Holo Audio Spring DAC LEVEL 3 Kitsune Tuned Edition

[dheerajin]

Guys I am looking for R2R NOS DAC.

I had Schiit Gungnir before and now I have audio GD DAC.

After searching so much I am almost sold on to Holo Audio Spring DAC LEVEL 3.

It has option of NOS and OS both, since I am keen on NOS and Ladder DAC, it fits the bill and DSD is an added advantage.Balanced connection is another desired functionality.

It has glowing reviews,

Holo Audio - Spring DAC - Level 3 - "Kitsune Tuned Edition" - Impressions & Reviews | Super Best Audio Friends

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussi...affordable-discrete-r2r-multibit-dac-could-be

Computer Audiophile - Holo Audio Spring Level 3 Kitsune Tuned Edition R2R DAC Review

My purpose of mentioning in this forum that- Did i miss some other NOS Ladder DAC better than this in this price point of 2400USD

In March travelling to US, so it will be hand carry.

It has cheaper versions too and I am not sure how much will be change in sound, given the fact, all are R2R ladder DAC, only CAPS and transformer and few other things have been changed.

Please give suggestions , since it has already been compared to SCHIIT Yggdrasil and as per review it is better in NOS department.

product website is https://kitsunehifi.com/product/springdacgreen/

 

[prem]

It's a great dac. Waiting period I believe is 6 months. Pl check that. I have been recommending this dac to a few guys. Yggdrasil I believe is truer to the tone of the instruments. Holo Spring creates a greater sense of space. Compared to Holo, tonal density of Yggdrasil will be more giving it a greater sense of body. That's a typical multibit thing

 

[prem]

Between Level 2 and Level 3, you may want to do a bit more reading. Level 3 uses silver. So definitely greater sense of space but sound may thin out a bit. In Level 2 sense of space might be a little less but body might me more. This is pure guesswork. I have not heard them

 

[dheerajin]

Thanks Prem for the inputs.

I am specifically not looking for chip based multibit DAC, As R2R resister based ladder DACs have something analogish in there sound signature for NOS , it is considered best by some of the audiophiles, so I am blindly putting my foot forward for this. In other departments multibit may be having some good things but it is specifically in over sampling mode not in NOS.

Analogy for this like- If a content is 1080p in video and we are upscaling it to 4K, we dont get the correct picture as we get in the original 4K content.
Hope you get my point by this analogy for NOS.

 

[prem]

Analogish is a very misused word in audio

 

[prem]

I have heard quite a few reputed NOS dacs like Zanden and AMR. They are very organic and have a sense of space which is very addictive. But they lack transient speed and dynamics. So it all boils down to personal taste

Up sampling and oversampling are very different. Schiit oversamples. It's a simple eight times multiplication. No gimmicks there. Problem I s when you go from 44.1 to 192. That's when a lot of approximation is done. 44.1 to 176.4 is quite interesting. It brings a lot of positives

 

[square_wave]

The holo spring is getting a lot of good press. I dont think you will go wrong with this dac. I was talking to someone in Singapore circles about this dac recently. All good things to say.

 

[dheerajin]

I have heard quite a few reputed NOS dacs like Zanden and AMR. They are very organic and have a sense of space which is very addictive. But they lack transient speed and dynamics. So it all boils down to personal taste

Chip based NOS Dacs like Zanden and AMR is altogether different than R2R resister based ladder DACS. Each one has its positive and negative points as you mentioned about dyanamism and other thing.
Given below is the comparison of the oversampling and non oversampling mode of this DAC in comparison to Yggy by some reviewer.
Attack, Decay, Transients & Dynamics

Backgrounds are unearthly quiet with both units. Notes emerge from an inky-black void, and disappear into nothingness with equal aplomb.

The leading edge of notes seem a tad cleaner with the Spring. Ill emphasize a tad there (and for you non-English types, a tad is best thought of as really not much at all).

The plucking/picking, of strings in Along this Road: Kono Michi (Yv) (Ottmar Leibert, One Guitar) provides an excellent demonstration of the impressive attack, and instant emergence from the, entirely-black background, of individual notes, that the Spring DAC is capable of.

Percussion is similarly portrayed, with attack and transient response of the impact of a stick on a snare seeming more visceral than via Yggdrasil. This tends to emphasize ones perception of the raw dynamics of the unit as well.

Decay was natural, and while it took listening to pieces with predominantly electronic instruments (that can exhibit literally instant decay), the end of notes in that case also were slightly cleaner than with Yggdrasil.

Dynamics are excellent and, with speakers, highly visceral. Shock-you-out-of-your chair level stuff with big dynamic bursts out of silent passages. The super-fast attack of the Spring DAC does, as I mentioned, emphasize that a tiny bit, and I find that a bit addictive.

Once again, and this will be a bit of a theme here, turn on oversampling in the Spring DAC and the Yggdrasil switches places and delivers the better performance. As it happens I did not find a single instance in which I liked the Spring DAC better than Yggdrasil if the Spring DAC was using oversampling which is a long-winded, and repetitive, way of saying you buy the Spring DAC for its performance as a NOS DAC first anything else is a bonus/convenience).

For me Last line works..

 

[prem]

Dheerajin, I also like NOS dacs

 

[prem]

I sold my Yggdrasil. So that should tell you something. I have heard the Metrum Hex. That's a R2R dac. It suffers the same problems as a chip NOS. Very similar sound.

Obviously I have not heard the Holo. If it has been able to overcome the issue than nothing like it.

All the best in your search

 

[prem]

Today these would be my dac choices

Less than USD 1000

Schiit Bifrost Multibit
Chord Mojo
Sparkler Audio DAC

USD 1000 - 2000

Schiit Gungnir Multibit
Metric Halo ULN 2
Metrum Musette
Holo Spring Level 2

USD 2000 - 3000

Schiit Yggdrasil
Holo Spring Level 3
Metric Halo Lio 8

 

[square_wave]

@Prem, Have you explored any of the higher models from Metrum? Menuet, Pavane ? Menuet hovers around 3k$

 

[prem]

No Square Wave. Have only heard the discontinued Hex. My guess is in the sub USD 3000 range the Holo Spring should beat the Menuet. The Pavane might be a different ball game but that's closer to USD 5000

 

[panditji]

The Chord 2Qute at 995 GBP is as good if not better than the Gungnir MB and cheaper too...

 

[prem]

I missed Chord 2 Qute. That too should be in the usd 1000-2000 recommendation. It's not a question of whether 2qute is better or on par with Gungnir. They both have their own strengths. It's a question of what one is looking for.

 

[square_wave]

Where does the chord hugo fit in the equation ?

Also, what about the lampizators - Amber2, Lev 4 etc ?

 

[prem]

Chord 2 qute and Hugo are similar sounding. Hugo has a headphone amp.

I have no idea about Lampiztor. But I think they would be more expensive

 

[oyster]

Today these would be my dac choices

Less than USD 1000

Chord Mojo

Seriously? As a DAC it's very average at best. Crippled dynamics, slow/syrupy bass etc. to name a few.
Modi2 sounds much more convincing than the Mojo.

 

[prem]

Oyster, the one I heard did not have the problems you mentioned. Maybe it is system dependent.I wouldn't know that. Have heard it only once. For the price thought it was very decent

 

[square_wave]

Seriously? As a DAC it's very average at best. Crippled dynamics, slow/syrupy bass etc. to name a few.
Modi2 sounds much more convincing than the Mojo.

I have not heard the Mojo. But I heard the chord Hugo in a nice system just yesterday. It sounded just the opposite.

Tight, fast and detailed bass, Great dynamics, Musical and transparent.

What was the setup in which you heard the Mojo ?