[9bphillips]

If you desire the same Titanus USB module that is in the May DACs, that is only offered with the Spring 3 KTE - that is what I assume draws most to the the KTE otherwise I think the bang for buck might be with the Spring 3 level 2, if you already have a high quality DDC, or are also using either 12S, AES/EBU or COAX SPDIF as your primary input and not overly concerned with having the better USB module.

I guess my main goal would be to buy for the future. I want a dac that will stand the test of time. I am just starting out with my headphone collection. I've been into iem's for a while. Right now I have a Burson Soloist 3xp as my Amp Amp I'm using my dx300 as the dac for now. I have lcd x and zmf verite closed headphones. I think next I'm going for the either a hifiman model or diana tc. The spring 3 just seems very premium and you don't see a lot of r2r dacs. To me it seems like something that could last your for years without being outdated. I would probably go with level 2 with pre amp. I like the price of level 1 with preamp better but if level 2 makes a big enough difference then I will go with it.

 

[FooFighter]

I guess my main goal would be to buy for the future. I want a dac that will stand the test of time. I am just starting out with my headphone collection. I've been into iem's for a while. Right now I have a Burson Soloist 3xp as my Amp Amp I'm using my dx300 as the dac for now. I have lcd x and zmf verite closed headphones. I think next I'm going for the either a hifiman model or diana tc. The spring 3 just seems very premium and you don't see a lot of r2r dacs. To me it seems like something that could last your for years without being outdated. I would probably go with level 2 with pre amp. I like the price of level 1 with preamp better but if level 2 makes a big enough difference then I will go with it.

You only need the preamp if you want to get some Poweramp without volume control later or if you will get an amp needing even more voltage as its own gain is too low.
The mentioned use case having a very good usb interface can be more relevant for you if you don't want to go through the hassle of dedicated DDCs as mentioned above.
You don't know such requirements yet from DAPs and don't need to know if you get a Holo Audio DAC with Titanis USB module.
So ihmo get either May L2 or Spring 3 KTE to be future proof

 

[arnaud]

*note: May DAC DAC does NOT need firmware update in some cases. L2 May and KTE May come shipped with 30.14 firmware (pre aug2021) and Gen2.0 Enhanced USB Module. (compatibility firmware), however if you need to use DSD1024 and PCM 1.536mhz than you would need to install 30.12 firmware which is less compatible with some devices. However the 30.12 firmware does support high res content with Intel Gen7,Gen8,Gen9, Gen10 type Intel boards and many AMD comparable motherboards are incompatible with this firmware.
[...]

Can anyone using HQPlayer for upsampling to 1,5 Mhz using Spring 3 KTE confirm that they ve used this firmware and downgraded the prexisting firmware on their Spring 3 KTE?

I‘ve tried both 30.12 and 30.14 firmware variants today on my L3 may dac (original usb module) but both capped at 705.6kHz when fed from HQP through usb from a recent M1 macbook pro. Wildism audio I purchased unit from mentioned the usb board update wouldn’t help as it’s specific to amd/intel chips so looks like the fancy apple and their fancy M1 chip just could not care less about high rate oversampling…

Last try I need to make is a different usb cable but I’ve sort of given up already on the whole HQP based over-sampling fury and enjoying the bliss of NOS stress free playback .

 

[FooFighter]

I‘ve tried both 30.12 and 30.14 firmware variants today on my L3 may dac (original usb module) but both capped at 705.6kHz when fed from HQP through usb from a recent M1 macbook pro. Wildism audio I purchased unit from mentioned the usb board update wouldn’t help as it’s specific to amd/intel chips so looks like the fancy apple and their fancy M1 chip just could not care less about high rate oversampling…

Last try I need to make is a different usb cable but I’ve sort of given up already on the whole HQP based over-sampling fury and enjoying the bliss of NOS stress free playback .

Thx.
Yep, I know.
I have an old i5 Macbook Pro, so I've yet tried the 1,5Mhz but seems that there's not enough performance as I am getting micro stuttering, noise from time to time.
I am looking for getting some new M1 this year once Apple is introducing the successor model with M2 chip.
As a hint for you as I've yet dived through endless threads: you can still use your M1 and get 1,5 MHz if you use a dedicated Intel CPU NAA.
These are the models which Miska, the developer of HQPlayer is suggesting:
- UP Gateway Atom x5-Z8350
- fitlet2RC Atom x7-E3950
You hook these via Ethernet to your network and via USB to your May and stream from your M1 over network to the NAA

 

[mudguardiain]

I guess my main goal would be to buy for the future. I want a dac that will stand the test of time. I am just starting out with my headphone collection. I've been into iem's for a while. Right now I have a Burson Soloist 3xp as my Amp Amp I'm using my dx300 as the dac for now. I have lcd x and zmf verite closed headphones. I think next I'm going for the either a hifiman model or diana tc. The spring 3 just seems very premium and you don't see a lot of r2r dacs. To me it seems like something that could last your for years without being outdated. I would probably go with level 2 with pre amp. I like the price of level 1 with preamp better but if level 2 makes a big enough difference then I will go with it.

I am using the Spring 3 KTE with my Burson Soloist 3X, could not be happier. The information regarding burn is mostly correct, it needs a lots of hours on the DAC to really shows it's stuff. It is good right from the off but mine is now reaching around 500 hours & is really improving further, becoming more holographic & transparent. If you are going to be using USB I would recommend the Level 3 as it has a better USB module, I believe this is one of the main reasons to get the Level 3. I feed my DAC with a Melco which seem to work very well but does not offer upscaling, which personally does not bother me, I prefer straight NOS. How does the Verite work on the Burson, I was interested in trying the Verite open?

 

[ShangriLa]

What is Kitsuni Hifi's return policy, no returns once the item is shipped and delivered?

 

[joseph69]

Terms and Conditions

 

[9bphillips]

I am using the Spring 3 KTE with my Burson Soloist 3X, could not be happier. The information regarding burn is mostly correct, it needs a lots of hours on the DAC to really shows it's stuff. It is good right from the off but mine is now reaching around 500 hours & is really improving further, becoming more holographic & transparent. If you are going to be using USB I would recommend the Level 3 as it has a better USB module, I believe this is one of the main reasons to get the Level 3. I feed my DAC with a Melco which seem to work very well but does not offer upscaling, which personally does not bother me, I prefer straight NOS. How does the Verite work on the Burson, I was interested in trying the Verite open?

Do you have preamp on your spring 3? I would probably want the pre amp to run the soloist in power Amp mode. I much prefer the sound of the Soloist in power Amp mode. I eventually would like to have a streamer to use that USB. That is what a melco is? I briefly Google it because I had never heard of melco. As of right now I don't actually have the Verite in my possession. It is still being built. I will be able to give you an update hopefully at the end of the month or early February. It's been a long wait man! I am looking for any information I can find on all the different levels of the spring 3. I would love to have the level 3kte but I really want that preamp and I probably won't be able to swing the Level 3kte with pre amp. I am 95% convinced this is the dac I want though! As soon as I pay the Verite Closed off this will be my next purchase. I need a desktop dac to complete my chain and then I am going to chill on the spending for a bit because I went overboard in 2021.lol

 

[FooFighter]

Do you have preamp on your spring 3? I would probably want the pre amp to run the soloist in power Amp mode. I much prefer the sound of the Soloist in power Amp mode. I eventually would like to have a streamer to use that USB. That is what a melco is? I briefly Google it because I had never heard of melco. As of right now I don't actually have the Verite in my possession. It is still being built. I will be able to give you an update hopefully at the end of the month or early February. It's been a long wait man! I am looking for any information I can find on all the different levels of the spring 3. I would love to have the level 3kte but I really want that preamp and I probably won't be able to swing the Level 3kte with pre amp. I am 95% convinced this is the dac I want though! As soon as I pay the Verite Closed off this will be my next purchase. I need a desktop dac to complete my chain and then I am going to chill on the spending for a bit because I went overboard in 2021.lol

Interesting that the Burson is sounding different in Poweramp mode.
Otherwise you could have saved lots of money skipping that preamp module and better invest into the Level 3.
You don't really need it technically unless
- you have weak amps at the end of the chain and very demanding headphones like Susvara or TC.
I myself don't have the preamp though owning Susvara and TC and still have endless headroom using Ferrum OOR.
- you want to use the included remote control of Spring which is pretty useless without the preamp module

 

[9bphillips]

Interesting that the Burson is sounding different in Poweramp mode.
Otherwise you could have saved lots of money skipping that preamp module and better invest into the Level 3.
You don't really need it technically unless
- you have weak amps at the end of the chain and very demanding headphones like Susvara or TC.
I myself don't have the preamp though owning Susvara and TC and still have endless headroom using Ferrum OOR.
- you want to use the included remote control of Spring which is pretty useless without the preamp module

When the Soloist is in power Amp mode it is only using 2 of the opamps. I'm assuming it's not using the volume opamps being that it is bypassing it. It gives the Soloist a more full and powerful sound with better dynamics. Many ppl in the Soloist thread have discovered this same thing. I have introduced ppl to it and they were wowed when they heard it. They usually say, damn I've had the Soloist for however long and never knew about it. The Soloist has tons of power and sounds great in regular mode but it's just a little better in power Amp mode. This will be my 1st desktop dac so I don't 100% know if I will be ok with it and not use poweramp mode. The dac may provide the extra dynamics and fullness that power Amp mode brings. Idk . I'm just scared that I'll spend 3 grand on the 3kte and then wish I had power Amp mode. I could just save up the $600 because I will be making monthly payments. I could just put that $600 on it and get ahead.

 

[FooFighter]

When the Soloist is in power Amp mode it is only using 2 of the opamps. I'm assuming it's not using the volume opamps being that it is bypassing it. It gives the Soloist a more full and powerful sound with better dynamics. Many ppl in the Soloist thread have discovered this same thing. I have introduced ppl to it and they were wowed when they heard it. They usually say, damn I've had the Soloist for however long and never knew about it. The Soloist has tons of power and sounds great in regular mode but it's just a little better in power Amp mode. This will be my 1st desktop dac so I don't 100% know if I will be ok with it and not use poweramp mode. The dac may provide the extra dynamics and fullness that power Amp mode brings. Idk . I'm just scared that I'll spend 3 grand on the 3kte and then wish I had power Amp mode. I could just save up the $600 because I will be making monthly payments. I could just put that $600 on it and get ahead.

Fair enough.
For most people SQ is anyway the most important decision factor and before swapping the amp to e.g a Burson Grand Tourer the preamp option will make you more flexible, no question and AFAIK only Spring is offering that option.
For May you'd need an extra device like Serene...

 

[9bphillips]

Fair enough.
For most people SQ is anyway the most important decision factor and before swapping the amp to e.g a Burson Grand Tourer the preamp option will make you more flexible, no question and AFAIK only Spring is offering that option.
For May you'd need an extra device like Serene...

I am pretty well set on Spring 3. The May is a little more than I would like to spend. I feel the spring 3 will be future proof like I talked about. I think the pre amp is something I should get. If I am going to spend 3 grand I might as well get exactly what I want. Besides I have heard the pre amp is very well made. One day I most definitely might move up to a Grand Tourer once I acquire headphones that demand that much power. Burson has definitely made me a fan. I am new at the headphone game. Like I said I've been into iem's and daps but I just started my headphone set up. I would like to scratch my itch and get what I want because if I don't I'll be spending more money later. I think the Spring 3 can be a dac I can be happy with for years. Also what is AFAIK? Sorry I'm new in the headphone world! Lol

 

[MatW]

I am pretty well set on Spring 3. The May is a little more than I would like to spend. I feel the spring 3 will be future proof like I talked about. I think the pre amp is something I should get. If I am going to spend 3 grand I might as well get exactly what I want. Besides I have heard the pre amp is very well made. One day I most definitely might move up to a Grand Tourer once I acquire headphones that demand that much power. Burson has definitely made me a fan. I am new at the headphone game. Like I said I've been into iem's and daps but I just started my headphone set up. I would like to scratch my itch and get what I want because if I don't I'll be spending more money later. I think the Spring 3 can be a dac I can be happy with for years. Also what is AFAIK? Sorry I'm new in the headphone world! Lol

New to the internet? AFAIK = as far as I know.

 

[9bphillips]

New to the internet? AFAIK = as far as I know.

Nah just never heard that one! Lol

 

[tdx]

There is no streamer that can feed the Spring a 768k/1.5Mk signal from HQPlayer right? Only straight from a computer through USB?