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Holo Audio Spring R2R DAC

Sep 24, 2016 at 9:15 PM Post #136 of 4,243
bimmer100 said:
here is an email Jeff Sent to me as a statement he wants to be known.

"I have tried silver o-type transformer when designing Spring. It's better than the 7N OFC of cause, but for cost reason I choose the 7N OFC o-type transformer as standard configuration.
[COLOR=222222]The Jensen cap is an official option, not mod. For the fuse, audiophiles always like to changed it. It’s a replaceable part, they can do whatever they want. About other modifications. Maybe those are not so cost effective, but they will not make things worse. Silver wire/Silver connectors can be an improvement. Mods in the Level 3 make smaller difference but will not hinder the original design, more likely improve performance slightly. Holo Audio and Holo Audio USA work together to bring you Spring Dac in the USA in three versions. [/COLOR]


Best Regards
Jeff Zhu"


And though Jeff approves the mods we have done, we have done most of our listening testing without him involved. I like that he is very conservative in saying they are slight improvements. To me and our tuner, they are significant. But that's our opinion. We want to setup a reviewer with two dacs. One level 2 and one KitsuneTuned Edition so they can do a comparison. That's only fair to let the Dac speak/sing for itself.  I hope this puts everyone at ease knowing that we are not just randomly tweaking or tuning. These are all carefully selected components added to the dac that present a level of HiFi performance we are proud to offer the USA market.
Click to expand...


Thank you for the additional clarification.
 
Sep 24, 2016 at 10:55 PM Post #137 of 4,243
koolblue3 said:
How about Dynamics and transient response ?
Click to expand...
The Dynamics are better than anything I've heard. Transients? this is a very fast DAC with the richness of R2R and NOS. Huh? I'll compare it to guitar. A Flamenco guitar is basically a drum for the dancers and Cantors. It has to compete with the heels and clapping. It has to be bright and Quick. The note has to jump out and die right off. The next note is right on its tail. It has very fast transients. A Classical guitar must have great resonance and sustain. It must be able to be played both loudly and softly with perfect clean notes without buzzing,(distortion) A Classical guitar has wide dynamics. But it is Slow compared to the Flamenco but very rich in sound. In the guitar world the Holo Audio Spring DAC would be a fire breathing monster. It is very rich sounding but responds like a great Flamenco. A perfect Flamenco Negra! The DAC is fluid, balanced and clean. No one will complain of lack of bass. With everything warmed up I listened, a lot, to the USB input with just a MacBook and Supra USB cable. I was pretty floored. But then I put the Intona Industrial version between the Mac and SpringDac. I hate to admit it but my eyes welled up in joy and astonishment. Any distortion or harshness in the recording, especially around the edges just became clear and detailed. And it's even better with the SingXer SU-1 in the chain. I hope that makes sense.

Now you've got that down! - Captain Beefheart
 
Sep 25, 2016 at 12:18 PM Post #139 of 4,243
defbear said:
The Dynamics are better than anything I've heard. Transients? this is a very fast DAC with the richness of R2R and NOS. Huh? I'll compare it to guitar. A Flamenco guitar is basically a drum for the dancers and Cantors. It has to compete with the heels and clapping. It has to be bright and Quick. The note has to jump out and die right off. The next note is right on its tail. It has very fast transients. A Classical guitar must have great resonance and sustain. It must be able to be played both loudly and softly with perfect clean notes without buzzing,(distortion) A Classical guitar has wide dynamics. But it is Slow compared to the Flamenco but very rich in sound. In the guitar world the Holo Audio Spring DAC would be a fire breathing monster. It is very rich sounding but responds like a great Flamenco. A perfect Flamenco Negra! The DAC is fluid, balanced and clean. No one will complain of lack of bass. With everything warmed up I listened, a lot, to the USB input with just a MacBook and Supra USB cable. I was pretty floored. But then I put the Intona Industrial version between the Mac and SpringDac. I hate to admit it but my eyes welled up in joy and astonishment. Any distortion or harshness in the recording, especially around the edges just became clear and detailed. And it's even better with the SingXer SU-1 in the chain. I hope that makes sense.

Now you've got that down! - Captain Beefheart
Click to expand...

Your impressions have me beYOND excited to receive my Spring Level 3 in a few weeks. One question... I , too, have a Singxer SU-1. I don't, however, own an Intona (I've tried a jitterbug and Regen and just didn't hear any real improvement) so I'm reluctant to spring for one. My question, however, is have you given it a listen without the Intona in the chain? MacBook - Singxer - Spring? tks
 
Sep 27, 2016 at 12:50 AM Post #140 of 4,243
defbear said:
The Dynamics are better than anything I've heard. Transients? this is a very fast DAC with the richness of R2R and NOS. Huh? I'll compare it to guitar. A Flamenco guitar is basically a drum for the dancers and Cantors. It has to compete with the heels and clapping. It has to be bright and Quick. The note has to jump out and die right off. The next note is right on its tail. It has very fast transients. A Classical guitar must have great resonance and sustain. It must be able to be played both loudly and softly with perfect clean notes without buzzing,(distortion) A Classical guitar has wide dynamics. But it is Slow compared to the Flamenco but very rich in sound. In the guitar world the Holo Audio Spring DAC would be a fire breathing monster. It is very rich sounding but responds like a great Flamenco. A perfect Flamenco Negra! The DAC is fluid, balanced and clean. No one will complain of lack of bass. With everything warmed up I listened, a lot, to the USB input with just a MacBook and Supra USB cable. I was pretty floored. But then I put the Intona Industrial version between the Mac and SpringDac. I hate to admit it but my eyes welled up in joy and astonishment. Any distortion or harshness in the recording, especially around the edges just became clear and detailed. And it's even better with the SingXer SU-1 in the chain. I hope that makes sense.

Now you've got that down! - Captain Beefheart
Click to expand...


Oh boy. Sounds like you are describing my master-7 setup but only better. To buy or not to buy, that is the question.
 
Oct 2, 2016 at 11:47 PM Post #141 of 4,243
If I do decide to get a Holo Spring DAC, I'm planning on using the AES interface for my Auralic Aries. The use of the I2S (HDMI) interface is rare in Hi-Fi audio. I know PS Audio thinks it's the best. Is this I2S (HDMI) protocol the same standard we find in audio-video components? Would I be able to connect a Blu-ray player using regular HDMI cable? Just asking.
 
Oct 3, 2016 at 9:03 AM Post #145 of 4,243
phonyx said:
Nope. Just has a different way of using the standard pins.
Click to expand...

I use the Singxer SU-1 converter.  It has the I2S hdmi output. sounds amazing too.(although I do not have my Spring DAC yet. Using it's AES out to my Sonic Frontiers DAC)
 
Oct 5, 2016 at 1:27 PM Post #146 of 4,243
There's just appeared a review on the Holo Audio Spring Level 3 DAC at Computer Audiophile with the title 'Best of Both Worlds? Best of Neither?' Enjoy reading at:
 
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/722-holo-audio-spring-level-3-kitsune-tuned-edition-r2r-dac-review/
 
Oct 5, 2016 at 2:41 PM Post #147 of 4,243
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