Holo Audio Spring (Kitsune version)

I owned the L3 Kitsune Holo Spring DAC for a short while. When I got it a few months ago, it was fully broken in, with some 400+ hours. At the time, I also had a ExaSound E12 that has been my daily DAC for the last couple of years. 

I was really disappointed with Spring. It was like "meh".... really kind of boring and uninvolving compared to what I was getting from the ExaSound. Note that I only tried the USB input, and I decided not to buy the seemingly necessary Singxer SU-1 ( and hearing that the power supply needs to upgraded) and HDMI cable.

I have since upgraded to an exsSound E32, and love it! It's quite a bit better than my previous E12 it replaced, thanks to a generous trade-in from ExaSound. It's  fantastic DAC that makes my digital music (Tidal, Roon, HQPlayer, Music HD) sound real, natural, involving, etc. 

BTW, I power it via a 12v SLA battery all the time. No need for fancy power supplies unless you feel the need to spend another $400 to $800.

A ton of people love the L3 Spring. I wasn't one of them...

1markr, not sure I understand the point of your rant. Could you elaborate?

No rant.... just offering up my opinion, and nothing else, in answer to the OPs question, about comparing other DACs to the Spring DAC.

As I stated, in my system, to my ears, the ExaSound DACs are much more musical, involving, and fun to listen to vs the Spring.  I tried. Didn't float my boat. YMMV. 

Glad you found something you like.

1markr, that's a valid comparison actually, delta-sigma dac vs NOS. I'm surprised you didn't enjoy the Holo, as technologically it seems to be great.  DId you try it in balanced or single ended mode? I'm wondering may be if it was an impedance mismatch/gain issue.  The Exasound seems nice, but again, at that pricepoint my mind's set on the T+A, as I've heard it and liked it a lot.