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HOLO Audio Spring DAC: Affordable discrete R2R Multibit Dac, could be a winner.

Many manufacturers are going back to R2R Multibit d/a conversion, a good portion of audiophiles are saying it sounds better than the cheaper d/a conversion of Delta Sigma, (1 bit), Bitstream, Saber. etc.
And it says it uses dual R2R’s Multibits to support DSD natively!!? 

Product Description:This new DAC.”Spring” is the first design of a new era, a milestone for HOLO Audio’s own Jeff Zhu. It’s a full discrete R2R type of audio decoder and does not have off the shelf-DAC chip! This is a bespoke custom-designed core DAC module and truly a breakthrough with technology for any DAC chip today. The Spring is here to achieve new heights, new dynamics and simply a full spectrum of audio to please the aural senses. This Dac has been called the poor mans Total Dac / MSB / Wavedream / Chord Dave Etc. It plays with the big boys.

https://kitsunehifi.com/product/springdacbase/

Looks amazing inside for $1,700. Schiit Yaggi better watch out!!!!



Cheers George
128x128georgehifi
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Thanks guys,
My post was no attempt to write a  formal review but rather an impression of its performance relative to a know highly regarded reference such as the Bricasti SE.  If the additionof the Singxer SU-1 provides even modest improvement then we have a DAC of enormous performance/cost  value. This is excellent news for those shopping for terrific sound quality at very reasonable cost.
Charles 
milpai's avatar
milpai
2,374 posts
 
charles1dad, it is always a good thing to post "as you hear it". There will always be skeptics. I could clearly hear "changes" with power cords. So one can understand why a fuse change might affect.
Anyways, I am now interested in 2 DACs - The Kitsune Spring Level 3 and the Bryston BDA-3. The advantage I see for Bryston is the DSD over HDMI. If there is a simple way to route a DSD to the Kitsune over IS2 via a HDMI cable, I am all ears.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Milpal,
According to my friend the Singxer SU-1 will allow the use of IS2 connection, he is awaiting his. I don’the mind the inevitable skeptics. They come with the territory of open discussion forums., I’m confident in what I hear and am comfortable reporting it. Depending on the circumstances I’ve heard a fuse or power cable make more of a difference than a tube or capacitor swap (sometimes). It varies from one situation to another.
Charles
pixelplay
14 posts
 
Thanks for your feedback Charles. I too am in George's bad books for mentioning the fuse! I look forward to your findings with the addition of the singxer.

Cheers Greg

jon2020's avatar
jon2020
986 posts
 
I too am in George's bad books for mentioning the fuse!

Don't sweat it. :)

Many of us including yours truly, have been in his bad books for eons, simply for holding contrarian views to his dogmas.

Pet issues of contention have been
1. R2R vs delta-sigma dac's
2. Active preamp vs passive/no preamp
3. DSD sucks
4. Change the source/dac if it cannot directly drive the power amp instead of adding active preamp even if doing the latter improves the sound
5. Fuses

We simply learn to let things slide.
Definitely better off listening to music than to continue sparring
ad nauseum.

J. :)
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