Holo Audio May DAC

Hi jjss49,

Have you tried Aqua La Scala Opticalogic? Has tubes!

Well after waiting for the May to arrive, and listening periodically over the last ~500 hours, I'm happy to report that the May is hitting its stride.

I've done most listening in NOS mode which has fleshed out nicely during burn in.  I listened a few brief times over the break in period to OS, and it definitely does not sound as good as NOS.  I wonder, however, what actually happens during the break in process, ie the DAC chips used in OS are different than the ladder DAC circuit that I've used for nearly all of the break in.  I discovered this morning that 88.2 files cannot be played in NOS, so I listened in OS.  Just wondering what if any improvement to expect if I burn in the OS circuits?  Also, is there any way to run NOS on 88.2 files?

I deleted the album from my Aurender playlist and reloaded it (it is a FLAC file).  It plays fine now as NOS.  Dunno, but not an issue I guess.

Just received my new May and I have to echo what others have said, this sounds fantastic right out of the box! Can't wait to get it burned in a bit.

So I have acquired a slightly used Holo May ( 200 - 300 hrs in mint condition) and have been listening to it for the past few days, comparing it to my Lampizator Amber 3. I am on the fence so far to be honest. Earlier in this thread, more than one person suggested that the May would be a sideways move from Lampizator DAC’s and I am beginning to agree with this. While it’s incredible detailed, accurate, with a black background and neutral to a fault, it doesn’t have the full, 3-dimensionality, or organic sound of the Amber 3. No doubt it’s technically superior in every way - but it’s just not as *pleasant* to listen to, is more forward sounding, and very unforgiving of poor recordings - etched and bright at times. I will let it run for a couple of hundred more hours before re-evaluating.