Holo Audio May DAC

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.

I just received my Holo Audio May KTE a week ago.
Wow !
My PS Audio Directstream dac is for sale.

Nquery...thank you for your post, I thought Holo May just puts everyone in trance or something, so it's refreshing to hear something a bit different. Could be it's not fully broken in or you may just prefer the tubes in your system. Keep us posted.

@nquery I'm looking forward to hearing your future findings.  
I have not experienced harshness, etched or overly detailed sound from mine.  I have not heard this experience from others either, so it is a curious thing.  Break-in could be a part of it but for me, I did not hear those characteristics during break-in of my unit.  After 600+ hours on mine I can say that it is more refined than when it was new, but the improvement is not night and day.  From the moment I unboxed mine and plugged it in it has sounded great.  
I am wondering about choice of cables, source, or other factors to explain what you are hearing.  Or, as another said, perhaps the comparison to tubes is revealing your preference in sound signature.  
Either way, let us know what you find.  
Happy listening!
Peter

A few days later and what I have done is create an A/B setup with Roon playing to two endpoints as a grouping, one going to the May and one going to the Lampizator. Each of which is connected to different inputs on my Line Magnetic 805ia SET amp. Same PEQ (but no upsampling!) is applied to both endpoints in Roon with the headroom adjusted slightly differently to level match the volume within 0.1db. So now all I have to do is flick the input on the amp to switch between the two while live - the changeover is absolutely imperceptible in both volume and timing. (One of the cool things you can do with Roon).

There is very little between the two much of the time. The May possibly has a slightly wider, taller soundstage and thus instrument separation, but does not have as much depth and thus less 3-dimensionality to instruments. The May is a bit clearer with more bite (particularly the bass), and has a bit more air to the sound. (i.e. frequency extension no doubt better). Tonally, the May is really neutral across the entire frequency range whereas the Lampi has a bit of that tubey mid-range bloom and richness. The Lampi is a bit rounder and fuller. Timbre is a toss-up. Punchiness is a toss-up. Detail a toss-up. May has a wee bit more PRAT, Lampi a wee bit more romantic. May a bit more forward than Lampi.

Nothing really surprising here given their topologies and builds. My LM amp is rolled with best-of-class tubes such that it’s extremely clean/punchy/dynamic - dare I say almost solid state like (but still with that SET magic). Speakers are very neutral/revealing Spendor D7.2’s. The May and D7.2’s might just be a too much of the same ilk, or maybe I just prefer the slightly smoother/fuller/organic sound of the Lampi tube DAC with my system, giving up very little in other sonic measures. When I first plugged in the Lampi after owning a Schiit gumby I had a huge wow moment and was surprised by how much better it was. Not so with the May, though the gap was obviously not as big. But I do get why many think that the Holo May is a reference level DAC.

Still going to let the May run with music for another week or two before deciding. I do think it has improved a bit since I first plugged it in 100 hrs ago. Will follow up again in a week.