[Roasty]

I am using USB wire for the first time , during some minor evaluations of a couple different commercial brands of wire I was astonished with the differences during playback ,But first I’m not one to imagine things or nor am I gullible have a love affair with any audio components or brand loyal .

I settled on Sablon Audio USB for what it passed along to my dac without molestation of this fragile signal from the server . First noticed timbre and tone of well recorded vocals was a stand out over the other cable and while switching cables in and out to demonstrate to a friend that loaned me his cable , I tried to be friendly about all his enthusiasm over his cable..To his embarrassment his cable for what ever reasons did not pass along or represent what could actually be heard being fed upstream of the dac .

The USB section of the Holo May KTE dac is exceptional as you know , the USB board in my server is directly clocked both the usb board and clock boards are independently powered so I’m guessing this makes a difference with sound quality .
As for I2s this is also is an exceptional way to pass this fragile signal to the dac as for which one is better I guess would depend on a lot of things though I’m not too much concerned I’m just a average consumer.

BTW I did have two other dacs that were hanging around a Aqua La Scala ll in my main system and a Audiobyte Hydra Vox dac for headphone listening .
Time well wasted I tell my wife when listening for hours on end to music however I prefer the May KTE dac over the other two dacs.

thanks for chiming in! looking forward to trying out some of the connections with the May myself. i had the Sablon 2020 USB and ethernet cables, but ended up with Pink Faun USB and hdmi i2s cables in my "final" setup. I'm actually more curious to try an aes/ebu cable into the May, especially the Bibacord aes cable; it sounds amazing with my current dac.

 

[Palyodgree]

thanks for chiming in! looking forward to trying out some of the connections with the May myself. i had the Sablon 2020 USB and ethernet cables, but ended up with Pink Faun USB and hdmi i2s cables in my "final" setup. I'm actually more curious to try an aes/ebu cable into the May, especially the Bibacord aes cable; it sounds amazing with my current dac.

I completely understand , there is never one solution that fits in with everything and everyone and I agree , it’s so quite here ? !

 

[bobmysterious]

I tried the AES/EBU route and went back to USB. On some of my Roon playlists where I had regular changes in bit depths and sample rates it took time to lock to each change in signal. No delay with USB.

 

[koven]

I think AES only goes up to 192K / DSD64. Only USB and I2S supports up to 1.536M / DSD1024. I started w/ Redbook NOS for a couple weeks but now feeding 1.536M HQP via USB. It is substantial, highly recommend HQP upsampling w/ May. I am in process of building a dedicated HQP server now.

 

[Roasty]

I think AES only goes up to 192K / DSD64. Only USB and I2S supports up to 1.536M / DSD1024. I started w/ Redbook NOS for a couple weeks but now feeding 1.536M HQP via USB. It is substantial, highly recommend HQP upsampling w/ May. I am in process of building a dedicated HQP server now.

Are u going with Pareto Audio? Direct server to dac via USB right? I don't know if any endpoint/streamer which can do 1.536pcm.

I was previously upsampling with hqplayer but realized I like rebook more. I am re-dabbling with hqplayer now just for fun. Found out I may have been using the wrong dac bits setting and wrong noise shaper.

So far 384pcm with sincMx, NS5 and 20 bits sound great.

 

[Roasty]

I tried the AES/EBU route and went back to USB. On some of my Roon playlists where I had regular changes in bit depths and sample rates it took time to lock to each change in signal. No delay with USB.

Thanks for the heads up!
SQ wise did u find aes any better/worse or about the same as usb?

 

[bobmysterious]

Thanks for the heads up!
SQ wise did u find aes any better/worse or about the same as usb?

I didn’t notice any appreciable change in SQ between the two. Not mad at that!

 

[koven]

Are u going with Pareto Audio? Direct server to dac via USB right? I don't know if any endpoint/streamer which can do 1.536pcm.

I was previously upsampling with hqplayer but realized I like rebook more. I am re-dabbling with hqplayer now just for fun. Found out I may have been using the wrong dac bits setting and wrong noise shaper.

So far 384pcm with sincMx, NS5 and 20 bits sound great.

I think it's efficacy depends a lot on the settings / DAC. I never got to try HQP w/ Wavelight, but you might like it a lot w/ May. Yes USB direct to May for me. I think some NAA endpoints can handle 1.536M but most don't go that high.

I'm currently using Zenith 3 as Roon core, pointed to HQP processing on my gaming PC. I daily the PC, often doing stuff simultaneously w/ HQP running so it's not ideal for SQ, plus Windows is inherently is pretty 'noisy' for audio. Even in this less than optimal setup, it sounds better to me than direct from Innuos. So I'm hoping a dedicated Linux solution will bring further improvements.

I originally engaged w/ Pareto Audio but ultimately pivoted to pursuing a DIY build. I also considered a M1 Mac Mini which many are successfully using for HQP. But the custom route seems more flexible and fun for tinkering. AS forum has been a huge resource, I've glanced thru many threads there which helped me gauge components and software. Gathered most of the parts already but a good LPS isn't readily available, either long build times or out of stock (Paul Hynes, Keces, Sean Jacobs, etc.) So I'm still waiting/deciding on the power supply to finish the build.

Getting off-topic for a May thread but here is a list of my parts/comments below, in case it's helpful to anyone curious of doing similar. This is simply what I've gathered in research thus far (not first-hand experience), so I invite anyone more knowledgeable to chime in/correct me as needed.

Case: HDPlex H5 - Fanless passive cooling, HDPlex seems to be the most popular, but other options include Streacom, Turemetal, Akasa, etc.

CPU: i9 9900K - Overkill for PCM but wanted headroom to play with DSD which is more CPU intensive w/ certain modulators. Passive cooling also seems limited to 95W CPUs so that limited my options, a lot of the newer gen CPUs are 100W+.

RAM: Apacer 2x8GB - Many recommend Apacer (low latency industrial RAM) as opposed to consumer RAM so I went w/ that. 2x4GB should be plenty but went w/ 2x8GB for headroom because OS like Audiolinux or Euphony have an option of 'ramroot' which moves playback or even entire boot into RAM to avoid disk interaction completely. Can be finnicky but potentially worth trying for SQ w/ proper config.

Motherboard: Gigabyte Designare Z390 - Some Gigabyte boards have what they call a DAC-UP USB port, supposed to be a clean noise-treated output specifically for DAC use. I'm planning to skip a PCIe USB card like JCAT or Pink Faun (for now) since May's USB is supposed to be quite good as-is. So I went for a board that at least has some focus on motherboard USB output, unsure if it's a complete gimmick or not.

Boot Drive: Intel Optane M10 64GB - Apparently it's all about low latencies which Optanes are known for, so it's good to use as an audio OS. 32GB is enough but again went w/ some headroom just in case.

Storage Drive: Samsung 970 2TB - Not sure if there's much consideration on storage specs, but can't go wrong w/ Samsung SSD.

Software: Euphony - Linux based OS tuned for audio/SQ. Similar to Audiolinux but more user-friendly to set up. Reasonable license cost. Runs both Roon core + HQPe (Linux version of HQP).

Cables: Ghent - Maybe unnecessary but picked up some Ghent ATX/CPU/DC cables.

Power: So far I've purchased most of the above except the power supply. At minimum I'll need a DC-ATX converter to use w/ an external LPS. HDPlex offers a relatively cheap converter which is popular, but Taiko just released one though much higher price. As for the LPS, Sean Jacobs or Paul Hynes seem to be the top choices but expensive. Cheaper alternatives would be a Keces P8 or HDPlex. Most seem to agree that the power supply makes the biggest SQ impact in a server so I'm patiently investigating options.

To summarize cost - about $1500 on the PC w/o power. +$600 for HQPe and Euphony license. +$200 on Ghent cabling. And finally +$1000 or so for mid-tier power, much more if stepping up to a Sean Jacobs DC3 or something. So all in all +/- $3300 for the custom server. Not cheap, but cheaper than popular options from Antipodes, Innuos, Aurender, etc. I'd reckon it'll sound as good if not better, for less $. Plus a custom build has the added advantage of total control and modularity to keep up w/ the ever changing digital audio scene.

 

[Roasty]

@koven thanks for that post. Super informative and helpful.

I'm on the midst of stripping apart my Roon nuc rock out of my akasa case and putting it into a HDPlex one. I tried running Windows on it, and hqplayer, but constant thermal shut downs after it hit 100deg c during dsd upsampling. Perhaps it will fare better with the heat pipes in the HDPlex.

My hqplayer is also running on my gaming pc. I will likely run it as a roon core, over ethernet, and the fiber optic to my Roon nuc rock which I may need to convert back to Windows to run hqplayer naa.

The other alternative was to run the Nuc as roon core and try hqplayer on it again, and then get a dedicated steamer set up (was looking at the lumin U1 or another Sotm). So many decisions to make.

I find myself still preferring pcm over dsd upsampling. Music just sounds more dynamic and engaging with pcm. I have a denafrips hermes coming so no issue with playing 1.536 pcm and then i2s to the dac.

By the way, Paul Hynes is defunct now isn't it?

 

[koven]

@koven thanks for that post. Super informative and helpful.

I'm on the midst of stripping apart my Roon nuc rock out of my akasa case and putting it into a HDPlex one. I tried running Windows on it, and hqplayer, but constant thermal shut downs after it hit 100deg c during dsd upsampling. Perhaps it will fare better with the heat pipes in the HDPlex.

My hqplayer is also running on my gaming pc. I will likely run it as a roon core, over ethernet, and the fiber optic to my Roon nuc rock which I may need to convert back to Windows to run hqplayer naa.

The other alternative was to run the Nuc as roon core and try hqplayer on it again, and then get a dedicated steamer set up (was looking at the lumin U1 or another Sotm). So many decisions to make.

I find myself still preferring pcm over dsd upsampling. Music just sounds more dynamic and engaging with pcm. I have a denafrips hermes coming so no issue with playing 1.536 pcm and then i2s to the dac.

By the way, Paul Hynes is defunct now isn't it?

Seems like we're in a similar boat, time to leave the gaming PC to gaming.

Yes, so many swear by DSD but I also find PCM more 'musical'. I can hear the refinement in DSD 256/512 but it's generally too polite especially w/ bass. Doesn't really get the feet tappin' like PCM.

Had no idea Paul Hynes is out of business now? Interesting. Well I guess that helps as one less option to choose from. Realistically I will probably go for a Keces P8, it seems well priced and well regarded.

 

[Roasty]

Seems like we're in a similar boat, time to leave the gaming PC to gaming.

Yes, so many swear by DSD but I also find PCM more 'musical'. I can hear the refinement in DSD 256/512 but it's generally too polite especially w/ bass. Doesn't really get the feet tappin' like PCM.

Had no idea Paul Hynes is out of business now? Interesting. Well I guess that helps as one less option to choose from. Realistically I will probably go for a Keces P8, it seems well priced and well regarded.

Yeah Paul Hynes Design ran out of money.. I was surprised to read about it too.

The Keces p8 is a solid piece of gear. I had it, then sold it, then bought it again. I have the HDPlex 300w too and it is very useful given there are 3 more rails not including the 19v one for the Nuc.

By the way, did u get to try i2s into the May?

 

[koven]

Yeah Paul Hynes Design ran out of money.. I was surprised to read about it too.

The Keces p8 is a solid piece of gear. I had it, then sold it, then bought it again. I have the HDPlex 300w too and it is very useful given there are 3 more rails not including the 19v one for the Nuc.

By the way, did u get to try i2s into the May?

That 300W is on my list too, but specific to the 9900K, some AS members suggest Keces handles power swings better and generally more reliable than HDPlex LPS. Not really an issue if I'm sticking w/ PCM processing. But I keep trying DSD from time to time thinking I must be doing something wrong - so many people prefer DSD!

Haven't tried I2S. There's so much praise on May's USB implementation, it's kind of blinded me from trying I2S or a DDC in general. I bet I will end up trying eventually. Pink Faun has a PCIe I2S card which I might stick in the server eventually for testing.

 

[Roasty]

@koven yea I'm not sure if I'm doing anything wrong with dsd too. I just asked on the thread on roon community and found out I was setting my dacs bit wrong and also using the "wrong" noise shaper for my sample rate.

When the May comes, I'll ask them again what the appropriate settings are.

I'll be having a denafrips hermes soon too so will get to test usb, AES, coaxial and i2s into the May. Will report back on which one I like the most.

 

[ThanatosVI]

When you guys talk about DSD, do you hsve separate DSD Files or do you upsample and convert the stream on your PC?

I looked for DSD once, but just didn't find my Kind of music available as DSD

 

[Roasty]

When you guys talk about DSD, do you hsve separate DSD Files or do you upsample and convert the stream on your PC?

I looked for DSD once, but just didn't find my Kind of music available as DSD

We use hqplayer to convert streamed music via roon.