Holo Audio Spring R2R DAC

[mtoc]

Two modes: NOS or DSD. Built by resistors.
 


 
 

  
SNR

 
  
THD@1K@NOS

  
THD@1K@DSD

  
THD+N@5K@NOS（0.00068%）

  
 
THD+N@5K@DSD（0.00050%）

  
 
NOS FFT SPECTRUM

  
 
DSD FFT SPECTRUM

 

[turo91]

They don't have a web site?

 

[Currawong]

https://www.facebook.com/wildismaudiohk/posts/1723144021264279
 
from the look of things. 
 
~US$1500 or so for the best version, if I am reading correctly. 

 

[bimmer100]

Got one of these on the way , maybe next week. Rise Ji edition.
Excited to get it!

 

[bimmer100]

I ordered mine with the 500 dollar upgrade over the rise Ji edition. It's Jensen caps but also pure silver primary and secondary 100va o core ! This transformer noticeably increases the sound quality by lowering the noise floor even more! It's not offered by many resellers, but I have good relationship with the company who makes the transfomers for holo audio. So I ordered mine custom made
And understand it's quite a nice increase in performance! I can get these for a bit over 2k shipped. so far I have read reviews that say this DAC blows the competition away. Jeff zhu was saying the DAC has very tights voltsge regulation that is less than .2uV and combined with the high quality audio grade o-core transformer it allows this discrete DAC to outperform all nos dacs and r2r dacs. It has two dedicated discrete resistor networks on one DAC module. The first time ever in history a DAC is able to process both pcm and dsd native with one DAC. It's a true 24bit DAC. 0bit being the lsb (least significant bit) and 23bit being the msb(most significant bit). So pair this with an excellent dedicated pre amp. I'm going to use my m11 or soon to be nos11 for the amp.
Also this DAC currently supports on Mac and Linux full native dsd256!!! And will support dsd256 natively for Windows in about a month from now.
Anyone interested in this DAC or would would want to write s review? I might consider to ship it to you if you have experience doing reviews or capable of doing an in depth review. I would like to help Jeff @ Holo Audio to get more exposure for his products in the USA.

 

[defbear]

I have been thinking of replacing my Bimby with an Yggy. But this looks interesting. I've been looking at yggy since it first came out but something keeps holding me back. This HOLO DAC does NOS and DSD?

 

[bimmer100]

I have been thinking of replacing my Bimby with an Yggy. But this looks interesting. I've been looking at yggy since it first came out but something keeps holding me back. This HOLO DAC does NOS and DSD?

This Holo audio spring DAC is pretty unique as it has two dedicated resistor networks in the DAC module. One is specifically for dsd!!! And one is for pcm!
So the dsd native is being processed by a discrete resistor network! And boy oh boy does it sound good!

Officially it's to support dsd256. It had plans for dsd512 but Sony dropped dsd and went with dxd. Nobody makes dad512 and likely the death of dsd format. But Jeff may offer dsd512 upsampling in his next DAC release.
This spring DAC allows upsampling but imho I'm a nos guy and this DAC sounds it's best in nos. specifically in dsd as the audio path is most pure with no src is in the way.
In my opinion this DAC sounds better than the yggy. And for a nos DAC, it has a very wide sound stage that is accurate and precise. Which normally isn't common on nos dacs. No question the best sounding nos DAC I've ever heard.


Anyhow, it's a LOT of DAC for the money. Adding the solid 4N silver transformer is a chunk of dough but I think it's worth it. It really allows the power implementation to perform the way it was intended. It's not a subtle difference is what I'm saying.

 

[InsanityOne]

  They don't have a web site?

 
I just saw this DAC here: http://kitsunehifi.com/product/springdacgreen/ It looks like they have three versions of it. If this thing is as good as it sounds maybe I will just keep saving the money I was working up for my Gungir's Multi-bit upgrade and just step-up to one of these things? I would love to hear / see some reviews of it from fellow Head-Fi members or some other outside sources.
 
- InsanityOne 

 

 

[defbear]

I just ordered the Holo Spring DAC Stage 3 from kitsunehifi.com. HERE. It should ship late August. I'm hoping middle September. A resistor ladder for NOS and another discrete ladder for DSD.  I hope this DAC is as End Game as I hope it is!

 

[rigo]

Any pictures of the back inputs/outputs?

 

[kazcou]

  Any pictures of the back inputs/outputs?

 

[InsanityOne]

  Any pictures of the back inputs/outputs?

 
Here is an album of just photos of the unit itself (not performance graphs or anything) courtesy of http://kitsunehifi.com/ and various other sources:
 
 

Spoiler: Warning: High Quality Photos Inside!

 
(Non-rendered Photo Of The Spring DAC - Blue Display LEDs)
 

 
(Spring DAC Front)
 

 
(Spring DAC Right)
 

 
(Spring DAC Left)
 

 
("Spring" Logo)
 

 
(Spring DAC Button Options)
 

 
(Spring DAC Feet)
 

 
(“Rise Ji Edition” With Red Label Transfomer)
 

 
(“Rise Ji Edition” With Green Label Silver Transfomer)
 

 
(Base Model Power Capacitors)
 

 
(The Beauty Of Discrete R2R)
 

 
(R2R)
 

 
(R2R - 2)
 

 
(R2R - 3)
 

 
(R2R - 4)
 

 
("A small Talema is ONLY used for standby power. The Spring DAC was designed to be POWER EFFICIENT")
 

 
(Take notice of the custom HOLO Audio IC's)
 

 
(Jensen Caps 4700uF 63V)
 

 
(Red Label O-Core 100VA)
 

 
(Red Label Transformers)
 

 
(Prototype(?) Spring DAC Input / Output Rear I/O)
 

 
("No off the shelf USB modules, this one is HOLO Audio brand.")
 

 
(Prototype(?) Spring DAC Rear USB / Input Area)

 
As far as I can tell the Spring DAC has:
 

1. 1x Set of RCA (Single-Ended) Outputs
2. 1x Set of XLR (Balanced) Outputs
3. 1x AES/EBU Input
4. 1x Coaxial Input
5. 1x TOSLINK Input
6. 1x BNC Input
7. 1x HDMI/I2S(?) Input
8. 1x USB Input

 
Edit: Awe... Ninja'd by @kazcou
 
- InsanityOne 

 

 

[rigo]

Nice thanks!

 

[defbear]

I have been posting here and there looking for a new DAC for quite a while. And asking about Yggy. Yggy is made in the USA and has great service and upgradability. What's my problem? I think Schiit has something new up their sleeves. It's why I didn't purchase a Liquid Gold. Cavalli has new things in the future. I get the vibe that the Holo Audio Spring is the current "Hot Ticket" So I've rolled the nickel on the upgraded level 3 Rise Ji plus or whatever. I went out looking for the hot ticket before and purchased a master 11 and liquid carbon. So far so good. I'm planning on using it with both my master 11 and microZOTL.

 

[Currawong]

I don't think Schiit is going to suddenly announce a new high-end DAC. They've said as much. I'm curious though how this DAC compares to the Master 11.