Holo Red impressions

Network Audio
667

Interesting…I’ll have to take a closer listen.

I have never used USB in my system prior to acquiring the ‘Red so I did not give it much time. I just wanted to confirm it worked.

668

Please let us know what you find. I used the Bridge for a long time and was quite happy with it. I read the comments here about the internal card being noisy, but I never had a good way to evaluate this for myself. So I’m curious to know what you will hear when the
Bridge comes out.

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669

Do you have both I2S and USB cables connected between Red and DS? If you do, try removing the one not in use to see if the SQ improve. On DS I remembered it made a difference without the unused link between the two devices (not a Red).

670

Nope.

I could not get the ‘Red to allow both outputs to be available and have defaulted to I2S, exclusively.

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671

Got my Red yesterday.

  • Set the jumpers per PSAudio requirements
  • Inserted the microSD card
  • Pulled my Magna Mano out of the rack
  • Put he Red in with exactly the same connections - Power, Ethernet in, I2S out to DS DAC MkII
  • Powered on and found the IP address using a utility provided by my router’s vendor
  • Ran updates
  • Enabled the Red device in Roon
  • Played music

Took no more than 10 minutes.

Compared to the Mano:

  • Red gives a very audible (verging on loud) THUMP when transitioning from PCM to DSD. Mano sometimes gives the faintest of ticks but is mostly silent
  • Red does not skip the 1st fraction of a second of the 1st song played whereas the Mano starts a song maybe a 1/4 second in. Note this was not a problem with the Mano to DS Mk 1.

With virtually no burn-in of the Red, I would say SQ is very close with the Red slightly in front. Especially with douible and quad rate DSD which the Mano can’t do.
Given the Red can handle DSD rates > DSD64 and its DDC capability, it’s a keeper :slight_smile:

My Mano ran RoonBridge via RoPieee. I really like that OS so I installed it on the Red.
Red works perfectly with RoPieee so I think that’s what I will use going forward.

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672

Anyone here recall what the resolution limits of Bridge II are…?

TIA

673

24/192 I suspect based on it’s age

674

If you’ve got a USB cable laying around of any kind try it between the Red and Mk II and see if the thump goes away on the transition.

675

Hi I finally received my Red today and intend to use it with a Nucleus+, Ethernet into the Red and I2S out to the Mk 2.

If you don’t mind could you please let me know the correct DIP jumper settings for PS Audio’s I2S protocol?

Thanks!

676

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677

According to the manual, it’s 32/192 and single-rate DSD.

678

Thank you.

679

Switch 1 off and Switch 2 on. Manual is on Kitsune website.

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680

I predict you will discern no difference when you pull the insanely maligned Bridge 2 card out. I also don’t believe you will miss the red thing when you abandon it just for the fun of not having it anymore.

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681

LOL.

Thanks Al….I think.

SEE

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682

Thanks, that was my best guess from the manual, but I was confused by many different settings I’ve seen in this thread.

And yes I’ve read the whole thing and now for a second time!

683

It’s going to come down to your ears and not Al’s though. I didn’t hear any great difference either when I took it out but since I wasn’t using it anyway it didn’t hurt and was simple to do. So back in the anti-static back and box it went. Eliminated the noise possibility with no fuss.

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684

I set the switches as follows:
Off (1)
On (2)
On (3)
Off (4)
These are settings that someone else posted in this thread a while back…

Ran both channel & phase checks for peace of mind :slight_smile:

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685

Thanks for the suggestion. I do have a big box of cables and may have a USB cable from an old printer.
If nothing else, it will be a good data point for Ted in his quest to get rid of noises during transitions.
Said box of cables is in storage elsewhere so I won’t be reporting back real soon.

686

It’s totally unsurprising that @scotte1 doesn’t hear a difference. It’s all about what it can do for other equipment you already adore and does it meet those requirements. For me, A+.

@tony22, what are you expecting from a streamer? Only curious. I’m specifically implying that, afterall, it’s not a DAC.

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