Holo May KTE vs. Lampizator Atlantic 3 TRP vs. Mola Mola Tambaqui
I've had months of ear time with all 3 of these extraordinary DACs. Holo and Lampi I own, and Mola Mola was borrowed from a friend. My thoughts:
All 3 of these DACs amazed me in different ways, and are a serious step up from the Denafrips and Oppo DACs I previously had in my systems.
Mola Mola Tambaqui - This is the most detailed DAC of the 3. It has a way of being hyper-detailed without a trace of sibilance. It opened my eyes to how a DAC can drastically improve the 3D holographic nature of sound. Ultimately though, I did find long listening sessions fatiguing. This may have been a result of a the mediocre streaming setup I was running at the time (cheap Intel NUC running Roon).
Holo May KTE - I fell in love with this component within minutes of plugging it in. It was preowned and already broken in. I can crank the volume without being bothered by high frequencies. The weighty bottom end made it seem like I upgraded my amplifiers, my guess is this was a result of the overbuilt monster of an external power supply. Most importantly, the feel of the music and the natural tones got me so much closer to the music, in the same way vinyl does for me. This thing is a tank and has given me trouble free operation nearly all year, staying powered up 24/7. Immense value with this DAC, highly recommended.
Lampizator Atlantic 3 TRP - After unsuccessfully trying to buy this DAC on the used market, I turned to Lampizator NA to purchase new. It was a good experience and Rob ensured everything went smoothly and answered my technical questions. When I received the unit and got it running, the sound was atrocious, the worst component I've ever tested, cheese grater to the ear drums bad. I kept it powered up for weeks and it slowly got better. But still something was missing. I rolled the stock tubes with some Siemens F2As I purchased from a former Atlantic owner (he moved to Poseidon). Instantly the soundstage got huge and lush and I was hooked. This took it to a new level of analog-like sound. I often would forget I was listening to digital, I was just listening and enjoying. Later I tried Tesla EL51 tubes and added a Sophia Electric 274B Aqua II rectifier. These aren't quite as magic in the mids as the Siemens, but they improve bass impact and have beautiful sparkly highs.
In conclusion, the Lampi wins overall due to it's realistic analog sound and holographic nature. The Holo May gets pretty close but in subtle ways reveals a small amount of digital etch, very subtle. The Lampi comes with a lot of trial and error however, finding the right tubes that work for you, with the correct adapters. The unit I ordered is balanced and has volume control. The volume control is okay, but has caused issues feeding an external preamp, which I'm still trying to sort out. If I could go back I would forgo the volume control, and would save money getting a single-ended unit instead of balanced. Single-ended uses 2 output tubes, balanced uses 4.
Getting a proper streamer (Innuos) has made drastic improvements to my system as well. I now believe a great streamer is just as important as a great DAC.
