[spoonguaard]

Hello,

Have any of you been able to test and rank between the Holo RED and the SOTM 200 Neo and Ultra Neo streamers (with and without PSU) ?

Is the Holo RED > 200 Ultra Neo > 200 Neo ?

Same question with the Mano Ultra MK3 (with Farad PSU).

I think I have seen only one comment reffering to SOTM and none with the Mano...

Thank you all

Hi, Xantores,

Coincidentally, I had all three but excluding SOTM Ultra Neo:

(in order of appearance)
1. SOTM SMS200NEO with a generic 50eur price level linear PSU (not a SOTM PSU)
2. Farad Mano Ultra MK 3 with Moode
3. Holo RED

With several exceptions I used them with Chord Qutest and Audirvana UPNP. Either USB connection or Coaxial.

I lived with SOTM SMS200NEO for 3 years roughly. I always thought it is best bang for the money, got it used for 300eur, sold 3 years later for the same- robust little box My comparision of SOTM to the rest of the two positions may not be totally correct as SOTM was limited to USB. And Chord is less than ideal on USB, it likes coax and optical better- better rhythm and flow of music on those inputs- must have to do with poor Chord Qutest Clocks? So that is SOTM situation, before I heard anything else, it was very nice and also I liked the extended space and detail on DSD records. However, I found RED and Mano more detailed sounding, better timbre of instruments, more engaging.

If we put SOTM aside and compare Mano and RED, then Mano is more organic and musical with strong bass representation that you will not find anywhere else. The downside of Mano is you are limited in terms of output types and the software flexibility in terms of what media it can accept- files, upnp, tidal. Another downside is Mano tends to sound darker and sometimes muffled with fast, aggressive music. If you like rock or metal, it may not be the right choice.

RED will sound more mechanical than Mano, it will be more forward and open, the bass will be leaner but more punchy in the midbass. When I think how RED sounds, words like cheerful, funky, detailed, sweet come to my mind. It is suitable for listening to metal or heavier rock as it has no muddiness. I like the versatility of inputs and outputs. Basically swiss army knife. Therefore I chose it for my system.

If you would like some clips, here is my youtube channel, you will find these streamers playing there as well as the likes of Moon Mind, SMSL SD9, Nuprime stream 9:
https://youtube.com/@Justas-M

This is my first post in this forum, but I have been reading here on and off, very nice community!

 

[Xantores]

Hi, Xantores,

Coincidentally, I had all three but excluding SOTM Ultra Neo:

(in order of appearance)
1. SOTM SMS200NEO with a generic 50eur price level linear PSU (not a SOTM PSU)
2. Farad Mano Ultra MK 3 with Moode
3. Holo RED

With several exceptions I used them with Chord Qutest and Audirvana UPNP. Either USB connection or Coaxial.

I lived with SOTM SMS200NEO for 3 years roughly. I always thought it is best bang for the money, got it used for 300eur, sold 3 years later for the same- robust little box My comparision of SOTM to the rest of the two positions may not be totally correct as SOTM was limited to USB. And Chord is less than ideal on USB, it likes coax and optical better- better rhythm and flow of music on those inputs- must have to do with poor Chord Qutest Clocks? So that is SOTM situation, before I heard anything else, it was very nice and also I liked the extended space and detail on DSD records. However, I found RED and Mano more detailed sounding, better timbre of instruments, more engaging.

If we put SOTM aside and compare Mano and RED, then Mano is more organic and musical with strong bass representation that you will not find anywhere else. The downside of Mano is you are limited in terms of output types and the software flexibility in terms of what media it can accept- files, upnp, tidal. Another downside is Mano tends to sound darker and sometimes muffled with fast, aggressive music. If you like rock or metal, it may not be the right choice.

RED will sound more mechanical than Mano, it will be more forward and open, the bass will be leaner but more punchy in the midbass. When I think how RED sounds, words like cheerful, funky, detailed, sweet come to my mind. It is suitable for listening to metal or heavier rock as it has no muddiness. I like the versatility of inputs and outputs. Basically swiss army knife. Therefore I chose it for my system.

If you would like some clips, here is my youtube channel, you will find these streamers playing there as well as the likes of Moon Mind, SMSL SD9, Nuprime stream 9:
https://youtube.com/@Justas-M

This is my first post in this forum, but I have been reading here on and off, very nice community!

Hi, thank you very much for your feedback. Very detailed and adapted to my context. I listen rock and metal most of the time. I'm thinking about upgrading my streaming part (sotm 200 neo + sps 500 + Singxer SU6) and reducing the number of boxes if possible. But the prices go up very quickly over 2-3k€ without the functionalities being complete (os limited, or input/output, ...). And even some reviews say the Holo seems to be close to or even better than the Lumin U2 mini for exemple (maybe outside the app of the Lumin).

I've seen your youtube channel. Beautiful set-up and nice tests/comparaisons.

 

[abase21]

#897 (Have any of you been able to test and rank between the Holo RED and the SOTM 200 Neo and Ultra Neo streamers (with and without PSU) ?)
I have had the SOTM 200 Ultra Neo for a year and now on the red. The Red was the first investment that makes me realy smile. It was a big step up.

Today I received my Hifiman Susvara (it should replace my Hifmiman Arya) I`m not smiling the gain is very smal
The Bliss make me not smile...

 

[Xantores]

#897 (Have any of you been able to test and rank between the Holo RED and the SOTM 200 Neo and Ultra Neo streamers (with and without PSU) ?)
I have had the SOTM 200 Ultra Neo for a year and now on the red. The Red was the first investment that makes me realy smile. It was a big step up.

Today I received my Hifiman Susvara (it should replace my Hifmiman Arya) I`m not smiling the gain is very smal
The Bliss make me not smile...

did you have a psu with the sotm ? By the way 2 or 3 of you note a real evolution with the Holo compared to the sotm, it's starting to count.

"The gain is very small" --> this made me laugh

 

[Patatorz38]

Hello, running the red since 2 days with GentooPlayer and different kernels. Really like it.

Works also really fine as a Diretta target with Gentooplayer.

USB connection from my side

 

[spoonguaard]

Hi, thank you very much for your feedback. Very detailed and adapted to my context. I listen rock and metal most of the time. I'm thinking about upgrading my streaming part (sotm 200 neo + sps 500 + Singxer SU6) and reducing the number of boxes if possible. But the prices go up very quickly over 2-3k€ without the functionalities being complete (os limited, or input/output, ...). And even some reviews say the Holo seems to be close to or even better than the Lumin U2 mini for exemple (maybe outside the app of the Lumin).

I've seen your youtube channel. Beautiful set-up and nice tests/comparaisons.

I think sinxer is a very capabale unit and it could be a close call. But the aim of reducing the number of boxes can definetely be achieved here. I guess you will have to just go ahead and find out yourself

 

[Macaron]

Hi there,

Thanks for your thoughts Spoonguaard !
I've a Mano mk3 on order, will see and later share how it compares to the Red on my system. Planning to compare them both running with GentooPlayer and Diretta.

Actually the Holo Red (Gentoo/Diretta) is feeding a M Scaler - Chord Dave combo over Spdif here.
I had the Qutest with Scaler for many years, the Qutest is sounding far more darker than the Dave.

I tried Moode on the Red but didn't liked the sound, RedOS or Ropieee are sounding better, GP sounds the best.
Without Diretta, the Red sounded here a bit too thin in the lows and bit too sharp in the highs. Diretta gives a far better tonal balance, bringing back life and texture in the lows. I still have a little feeling of too sharp highs with the Red, let's see how it sounds with the Mano mk3

 

[musicinmymind]

What is Diretta, it is an windows player?

 

[SwissBear]

What is Diretta, it is an windows player?

Diretta is a communication protocol aimed at reducing the noise on DAC’s interfaces (originaly USB); see here : https://www.diretta.link/

 

[musicinmymind]

Diretta is a communication protocol aimed at reducing the noise on DAC’s interfaces (originaly USB); see here : https://www.diretta.link/

We need to buy the license only to use this protocol?
Or we need to buy the Canarino Bridge also

 

[SwissBear]

We need to buy the license only to use this protocol?
Or we need to buy the Canarino Bridge also

In case you have an Holo Red, you need the licence for GentooPlayer and the licence for Diretta (around 100 EUR).
You will need to install a driver (Windows or Linux) on your server, but there are free.

 

[musicinmymind]

In case you have an Holo Red, you need the licence for GentooPlayer and the licence for Diretta (around 100 EUR).
You will need to install a driver (Windows or Linux) on your server, but there are free.

I will be getting Holo Red next week, planning to use it with Tidal connect. Does GentooPlayer support Tidal streaming like Roon?

 

[SwissBear]

I will be getting Holo Red next week, planning to use it with Tidal connect. Does GentooPlayer support Tidal streaming like Roon?

GentooPlayer is just a linux distribution based on Gentoo Linux and aimed at sound reproduction. You can install Roon, or other players on it. See here: https://gentooplayers.com/

 

[Greg121986]

Looks like Holo Red page has been completely removed from the Kitsune website. Did I miss something? Is it EoL, or are we just waiting for stock to buildup?

 

[BlakeT]

That is a bit odd. Usually the Red is on the Kitsune page even if "sold out". I just received my Red two days ago.