Holo Audio May DAC

@jjss49 I think he’s improved a bit. 😁 He catches himself when says something dorky or goes off script and makes light of it. I only brought him up because I know he reviewed both DACS in question back to back, so I thought it was relevant. Since I own the May, my bias may be coming into play here since he was rather blunt about the May’s DAC incredible instrumental positioning, decay, depth, and soundstage advantage over the Terminator (or any DAC for that matter) assuming your speakers aren’t against a wall and poorly setup.  I do agree with his assertions. 

@in_shore Re: your comment that the Holo May KTE in combination with the 432 Evo Aeon have produced  "by a large margin the best playback of well recorded music I have ever experienced in my home so far" - I was wondering how much of that improved sound is due to the KTE vs the Aeon. The reason I ask is that  I have a 432 Evo Aeon coming for an in-home evaluation  this week (currently have a Innuos Zen Mk III). I just stumbled across this thread about the Holo May KTE and now I am very intrigued about it.  I'm not surprised to hear about the great playback you are getting, given the wonderful things I'm hearing about both products. I currently have a Lampizator Big 7 (about 6 years old) with DSD 256, and curious about improvements that could be gained with the May KTE. And wondering which component to prioritize for upgrading, the streamer or the DAC (Of course, in reality if I like the Aeon I'll get it and then have to consider how much more improvement I could expect with a new DAC). 

Also curious on anyone's experiences or thoughts about the KTE vs Lampizator. I'm actually very happy with the sound I'm getting with my current set up but the question is "What am I missing?". I would have been blissful in my ignorance, but hard to ignore what I'm hearing about the KTE now that I've discovered it. 

@hchilcoat My guess is that you're most likely to move sideways from the Lampi, regardless of the dac you try.  That's not to say sideways won't end up better for your particular preferences, but I doubt anything's going to absolutely blow away the Big 7.  

The thing that struck me most about the May KTE was how cleanly it reproduced every part of the frequency spectrum.  If you're finding your current presentation somewhat colored, or feel that a particular part of the audio range is being over/under emphasized, the May could be a wonderful sounding solution.

@hchilcoat , I was going to say similar as cal; that it’d be a lateral move, with preferential differences. 
Lampizator has that ‘lit from within’ character that you won’t get with Termi or the May, being ss. Also Lampizator has a vivid and alive house sound. The May might be smoother and ...mellower(?) according to descriptions.

I haven’t heard the May yet but I own a Lampizator Atlantic. Also bought the Termi, sold it, then rebought with new DSP board, sold it again. I still have the Atlantic and now also have a Bricasti M3. The Lampi’s speed and vivid presence is great for my system. I may buy the May but also do not want to live without a Lampi for either in system w/ preamp, or even more for DAC straight to amp listening. 

Hchilcoat I wasn’t too sure about the Evo Aeon the first couple months I owned it however thinking about it I believe it was simply a sonic change just logging hours onto it along with the new interconnects .
For me playback is the best I’ve experienced in my home with well recorded music I thought I was very familiar with I now find absolutely thrilling.
With well recorded vocals there is a true living presence of timbre something I never ever heard before however I want to point out that’s not because of the May dac my previous dac with the Evo allowed me to hear this more alive / human sound .

And finally I like to point out no one with any certainty can guess what your going to hear or think you are going to hear until you have said components in your own system.