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Holo Audio May DAC

Just read a very nice review of this in Stereophile this month and after doing some research it looks like this one could be a very nice option for me.  
https://kitsunehifi.com/product/holo-audio-may-dac/
  
It's made in China I think (or could be Taiwan?, and yes, I am very well aware that these are two very different countries. ;)), and employs a direct to consumer model to keep the price as low as possible.  This does not worry me after purchasing a Jay's Audio transport from Vinshine Audio and having zero issues.  

Just curious if anyone here has heard one or purchased?  I'm very intrigued.  I know the Denafrips Terminator is another highly regarded DAC with a similar ordering model, but costs a couple grand more than this one.  Considering that one as well.

Thanks
128x128snackeyp
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

I haven’t tried single ended.


SE will probably sound better, because I don’t believe Holo use "dual" discrete banks of R2R resistors per channel to get true balanced.
I think they are single bank of R2R resistors per channel for the SE output, then probably a SE to balanced opamp to get pseudo balanced output.

So far the only one I know that uses dual R2R banks for true balanced out put is MSB flagship models and Soekris top models

Soekris models
True balanced dual R2R resistor banks per chanel https://ibb.co/bFCR0pY
Single Ended R2R resistor banks per chanel https://ibb.co/LQQ0dBJ

Cheers George
nquery
103 posts
 
Thanks for pointing that out @georgehifi. I am thinking about a Holo May to front my single ended Line Magnetic 805ia and was concerned that I would be missing out on optimal connectivity, that the SE connections would be compromised.
tinear123
241 posts
 
@nquery... I just added a Holo May KTE in front of my Don Sachs tube pre & Coincident Frankenstein 300B mono's and It's really that good.  Absolutely kills my old PS Audio Direct Stream DAC.
gyneguy225
93 posts
 
My Holo May arrived 2 days ago, now burning in. It was worth the wait. I'm using USB input and balanced output to an Allnic preamp. I guess that the single ended output is ok but I've always preferred the balanced connection with my gear. Is it true that the May is not truly balanced?
My PS Audio DSD will be up for sale pretty soon. Even with upgraded output transformers and the newest firmware, the DSD doesn't stand up. Maybe I just prefer the sound of r2r DACS over chip based dacs? I don't know.
nquery
103 posts
 
@tinear123 thanks. I am currently using a Lampizator Amber 3 with my LM SET amp. I want to either upgrade to the Lampizator Baltic 3 or the Holo May. Lampi's have a certain house sound that is palpable and vivid but possibly a little too much at times. I have owned a couple of lower end R2R's before (Denafrips Ares and an Audio-GD) and recognize that the typical R2R sound is quite different from the Lampizator house sound, but not entirely sure to what degree the Holo May bridges that divide. Guess there is only one way to find out ...
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