Is it a proprietary cord or are there some aftermarket options?
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I suspect you would have to surrender your Holo one to somebody like Brad before they could make an upgraded one for now. Best hope would be that Tim sees a market for it. Bradās big sellers for umbilicalās are for Pass and Supratek who make multiple models with the same cord and have been doing so for years. Iām not willing to sacrifice mine for months. Never asked Pete at Triode if he has done it before or Steven at Audio Sensibility.
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Very interesting. Let us know what you hear, please.
Spent some time today listening to the May. Has anyone noticed how much different pianos sound. Iām not sure if Iām just imagining this because I canāt nail down why. As someone else mentioned the decay of notes is more noticeable, maybe that has something to do with it.
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Yes, I noticed it too, it was immediately very obvious.
I used to play the piano, and I have attended lots of classical music piano concerts. I also get to hear my parentsā Steinway D regularly when I visit them.
This is the closest reproduction of pianos I have heard. Itās very close to a live piano. And yes, I agree with you, the difference with my previous CD players (Plinius etc) and dacs is enormous. Maybe itās linked to the resolution and SINAD measured by John A? Or the pure NOS approach and lack of pre and or post ringing? Who knows ā¦
Anyway, I am rediscovering my hundreds of piano music CDs.
Two caveats : 1) as @Orosie said, burn in is essential. And 2) if the piano is badly recorded (super close miking for example), you will hear it. To paraphrase Herb R, nothing but the facts, it tells is like it is.
In my system, increasing MW from 4 to 6 on the P20 seems to be beneficial. Do you use a PowerPlant with yours ?
PS on bad recordings, I use the OS DSD (over sampling DSD) mode, instead of NOS. I find it a bit veiled and muffled compared to NOS, which probably helps. You donāt want crystalline clarity on some material 
.
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Sometimes less is more.
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Holo Audioā¦one of the best dacs everā¦for awhile perhapsā¦
Untillā¦
The DS MKII come along ā¦then we truly shall seeā¦
Best wishes
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GoldenSoundās reviews are getting better and better.
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I sure hope the MK!! beats the MAY it will really help to keep thing interesting.
The Spring 3 really is an amazing DAC for the price especially with the PreAmp
One thing Golden Sound said is that volume control in the digital domain sacrifices Dynamic range. I donāt believe that is true with the DirectStream
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As the Mk II will be using the same two transformers that many of us just upgraded to in the DS Iām not really sure how it is going to compete with the separate 20+ pound power supply of the May. To me a more logical comparison for the Mk II would be the Spring 3 KTE.
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Iāll bet on Ted after doing his MKI suggested mods. But always keep an open mind. Power Supplies matter i just hope his hands are not tied by PSA parts substitutes to meet market needs . Not like the May did not need tweaking by Kitsune.
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Not the same as the May was always offered with three parts levels that always included the separate power supply. The Asian distributor has a similar menu of levels but just calls them something different. The levels have been a part of the Holo sales plan from the beginning. As many of the parts you are talking about are coming from China Holo doesnāt have the same acquisition problems nor do they have to worry about the increased cost of shipping. They have an advantage as does Denafrips from the start. Iām not even going tot bring the difference in labor costs in to play as it is what it is. In the end the approach of Holo and Denafrips is different than that of PSA, Aqua and Chord and which one you ultimately prefer is personal and not a one is better than the other thing. I own one from three of the five companies plus two AKM 4497 based DACs (one tube and one SS) so I have done the comparisons for myself.
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Yeah I have everything running of a P20. I never really heard a difference with multi wave but Iāll take your suggestion and give it a try at level 6. I think it would be also interesting comparing it with and without the P20.
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Multi wave vs sine wave differences in sqā¦
What my ears tell meā¦with my systemā¦with P15
Sine wave presents quick delicate as well as strong orchestral
spatial 3d cuesā¦
Whereas as multiwave gives a more solid body of instruments
albeit with the loss of nuancesā¦
The lower multiwave settings are closer to sine wave sq while
increasing to 3 and up brings the more solid fuller bodied effect.
Some recordings definitely need multi wave and at tmes 5 -6
level in order to breath life into those recordingsā¦
Hope that helps shed some light.
Best wishes
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Thanks. Do you have a May or a different DAC?
"Untilā¦
The DS MKII come along ā¦then we truly shall seeā¦"
Iād like to check out the May. Getting tired of waiting for new PS product. If they beta in November its January or later until commonly available. With parts shortages who knows how long the wait actually.
I donāt think you will be disappointed with the May. I went in thinking it might be better than the DSD but I was shocked at the difference. It wasnāt like a cable change where youāre really trying hard to tell minor differences, it was definitely more apparent. Iāve never heard the MKII nor do I think anyone else outside of PS Audio has, so I really donāt have a clue as to if itās better than the current DSD. I havenāt been keeping up with the MKII but others on the forum have and from what I understand it will be more expensive than the current DSD. Since the May is already cheaper than the DSD but outperforms it, in my opinion the MKII being more expensive further widens the ratio of price to performance. But since none of know what, when and how much the MKII will be itās just a guess at this point. The May is such a hot product, I felt that the risk is low given how fast and for how much itās sells for on the used market. Good luck on your search.
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I hear ya friendā¦
For me, patience is the key wordā¦if I appreciate and like
where my gear stands sonically and no rush to upgrade
anythingā¦places me in a no pressure relaxed desirable placeā¦
However am currently evaluating another highly thought of dacā¦
So ā¦currently have and using Oppo 205ā¦according to ASR
the 205 still sits in the top 12 dac devicesā¦wow!!
However sadly awesome PS Audio dacs are way at the bottom.
as well as the Wyred4Sound dac 2v2se ASR downs them bothā¦
purely on measurementsā¦and go so far as to berate themā¦
Not cool at allā¦
A couple of the Chord models including the Chord Hugo are not
recommended as wellā¦Amazingā¦
In the integrated amp section they donāt recommend an Accuphase
integratedā¦Imagine thatā¦hardly believableā¦
ASR raves about the Holo Mayā¦
While the Holo May is very intriguing temptingā¦
especially price wiseā¦
Just not for me as of nowā¦will wait and see how
the DS MKII shakes outā¦
Best wishes to all!!
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