[whirlwind]

just got my new spring 2 delivered, upgrading from an audio gd NFB1 (2014), and was occasionally using an Onkyo SE-300 PCI-E (dual PCM 1798) it really amazed me how much clearer, more detailed and natural the spring 2 in NOS mode (USB in) sounds! god it's not even properly run in as the factory suggest for 300-400 hours of standby to keep thermal stability!

Congrats. I love these dac's and since I have had mine, I have not even thought about getting another.
Super musical and never harsh on any of my amps.

 

[Chik0240]

Congrats. I love these dac's and since I have had mine, I have not even thought about getting another.
Super musical and never harsh on any of my amps.

I am curious, after the years you got the dac, does the always on resulting in audible aging effects?

 

[whirlwind]

I am curious, after the years you got the dac, does the always on resulting in audible aging effects?

Certainly none that I can detect. When not in use I put on STAND BY.

 

[Chik0240]

Certainly none that I can detect. When not in use I put on STAND BY.

Right, in the 2 I think the only button with similar function is the mute mode where the output stage was off?

 

[joseph69]

I have not even thought about getting another.

This has never crossed my mind either...not once.

 

[lukeap69]

Certainly none that I can detect. When not in use I put on STAND BY.

I have owned this DAC a bit longer than Joe and I could not detect any deterioration is sound due to aging. If anything, it just keeps sounding better to my ears.

 

[Roasty]

Hi all

Was intending to get a metrum dac but the holo spring 2 kte has come into consideration.

I've purchased, but not yet received, a singxer su-6 with plans to connect it via iis with my x-sabre pro dac, and possibly the holo spring.

Question:
1) Do most people use the holo spring with hqplayer feeding it upsampled music or plain vanilla non upsampled?
2) is the difference between non upsampled and upsampled music into the holo spring night and day difference or just a little different..

Reason I'm asking is because I'm trying hqplayer with my x sabre pro and I'm having a hard time hearing anything much different between pcm and upsampled to dsd, other than a reduced volume which is to be expected, and maybe slightly tamed treble.

 

[Baten]

Hi all

Was intending to get a metrum dac but the holo spring 2 kte has come into consideration.

I've purchased, but not yet received, a singxer su-6 with plans to connect it via iis with my x-sabre pro dac, and possibly the holo spring.

Question:
1) Do most people use the holo spring with hqplayer feeding it upsampled music or plain vanilla non upsampled?
2) is the difference between non upsampled and upsampled music into the holo spring night and day difference or just a little different..

Reason I'm asking is because I'm trying hqplayer with my x sabre pro and I'm having a hard time hearing anything much different between pcm and upsampled to dsd, other than a reduced volume which is to be expected, and maybe slightly tamed treble.

Matrix is an oversampling DAC hence the small difference

Holo is a NOS DAC so if you use 44/48K with NOS it will sound softer, properly upsampled it will have more impact/detail etc at the loss of this 'softness'.

It's a matter of preference but many do like this HQplayer sound

 

[Roasty]

Matrix is an upsampling DAC hence the small difference

Holo is a NOS DAC so if you use 44/48K with NOS it will sound softer, properly upsampled it will have more impact/detail etc at the loss of this 'softness'.

It's a matter of preference but many do like this HQplayer sound

Thanks v much man. I think I'll give the Holo a shot.

 

[Baten]

Thanks v much man. I think I'll give the Holo a shot.

I do recommend. I really really love the holo spring sound. Admittedly I use it in NOS mode though but that might sound too 'dull' to some. I'm just a fan of NOS, not everyone is.

I recommend reading holo cyan review at headphones.com site, where there is more in-depth info and comparisons about HQplayer upsampling with Holo DACs.

 

[Roasty]

I do recommend. I really really love the holo spring sound. Admittedly I use it in NOS mode though but that might sound too 'dull' to some. I'm just a fan of NOS, not everyone is.

I recommend reading holo cyan review at headphones.com site, where there is more in-depth info and comparisons about HQplayer upsampling with Holo DACs.

Cheers. Have just read the review and solidified my decision to get the Holo.

 

[commtrd]

Stupid question: what is NOS? Not over-sampled? If so, what does this imply relative to clocking cleanliness and jitter? Or am I completely off base with all this?

 

[Baten]

Stupid question: what is NOS? Not over-sampled? If so, what does this imply relative to clocking cleanliness and jitter? Or am I completely off base with all this?

It means that it does not do traditional 4x/8x oversampling via digital filter. So if you feed it oversampling material it plays it back bitperfect without any further resampling.
if and only if you play back 44/48Khz material it will have a perfect square wave response and impulse response, but as a result will have other issues (stair-stepped response, imaging in ultrasonics, ...)
practically, it will roll off all high frequencies by some 3dB (again, only when using low sample rate), the rest of the side effects are arguably inaudible

some real-world examples here: http://archimago.blogspot.com/2013/02/measurements-muse-mini-tda1543x4-nos.html

there's a fan base around NOS DACs while looking at them objectively, they do a lot of things "wrong" music-science wise unless you do the upsampling with software
when using low sampling rates your ears act as a filter and filter out what they do "wrong". so they still sound good. very good even, imo

 

[3ggerhappy]

Any one planning to get the Holo May Dual Mono DAC? Its already available at wildism.

 

[Roasty]

Thanks for the heads up. I contacted them and they have it in stock (holo may).

They also have this spring level 2 wildism edition, which the seller mentions has more and better upgrades than the KTE version. Has anyone here tried the Wildism spring 2?