arguments continually propagated in this thread against Holo Audio is pedantic and ignorant. It is akin to saying I wouldn't buy a bottle of Louis the XIII for some ridiculously far reaching and against the general consensus of owners of the goods when I haven't even tasted it............