The upcoming PS Audio DSD MKII.
Everybody wants one!
I want one too!
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Oh ok thanks. I didnāt get the abbreviation. I guess Iāll have to do some research on it but Iām not sure there have been much details released. I have no reason to believe it wonāt perform well but I guess we wonāt know until we can get our hands on it to listen to it and measure it.
Itās going to be a nice upgrade that will outperform the Mark I even with the much loved transformer mods. It will also negate the need to preprocess the USB i.e. Matrixā¦
It will be very nice.
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I want my beta unit, and I want it NOW!
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Thank you @brett66, a very interesting review. I like his reviews so far: informative, to the point, good structure, facts etc.
I purchased the May KTE DAC a few weeks ago as a possible replacement to my DSD. I am about 200 hours into the burn-in process with the May KTE and am impressed with the detail, depth and separation of the soundstage (essentially, all of the superlatives that youāve seen in the other reviews).
I will echo a couple of the other comments in here in regards to the benefits of using the Matrix with the May. My initial impressions after adding the Matrix to the setup this weekend was that it provided additional depth and clarity to the sound, although further testing is likely needed to confirm.
I listened to the DSD yesterday for the first time since receiving the May KTE a few weeks ago. The two DACs definitely have different house sounds and I can see how the May KTE could be considered objectively better by many audiophiles, but the DSD still sounds damn good and my interest between the two was a lot closer than I was thinking it would be. Iām still on the fence as to which one Iāll end up keeping. 
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Forgive my senior ignorance but what is the Matrix and what purpose doe sit serve ??
I ONLY spin silver discs and albums. No steaming/internet ever for audio.
Thanks,
Tom
I was referring to the Matrix X-SPIDF 2 which sits between your streamer/server/transport and your DAC. The primary benefits are (i) allowing your source to be transmitted to your DAC in the I2S format which is considered to (generally) be a better input than USB and others, and (ii) providing a ācleanerā signal to your DAC through the Matrixās own internal clocking functionality.
Iām sure Iām not providing the most complete/accurate summation of the Matrix, but there is a very long thread in other parts of this forum dedicated to the unit with lots of information there.
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Many people who have a DS (some of them modded), and bought a May, have posted comparisons, mostly on other forums, for example on Audiogon and Audiophile Style.
So far, I have only read one or two who prefer the DS. For most people, itās not even close. The DS is an outstanding dac, but itās 6 or 7 years older, an eternity for a digital product, even an upgradeable one.
Itās hard to really describe the differences without bringing out all of the usual cliches. The DSD just sounds very smooth and forward with great overall tone and I find it still to be a joy to listen to for most genres. The May KTE is not as forward as the DSD, but that actually serves as its strength, however, by allowing greater dimensionality and space to the presentation. Instruments never sound muddy or bunched up, but have their own specific place in the room which is fantastic on tracks with complex arrangements and/or many instruments. And the tone on the May KTE can be absolutely jaw dropping on well recorded acoustic instruments.
But these are my impressions on my system. And while all of the published online reviews were positive about the May KTE, there were only a few that put it head and shoulders above everything else. The point being is that all of this stuff is subjective and that at the end of the day, everyone has to trust their own ears.
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Absolutely true, every system is different.
Keep in mind that, like the DS, the May KTE needs a LOT of burn in, at least 500 hours. @brett66 has reported big improvements way after 1000 hours, IIRC.
Another possibility is that your unit is defective, given how different your experience is from almost all others.
Anyone has had the chance to compare the May KTE against the Metrum Pavane (Dac2 or DAC 3) ?
I am just curious that, if I were to consider buying a replacement DAC, which one would offer the best accurate natural tone free of any digital harness with excellent 3D image, instrument separation, clean bass and sweet highs?
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As far as comparisons, here are a few interesting ones:
John Atkinson compared it to the Weiss dac 502, which costs about twice as much, and concluded:
Ā« After several more comparisons between the Weiss and the NOS May, using recordings of many different kinds of music, I was confident that the differences between the two D/A processors were consistent, but they were always small. I could live with either.
Summing Up
The HoloAudio May (Level 3) is one of the best-sounding D/A processors I have tried. Ā»
Michael Lavorgna compared it to the Tambaqui, also about twice the price and said:
Ā« The Mola Mola Tambaqui and the Holo KTE May DAC are more closely related, nearly sounding like brothers. Ā»
And Goldensound preferred it to the Chord Dave with Mscaler, at about triple the price.
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Itās interesting that the two DACs that people rave about so much subjectively are some of the best measuring DACs, according to both Stereophile and ASR.
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Have any of you tried both stacking the DAC and power supply and placing them on different shelves. Iām curious if you heard any sonic differences.
No sonic difference just heat difference. I put the power supply on the floor beside the rack on a maple cutting board. May power supply is on one side and the Supratek preamp power supply on the other.
Serene on the way. 4 weeks to go.
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Beautiful piece of kitā¦looking forward to you sharing your experience with itā¦
Please.
Cheers
I didnāt try stacked because I want airflow around the dac, which gets quite warm.
I have Townshend pods under the dac, and itās in my Spectral glass rack.
The power supply is on a Isoacoustics Zazen 2, on a table next to the rack.
And yes, @brett66, the Serene looks gorgeous, and I am curious how it sounds as well.
Have you seen the review by GoldenSound?
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Nice, in the HQP world , May is about as good as it gets. Spring2 (soon Spring3) very close behind.