I have a top shelf delta/sigma DAC and a Denafrips Pontus II discrete R2R. I can listen to the delta/sigma DAC about twenty minutes before my ears are done with it. With the Pontus II, I've yet to experience any listening fatigue, even after 14 hours! Between the enormous soundstage, pinpoint imaging and creamy, yet detail rich presentation, my ears and brain keep wanting more and more.
Great question! I didn't directly compare the two but believe it would probably be a step up from Hegel's internal. Maybe in the near future I can do this before I have to send the DAC back to Kitsune. Thanks for watching! 🍻
@@oohtob6685 The H390 has a very good DAC. The Cyan 2 natively decoding DSD could be a potential game changer. I believe the Cyan 2 stages similar but has a richer midrange. Weather or not you like that may be personal taste. Hope that helps! 🍻
@MisterChibs thanks for that. I should of added to my post. I've had the H390 for nearly 4 years. Although the hegel has a very good dac I'm looking at upping my game with it. This new Laiv harmony looks interesting.
I really enjoyed your presentation by including others system and clearly point out the short and long of this DAC. I happened to also own Cornwall IV and Denafrips DAC/Pontus II driven by 8W 300B single ended amp. Don't think I will change the current setup since it suits my listening menu exactly. The Cyan 2 will be a great addition to my bedroom system. Thank you for an awesome review.
@@Yakena1 Hello there! Yes, I do love Roon! If you’re interested in my experience I did make a video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3lnewpwoBKE.htmlsi=TJjVsEIUpZ_MgFse kanpai from Canada!🍻
Hello mr.chibs! your video review always helps me a lot when i choose new gears. Always thankful about it. I am headphone only environment audiophile. I have , Austrain Audio the composer, zmf atrium, erzetich charibdis. Maybe buy tungsten in near future. My current DAC is schiit audio gumby(a2). I am now considering to get one of holo audio DAC but never tried holo DAC before so its hard for me to choose one. IMHO, it is more difficult to detect the difference between decent dac(cyan2) and super high-end dac(like may) in the head-fi only system when they are compared with speaker system. So i am hesitating to spend over 4k usd for just one DAC. For now I'm happy with my gumby dac but the reason I'm buying a new DAC is that if the tube amp only supports the rca input, gumby's rca output is far worse then xlr output(bass is gimped) Thus I'm considering about whether to move on to schiit audio yggy(bigger dac) or holo dac (cyan2 or spring3) to solve this problem. Do you have experience with yggy or gumby? Can you compare them with cyan2? if you don't, I'd like to ask how much can cyan2 perform well when compared to its bigger brothers(spring, may) at the headphone-only listening environment. Thank you for reading my long concern hope you could help me.
@@rkrnddl5 unfortunately I don’t have any experience with Schiit gear yet. The Cyan 2 is an awesome DAC as long as it fits your use case. I’m in the process of making a video review on Spring 3, so stay tuned for that. The Spring is definitely a better DAC but going off of sound quality alone and ONLY using headphones is tough to call. I would still lean towards Spring 3. It just fits me better. But that’s me. You’ll see what I mean in the review. In the meantime, look specifically at all of these DACs features and how they could fit in your system. Some things you don’t think you’ll need or even appreciate can become stuff you don’t want to be without. 🍻
Hi Mr Chibs....Just finished watching your older Denafrips Video...nice GT3! Holo Audio or Denafrips...What do you recommend. Your warranty issue with the Pontus was an eye opener regarding risk with purchasing from Asian market. Also what cable type do you prefer from Bluesound Node / Lumin to your DAC? Keep up the good videos!
@@JamesJones-qs7rr Thanks James, both companies make great DACs. I’ve become mesmerized by Holo lately and am in the middle of making my next review, so stay tuned. As far as cables it depends on the type. I use Supra / Audioquest / Mogami. All good choices. 🍻
@@MisterChibs I tried some Iso-pucks about a year ago. I think you will be slightly amazed by this little "tweek". It's just enough to where I can't go back to using bookshelves without them. I even put them between the speakers & stands.
Great review, seems like a great dac for a desktop system. I used to have the Gustard R26 which i preferred over the Venus 2, but that could just be my system. Ive moved on to a DAC that I like even more and has a volume control so good it replaced my Hegel preamp.
@@MisterChibs The Exogal comet plus. Exogal was started by former Wadia engineers, sadly they are no longer with us due to supply chain issues during covid. It’s really a shame they are no longer around. The volume control outperforms some expensive preamps, I just connect it directly to my power amp and I’m good to go.
Let me ask you two questions please: 1. Where did you get the Katakana done? Oh. Never mind. Kitsune. Ever been to Japan? I lived there for around 30 yrs. 2. What music was playing during the CONS and PROS? Thanks ジョー
Hi Joe! Kitsune is Japanese for Fox which they use for their logo. I have never been to Japan but REALLY want to go! As for the music, I love that little bit too! Unfortunately, it's not part of a real song. It's just segment effects from Artlist that I stitched together. Thanks for noticing it. Makes all that time I spent searching and working on that bit worth while 👍 🍻
Great review, I appreciate you taking the extra time to go over the quirks with the input switching, though they won't stop me from eventually buying my own. The WiiM pro would be great for cutting the optical input with this DAC, especially if you have the remote. Sadly, the optical passthrough input on the WiiM pro and pro+ has two major flaws that those unfamiliar should be aware of. 1. The audio will occasionally skip/stutter every ~5 minutes, though this depends on your TV or other input device, and seems to be due to poor reclocking of the signal in the WiiM. Changing the output bit depth to 16 makes it happen less frequently, but you'll still hear it every time it occurs. 2. The right and left channels may get switched, and you might not notice it immediately. This can easily be fixed by cycling the inputs or putting the WiiM on standby with the remote, but can occur seemingly at any time, and at random. WiiM acknowledged both of these issues on their forum way back in 2023, even saying that both could be resolved with a firmware update. Sadly they have yet to fix either of these flaws, and with their new models on the horizon I wouldn't be surprised if they never bother to. Edit: The issues only occur when using the optical passthrough. Everything is fine with streaming over chromecast, wifi, or bluetooth.
Thanks! Luckily, I have never experienced stutter running optical on my Wiim Pro. That’s the type of thing that would drive me nuts so I understand your frustration. As far as channels getting switched, I haven’t noticed this behaviour either but will test to make sure. If you end up buying the Cyan 2, I would recommend using USB directly from a computer if you can. Its USB is galvanically isolated and the best input imo. This will be an improvement over the Wiim Pro, especially in your case! 🍻
@@MisterChibs Just realized my wording may be misleading. The two flaws are strictly related to the optical passthrough input. Neither issue occurs when just streaming over chromecast, wifi, or bluetooth to the WiiM.
Thank you for the great review one more time. I also have the H190 and thinking of the Cyan 2. Where i reside (a beautiful Greek island) there is no way to audition the Holo Audio. I just wish to know how the two dacs compare since many reviewers out there they mention favorite things of the H190 dac. Thank you in advance
I get where you're coming from. It's a tough pill to swallow ordering something like this without the ability to test first. The H190 DAC is just okay in my view. Cyan 2 will be a noticeable improvement across the board. Hope this helps!
@@giulianof8687 Decent, considering how much that streamer costs. If you want to squeeze better SQ out of the WiiM, watch this Friday’s upcoming vid. 🍻
Great review and a great looking little DAC with high build quality but the auto switching function is a problem when connecting multiple devices a remote control and relay output would have been better but the price most certainly would be higher however I guess most people would be using this connected to a streamer via only one input say USB or I2S
Totally! Build quality is probably the best I have come across thus far. It feels like it's just a solid Metal block with no parts whatsoever inside. I wish they had an option for a remote but understand why they kept this out. Thanks for watching and sharing your opinion! 🍻
I've got a mojo2, also some R2R dongle DACs, by the sounds of it the cyan2 doesn't appear to be worth spending the money on for a minor improvement. Good review, I've yet to find someone doing a direct comparison with the denafrips ares II 12th.
That minor improvement has left me wanting now that it’s shipped back to Kitsune😅 Price is closer to Ares but still not apples to apples as they’re doing things differently. Thanks for watching! 🍻
That's the Great thing. Oversampling is better done on playback on a Computer. So you can turn it on and off. Or Use HQ Player to get mega up sampling to send to the Dac.
@@MisterChibs I use Foobar 2000 personally and it does a good Job, However HQ player might be a step up that's worth it. I think this Cyan 2 Dac has similar noise suppression and de-coupling of the USB and Digital inputs to keep the Digital as Jitter free as possible. So connecting it directly to a computer isn't a no no that the whole Hi-fi world seems to think. Also it makes it not really worth using or adding cost with an up-sampling chip. Which is another reason this Dac is at the top of my next purchase list.
The Denafrips Venus 2 ($3079) isn’t even 3 times the price of the Holo Audio Cyan 2 ($1198). Where did you get the “almost 4 times the price” from? 🤷🏻♂️ ✌️
I did the pseudo math months ago while making this video. Not sure what's going on with Vinshine Audio but they're only selling used Denafrips dAC's now. I guess It's possible I forgot to convert from SGD. Anyhow thanks for watching and the nitpick. Got my wheels spinning and haven't had my coffee yet so 👍☕
@@MisterChibs Yea I noticed things have changed a lot in how they sell them, since the last time I looked. I got that price from Denafrips own site. Which I don’t remember seeing previously. So it seems that Denafrips may have decided to end their partnership, and sell them on their own. Or something like that anyway. If that’s the case. It would be a shame. As Alvin at Vinshine is a great guy. It also makes me curious about what the situation is with getting service for their products. ✌️
@@amb3cog Denafrips may have actually lowered their prices too. Alvin and his team were indeed great to deal with. I’m going to email him and see what’s going on.
@@MisterChibs I'm not sure about the prices being lowered. I don't think they did, but it's possible. I would love to know what's going on myself. If you do email them. Please LMK what they say. ✌️
I have a fix - a) TV > Eversolo > switch to RCA output > amp .. for watching TV b) Eversolo > Cyan > amp .. for hifi - ALSO I can just not even bother switching to the RCA’s for TV output if I’m being lazy.
So.... I owned the Venus 2, and that got replaced with a Spring 3 KTE. The Venus is a very good sounding DAC(VERY), but the Spring edged it out for me because it just sounded more natural and sound staged more realistically. Trust me when I say, DSD is where the Cyan will really shine. Playing PCM using the r2r....Venus 2 I have no doubt will sound better. But.... Like you, I use Roon and basically stream everything from Qobuz. So.... The real game changer would be using HQplayer. With everything being converted to DSD, I think it would give the Venus a run for it's money.
Thanks Mike! My DSD trip with MJ and Cyan 2 was unreal! I definitely want to try HQ Player and do a vid on that. I just didn't want to get overwhelmed (as if I wasn't already 😅) Perhaps If I get the chance to review Spring / May I'll pop my HQ player cherry too. The Spring 3 KTE looks nice and I like that you can get a preamp with it. Would come in so handy for level matching with other DACs. 🍻
Thanks Dave! I had that Wiim pro sealed in it's packaging in my drawer for so long and felt I just needed to try it out. Awesome little streamer for the $! No doubt there was a bit of a bottleneck in comparison to my Lumin U2 Mini and perhaps even from my computer to the Cyan through USB. Not sure about the Node though. Would make an interesting test. In any case, It's good to have options! 🍻
I'm getting the Pre90, and the Cyan2. The reviews have me very interested in that preamp, and I'm very curious about the R2R sound! I have a Topping D90, Aune S17 Pro, Singxer SU-6 DDC, and Hifiman HE1000 Stealth. Can you elaborate on how the Pre90, and Cyan2 sound together? Thanks!
@@johnmageejr1026 The sound cant get any better in my opinion. Pre90 is the best preamp I have ever heard. the bass and mid bass is so fast and realistic and everything is transparent. It welcomes cyan2 to perform. Its life like.
@@MisterChibs I got some Chinese DAC that can do DSD 512.£150 plus external power supply for £70.The DAC has an option for opamp swap.I made it as close as it can be to my taste.Sounds wonderful in my opinion for that price. Make sure that whatever you download is Remastered Album if possible! That gives the most improvement! DSD 512 remastered albums and FLAC remastered albums are the best.Just another level resolution!Trust me i played so much with that stuf.I even try different versions of albums so i can see which one sounds the best! I can send you few DSD 512 files if you want..
@@beslemeto the DAC I’m in the process of reviewing does DSD up to 1024. The computer and streamer I have are limited to 256 for up-sampling so that’s my only bottleneck.Really enjoying it though! Thanks for the offer, I definitely want to check out 512 now!🍻
@@MisterChibs The difference between 256 and 512 is very noticeable.Much more than the difference between 128 and 256. I recommend Pine player if you are using Mac. Free! I wonder how 1024 will sound...I could not find favourite albums with that bitrate....
LAIV Harmony just dropped too 🥲 offboard over sampling is killing the vibe for me. I dont want to invest in thunderbolt GPU outboard slaving, a Roon sub, an HQP license. Edit: i totally think this is an insane tool for those with HQP OS backend in place. Someone who can bring the million taps OS 352.8/384khz or higher to the table will be very pleased.
I guess that soon the second hand market be flooded with Cyans from people that want to upgrade to a Spring or May - and Mays and Springs from people that want to do the opposite.
@@MisterChibsthanks for the review. There are still very few reviews of this DAC out there, which is weird, because it's bare bone concept is quite innovative. My ideal DAC would be modulair with only 1 input (I2S for me) and only one out (XLR for me). Why pay for stuff we don't use? 😊
@@alphaniner3770it’s pretty new and I suspect more reviewers will catch on. From the sounds of it, Cyan2 would work well for you. USB implementation is also amazing if you can make use of it. 🍻
@@MisterChibsCyan is certainly on my short list. I think that it's too early to heavily invest in a DAC, meaning above 2500. Development is fast and what is now state of the art could be average in a few years. Better to put our money - if we really have nothing else to spend it on - in Amps and speakers. Cyan seems to be an excellent solution for the time being.
Cringe … “punches 10x the price” or whatever nonsense You really get what you pay for optimally but sometimes you get hosed Why do reviewers have to go there ? This is certainly a good choice in an entry level R2R So are Musician and Ladder and this is close enough to the Gustard R26 to get that I hope IWI reviews it someday as I am interested in this particular DAC The review was good but then the “punches above its class” and buying a low tier BMW nostalgia story just detracts Seemingly it is a good choice, a good value choice, that performs as it should.
You can take "10x the price" out of quotes if you're trying to quote me. I never said that. I said "punches way above it's price" and stand by that. Compared it to a DAC that costs over 4 times more and the Cyan 2 bested it when playing electronic. Feature wise, it natively decodes DSD which my Venus doesn't do. Ron from New Record Day compared it with Holo's top of the line May DAC which costs over 5x more and said he only noticed a small difference. I believe him. We don't get kickbacks or even affiliate links so we certainly have no horse in this race. I think we're getting spoiled by all of the affordable audio gear coming out recently. Even a couple of years ago, having something of this caliber for the same price was unheard of. If my opinion and analogy make you cringe, maybe you should get a Cyan and test yourself. Let me know if you're still cringing if and when you do. Thanks for watching and sharing your opinion. 🍻
@@jayem1826 Thanks Jay! My analogy was a bit long winded and I totally could have edited it down more. My intent was to put into perspective how much better this DAC is than DS DACS I've tried before. Ironically the car I'm now driving is sooooo not German. 😅
