@lordcloud Sorry for the delay, I don’t get updates on this thread even though I’m subscribed for some reason.
The Benchmark DAC3 HGC is a great Sabre chip based dac, but the Matrix XSabre Pro MQA DAC is $2k and a superior sounding dac. There’s a slight upper-midrange glare or minor harshness at higher volumes I’ve noticed over the years that the Matrix XSabre Pro MQA doesn’t have. It’s just a better execution and better sounding DAC. Now, with regard to the Holo May KTE DAC, no Sabre dac I’ve ever heard (Manhattan, Aurelic etc) sounds as real and natural as the May. It’s really in its own league. It’s kind of like going from 2d to 3d for sound. Guitars are frightenly real. Jazz/acoustic/bluegrass/blues/classical instrumental images are well delineated in their own space, and their decays hang in the air. Transients effortlessly leap out and microdynamics are retrieve and rendered flawlessly. It nails harmonic richness and timbre is stellar. It’s really a notable gestalt that is hard to put into words, but realism is the best I can attribute to the experience. It’s presentation is attention grabbing, emotionally connective, and just an absolute blast to experience.