Any holo audio dac users around

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Hi all...

Was curious to know if we have any holo audio spring or May dac users here. Been very curious with the lavish praises they seem to garner everywhere.
And how do we get them in India. Any dealers here or do we import. Thanks

 

[sajeet]

Hi all...

Was curious to know if we have any holo audio spring or May dac users here. Been very curious with the lavish praises they seem to garner everywhere.
And how do we get them in India. Any dealers here or do we import. Thanks

Vividhifi is dealing with Holo DACs

NuPrime DAC-9X - DAC & Headphone Amp | Holo Audio May DAC

The DAC-AMP is a fantastic all-in-one option with excellent sound impressions. The abundance of input and output choices is highly adaptable. Pairing is strongly advised.

www.vividhifi.com

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Vividhifi is dealing with Holo DACs

NuPrime DAC-9X - DAC & Headphone Amp | Holo Audio May DAC

The DAC-AMP is a fantastic all-in-one option with excellent sound impressions. The abundance of input and output choices is highly adaptable. Pairing is strongly advised.

www.vividhifi.com

Thanks a ton sajeet

Thanks to our government's generous import tax, the may 3 KTE is 10.4 L . Easy to kill any and all temptations this way

 

[drkrack]

@fLUX should be able to help , other holo spring DAC owners can pitch in with their experience.
It beats the current R2R benchmark that's Terminator Plus in many aspects according to various user reviews AFAIK.

 

[Analogous]

Thanks to our government's generous import tax, the may 3 KTE is 10.4 L . Easy to kill any and all temptations this way

That’s a bummer.
Do consider the MHDT offerings too. R2R designs (?) with a very satisfying house sound. My older Havana sounds excellent in three different amp-speakers set ups. Not hyped up as there seem to be few reviews.
Shipping from Taiwan

Mhdt Laboratory

This is Mhdt Labs' official Web Site

www.mhdtlab.com

 

[reignofchaos]

@Yelamanchili manohar : Please look at the Sonnet Morpheus. According to @fLUX it sounds better than Holo spring l2.

The fact that it is not made in PRC is a bonus too.

Sonnet Morpheus DAC | Goldfinch Acoustics India

Sonnet Morpheus DAC is one of the best R2R ladder NOS DACs and has earned raving reviews globally. For Morpheus DAC price in India contact Goldfinch Acoustics.

goldfinchacoustics.com

 

[kratu]

Thanks to our government's generous import tax, the may 3 KTE is 10.4 L . Easy to kill any and all temptations this way

The last time I checked few months ago, this was around 7.5L. Still high comparatively. I guess there are very few people who have the Holo Audio May. @Yeraditya is one of them. @vineetrad had it but moved to Lampizator.

Since we are talking about reviews and second-degree opinions, I hear that May DAC is quite a different presentation from a typical R2R DAC. Albeit, more "digital" sounding. Whatever that means, I tend to take it as highly resolving with an extensive dynamic range. I could be wrong but this came from folks who have extensive experience with DACs. So, this is certainly not your AMR 777 tube based DAC sound signature.

 

[jai1611]

I briefly owned a Holo Level 2 Gen 1. The Sonnet Morpheus is a considerable step up, the Denafrips Pontus is a smaller step up. Voicing has subtle differences across all three. No idea how things have changed with subsequent generations of the brand.

With R2R DACs, try and listen to a few. Online hype around DACs can be misleading.

 

[fLUX]

I did find the Sonnet to be better than Holo Spring 1. Sonnet does mids much better than Holo & has more prominently noticeable micro/macro details, Holo had a little better air around strings. Lows wise both of them are equally good.

The price for Holo Spring 3 is way too expensive in India, Morpheus is the better option IMO at that price range.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Thanks @drkrack @Analogous @reignofchaos @kratu @jai1611 @fLUX for your valuable replies. Iam just thinking out loud about possible dac options. Though a digutal transport is definitely on the cards this summer. Time to get off streaming via Bluetooth .

@kratu i was searching for the AMR and found numerous users complaining about the right channel failing. I had the same issue. So sadly the AMR is off the list now.

@Analogous ..thanks for suggesting the mhdt, will check up the reviews. Tubes and Nos sound like my kinda dac. How do you find its tonality.

@reignofchaos @jai1611 @fLUX ..thanks for the heads up on the Sonnet. If my memory serves me right, I remember reading some glowing reviews of this dac in passing. Will have to do more research. Besides, I've had very pleasant experience dealing with Goldfinch in the past. So that's a positive.

@drkrack ..you know me well enough . So iam very very confused as usual . A lumin or Innous is definitely on the cards. Depending on what remains in the wallet, maybe a dac also. But a all in one streamer cum dac will be less boxes in the long run. So decisions... Decisions...

 

[reignofchaos]

@Yelamanchili manohar is it the SE failing or the original? My AMR is the original and running flawlessly since 2013. Touchwood!

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

It was the SE version failing frequently as per users and having to go back for repairs. Mine was the non SE version, and it still went belly up . Prize your AMR

 

[reignofchaos]

It was the SE version failing frequently as per users and having to go back for repairs. Mine was the non SE version, and it still went belly up . Prize your AMR

Damn that's terrible to know. No chance of getting it fixed?

 

[Analogous]

@Analogous ..thanks for suggesting the mhdt, will check up the reviews. Tubes and Nos sound like my kinda dac. How do you find its tonality.

@Yelamanchili manohar, I would describe the MHDT Havanas tone as coloured, somewhat warm with beautifully rolled of highs, plenty of detail but not sibilant - just the way I like it. The mid range is full with voices clear and natural sounding and the lows have weight and presence (maybe not as tight as the Chord offerings) but membranes or skin stretched over large drums or lower registers of wind or string instruments are not always tight sounding I feel. So realistic low bass. In formulating this opinion I was comparing the MHDT (fed through a Bluesound node 2i) with the Auralic Altair G1 (DAC and Streamer) and a Lindeman Limetree Network (DAC and streamer). The Auralic is now gone from the scene.
Previously I had the PS audio Direct stream jr, Mytek Liberty and a few other DACs. I found them boring or uninteresting after a while. The Havana is something I am consistently pleased with (in my chain) every time I listen. It makes the experience all about the music and forget the analysis part.

I also find the MHDT Havana great for longish listening sessions without fatigue. This is a DAC that shattered my belief that more expensive is always better. But I have not heard the DCS or Lumin DACs ever.

You should know Amir or someone from ASR tested the MHDT Pagoda and declared it as the worst measuring DAC among the 400 or so DACs they had tested. I want to get this but can really find no excuse to dump the Havana. I have mentioned this before and will do so again- my thanks to @prem for suggesting the MHDT to me.

As always you should not forget these impressions are based on my taste in music, SQ, in my room and set up.
I suggest you audition a MHDT DAC if possible before deciding. If you visit Bangalore you are welcome to come for a listen.

 

[prem]

Manohar, Abbas DAC might also float your boat.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

@Yelamanchili manohar, I would describe the MHDT Havanas tone as coloured, somewhat warm with beautifully rolled of highs, plenty of detail but not sibilant - just the way I like it. The mid range is full with voices clear and natural sounding and the lows have weight and presence (maybe not as tight as the Chord offerings) but membranes or skin stretched over large drums or lower registers of wind or string instruments are not always tight sounding I feel. So realistic low bass. In formulating this opinion I was comparing the MHDT (fed through a Bluesound node 2i) with the Auralic Altair G1 (DAC and Streamer) and a Lindeman Limetree Network (DAC and streamer). The Auralic is now gone from the scene.
Previously I had the PS audio Direct stream jr, Mytek Liberty and a few other DACs. I found them boring or uninteresting after a while. The Havana is something I am consistently pleased with (in my chain) every time I listen. It makes the experience all about the music and forget the analysis part.

I also find the MHDT Havana great for longish listening sessions without fatigue. This is a DAC that shattered my belief that more expensive is always better. But I have not heard the DCS or Lumin DACs ever.

You should know Amir or someone from ASR tested the MHDT Pagoda and declared it as the worst measuring DAC among the 400 or so DACs they had tested. I want to get this but can really find no excuse to dump the Havana. I have mentioned this before and will do so again- my thanks to @prem for suggesting the MHDT to me.

As always you should not forget these impressions are based on my taste in music, SQ, in my room and set up.
I suggest you audition a MHDT DAC if possible before deciding. If you visit Bangalore you are welcome to come for a listen.

Thanks a ton for your detailed description @Analogous. Iam already falling in love with the MHDT from your description alone . It is exactly the kind of sound iam looking for. And Amir bhai claiming it to be the worst, is just the icing on the cake . Plus tubes... Just what the doctor ordered.

I checked their website. They seem to build only the black versions. Sadly it will stand out sorely in my all silver rack. But that's something I can overlook. I see they have a balanced pagoda as well. The balanced pagoda is at pole position as of now. Thanks again for your time

Manohar, Abbas DAC might also float your boat.

Thanks prem

I've heard of the abbas SE, and presently investigating it too. There is also another DHT dac that is being mentioned recently, accuhorn from Eastern Europe. Some kind of DHT implementation I believe. But both are like the lampizator offerings. I mean they all look like they were built by a man in a shed, with nothing more than a soldering iron and a hammer at hand

For what they cost, they could include a decent looking case in my opinion .

There is also a Sw1x dac version II that should be within range. So still looking. But I first have to get a decent digital transport to justify the dac. So that will be priority one. I will keep your goodselves posted. Thanks

 

[muralimmreddy]

While we are at tube dac's wonder how is home grown thiyaga dac comparable to mhdt, border patrol, lampizator etc.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

While we are at tube dac's wonder how is home grown thiyaga dac comparable to mhdt, border patrol, lampizator etc.

Hi murali

That's a thought that's crossed my mind several times. Maybe others can pitch in with their user experiences if any .

 

[drkrack]

Hi murali

That's a thought that's crossed my mind several times. Maybe others can pitch in with their user experiences if any .

I think you've crossed that. Ess chipset with tube output stage won't be enough for your requirements coming from AMR.
Why not go for the coveted one?
Lampizator directly, Bit on the expensive side but a definitive upgrade. Even the entry level ones in Lampizator sound great and flagship ones may not be such a huge upgrade considering the cost difference.

Anyways Audition and Decide.

 

[Analogous]

The Weiss DAC 501 seems to have come in for a lot of praise. Swiss made and pricey. Worth a try to ask around if any Hyderabad based FM owns one that you could audition?