Been considering the T+A and the May. Given that I prioritize natural sound (timber, tone, decays) to hifi technicalities, my read of this thread has me leaning towards the May. Am I interpreting the comparisons correctly?
Dear Bazelio,
I used to own a PS Audio DL-III Mod Cullen IV (since 2008-ish). Sound is great, very natural and resolving.
The remaining of my set-up is a Plinius M8 Preamp and a Plinius SA-201 Amp, feeding Martin-Login Summit X Speakers.
Globally this is about 20k$ new (even if it now all rather old - about 15 years - but still excellent).
Not that money guarantees a good set-up, but just to confirm that, like you I am very much into "transparent", "natural", "true to sound".
I was very happy and casually enjoying music out of the nerdy-audiophile world.
About a year ago, everything fell appart because I understood that my DL-III Dac was processing the signal in an old fashioned way and could not go above 96khz.
The sound was still as nice as before, but I had identified a weak link in the chain, so it absolutely had to be replaced, obviously
.
All of a sudden, I deeply went all-in back into the nerdy-audiophile-rabbit hole again.
It started with looking into the Gustard R26, because it had such raving reviews... The price was no-nonense (I like no-nonsense). I spend hours a week on the head-fi R26 channel.
Then more and more, lots of people were modding their R26 with clocks, all kinds of galvanic isolations, some people even opening the box to mod even further with aluminum wrapping and stuff... I thought this is becoming kinda car-tuning style, when you buy a Subaru but want to make it look like a Porsche, and at the end, it costs more than the Porsche, but without the specs... Bummer... more nerdiness... After months, fatigue gained me again.
Then I thought, let's buy a Porsche instead... I levelled up my game and looked at the Holo Spring KTE, then Holo May KTE... But again, digging deeper I understood it was not perfect neither. Also, I want to keep it simple, feeding with an Ipad playing Apple Music Hi-Res 24/192 thru USB... I wanted to avoid any kind of HQ Player or other computer stuff. I am actually quite tech savvy... but I had decided that my goal was to enjoy music, not doing continuous gear-tuning. Then I also read the May needs hundreds of hours of burn-in to really come to deliver its full marvellous sound (and... I do not believe in that kind of stuff too much - at least not beyond a certain extend). Then I also read you have to leave it on permanently because it needs days to come to temperature, which is again needed for the marvellous sound. But at 60 watts it is like having an average old bulb light always on... Do you like leaving lights on forever at home ? And more and more issues... like, without HQP, do not buy a May... After months, fatigue gained me again.
Then I heard about this new gem, the T+A DAC 200, who received raving reviews, with all the pro's without the con's.
I read about it for a few more months...
One of the reviews that made it for me, was somebody who seemed quite honest and knowledgeable and also into even much higher gear, who said :
- With May KTE, you have 100% real R2R, and at the end you have, say, 70% of the best sound you can reach in the world.
- With T+A DAC200, you can 'fake' 95% R2R, and at the end, you have, say, 90% of the best sound you can reach in the world.
- So, you have to choose between 100% real R2R, but "average" sound or accept a part of fake (inside the box) but "excellent sound"
(Again, "average"... let's all relax... the guy was comparing with out-of-this-world stuff).
Then I thought... Mmhh... "fake" ? Don't like that...
But I have a very good cure.
It recommend you to read things about 25k$ DACs... 50k$... 100k$ DACS, gear you will never even consider buying... and stay there for at least one hour or two, till you have successfully tricked your mind into thinking this is the true price you have to pay for anything decent, just for a few minutes.
And when you come back to earth, you understand that "real R2R" means nothing. The May is also faking things with its FPGA chip.
There is no such thing as "pure/real R2R" in the 6k$ price range. And what’s the point actually ? Are you aiming at the best R2R sound (which has its own flaws - like it will never go beyond 20 bits resolving), or are you aiming at the True Sound. However it is produced ?
To stretch a little further, the DAC200 is no more faking anything than everything else.
It is just aiming at producing the best sound it can... isn't this the ultimate goal after all.
And it appears the DAC 200 is out of his class at doing this.
So I bought it, and I am very happy about it. And no more looking back. Relieved. Done. Back to real life.
Build quality is outstanding, every connector, button "clicks" with a satisfactory sound and feeling.
And that little steampunk look of the VU meters is a truly elegant touch. Nicely built.
So, I can not compare with the May KTE.
But I can talk about a few additional perks, that a very science-based person like me find precious.
For example : The VU meters have different modes. One of these modes will show you the quality of the input signal (including jitter and stuff, using a combination of the two VU meters). This allowed me to see that the DAC-200 was actually very happy with my iPad and Apple Music source. This confirms indeed that the USB input of the DAC is very good, that an iPad is also very good and saves me so much money for a snake-oil streamer or cables. This is actually no surprise to me. Let's just imagine how much an iPad would cost if Apple were just producing a few hundreds or thousands units. iPads are wonderful machines, extremely well built, only affordable because they are built in millions. Another mode shows the temperature (for both DAC and analog sections). And indeed, I hear a slight difference in SQ in the first hour, and then it reaches its nominal temperature and the sound is fantastic. Then, there is also the balanced headphone output. Although I am a speaker guy, this is a nice free perk for me.
Indeed, one of the most important parameters in audio quality is the room. I know I have some slight reverb issues in my room that even a 100k$ DAC could not solve (because my room is rather pure and minimalisticly decorated, not symmetric, and I have huge glass panels on one side). At least, the headphones will help me grasp what should be the ultimate holographic sound, taking the room out of the equation. Then I will see if I want to change things in my room to approach that (But I already know I will not go into the crazy room treatment stuff since my listening room is also my living room. I enjoy the light and the view and do not want to live in a bunker).
Way too long story... but I thought it was useful to drive you thru my own journey : the quest for top-notch all in one solution, without the hassle, and with only a reasonable amount of audiophile nerdiness. Because, at the end, what matters is the pleasure of enjoying music, laid-back.
You might also want to consider looking into the
www.audiophilestyle.com forum. Lot's of complementary posts there in the dedicated DAC200 thread (about 25 pages).
Also, one of DAC200 architects (OE333) is frequently posting, answering.
I hope this helps,
Good luck with your own quest.
David, Belgium