What to change Holo audio may kte

[Darion]

I really like my Holo audio may kte, but I'm exploring the possibility of going higher. Budget up to 20 thousand dollars, maybe 25. Today I'm listening on QLN Prestige FIVE, Pathos inpower monoblock mk2 amplifiers.

Tell me what to look for. Where the device is made for music, not marketing. I listen to different music genres, to a lesser extent heavy metal and rap. Each manufacturer claims that its device is the best on the market. But we know that half of such statements are just advertising. I am very limited in my listening options, there are no dealers in my city. I will have to choose solely based on reviews and overviews.

I would be grateful for personal experience and a link to a post with your review of the device you recommend. The experience of those who have upgraded from May kte would be very useful. I need food for thought to get a starting point for choosing a new dac. I was thinking about Aries Cerat, lampizator, Ideon Audio, Playback designs. For some reason, devices like msb and the like repel me.

 

[dorch]

if you like R2R Dacs, musicality , a refined natural sound and you are willing to get a trial unit shipped from Europe you might find the TotalDac range interesting as well. Several reviews on "whatsbestforum" - https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...d1-streamer-sublime-with-live-clocking.39498/

 

[J007B]

While I don't have any experience with a Holo Audio May KTE I recently bought a Aries Cerat Helene and absolutely love it. Pure joy IMHO.....

 

[Darion]

While I don't have any experience with a Holo Audio May KTE I recently bought a Aries Cerat Helene and absolutely love it. Pure joy IMHO.....

So I'm very leaning towards him, or an older model.

 

[Campo007]

I recently went from a May KTE to Lampizator Baltic 3. Seems like a side step on paper, but is a massive upgrade sonically. You may want look at the higher Lampizator models to suit your budget. I would after hearing this.

 

[Paul1960]

I borrowed a friend's Grimm MU2 and compared it to the Innuos Pulsar and Holo May KTE in my system and thought it was noticeably better than the Pulsar/Holo combo using Innuos's Sense App. It was dramatically better than using Roon with an Everolo A8 as the endpoint going into the Holo May. I wouldn't describe it as a massive upgrade to the Pulsar/Holo combo but I hate everything about the Innuos Sense app except its sound and I am a big fan of Roon so I am seriously considering it as an upgrade to my system.

 

[V-Fi]

Not quite the same but I have a Holo Spring 3 KTE and it's a really nice DAC. I use it in a smaller bedroom system, it's a great value and solid performer. I use a Lampizator Golden Gate 2 in my main system and feel it is on an entirely higher level than the Holo. Which I guess it should be considering the price. But I get what you mean, the Holo is enjoyable but you still want more.

I'd try to demo as many of these as you can, preferably in your own home but at least in a store if nothing else. All 4 brands you mentioned make superb gear but you won't know which one ticks your sonic boxes until you hear them.

 

[darkstar_xiii]

I also have the QLN Prestige 5 speakers, I think they are amazing.

I had a Lampizator Pacific and May KTE DAC at the same time. In my system, with my ears, I preferred the KTE DAC, especially with DSD files. The reason for this preference was the KTE DAC played all my music very well, whereas the Pacific seemed to perform best with perfectly recored music (which is only a small percentage of what I listen to).

I've since moved to the EMM Labs DA2i, and--for me--it does everything I need from a DAC. The sound is organic, but detailed and the same time. Imagining, seperation, and tone are perfect as well. It sounds excellent on all genres and all recording qualities (within reasonable limits).

 

[Darion]

Thank you for this review.

 

[Bones13]

25k should get you an MSB Premier DAC. You can upgrade with a Digital Director later. You can find them used as well. Get either the ProISL USB module, or simplify your life with the Renderer module.

I had the original KTE lvl 3 Holo Audio DAC, then a Bricasti, MSB wins hands down. The current MSB Premier includes the upgraded clock, and the Premier Power Base. These were not the standard years ago. Be sure to check if buying used.

 

[RikkiPoo]

FWIW I had a Denafrips Terminator Plus / Iris DDC which was better than the Terminator and better than my W4S and Schitt DACs. I liked the TP but felt is may be a bit analytical with my (also analytical) Magnepan 3.7i speakers. I tried a used Lampizator GG1balanced and with Volume control, and immediately liked it better. I have upgraded it to a GG3 status with new Volume Control and USB. There is something about the DHT sound that does it for me. I have an Allnic L-8000 DHT pre-amp but its in a box in the garage as the GG3 does the magic.

The I2S was better with the TP but worse with the W4S DAC. The GG3 sounds best with S/PDIF but does not have I2S. I think I2S is over-hyped and made for marketing.

 

[gestalt]

Check out the Cinnamon Galle DAC: https://cinnamonaudio.com/components/galledac

 

[Tabl10s]

Heard this one last week in San Fran:


CAD MkIII 1543 DAC – M & S | Ultimate High-Fidelity https://share.google/7XT1enOeLYsO8CZxH

 

[lordcloud]

I had the May for a while and I really liked it. However, it didn't take long to notice it was a bit soft and it lacked a nice amount of detail for me.

I auditioned a bunch of dacs, but ended up with the Lampizator Pacific 2. It expands on every strength of the May, with none of it's weaknesses. Much more detail. Better soundstage. More information. A much better experience overall. I didn't miss the May. Though I will love if they released an updated May or the May 2.

 

[Tabl10s]

I had the May for a while and I really liked it. However, it didn't take long to notice it was a bit soft and it packed a nice amount of detail for me.

I auditioned a bunch of dacs, but ended up with the Lampizator Pacific 2. It expands on every strength of the May, with none of it's weaknesses. Much more detail. Better soundstage. More information. A much better experience overall. I don't mind l miss the May. Though I will love if they released an updated May or the May 2.

I think it's supposed to arrive next year. There's a Holoaudio page on Facebook that the US distributor visits from time to time.

 

[Tabl10s]

I really like my Holo audio may kte, but I'm exploring the possibility of going higher. Budget up to 20 thousand dollars, maybe 25. Today I'm listening on QLN Prestige FIVE, Pathos inpower monoblock mk2 amplifiers.

Tell me what to look for. Where the device is made for music, not marketing. I listen to different music genres, to a lesser extent heavy metal and rap. Each manufacturer claims that its device is the best on the market. But we know that half of such statements are just advertising. I am very limited in my listening options, there are no dealers in my city. I will have to choose solely based on reviews and overviews.

I would be grateful for personal experience and a link to a post with your review of the device you recommend. The experience of those who have upgraded from May kte would be very useful. I need food for thought to get a starting point for choosing a new dac. I was thinking about Aries Cerat, lampizator, Ideon Audio, Playback designs. For some reason, devices like msb and the like repel me.

I went from the May to the Ideon EOS then to the Absolute Stack.

 

[acg]

I really like my Holo audio may kte, but I'm exploring the possibility of going higher. Budget up to 20 thousand dollars, maybe 25. Today I'm listening on QLN Prestige FIVE, Pathos inpower monoblock mk2 amplifiers.

Tell me what to look for. Where the device is made for music, not marketing. I listen to different music genres, to a lesser extent heavy metal and rap. Each manufacturer claims that its device is the best on the market. But we know that half of such statements are just advertising. I am very limited in my listening options, there are no dealers in my city. I will have to choose solely based on reviews and overviews.

I would be grateful for personal experience and a link to a post with your review of the device you recommend. The experience of those who have upgraded from May kte would be very useful. I need food for thought to get a starting point for choosing a new dac. I was thinking about Aries Cerat, lampizator, Ideon Audio, Playback designs. For some reason, devices like msb and the like repel me.

In my experience the May KTE is a very good dac that does benefit from the quality of the source. Driving it with Antipodes Oladra via I2S has been revelatory for me...I know, the streamer is 5x the cost of the dac...and brings it much closer to the Kassandra LE also driven by the Oladra. So perhaps think about demoing a decent source (I do not know what you currently use) as a way to improve the May KTE...you may be surprised, and the source will probably be useful for your next dac.

 

[Darion]

In my experience the May KTE is a very good dac that does benefit from the quality of the source. Driving it with Antipodes Oladra via I2S has been revelatory for me...I know, the streamer is 5x the cost of the dac...and brings it much closer to the Kassandra LE also driven by the Oladra. So perhaps think about demoing a decent source (I do not know what you currently use) as a way to improve the May KTE...you may be surprised, and the source will probably be useful for your next dac.

I am currently using Auralic aries g2.2, connected to May via sotm tx-usbultra regenerator, Synergistic Research srx usb and ww platinum usb 8 cables. In fact, the sound that I have today is completely satisfactory. And given the difficulty of buying new DACs in my region, I am in no hurry to choose. May plays excellently, I am looking at Lampizator, but unfortunately there is no physical way to buy it yet. Politics, sanctions and other obstacles because of this.

 

[kamen56]

From personal experience - I would not go for Lampi... and not because of sound.
Now I had another respectable 11,000$ dac and out of curiosity purchased one
very popular in China high-end device : latest version Hibiki SDS dac. It was 4,000$, serious
money for such pure China product which was intended for internal market.
I bought it because of some recommendations and the fact it didn't
use any "off the shelf" solutions in design-completely original with use of highest quality
parts. My curiosity peaked... What could I say - wonderful, fresh, involving sound and my high dollar European
dac collects dust... His sound was grey and boresome in comparison.
The only weakness I founded was sensitivity to source quality(sometimes
lost lock on a too jittery transport) but it was easily overcomed with my Mytec MC-3+ reclocker(and using XLR dac input) and
with even further SQ improvement.

 

[RikkiPoo]

@kamen56

I had not heard of the Hibiki SDS DAC, it sounds like a very good value for the price. However, I wonder if it would be more of a lateral move or even a step back from the May KTE which honestly I have never heard. I am a little familiar with the comparisons between the May KTE and Terminator and Terminator Plus which I have owned and while there is no consensus my impression is overall the May is the better DAC and I have buyer regret for that decision but it's water under the bridge now.

You don't mention which European DAC is collecting dust and certainly they can't all be regarded as equal in sound for the price. I do have a Lampizator GoldenGate and it is nothing like the Terminator or Terminator Plus. It did put the brakes on just about any thoughts of lusting over another DAC. Well, OK maybe I do look at $30000 DAC's but I have no urge to pull the trigger, its just not a value proposition having the GG.

My personal experience is pretty much you get what you pay for with high end gear. There is no way a $3700 DAC can compete with a decent $11000 DAC. Certainly there are overpriced $11000 DAC's but Lampizator DAC's hold their value and have a following for a reason and that is the sound which I think is what the OP is after.