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Holo Audio Spring R2R DAC
Sep 25, 2017 at 12:50 AM Post #1,546 of 4,063
A new mid-priced modular dac/amp combo from Holo called Cyan:

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DAC module is either R2R PCM or DSD, with or w/o headphone amp, also an upgraded USB receiver module.
 
Sep 25, 2017 at 2:29 AM Post #1,551 of 4,063
So the DAC is either PCM only or DSD only? Interesting.
 
Sep 25, 2017 at 2:32 AM Post #1,552 of 4,063
theveterans said:
I don't have an info for how the USB conversion is done unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Is there a way to write to the manufacturer maybe? Or maybe Kitsune
rkyoto said:
A new mid-priced modular dac/amp combo from Holo called Cyan:







DAC module is either R2R PCM or DSD, with or w/o headphone amp, also an upgraded USB receiver module.
Click to expand...

How do you know the USB receiver module is upgraded?
 
Sep 25, 2017 at 2:51 AM Post #1,553 of 4,063
doraymon said:
Is there a way to write to the manufacturer maybe? Or maybe Kitsune


How do you know the USB receiver module is upgraded?
Click to expand...
Notice that the XMOS chip is different from the one used in current spring dac. Also the designer said that the isolation's improved and the module would also be included in the future batches of spring.
 
Sep 25, 2017 at 2:58 AM Post #1,554 of 4,063
rkyoto said:
Notice that the XMOS chip is different from the one used in current spring dac. Also the designer said that the isolation's improved and the module would also be included in the future batches of spring.
Click to expand...
That's good news as I just ordered my Spring and will be using it with USB.
Can you share the source (other forums?) of this info and if you know how to contact the designer?
 
Sep 25, 2017 at 6:26 AM Post #1,555 of 4,063
rkyoto said:
A new mid-priced modular dac/amp combo from Holo called Cyan:







DAC module is either R2R PCM or DSD, with or w/o headphone amp, also an upgraded USB receiver module.
Click to expand...


This could end up being a great bang for the buck.
 
Sep 25, 2017 at 9:06 AM Post #1,556 of 4,063
rkyoto said:
It's still an engineering sample though but it's said that as a standalone DAC it should be close to spring level 1, just w/o the capability to convert PCM/DSD natively at the same time.
Click to expand...

If you have to order PCM or DSD, would anyone limit themselves by ordering a DSD Dac only?
There is not that much current media around. You would think most would order PCM.
Looks very cool though.

ADDED: Could up sample everything with software?
 
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Sep 25, 2017 at 10:42 AM Post #1,557 of 4,063
I had a borrowed Spring DAC in my system for several weeks and was very impressed with the DSD playback. For PCM I still prefer my Esoteric for most genres, as I find it a bit more neutral. I've thought more than once about picking up a Spring just for the DSD playback, so this new unit could hit the spot. I'd be interested to see if it gets cheaper without the headphone amp. Oh, and whether it actually performs as well as the Spring :smile:

Of note, the Spring beats the Esoteric in all aspects when using the Esoteric's internal USB interface. For the above testing I fed the Spring I2S and the Esoteric SPDIF from an SU-1. That little box makes a huge difference for the Esoteric.
 
Sep 25, 2017 at 12:14 PM Post #1,558 of 4,063
rkyoto said:
A new mid-priced modular dac/amp combo from Holo called Cyan:
DAC module is either R2R PCM or DSD, with or w/o headphone amp, also an upgraded USB receiver module.
Click to expand...

Thanks for those pics. Glad to see the 4-pin headphone out and that it's still fully balanced and retains the i2s port from the original Spring. Upgraded USB is great too but since the original DAC was released I'd planned to someday pair one with a Pink Faun i2s card in my PC (although I'm not sure the pinouts match and/or whether the Spring's i2s input has dip switches like Audio-gd).

DSD specs will no doubt be cleared up once the new DAC is officially released. For now, I'm guessing it simply doesn't do native DSD. Afaik, Schiit's Loki was the one device that was DSD only and it didn't do well at all.
 
Sep 25, 2017 at 10:11 PM Post #1,559 of 4,063
rocky500 said:
If you have to order PCM or DSD, would anyone limit themselves by ordering a DSD Dac only?
There is not that much current media around. You would think most would order PCM.
Looks very cool though.

ADDED: Could up sample everything with software?
Click to expand...
For those who use hqplayer to convert everything to DSD then yes. However you don't really lose the ability to play both PCM and DSD using either R2R or DSD module since the AKM PCM/DSD converter chip used in spring is also included
 
Sep 25, 2017 at 10:12 PM Post #1,560 of 4,063
Anyone using Holo Spring ad a DAC with speakers?
 
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