Prima Luna have released the Kracken (striketrough) I mean DAC

KRACKEN

I couldn’t use HTML markup in the title, I wasn’t sure how many if anyone knew what it is. The strikethrough is the crossed out horizontal line, indicating an error that’s corrected (a bit nerdy I guess).

@erictal4075  - As a young kid I grew up next to a Brahman cattle ranch and a dairy farm across the road. I'd have to sidestep snakes on my way to fetch a pail of fresh milk in the mornings before school, this was when the cream still rose to the top, and it wasn't pasturised and homogenised. Raw yummy fresh cows milk is fantastic, especially if you're a naughty Aussie school boy and skimmed some cream on your way home.

@gakerty , there’s a fairly long thread on audiocircle in the discless circle focusing on the mp-d2. The sound is fairly easy to tailor through tube, cap, and chip swaps. Also, your 12au7s could be put to use here. There’s an internal switch that allows for 12.6v filament signal tubes.

My version had the AKM4497 chip, Silver/Gold oil M caps, a pair of NOS Amperex tubes and a number of vintage 5U4G rectifiers.

I feel this DAC is one of the best bargains on the market, especially on the used market. It runs dead quiet, has fantastic sound, and is easy to integrate into systems without having to go through whole component swaps. Signal tubes and rectifier tube swaps offer a lot of flexibility. I would have been very happy to keep the MP but was tempted by all the Holo May dac talk and caved. I needed to sell the MP-D2 to help fund the purchase. I have no reservations recommending the MP-D2 to anyone in this price point, and I feel the MK2 models offer the best bang for the buck.

@rixthetrick: Can’t imagine your NOT skimming a wee bit of that cream off the top of your pail-ful of deeeelishus fresh cow’s milk you’re bringing home!

Wondering also if THIS is how pigs react when they realize their slop trough has just been refilled?

@yakbob: You mentioned in passing that, and I quote, "I would have been very happy to keep the MP but was tempted by all the Holo May dac talk and caved."

Having ’caved,’ how do you feel about your Holo Audio ’MAY’ DAC?

As it happens, I, too, gave in to all that talk and got myself a Holo Audio MAY KTE, their top-of-the-line model. It took a lot of break-in time (>500 hours) before it began to truly sound its best, but the pay-off for soldiering through that extended break-in period has been well worth it to my ears.

@yakbob - My current DAC uses the AK4497EQ chip, with output transformers.
I am waiting for the same Australian designer (and friend) to get some AK 4499SEQ DAC chips at the end of this year. Running a pair in the DAC with output transformers again. Should be interesting.

@erictal4075 - so, is it true pigs can't turn their heads to the sky?