The KING is CROWNED! Holo Audio May DAC Review! 

Absolutely fantastic review! I've had my may for a while now and would struggle to describe it better than you have. The presentation of space, timbre, and sheer REALISM from this dac is completely unmatched. Other stuff like the chord dave and even dCS dacs simply don't catch up to how convincingly real this dac portrays music.

Great analogy for the audio detail emerging across the spectrum with proper attention to aperture focus! Great review!

I'm biased as I have the Holo Spring KTE DAC and love it... excited to watch your May KTE take. Also rep for CheapAudioMan.. I discovered him in November '20 and love his channel... Your between 2 speakers segment was golden!

I love it when American reviewers talk about moving speakers away from the wall. I live in the UK, my living room is smaller than the average US sofa. This is of course sarcasm. I need a bigger house, this may be my most expensive audio upgrade.

Man this was beyond a product review. Thanks for the extra information and the visual representation. Well done 👊🏻

Excellent video. Was a fun experience to watch and absorb the information.

Your finest DAC review yet. I wish you were at this level of description when you reviewed the Bifrost 2, but I'm glad you touched on it here. The Holo May is the money's-no-object DAC of my dreams.

Great review. Love the sarcasm as well! LOL! I like that it has separate power supplies and is fully balanced.

Great review Ron! One of your best. On the DAC discovery journey myself and considering the Denafrips T2 as well as the dCS Bartok and new Lina. Now here is another contender with Holo May. Currently running the Denafrips Pontus with dCS Network Bridge DDC re-clocker and wondered which space I could achieve next. So exciting audiophile journey. Thanks again.

I am about 2 weeks into it with the May KTE. I previously had been using a Yggdrasil (A2) for a couple years which I like very much & have moved it to a different rig. The step the May KTE brings to the table is staggering. The tracks where the Yggy would struggle a little to separate a crowded space is where I think the May excels as it's as if it has assumed control to put every instrument, sound effect, vocal in a separate space on the track so you get to hear all of it clearly. Sometimes audio components make a slight improvement or none at all to whatever you're replacing it with but the May is a major improvement from the Yggy which is no slouch in its own right. Holo recommends 500 hours for full burn-in...I honestly don't know how the sound could improve from where it is now but if this baby evolves to a greater level I'm ready. Hail to the May King.

I love that you are one of the very few that review some high end gear! we need more of that! more 3-4 - 10k gear please!

I traded in my Spring KTE Dac on the new May KTE ,( Holo offers a generous “trade-up” option).The Spring is awesome....the May has me enjoying the “music” more. Sounds so natural and 3D, I forget it’s digital. The May DAC is the most expensive purchase I have made on a single component....I am not sorry. Tim with Kitsune was very helpful and a pleasure to do business with. Thanks, Ron for the NRD channel, I have been a subscriber since the beginning. Kevin

What a KICK-ASS review! You really know your stuff and have an extraordinary ability to convey it masterfully. Thank you.

CAM is the man! Ron thanks for playing along with him. It's great to have both of you reviewing gear. I'm going to sponsor a review with my custom speaker cables - wait for it. Hahahaha

Thanks for the shout out to Randy... Think he does a great job, honestly a lot of your gear is out of my price range but love to watch anyway!

Late to the comment thread but Injust wanted to thank you for your great review. It helped me make up my mind and I bought the Maj KTE. Had it for 8 months now and I have never been so pleased with another purchase. Its wonderful at everything. The only gripe I have is the phase lock loop, it takes up to 5 seconds to lock for each new record (or track if it has another sampling rate). You miss 5 secs from the beginning of each song. Yes you van turn it off but then its said to sound worse, and I enjoy music like never before. Being an engineer I also really appreciate the build quality, weight, internal layout and the obvious care that went into selecting the components. Dont think ill ever swap DAC! LOVE IT!! Thank you!

Ron, this video is you at your best. Great work.

Awesome overview of your findings and nicely presented 👍🏻

That was an amazing job on description. What a beautiful piece of eye candy that is. 👍✌️

Very interesting DAC, terrific review Ron!

You are correct 16/44.1 Red Book standard IS probably all you need, My son & I removed the 16bit oversampling chip known as a NOS conversion my 1980's Philips CD104 + I bought a reclocking chip set & fixed earthing issues, the result was so good my son did another NOS conversion + reclock etc for me on a CD104 I bought. These 2 CD104's running 14 bit as Philips engineers originally intended sound analogue but detailed and layered those who have heard them say preferable when compared to some CD players up to $2500. I appreciate this is a CD player but can be extrapolated to a DAC .

Ron, I wasn't too sure about your channel, but you seemed like a solid guy, so I subscribed. I'm glad I did. While I thought your early reviews were OK, by the time of the elac unifi 2.0 review they became tight, organized and comprehensive. Really well done. Then I saw this review. Your explanation of soundstage made me realize what I was missing from my mytek brooklyn bridge. Long story short, modified the sumiko method with LOTS and am reveling in Norah Jones Daybreak. Got the performance (2/3 increase in soundstage depth) from my unifi 1.0 towers AND the transients. Apparently you need room for sustain and decay. Thanks a lot for your good work. Cheers! PS: can't wait for unifi reference.

Great review. First, I love your introductory statements about the importance of speaker placement. So much performance is wasted if speaker placement and room treatments are not properly dealt with. I had the Terminator, and now have Terminator Plus and Gaia DDC. I'd love to compare May KTE in my system. In the sonic areas you highlight- decay, air, extension, sound stage depth and width and layering, when the Terminator Plus clock output is engaged to the upstream Gaia DDC, these specific sonic aspects are taken to a much higher level (and they are already stellar with just the Terminator Plus alone). If someone wants to send a May KTE my way, I'd be happy to compare for the sake of our knowledge base :)

I’m a long time subscriber now. Loved your review and your entertaining description of what to listen for and how to listen. Really first rate. My question is about the doe-rae-me you need to buy this and surround it with the gear you need to hear what you’re describing. I’m also not sure my ear is sophisticated enough. My system is relatively hi end to me, but the most I’d spend on a DAC is the $700 I spent for Schiit Bifrost 2. I guess it’s diminishing returns...

i think this is the best way I've heard how better different gear changes the music to make it clearer well done with the visual it makes it perfectly clear along with your explanation.

Fantastic review, thanks Ron!

I've read most of the reviews on dacs under 10k for quite some time. It seems that this one stands out to most experienced audiophiles reviewing and listening to a lot of gear. This is my end game dac for that reason.

Randy turned me onto your channel. I've been subscribed to him from the start. The Between the Speakers spoof you guys did was hysterical. Great improv! Your takes were genius, the whole concept was brilliant! You mentioned listening techniques in a previous video about speaker placement. I've been a stereo/audiophile 50 yrs. You understand LISTENING! great shout out to The Cheap Audioman! Btw you neglected Andrew Robinson!!

That visual demonstration is what I experienced with the hugoTT2 and the mscaler stack, great explanation, good to know there is a alternative dac out there that has a similar presentation, because it gives me hope that maybe someday that level of performance may become actually affordable.

It's nice that digital is finally catching up with old analogue. What we need is the guys with the reference turntables to digitise their rare mint collections. Way better than the remasters from 30 to 50 year old tapes.

Happy New Year Ron. Love the very clear and articulate review. We come for the eloquent hyperbole. ;¬) Did you have a chance to try the Chord Hugo TT2 with the Upscaler? Would love to hear your reaction. Definitely with you that the network bridge or whatever feeds the DAC matters. Greetings to you and yours.

GREAT VIDEO. I enjoy your videos. Keep us informed for 2021. I want to hear this for myself I am on the hunt for a DAC. I wish Innuos would build an I2S output. The sound is amazing with this connection. I can speak to this from my own rig. Jay Audio CD transport taught me this valuable observation. My humble opinion.

Randy is hilarious. I LMAO watching you two between two speakers. Not sure how anyone didn’t get it. Keep it up!

LOVE THE TIME CODES published at the beginning!

Hi Ron, appreciate your angle on things, which is different from others. I found that a Puritan power conditioner (PS107-DC) also made a profound impact in my nearfield system with respect to soundstage, depth, layering and pitch black background (Harbeth P3ESR with Heed Elixir). So for me it is pretty clear that the quality and noise of the power supply also plays a big role in this when you have a revealing setup. This seems to be a killer dac, but unfortunately out of my budget as well. I hope you can compare the Spring as well!

Really nice review, good job. It would be interesting to see the results of applying the Chord Hogo M Scaler to the May KTE.

Great review, Ron! I might be going for the Spring 3 KTE with pre-amp. It’ll be the most expensive component I’ve ever bought! It’s going to hurt! But “no pain, no gain” is a very reliable principle, even in hifi. I’ve baulked at components due to cost a couple of times, and I’ve always regretted it.

Thanks for your very straight forward review. Obviously this thing really spoke to you. In your opinion what integrated amp would pair well with this dac?

Great review - well done

Great visual Explanation

Well You convinced me to buy a Holo May Kitsune Thanks I love it, truly amazing keep up the great reviews. thanks again

Hi Ron. really enjoyed your review of the May DAC. Keep it up! Also wondering when you will be releasing your Holo Spring 3 review video? I am on the fence about getting one and would love to hear your descriptions as well. Thanks!

Ron this was your best review yet. Just want you to know I’ll likely never pay $5k for a single component but my BorderPatrol DAC just arrived earlier this week and so far I’m blissfully happy. Regardless, I loved learning about the Holo Audio May DAC and hearing your thoughts.

There are two pairs of transformers in the power supply - the hand wound ones and the lower voltage ones in the blue finned cases. Four separate toroidal (generically in the shape of a torus) - for a DAC. Impressive! Between this review and Golden Sound, I am convinced. Since the first gen CDs that promised "perfect sound forever" - we have come a very, very, long way.

I took a chance based on your review and GoldenSounds review. I honestly was hesitant as I had a few DACs and for the most part they sounded similar to me. On some tracks the Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD sounded better with CDs. When I bought the Holo May KTE and connected it to my Sony, the sound was better by a bit but I was thinking I was right that DACs don't matter that much or I have tin ears. Then I hooked it up via USB to a music server and was totally blown away. The USD allows the DAC's clock to be the master. So to people that have the May or thinking of using the May do yourself a favor and connect the source via USB

Great work, thank you. I can't wait for a more reasonably priced trickle down version.

Ron, You have come a very long way on every level. Proud of you man!!! Thanks for your hard work! SUBSCRIBED!!

16/44.1 with good recording is marvelous...100% agree

Great video Ron I wish you would spend that much time on the Lampizator but any way how would you compare those two? Thank you

I couldn't agree more Ron. If God forbid my record collection was lost, I wouldn't even attempt to replace it as the Holo is that good. This hooked up to the CEC transport is so natural sounding I could give up records, I would put it up against anything at any price. As for the Terminator, I don't think it's in the league of the Holo, I'd even give up the separate power supply & get the single chassis Spring KTE unit & you might be surprised how close it actually is.

Ron, what track was being played while I was focused on the blue bulb? I need to hear the whole thing.

Ron, can you tell how close or distant is the Terminator-II from the Holo May.. is it 70, 80, 80% close to it ? Thanks and wonderful review Sr.

Great stuff, Ron!

Great review. Which digital inputs did you try? Which cables?

Hey Ron, Great video. I was wondering if you are still planning on reviewing the spring Dac? I remember thinking I saw it in the background of one video and was wondering what is happening with that one? A great dac to review based on the pricepoint and it being kind of a mini-may.

My first CD player sounded like it had a blocked nose compared to vinyl but that was better than others that sounded like tin cans. I never thought possible CD quality could ever catch up. This is great news.

"turds wrapped in razor blades" LMAO priceless. There should be a New Record Day coffee mug, shirt and posters etc!

Good stuff Ron!!

Agreed on the 16/44.1 Redbook. It can sound outstanding. I've heard other file formats that also sound great, but none of them sound great only because of the file format difference. It was the humble, filterless/NOS DAC that finally brought to me good-sounding digital after years of suffering an acute case of digitalitis even with very pricey, widely well-regarded digital rigs; over-etched, hissing, tonally bleached, dynamically flat. Today, there's all kinds of great sounding digital; it's never been better. Also, agreed on what's upstream of the DAC, even a really competent DAC. DACs won't always just sort it out. For a long time I'd always used some kind of "jitter" filter, like an Audio Alchemy DTI Pro32, Genesis Digital Lens, or Monarchy DIP 24/96. I took these out of the chain as DAC input tech got better, but with a bit of experimentation more recently, changing DAC feeds did change the final sonic output. I also LOVE that you didn't do the all-too-routine bass/mid/treble thing. It may also be useful to expunge things like the "V-curve". There's much more to sonics and attempts at helpful sonic description. Nearly 40 years of "perfect sound forever" and we still haven't gotten there ever. Though it is getting better and better.

Have you tried the Terminator Plus?How does this DAC perform with DSD? I am currently using the Holo Audio Spring DAC with Jensen caps - a very good sounding DAC.

Did you use CD playback direct thru I2S cable and connection? If so please compare sound differences of coax SPDiF vs I2S ....

Great review, Ron. I don't listen to enough digital stuff for it to make sense but if I did...

Thank u great review

So just before the 17:00 mark. You said exactly what I feel and hear to be correct. I'm not using that DAC in the review BUT, I do have a cheapo S.M.S.L m500. Which I am NOT comparing to this DAC by any means. What I am getting at is, this DAC does its best work on 16/44.1. I routinely look at my speakers they are connected to. Which are Klipsch "The Sixes", and this DAC when I clearly hear beauty in the music track I'm randomly playing. It is MOST of the time, during playback of 16/44. There are tracks (I use Tidal) that are higher Q, all up to its max of 24/192. That do sound VERY good. However, more often than I would expect it to be. The CD quality track sounds FANTASTIC. From very low volume to all the way up. Much more often than any of the MQA files do. I fully believe you when you say, that DAC does its best work at 16/44. Because if this super lowend DAC sounds good at it as well. This Holo must be UNBELIEVABLE! :)

I recently heard what you describe as pitch black backgrounds with my new NAD T778 streaming from Tidal and using the internal DAC. It was a WOW moment for me as I had never heard that before. With the NAD you get OLED TV level blacks! It blew my mind when I first heard that.

Great analogy with the blue ball. Great!

A spring review would be great!

Listened yesterday to the Audio GD R8 Mk2 and the Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE (level 3). And like you described, it has great 3D, staging, and very natural sound. The R8 mk2 is a fair bit cheaper, couldn’t match the Spring 3. Just like you, I am wondering if the Spring 3 level 2 comes close enough to the KTE level 3, so the price gap between the R8 and Spring 3 is smaller

Randy "The Cheapaudioman" is great and love the show. He got me over to this show which as cool as your stuff is these are dream things only and never would personally buy. However as you said Randy is reviewing things that I could buy. It's like yes the Ferrari is cool but I'm more like what's the best minivan I can get, lol. Both of you keep up the GREAT WORK!

Thank you for the great video. I am very curious as to which headphone amp or (amps) did you use when listening to May KTE?

Great review as always. Re;16bit 44.1; Peter Qvortrup (audio note) sites conversations with one of digital's key creators, and also experiments producing identical (as possible) DACs with different rates, in concluding 16bit 44.1 is indeed as good as it gets (with increased sample rates bringing a new set of 'problems'**). His blind panel championing a 12* bit DAC above an 18 bit. There are a few interviews/talks kicking about discussing this which give more accurate details. have posted on this before - seems a very little discussed topic (aside from 'more is better'!). *originally typed 14 bit - found interview - it's 12! **apparently going up 'loses dynamics, increases noise while increasing frequency response'. Going down; visa versa. '16/44.1 is the mathematical equilibrium (ergo best compromise) which cannot be changed'.

do you think you could take some sort of reference headphone and do a DAC comparison with that neumann binaural head you have? awesome review btw, I've been waiting for this one!

You mentioned that there is a real risk with "silver" involved. Can you please elaborate on that?

Great review. How do you think this compares with the Terminator Plus?

To me, the May KTE is an work of ART, every single aspect of SQ is perfect, and most importantly it always conveys the emotion of the music. Incredible. I now own the May KTE for 2 weeks, it is a piece of Art. Let me add some of my personal experience, which can be interesting for future owners. BTW; Really great perspective Ron, different from all the other reviews, this is refreshing. The may DAC USB implementation is first class, I run it directly connected to my electrical noisy AMD PC, connected with the Audioquest Carbon USB and a Audioquest Jitterbug. It is so good I hardly hear a difference with the stock USB cable. Many reviewers and owners report to get best results using a straightforward USB connection, without the need for expensive DDC or USB reclockers and active filters. Many even prefer the straight USB to IS2 and other inputs. To me that is a fantastic benefit of the May DAC because there is no need to invest additional hardware to get the best out of the KTE. Also, I love the fact that its output impedance is very low (about 50 ohm) in comparison to Denafrips for instance. My Topping A90 headphone amp only has about 2000 ohm input impedance. All Denafrips and Musician have an output impedance of 1250 ohm, which results in a considerably lower volume (-5db) with my A90 amp, it really felt I was missing out on dynamic headroom. The May should be compatible with most amps. The May balanced output voltage is actually pretty high, so typically the May will sound louder in comparison to many other DACs. Luckily my A90 amp does not have any issues with this. What an incredible dopamine monster this is. The one thing I did not appreciate (don't worry, this story has a happy ending, and seems to be exclusive to me, just do not make my mistake) was the burn-in process: First 4 days were bliss and pure excitement for what is to come, then 5 days of ‘hell’. Thing is, after the first 4 days, I wished for more energy in the treble. I got what I wished for. :) That day, within hours this KTE became physically extremely hot (way hotter than normal), and so became its sound, mostly harsh, 2d, flat and boring, and seriously tiring. What the F***. Ok, this is the burn-in process... But after 5 days it still was cold, harsh and tiring. I was genuinely afraid I had blown a Cap. Even went back to the dealer (so lucky to have the excellent Magnahifi only 45 min drive away) and compared my KTE to their Demo May Level II. The 'out-of-control' sound had already diminished a bit, unplugging the May for a couple of hours seemingly made a difference already. Even though my KTE was still sounding a little hot and unbalanced, I clearly prefered my KTE to the demo May L2. Conclusion, I needed to be patient. Back home, within 24 hours my KTE found its balance and magic again. The May 'burn in' process is a different beast for me, never experiencing such extreme changes in sound signature. Using 24/7 pink noise and maximum loudness mastered techno tracks, in hindsight, I do think now my burn-in strategy was too much for the May. This works excellent for speakers but probably not for r2r DACs. Long story short: use a variety of music and don’t try to force the burn in process, and once in a while, give the May a short break to cool down and settle. I'm so happy and grateful to experience IMHO this work of Art that the Holo Audio May KTE is. I look forward to the remaining 200 hours of burn in (500 is recommended?!). Also, before I got the May, I was wondering if the May has PRaT… Now I own the May KTE, and after 14 days of burn-in, I can safely say: it is incredible in PRaT department. Before I got into the serious headphone game this year, I had a complete NAIM range in my living room. Naim knows PRaT, is famous for it, let me tell you, the May KTE owns Naim in the PRaT department. I was honestly a little scared before I got the May KTE, as I returned the excellent Pegasus Musician r2r DAC, because the one thing missing for me was PRaT (and Bass), especially on my A90 amp. Because the May soundstage is huge, I was wondering if it could sound 'distant' and too polite. I thought maybe this is typical for r2r DACs, but luckily the May proved me wrong. How does it have PRaT? First off, the dynamic contrast is incredible in the complete frequency range, bass is supremely rich but also contoured and fast with slam. Percussion nicely jumps out the mix with perfect fast but natural transients, incredible detail, but never forcing it or fatiguing. All melodies flow with intent and joy, instruments have body and detail, PRaT is truly effortless, never forced. Fast music seems to sound faster, slow music seems even more relaxed. Coming from the Topping D90 Dac, which is great VFM and fun to listen to, the May KTE really has fulfilled all I ever wanted from a digital source. I do not care about vinyl, but now I understand why an ‘analogue’ sound is so important to many audiophiles. If you loved music, and your budget allows it, this DAC is a must listen. Never have I been blown away by an audiophile upgrade like the May KTE. It is almost magical in its musical delivery and so freaking perfect in all aspects of sound quality: detail, soundstage, imaging, PRaT, body, soul, dynamics, resolution, excitement, neutrality, calmness and musicality in all frequencies are simply unmatched. As a result, the KTE will emotionally connect you without any effort to the music; get a box of Kleenex, you May (pun intended) tear up when you hear your favourite music.

Certainly there are the vast majority who have their speakers against the front wall by no choice of their own. That said, if you could hear a sound stage 30 feet deep with the layering that's possible, even from CD, some of you would be looking for a different house or putting up a free standing building near by. It has a way of changing your priorities, and empowering you to find ways to make it happen. For those who live in close quarters, get yourself an amplifier that can make speakers vanish, and listen near field in the center of your room. It is possible to toe -in speakers1.5 meters from your face, shut your eyes and become transported into a 3D space three times the size of your actual room. All it takes is a great source like this one, a great SET amplifier without negative feedback and the willingness to pull your speakers into the room for a night.

Good review and you need to check out Lampizator Atlantic SE dac which I use and organic sound.

How does it compare with really expensive stuff like linn klimax ds3, dcs, msb dacs, molo mola?

you really are the king of audio review video production

Sub made because of this review and the Zen Mrk III in the background.

Did you ever review PS Audio Direct Stream? I recall you having it with the Bifrost 2. Was it too soft sounding and not enough detail?

Hope u can obtain the other versions of this dac to make a comparison

To me Time domain and decay rates in my own words is equivalent to "echo" for a lack of a better terminology. On one track Mindi Abair walks across the stage and one can literally hear the echos from her footsteps as she goes from the left speaker to the right while the next footstep introduces itself and the last echo of the previous one disappears. Wild. Another is a rain stick with glass beads. Most units will give you a general "SHHHH" sound while a great one will individually separate each glass bead as it's tipped over. Can't speak to an ultra unit but that what I'm getting from the synergy between my rig and speakers. It's not expensive bit it just simple works as one solid unit. Great review.👍

Was your terminator dac review, the plus? If not then will there be a review?.. I also watch the Hans Beekhuyezen Channel which is my go to guy for DACS, I must admit your description on this review coupled with Hans's review of the terminator plus warrants a head to head. Thanks for a great review.. Sufficed to say Hans got some company in my go to's from now on..

Between New Record Day and GoldenSound, they have directly caused my wallet being placed on life support! Keep up the great work!

Does it function as a preamp and if so does it have any analog inputs?

How’s does it compare to the Chord Dave with M scaler, my current dac?

We’re you using balanced or single ended and if you have does the balanced sound better?

Can you please tell which Level unit you were using? I apologize if I missed this in the video.

Great review! I am interested if a streamer with I2S might match the cd player... 🥸

What a nice visual analogy for the world of chamber music and chamber musicians. 😎🎹🤩✨❤️

Holy crap? Better than the DAVE/M scaler combo? That is serious business. Wow. I hope to try this DAC someday soon.

Hey Ron, Very convincing review and I've heard equally convincing comments elsewhere regarding this DAC. So, taking into account the law of diminishing returns, is there any way you can achieve 90-95% of its sound quality at 25% of its price?

Ron..congrats!! BEST review I have seen and looking for a shoot out of Spring 2 VS 3 VS May!! Now, the David Gilmour guitar track ...where can I find It? Its amazing!! Thks

What's the CD transport shown at the 11 minute mark (named around 11:10)? I didn't understand what it's called, and I don't see a link for it.

I have an Aries II. I originally bought it for my desktop PC, but put it in my big system just to try it out. To make a long story short, I ended up selling my $6k DAC and keeping the Aries II in my big system as a result of this experiment. Now I'm searching for a higher end R-2R DAC. On the list: Terminator, Terminator +, Holo May DAC, MSB Discrete DAC. Any chance you'll get your hands on a Terminator plus or MSB Discrete DAC for comparison?

Thanks for the GREAT review! Not sure whether I should get the HOLO May KTE or the new Denafrips Terminator Plus? Anyone got a chance to compare these two DACs? Dose the Denafrips Terminator Plus also have the PLL function that the HOLO May offers?

Since it has I2S, will you compare it to the PS Audio DSD?

Great review. I guess the real, more fair comparison would be the Holo Audio May against the Denafrips Terminator Plus. It is a definite step up from the base Terminator...albeit about a grand more.

Great job Ronnie boy!!