we have ways to make you talk 
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Interesting.
Very different from what @brett66 reported, and from most other reports, where the May is way better than the DS, even fully modded. I read everything I could find before pulling the trigger, and found a lot of reports from DS owners, most of them on other forums for obvious reasons. You probably wonāt see those opinions expressed here.
But every system is different.
I agree that the Matrix is a big improvement for the Holo on the streaming side, just like it is for the DS.
And if you have the wonderful PS Audio PST, try it with the May, itās an awesome pairing.
Probably the most important variable (set of variables) folks should keep in mind when trying to make subjective (and objective) declarations of a superlative approach to anything related to a āHi-Fiā systemā¦
I wish there were more āself awarenessā in this regard.
Cheers.
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You mean consider and think instead of automatically declaring the other guy wrong because he is doing something different than me?
Where is the fun in that?
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Iāve got the Spring 3, bought it brand new to get an improved sound from my Oppo 105,
burned it in for a month, listened to it for a couple of hours and found it to be no better than
my 105. Itās been boxed up since, feel like I wasted $3k. Thereās a reviewer online who
reviewed the latest 2 piece from Holo Audio and found it to be no improvement to his SACD /
CD player as well, went on saying that if you want to throw your money away have at it and
buy the latest from Holo. I really should have bought the Bryston 3 dac that does DSD off
of SACD like so many people desireā¦
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Same goes for declaring anotherās subjective experience as right.
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I didnāt know the Spring 3 has been available for a month already. A dac is but one part of a system and setup. One never knows until one tries in your system.
I would bet you can sell it for what you paid as the demand is high for that particular model.
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Interesting. What makes you think the MkII should be higher in sonic quality? Iāve read another thread about it and from what I understood itās not released yet but I could be wrong since I donāt keep up much about it.
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Ted has stated awhile back that the first release of DS 2 will be better sound quality than the DS 1 with Edcor and PS updates.
Plus, as the FPGAs in the MK II will start off with a lot of unused space, Ted will have room for upgrade after upgrade.
This.
The reason Iāve kept both is because Iāve cultivated the rest of the systems theyāre part of to get a sound I enjoy. Itās also interesting experimenting with different sounds and technologies as time permits.
No, far from it. I think the May is robust and different enough to turn heads, particularly for people who are coming from the DSD. Going from the DSD to the May is like going from tubes to solid state. Out of the box, the May expresses the midrange a bit too vivaciously for my likingāthus, the āaftermarket modsā to reel it in.
Brett and I diverge as weāve compared notes, but my POV is more a matter of taste than hardware. Theyāre both very good pieces of hardwareāthe May being highly responsive to software filters like HQplayer and the DSD had its firmware updates that are now EOL.
What might put the DSD back on even footing would be open sourcing the DSDās firmware for third party enhancements, but given thatās unlikely to happen, the MKIIās accumulation of learnings over the past decade should hopefully yield substantial improvements over a hot rodded MKI.
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They are both world-class excellent dacs. Both are very well constructed but follow a different path to the same end.
They are different, one is not better or worse than the other. They are like spice for food. Vee prefers one spice I prefer another. I donāt hate what he likes, on the contrary, I enjoyed the DS for over 3 years and it served as the foundation of my dac journey as the first āhigh-endā dac I owned.
Seeking definitives or black or white conclusions in audio are futile in my opinion and experience.
Hope this translates the message Iām trying to convey.
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I like the hot rodded DSI, but my wife likes the May. In your shoes, I would wait for the DSII to trial it. Surely Ted and PS Audio has heard all the feedback on the DSI and has evolved their solutions.
I may trade up to the MKII when it comes out and will likely trial it.
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so, the GoldenSound guy who did the gushing video about the Holo May KTE also did a gushing video on the Pi2AES Raspberry Pi HAT.
I have this HAT and I do think itās great. I have two, actually.
I have one system that runs I2S from it to a Topping D70 DAC (to Bel Canto separates to Magnepan .7ās.)
The second one is the one Iām interested in talking about.
Iām running it directly into my Parasound HINT6ās internal DAC (to Harbeth 30.2 XD speakers) via digital coax. The HINT6 doesnāt have AES or I2S.
I have been toying with the idea of upgrading this system to include a higher-end DAC, such as the Holo May KTE.
Would you, in your collective and infinite wisdom, think this DAC would be a massive improvement over the HINT6ās internal DAC?
Iām sure it would be in a different system, but do you think the Parasound has enough chutzpah to make it worth the massive upgrade? Or am I limited by the Parasoundās amplification, and I should just live with that and wait until I upgrade the amplifier someday.
The other thing I mull over is to sell the Parasound and get a HEGEL H390, which is about the same price as the Holo May KTE. I wonder if that āupgradeā (using Hegelās internal DAC) would be better than the Parasound + HM KTE combination.
(I play records as well as play streamed files/CDs/Qobuz, etcā¦, so the Hegel would have a positive effect on the analog stuff, too.)
Anyway, blah blah blah
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Neither of those internal DACās will come close to the May starting with the Mayās external power supply being the first deciding difference. Same would also be true of other higher end separate DACs.
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Oh, totally, just trying to figure out if the Parasound is a good enough amp to make the May worth the cost.
Like, i could use million-dollar speaker cables, but itās still a $2500 amplifier, and probably wouldnāt make a gnatās hair of difference.
@terzinator the good news is, I have no idea
On paper, Iād go with the Hint + the May, but I might be unduly influenced by threads like these. That said, you can get a home trial of the H390 from a place like ListenUp in Denver. Free shipping. Doing a trial of the H390 would at least give you a hands on notion of how the Hint stacks up.
If not thrilled with the H390, you could move on to the May.
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Believe me, i think of this often. 
@terzinator finding someone who has in person compared the Hint 6 + May to the Hegel H390, and with your speakers, might be more than the heavens can offer
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exactly.
and therein lies the reason for my blah blah blah
Iām always trying to glean some theoretical answer for something I need to hear my own damned self
carry on
