Funny. I thought this thread was about the May DAC…
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Like any other good conversation, topics wander.
Posters will likely return to the DAC. If not, that topic has already been exhausted.
Please feel free to post something on the May DAC if you have something to share.
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This one more than wandered…it’s visiting another planet.
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Getting back to the Holo, I switch it off when I don’t use it, using the left button on the dac. I keep the power supply on though, so it’s in standby, not completely off. But it’s definitely cold to the touch.
I May be wrong (pun intended), but I feel like it sounds better about 30 minutes after I turn it back on, out of standby. So when it’s warm to the touch again.
So it’s behaving a bit like my Plinius class A monoblocks, who also take about 30 minutes to sound their best. Plinius advises turning the class A on about half an hour before a serious listening session in the Plinius owner’s manual.
Am I imagining this, or have other Holo owners had a similar experience ?
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I always leave mine completely on same as I have done with every non tube DAC.
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It’s quite hot to the touch, as you know, Jack, so I was worried to shorten it’s life. There’s no clear guideline in the manual, as far as I can remember, but what you do is probably ok, because a lot of people leave it on 24/7 during break in, and no issues have been reported.
BTW, happy cake day 
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Thanks Phil. I never have turned SS gear off unless I am going to be out of town. Never have had a heat related failure. In my rig the DAC and the power supply are in separate locations so I don’t anticipate a problem. The Supratek preamp is the only thing that gets turned off to save the expensive to replace NOS tubes.
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I would think it would take hours for the DAC to get where it needs to get for all the electronic components to be their nominal temperatures. I would never turn the May off it it were my DAC…
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Happy cake day Jack! You have been a member of this community for 5 years 
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I remember now why I use standby: I asked the question to Magna HiFi, the European distributor when I bought it 6 months ago, and that’s what Jos at Magna recommended: standby when not in use.
On the other hand, it seems like Tim Connors at Kitsune and GoldenOne never put theirs in standby …
Hmmmm … What to do … ?
I think that I will follow Jack and Speed’s advice. Minimal energy consumption, no warming up time, and apparently no shortening of the dac’s life.
Thank you guys for sharing.
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Happy Cake Day!
As you well know, it is the very nature of this herd of cats - cats will be cats. 
If there is something in which I am uninterested, I just let it pass me by.
Typically things sort themselves out just fine. Many have expressed they prefer this approach indicating it is one of the pleasures of this forum.
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I like standby whenever it is available. Typically this keeps critical parts warm without taxing tubes and/or other parts which deteriorate relatively rapidly.
I do not like leaving equipment on which has no standby feature. While a system fully warmed sounds better, I just cannot get myself to waste the electricity required. Of course, one can take the position it is not wasted keeping the system at its best sounding.
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Is the Holo Audio – Spring 3 DAC KTE and May DAC I2S input compatible with the PS Audio PerfectWave SACD Transport I2S output?
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Yes it is. I use a PSA PST with my Holo May KTE. Works perfectly and I get DSD from SACDs.
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Thanks Phil, I just ordered the PST so I’ll have to wait a bit to upgrade my Bryston BDA-3 Dac. I really love the BDA-3 but would like to have an I2S Dac.
Now to decide on either the Holo May KTE or Spring 3 KTE. The May might be stretching the budget a bit.
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Here’s a few videos of Paul explaining his view about keeping components turned on:
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Email Tim @ Kitsune with your questions regarding leaving May Dac powered -ON- 24/7 or not.
Share his answer with us all.
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Thanks @Kim_Howard. Paul is again crystal clear, as always: switch button stays on all the time to protect the capacitors. Just use the standby button: off when you are finished listening, on when you start again.
This what Elk and Jos at Magna also said.
And after 45 minutes of warm up, it sounds perfect, like Paul said.
This is also what Plinius says for my monoblocks.
So all I need to do is to engage class A on the Plinius and take the Holo out of standby 45 minutes before critical listening. This is what I have been doing all along, with the DS and now the May.
Good to hear that I was on the right track. Thanks again @Paul for sharing your amazing experience and wisdom. Unmatched in the audio industry. And such a great way to explain things clearly. Great didactic skills. Problem solved, QED.
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