[ShangriLa]

It is not complicated:

• Start HQPlayer.
• Select Spring 3 as your output device.
• Choose your favourite upsampling settings.
• Select "Allow control from network" in the menu bar.
• In Roon add HQPlayer and enter IP address of computer where your HQPplayer is running.
• Select HQPlayer audio zone. click play and enjoy !

Thanks. That's more or less what I tried. The sound sometimes was stopped when trying different parameters and the DAC was always showing "NOS" even when playing.

 

[kingoftown1]

@mudguardiain said it better than I could. The spring just sounds right. It's so easy to live with and enjoy. It's the last component I'd look to replace

 

[FooFighter]

Thanks. That's more or less what I tried. The sound sometimes was stopped when trying different parameters and the DAC was always showing "NOS" even when playing.

I feel you but cannot help unless unpacking my incoming spring and try myself at some point during next weeks.
From reading through the posts I conclude for myself following statements for now
- Spring 3 is NOS only anyway from its implementation and will therefore show NOS on its display even when performing external upsampling
- HQPlayer might be a great tool but isn't plug and play from all I've read - I will post my running non stuttering configuration once I am there
- PCM upsampling up to 1,5Mhz is more often recommended than DSD upsampling for Holo Audio Spring and May and is told to consume less compute power than DSD
- From my limited experience using Audirvana 3.5 upsampling with other DACs each to be upsampled track needs to be processed in advance and that processing time will lead to according gaps before playback is possible. If that processing is done in advance the to be played tracks should then be played back without stuttering - I just assume that HQPlayer is behaving accordingly

 

[mudguardiain]

@mudguardiain said it better than I could. The spring just sounds right. It's so easy to live with and enjoy. It's the last component I'd look to replace

When listening to live recordings of bands that I have seen it just bring back memories of the gigs so vividly, I can see the band playing for all they are worth in my mind, just fantastic.

 

[kingoftown1]

Idk if I or anyone else has talked about this re: level 2 vs KTE:
I chose the level 2 specifically because I was already using the Singxer SU-6 + linear power supply. I didn't have an unlimited budget, so I thought that since USB implementations & chipsets are the quickest to reach obsolescence that I wouldn't put the extra money into that. If the next best USB solution comes out in a year or two, then I just need to upgrade one box instead of the whole dac.

I also put an SR purple in yesterday, ordered on a whim after having happily used an Acme Silver Cryo CFC fuse for the past few months. No ultimate conclusions for a few hundred hours, but my initial impressions are that reverb is more pronounced, and instrument separation is a bit better. It's a weird combo because even if I can pick out individual elements better, the whole sound field sounds more connected. It seems contradictory thinking about it, but hey.

 

[FooFighter]

Idk if I or anyone else has talked about this re: level 2 vs KTE:
I chose the level 2 specifically because I was already using the Singxer SU-6 + linear power supply. I didn't have an unlimited budget, so I thought that since USB implementations & chipsets are the quickest to reach obsolescence that I wouldn't put the extra money into that. If the next best USB solution comes out in a year or two, then I just need to upgrade one box instead of the whole dac.

I also put an SR purple in yesterday, ordered on a whim after having happily used an Acme Silver Cryo CFC fuse for the past few months. No ultimate conclusions for a few hundred hours, but my initial impressions are that reverb is more pronounced, and instrument separation is a bit better. It's a weird combo because even if I can pick out individual elements better, the whole sound field sounds more connected. It seems contradictory thinking about it, but hey.

Nice, reading the SU 1 spec you re though limited to sampling rates up to 384khz.
I have no clue yet myself unless trying it out but I wouldn't want to miss listening to 1,5Mhz upsampled PCM as a rare Holo Audio standalone feature

 

[kingoftown1]

I can get up to 768, but sadly no 1.5. My current sad excuse for pc can't handle it anyway. Have a fanless i5 11600-based htpc in the works, so I should be able to really dive into hqplayer when it gets here. I'm also planning on trying a jcat usb card, moving to all SSD storage, and putting linear power on everything, since I've been on a source + power tweak train lately. Theoretically, I can use my HDPlex's 19v output for the pc, 7.5v for the spring, and 5v for the jcat.

Since I've already gone off-topic, has anyone tried any of the Elfidelity products that Kitsune sells? The prices seem too good to be taken seriously, but I can't see Kitsune stocking them if they didn't make some difference.

 

[soulrider4ever]

Stack-O-DAC's

Care to share thoughts on them? Which one is your favorite ?

 

[BlakeT]

Terminator Plus+Gaia DDC via I2S >> Terminator Plus via usb > Venus 2+Iris DDC via I2S = Spring 3 KTE via usb > Venus 2 via usb >> original Terminator > Qutest + LPS via bnc > Yggy A2 > Qutest + LPS via usb > Qutest via any input

my ears, brain, systems, sonic preferences and priorities etc.

 

[jonathan c]

Terminator Plus+Gaia DDC via I2S >> Terminator Plus via usb > Venus 2+Iris DDC via I2S = Spring 3 KTE via usb > Venus 2 via usb >> original Terminator > Qutest + LPS via bnc > Yggy A2 > Qutest + LPS via usb > Qutest via any input

Can you say that backwards and free from error?…

 

[ShangriLa]

I was able to get Roon/HQP working with one set of parameters and had a listen on Spring3 KTE. OS sounds dryer and more digital. NOS sounds fuller and more organic. Preferred NOS from the brief listening.

 

[FooFighter]

I was able to get Roon/HQP working with one set of parameters and had a listen on Spring3 KTE. OS sounds dryer and more digital. NOS sounds fuller and more organic. Preferred NOS from the brief listening.

Have you tried 32FS (PCM1536), Sinc-L filter, with LNS-15 noise shaper?
These are @antdroid s settings which I will try first once I am in the game with my spring.
Also burn-in is told to play a significant role next to the obvious headphones- and amp-synergies and last but not least everything is a matter of personal taste.

 

[Marutks]

I use Sinc-Mx. How is it different from Sinc-L ?

 

[Marutks]

Of course I would expect that the Spring KTE clearly outperform the Topping D90. It´s more than 4x price.

At some point performance improvement becomes too small to be noticeable.
I don't know if I would be able to hear difference between Spring 3 and dCS Rossini (10x price).
For Z Reviews the May DAC sounds the same as his 200 $ delta sigma DAC !

 

[eee1111]

At some point performance improvement becomes too small to be noticeable.
I don't know if I would be able to hear difference between Spring 3 and dCS Rossini (10x price).
For Z Reviews the May DAC sounds the same as his 200 $ delta sigma DAC !

My jaw hit the floor when I heard him say that

People are taking audio advice from someone who has major hearing issues