I agree with you on how good this DAC is for the price. I have the KTE version and running it with HQPlayer and couldn't ask for anything more. Just curious on how you were feeding the DAC and what was the connection you used. I found the USB input was the best for me and output via balanced connectors
Goldensound no longer owns the May KTE. Not sure if he has replaced it with another Dac but he was offered the full DCS stack free from DCS directly after the RU-vid review scandal.
Hi i am looking for a good DAC for my headphone setup with the Felix Envy Perormance Edition and the Susvara and upgraded Tubes to WE300B, the May KTE was my first choise, maybe you can recommend a better one, best regards
Have you heard the Spring 3 KTE? How close would you say it is to the May? Also curious if you've heard the Gustard R26 and how that compares. That's my current DAC.
I was about to jump to buy a Holo KTE, but I attended Capital Audio Fest to listen to it. The diferences are minor in terms of instrument separation and decay of instruments. Holo is really unbeatable at classical or symphony as there are a lot of instruments playing at the same time.
Great observations , thank you. Currently running a Topping (E50) with a better power supply ( IFI ) ..and yup everything counts in small amounts..but the May stuff takes it into a different realm…tho we’re all looking for that particular kind of sound that appeals to YOU…in the end it’s you that need to be happy. Take care .
The real question is - how good is it when you pair it with the HQPlayer and get to use digital filters which are better than the ones used by Chord and get to experience them on a DAC of this quality that also allows you to bypass its internal processing? That must be quite something.
I use HQ player with my Spring 3 KTE and i think it’s amazing, music sounds incredibly ‘real’ I find it a lot better than NOS. I haven’t however heard a dac better than the Spring 3 KTE.
There have been DACs around for years that are far better than the Holo Audio May. Real HiFi Help on RU-vid did a review of the May and gave it a 3 out of 10.
@@bunsw2070 we don’t need trolling. I’ve got a grasp on how good or not that holo products actually are. Sure there are “better” dacs and even better for the money but for my preference I sure enjoy their presentation.
@@bunsw2070 That Reak HiFi guy is a bit of a shyster, he rates Nagra as one of the greatest brands in the world whereas most other reviewers see that brand as way overpriced eye candy.
@@connorduke4619 Yeah, I know that some of his opinions are strange. But every person that's heavy into audio and heard almost everything is like that. It's a major dilemma. How can you trust someone when a few of their opinions are strange? I know someone way above Larry's level and he too has some strange judgements. And he doesn't have time to spend hours explaining the why about anything to me. But did you see Real HiFi's video about different metals? That was my first intro to that subject. I knew another guy about twenty years ago who thought, like Larry, that Spectral was the ultimate solid state. This other guy can't stand Spectral. I know a lot of this comes down to their experiences but I'd like at least a description of what it was that they couldn't stand. I had a revelation the other day. I bought the Abyss 1266 brand new a couple years ago. They sounded horrific on my amp, the exact amp that Larry recommends for headphones and that Larry was using when he said the 1266 was the ultimate headphone. Meishu 300B. Then I bought a Wells Audio Milo amp for my computer setup. I have HE6se Adorama I thought I'd use there and at the same time get to test the 1266 on a different amp. Well the 1266 sounds so good now through the Milo I have to change my mind. I thought they couldn't be salvaged and their fans were just deaf. Not so. They're so dynamic with every little sound no matter the frequency. I think I could become addicted. I have no idea why these headphones are so sensitive to the amp. I have no idea why Larry loved them on the Meishu 300B when they absolutely suck on mine. It's a dilemma because advice and purchasing choices become more difficult. I should add that Larry and this other guy are comparing the Holo Audio May to DACs that cost over 20 times as much. None of us have issues with the May's value. We take issue with where it stands in the pantheon of DACs. Audio Note UK is where it's at and no amount of anything will change that. We resent people being herded into thinking dCS is top level gear. That's all. We're just try to protect people from lies.
Hey man, sorry for the offtop, but I got a flashback of our old discussions when I saw your post. What gear are you currently enjoying? I finally got a chance to experience the Susvara and the Abyss 1266 at London CanJam and wasn't blown away by either (and that's both with the dCS Lina stack and Hifiman's own EF1000). My head was too big for the Abyss, though, I couldn't get the seal to break (nowhere near that in fact), so perhaps I didn't get to experience the "party trick". When it comes to the Sus, I think I'd need to have it at home, in complete silence. In show conditions HE1000se sounded better (which I still have at home). HQPlayer has been the biggest positive factor recently for me and I'd like to get something like a Holo Audio DAC in near future to be able to experience the software without it being held back (by my DAC's internal processing).
@@MistaLova-Lova hey, your youtube username probably changed right? :> Downsized to TC and Utopia. Running Abyss from Holo Bliss KTE and Utopia from HA300MK2. Experimenting with cabling as pure silver sounds unnatural for me recently. Both Susvara and TC require building a system for them. With the TC you need the right fit, otherwise it sounds terrible ... I still think Utopia from a good tube amp is the best :> This year built a speaker system based on Audio Note AN E SPe HE ... spectacular 🙃 The speakers actually ruined headphones for me a bit and cemented the May dac as excellent :>
@@krisrudecki9477 Oops, totally forgot, it used to be "Michał S" but you've probably figured that our yourself 😀 Thanks for sharing that. I had a hunch that the TC would have sounded differently if I had been able to break the seal, with it sitting tight on my head I felt like I was experiencing all its "issues" (weird midrange, wonky tonality) and none of the supposed wow-factors (soundstage, bass, physical impact). At least I know that it's not for me then regardless of its price. My head ain't getting any smaller... 😛 I walked away from the show with the conclusion that I already have the right headphones and that perhaps the Caldera is worth trying for longer if I get a chance. Having said that, I can never fully love the HEKse because at this stage of the hobby it just doesn't sound natural enough, the Utopia keeps changing for the better with all the tweaks that I apply buyt the HEKse is held back by its tonality and a slightly "hollow" planar sound. I thought that the Sus might be the answer but I was not convinced even though I had heard it from a few different (very expensive) pieces of gear, and I didn't even like it on my head - it was light, yes, but my ears were touching the inner padding and that was driving me crazy. So another flagship that's not for me. 🙂 I must say that with the correct digital filter and in DSD the Utopia sounds like it doesn't need anything else, really. Having said that... One of the most vivid memories from the CanJam is when I listened to one of ZMF's cheaper headphones (Auteur) which sounded "OK" off the iFi Pro (I think it was) and then suddenly got crazy good (in subjective terms - it got "thick", physical, warm and super-pleasant) off a cheaper Geshelli amp (I think it was the Archel 3 Pro). The difference was unbelievable. This makes me think that if I found a perfect amp synergy for the Utopia I would get totally blown away. Especially since, unlike the HEKse, I love the Utopia for everything it does as it truly seems to be the only headphone (except for something like the HE-1 which I've also heard) that ticks all the boxes without making nasty trade-offs elsewhere.
First impression of this video: Volume level is rather low. Second impression: Finding "the best" DAC is so impossible, unless you have TONS of money, sadly... And even then, so many DACs sound so similar. There are so many excellent options, like DAVE, Weiss 501/502, Wavelight, Wavedream, Tambaqui, Orchid, Soekris 2451, Ares, Pontus, Terminator, May, Spring, X-Sabre 3, Liberty DAC II, Empire DAC... DAVE has been my coolest DAC experience, with the most amazing knob/button in the Universe lol.
Completely different sounds. Chord Dave is very analytical, Holo May is more rich and layered. You need to know your own sound preference and system status. Fwiw German magazine Stereoplay rated my old $US1k Teac NT-503 with the identical score as the $US15k+ Chord Dave. And I prefer the Teac as it has a fuller sound.
@@connorduke4619 The nice thing with the May is that if you use HQPlayer you can tailor the sound with different filters and shapers. I was using the May initially with my Sony SACD player as source and digital out. It was good and slightly better than the SACD player alone, but connecting to my computer with USB and using HQPlayer took it to another level, I was stunned on how much better it was, I was floored. Before using HQplayer I was thinking of selling the May because the improvement wasn't worth the money. With HQplayer my DAC journey is done!
