Great review and video! I bought my Spring3 KTE with PreAmp option here in Asia and it is a great DAC! There was a dramatic improvement in sound quality after an initial 50 hours which I was greatly relieved! I have my WIIM connected via optical and I only get a one time PLL lock when selecting optical, and I am using a Amazon basic cable. Maybe a future video you can list your playlist? Looking forward to your next video!
@@Yakena1 Thanks! Not sure if it’s the crappy port on my tv, optical cable, or my Xbox being weird but after 3 or 4 locking attempts it settles down and stays locked while I game. Thanks for watching 🍻
Always a fan of your videos, but not sure why I ddint get a notification for this until today 😢 Anyways great review! I found a used Holo Spring 2 KTE for 1500 and love it! Using it with my Rogue M180s and a borrowed PS Audio Gain Cell Pre, to both Klipsch Cornwall IVs and Magnepan 1.7s is astonishing. In a way so realistic and natural, too much so sometimes. Sound stage is much wider. Gonna try HQ player soon. If youre good with HQ Player, you may wanna try their Holo Red Streamer. Not many reviews of it but from what Ive heard, it does play music up to the highest limits of Holo Audio gear and would be a fun little project :)
I use both. Mainly HQplayer upsampled to DSD 512 using sync L for higher bitrate files and Sync Ll for redbook with ASDM7EC V3 modulator. I occasionally change back to NOS for older rock/pop.
@@MisterChibs up there but there’s better these days. 12700F, 32gb DDR5, RTX3080. It’s in another room to the hifi and streams through to a Pi running RoPieeeXL so no fan noise issues.
Note the preamp is built into the signal path. Therefore, it isn't possible to remove it. Setting the volume to 94 duplicates normal line level input of 4 volts (balance).
This was not my understanding at all. If this is the case, I understand why they don't have a separate power button for the preamp. Thank you for clarifying! 🍻
I can tell you that this Holo DAC is (much) better than any amplifier internal DAC. But you only need the Cyan 2 to better it, if it’s comfortable enough for you. It will save you a lot of money 💰
@@vittoriomartinidonati What Joe said! Spring 3 is much better than H390. As far as integrated DACs go, the H390’s internal is no slouch but getting a Spring will improve things quite a bit. 🍻
I have the Cyan2 and the Spring2kte. Idk about the spring 3 tho. But for my case, I personally would say they’re very different tuned. Cyan2 packs more energy, attack and a deeper stage, while Spring2 sounded more soft and laidback and a better layered imaging also a wider and taller stage. I tested them with speakers 😃
@@henryt9731 Speakers are always better to test with 👍🏻 Tim from Kitsune HiFi told me Cyan 2 is close to spring 2 component wise. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
HQPlayer Desktop performs much better on same hardware if run on Linux. The delay in buffering/latency is no problem there. Offloading to GPU (NVIDIA) for compute also assists if CPU not up to task. Prefer up-sampling to DSD myself and with DSD ladder lower output (half of PCM) and HQPlayer default -3dB attenuation you will notice the need for more preamp gain. My combo consists of a Holo Audo Spring 3 KTE with Holo Audio Serene KTE side note : HQPlayer 5 has added some DAC corrections for specific DAC's
With this DAC, I prefer going through usb straight from the Mac mini in my setup. All ports are great though and if you’ve got a streamer that puts out i2s, don’t sweat using it. 👍🏻🍻
It's a great dac for the money. I had mine for 2 years. I went up to the MA3 and while I like the technical clarity of the MA3, I miss the punchiness of the Spring 3.
The Holo May has upsampling, but that was due to their AKM chips. Remember the factory burned down and to save money they decided to have just a NOS dac. Also, in talking to customers, most folks used HQ player anyways, so that's why they went without it.
@@rogerhuston8287 Yea, I hope they put OS in their next revision for the added functionality. AKM is back now but it would be so cool if they partnered with Chord and used their FPGA for OS. Haha that will never happen though. ☺️
@@MisterChibs No, it won't. HQ Player can do more than any chip can. Holo can accept up to 1.5M taps. AKM is back, but even on the Holo, they can barely do a fraction of that. Besides, as I said, most folks use HQPlayer anyways so built in is a myth. I think they've started development on the Holo May v2, be interesting to see where they go with that. I would love to see native conversion to DSD, but that puts even more strain on a processor. Tim is great over there, glad you got a chance to try it. I loved mine for 2 years.
Great reviews Mr C, I have the Cyan2 , I love it ..except when it hits the right side of the piano 😫 You mention that the Spring was great out of the box…while the Cyan2 needed more burn in time … Tim told me it needed 500 hours minimum, I have half of that now I “think “ the brightness is diminishing could you elaborate a little on your experience..? Thanks!
@@deepvillage Thanks. Not sure my experience will help much but here goes: When I first plugged it in Cyan2 was literally cold from the delivery truck and I wasn’t so impressed with the sound. Once I came back from a drive (hours later) it sounded much better. Was it better 500 hours later? Maybe, but there’s no way I could know for sure. If you’re still experiencing shrill treble after the 500 hrs, I’m not sure what’s going on in your sound chain. So many variables you should consider while trouble shooting. The Cyan 2 and now Spring 3 never gave me that impression in both my setups. 🍻
@ appreciate…yes I recall now our Cdn winters…I have the Gustard r26 too it’s fine but not as dynamic …but not shrill also , laid back maybe… now 250+ hrs I like it till those high octaves hit …possibly relaxing a bit …or perhaps getting used to it Tim was adamant 500+ so we’ll see , I really want to love it Cheers
@@이충만-z2l don’t have experience with the Taurus but looking at its specs, it’s similar to Venus 2 I compared with the Spring. If you like a remote control, native NOS, 1 bit DSD converter, screen, then spring will be better. That’s the camp I fall into. 🍻
LOVE the looks & build….but waaaaaay tooooo complicated for me. I am just going to keep smiling with my Volumio Rivo > Iris > I²S >Denefrips Pontus II!!! I just use my set-up for streaming Qobuz via a self-built Roon Server for stereo playback. That’s it…. and it is so enjoyable. I do not need a remote for the DAC…. SIMPLE is better sometimes… COOL review…but I have no FOMO!!! 😅 (you sound like you DO!!! 😀)
Hey 👋 I once also owned the Spring 3 KTE and though it sounded great the PLL issue with it locking in was really annoying to me, especially when playing the next track in cue and it being of different resolution, I would constantly lose the first two to three seconds of the next track to be played. YES-I know I could have turned this function off but then why have it! In the end it was a deal breaker for me and since moved it forward.
@@juanvalentin3302 thanks for sharing your experience. Wondering what you were streaming from. The only time I noticed the locking was using optical from that TV. 🍻
Hi and thank you for your reply. I can't recall if it happened with all inputs but definitely using the I2S and USB inputs while being fed from a Eversolo DMP-A8 while playing files stored on my NAS and streaming from Qobuz. P.S. I was also smitten by the FOX 🦊 on the top. L.O.L.
@@juanvalentin3302I had the Spring 2KTE & Spring 3KTE and the PLL locking issue was not a problem using the USB input. I let me friend demo my Spring 3 at his house and when we used the coaxial input, the PLL slow locking issue arose. It was annoying and we couldn’t enjoy the demo because he didn’t have a USB option with his Wiim streamer at that time. So, I never had the issue because I was using the USB input. I understand why it was a deal breaker for you though.
@@medonk12rs I’m still on original firmware because I don’t want to mess with a good thing. That said, even updated it still won’t be native NOS like the Spring. Thanks for watching!🍻
@@MisterChibs You can go back to the old firmware... I switched back and forth between 3 version last summer, only to find out that the last 2023 release is my favourite. Cheers! :-)
Great review. I currently own the Spring 3 kte, which replaced my Venus 2.... And I also bought a Cyan 2 to compare to the Spring. I also use HQplayer to upsample everything to DSD....always. HQplayer definitely takes time to sort out, especially to get your settings right. I would say most people need more than even a couple months to really get comfortable with it.... And know what settings work best on their system. And when you get it right, it really does make a difference.... And there are literally hundreds of combinations you can pick from. Admittedly though... You need a decent computer to do all the combinations. But you save yourself money from needing to buy an expensive streamer.... So there's that.
I2S was developed as an internal link and it relies on the clock of your source. That's rarely a good thing unless your streamer is better than your dac. The USB in on the Spring 3 is it's best input. Talk to Tim. It's taken from the MaY and uses the Spring 3's oven controlled clock for timing. It's why you just leave it on or in standby.
@@MisterChibs If you think DACs require a burn-in, your understanding of the device is a complete and utter embarrassment. And 500 hours? Seriously, how clueless are you, exactly?
Great review and video! I bought my Spring3 KTE with PreAmp option here in Asia and it is a great DAC! There was a dramatic improvement in sound quality after an initial 50 hours which I was greatly relieved! I have my WIIM connected via optical and I only get a one time PLL lock when selecting optical, and I am using a Amazon basic cable. Maybe a future video you can list your playlist? Looking forward to your next video!
@@Yakena1 Thanks! Not sure if it’s the crappy port on my tv, optical cable, or my Xbox being weird but after 3 or 4 locking attempts it settles down and stays locked while I game. Thanks for watching 🍻
Tim is awesome, great guy and really helpful!
@@rogerhuston8287 agreed
Very good review. Enjoy your sense of humor! Thanks.
@@johntucker5994 Thanks🍻
Always a fan of your videos, but not sure why I ddint get a notification for this until today 😢
Anyways great review! I found a used Holo Spring 2 KTE for 1500 and love it! Using it with my Rogue M180s and a borrowed PS Audio Gain Cell Pre, to both Klipsch Cornwall IVs and Magnepan 1.7s is astonishing. In a way so realistic and natural, too much so sometimes. Sound stage is much wider. Gonna try HQ player soon.
If youre good with HQ Player, you may wanna try their Holo Red Streamer. Not many reviews of it but from what Ive heard, it does play music up to the highest limits of Holo Audio gear and would be a fun little project :)
Thanks for watching and for the recommendation! Let me know what you think of HQ player if you end up trying it.🍻
I use both. Mainly HQplayer upsampled to DSD 512 using sync L for higher bitrate files and Sync Ll for redbook with ASDM7EC V3 modulator. I occasionally change back to NOS for older rock/pop.
@@joshuabrain9751 You must have a beast of a computer! 🍻
@@MisterChibs up there but there’s better these days. 12700F, 32gb DDR5, RTX3080. It’s in another room to the hifi and streams through to a Pi running RoPieeeXL so no fan noise issues.
Note the preamp is built into the signal path. Therefore, it isn't possible to remove it. Setting the volume to 94 duplicates normal line level input of 4 volts (balance).
This was not my understanding at all. If this is the case, I understand why they don't have a separate power button for the preamp. Thank you for clarifying! 🍻
Hello and thanks for the interesting review, please add comparison with H390 internal DAC that will probably interest many of us
I can tell you that this Holo DAC is (much) better than any amplifier internal DAC. But you only need the Cyan 2 to better it, if it’s comfortable enough for you. It will save you a lot of money 💰
Thanks
@@vittoriomartinidonati What Joe said! Spring 3 is much better than H390. As far as integrated DACs go, the H390’s internal is no slouch but getting a Spring will improve things quite a bit. 🍻
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!🍻
That fox was adorable!!!!
Thanks, I keep him in the basement. 🦊
I have the Cyan2 and the Spring2kte. Idk about the spring 3 tho.
But for my case, I personally would say they’re very different tuned. Cyan2 packs more energy, attack and a deeper stage, while Spring2 sounded more soft and laidback and a better layered imaging also a wider and taller stage.
I tested them with speakers 😃
@@henryt9731 Speakers are always better to test with 👍🏻 Tim from Kitsune HiFi told me Cyan 2 is close to spring 2 component wise. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Great video. Thanks.
How much are you still lovin those Cornwall’s ??
Thanks man 🍻 They were a no regret purchase and I still love em!!
re: cyan; were you saying that the Cyan 2 needs a DDC and/or streamer, but the Spring 3 has better USB?
The Cyan 2 has good usb implementation. The Spring 3KTE has better USB implementation.
Nice!!
Are you doing Audiofest?
I’d like to!
@@MisterChibs I’m there tomorrow.
@@carminedesanto6746 I’ll see how my back feels in the morning 😅. Have fun!
HQPlayer Desktop performs much better on same hardware if run on Linux. The delay in buffering/latency is no problem there.
Offloading to GPU (NVIDIA) for compute also assists if CPU not up to task.
Prefer up-sampling to DSD myself and with DSD ladder lower output (half of PCM) and HQPlayer default -3dB attenuation you will notice the need for more preamp gain.
My combo consists of a Holo Audo Spring 3 KTE with Holo Audio Serene KTE
side note : HQPlayer 5 has added some DAC corrections for specific DAC's
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Figures Lynux runs smoother with HQ player. 🍻
Have you checked the I2S from your Singxer SU-6 vs the USB input of the Holo Spring?.
With this DAC, I prefer going through usb straight from the Mac mini in my setup. All ports are great though and if you’ve got a streamer that puts out i2s, don’t sweat using it. 👍🏻🍻
@@MisterChibs I own the Spring 3, level 2, USB module not as good as the titanis of your KTE, that's what makes me doubt.
@@santiagomadruga4298 Just make sure PLL is on and you’re good!
@@MisterChibs Great, thanks.
It's a great dac for the money. I had mine for 2 years. I went up to the MA3 and while I like the technical clarity of the MA3, I miss the punchiness of the Spring 3.
@@rogerhuston8287 Thanks for watching!🍻
What was the jazz album? Could only see Surrender.
Album is: Infinite Connections - Jihya Lee Orchestra.
@MisterChibs thanks 👍
@ NP, enjoy! 🍻
The Holo May has upsampling, but that was due to their AKM chips. Remember the factory burned down and to save money they decided to have just a NOS dac. Also, in talking to customers, most folks used HQ player anyways, so that's why they went without it.
@@rogerhuston8287 Yea, I hope they put OS in their next revision for the added functionality. AKM is back now but it would be so cool if they partnered with Chord and used their FPGA for OS. Haha that will never happen though. ☺️
@@MisterChibs No, it won't. HQ Player can do more than any chip can. Holo can accept up to 1.5M taps. AKM is back, but even on the Holo, they can barely do a fraction of that. Besides, as I said, most folks use HQPlayer anyways so built in is a myth.
I think they've started development on the Holo May v2, be interesting to see where they go with that. I would love to see native conversion to DSD, but that puts even more strain on a processor.
Tim is great over there, glad you got a chance to try it. I loved mine for 2 years.
Great reviews Mr C, I have the Cyan2 , I love it ..except when it hits the right side of the piano 😫
You mention that the Spring was great out of the box…while the Cyan2 needed more burn in time …
Tim told me it needed 500 hours minimum, I have half of that now I “think “ the brightness is diminishing
could you elaborate a little on your experience..?
Thanks!
@@deepvillage Thanks. Not sure my experience will help much but here goes: When I first plugged it in Cyan2 was literally cold from the delivery truck and I wasn’t so impressed with the sound. Once I came back from a drive (hours later) it sounded much better. Was it better 500 hours later? Maybe, but there’s no way I could know for sure. If you’re still experiencing shrill treble after the 500 hrs, I’m not sure what’s going on in your sound chain. So many variables you should consider while trouble shooting. The Cyan 2 and now Spring 3 never gave me that impression in both my setups. 🍻
@ appreciate…yes I recall now our Cdn winters…I have the Gustard r26 too it’s fine but not as dynamic …but not shrill also , laid back maybe…
now 250+ hrs I like it till those high octaves hit …possibly relaxing a bit …or perhaps getting used to it
Tim was adamant 500+ so we’ll see , I really want to love it
Cheers
@ glad you love it! I’m a Holo fan now, big time. I have a Gustard X16 that embodies and embraces the shrill lol. It sits in a drawer. 🍻
You have a Steelcase Gesture
🔥😛🔥
@@ramlord6669 Wow, you know your office chairs. Good eye!
@@MisterChibs ❤
vs musician taurus?? The prices are similar
@@이충만-z2l don’t have experience with the Taurus but looking at its specs, it’s similar to Venus 2 I compared with the Spring. If you like a remote control, native NOS, 1 bit DSD converter, screen, then spring will be better. That’s the camp I fall into. 🍻
Will I be running into you at Toronto audio fest?
Definite Maybe! I hurt my back today falling off my Onewheel. 😅 Have to see what state it’s in when I wake up tomorrow.
LOVE the looks & build….but waaaaaay tooooo complicated for me. I am just going to keep smiling with my Volumio Rivo > Iris > I²S >Denefrips Pontus II!!!
I just use my set-up for streaming Qobuz via a self-built Roon Server for stereo playback. That’s it…. and it is so enjoyable. I do not need a remote for the DAC…. SIMPLE is better sometimes… COOL review…but I have no FOMO!!! 😅 (you sound like you DO!!! 😀)
Sounds like you’ve got your system dialled in👍🏻 FOMO is my way. 😅
These units are sooooo beautiful. I do not need a preamp…I think that I would be more of a candidate for a MAY DAC. You NEED to review one!! 😂
@@bobb.9917you can buy the spring 3 without Preamp. I would love to get my hands on a May!!🍻
Hey 👋 I once also owned the Spring 3 KTE and though it sounded great the PLL issue with it locking in was really annoying to me, especially when playing the next track in cue and it being of different resolution, I would constantly lose the first two to three seconds of the next track to be played. YES-I know I could have turned this function off but then why have it! In the end it was a deal breaker for me and since moved it forward.
@@juanvalentin3302 thanks for sharing your experience. Wondering what you were streaming from. The only time I noticed the locking was using optical from that TV. 🍻
Hi and thank you for your reply. I can't recall if it happened with all inputs but definitely using the I2S and USB inputs while being fed from a Eversolo DMP-A8 while playing files stored on my NAS and streaming from Qobuz.
P.S. I was also smitten by the FOX 🦊 on the top. L.O.L.
@@juanvalentin3302I had the Spring 2KTE & Spring 3KTE and the PLL locking issue was not a problem using the USB input. I let me friend demo my Spring 3 at his house and when we used the coaxial input, the PLL slow locking issue arose. It was annoying and we couldn’t enjoy the demo because he didn’t have a USB option with his Wiim streamer at that time. So, I never had the issue because I was using the USB input. I understand why it was a deal breaker for you though.
Try NOS on the latest 2023 Denafrips firmware.... 🙂 Cheers!
@@medonk12rs I’m still on original firmware because I don’t want to mess with a good thing. That said, even updated it still won’t be native NOS like the Spring. Thanks for watching!🍻
@@MisterChibs You can go back to the old firmware... I switched back and forth between 3 version last summer, only to find out that the last 2023 release is my favourite. Cheers! :-)
@@medonk12rs cool
Great review. I currently own the Spring 3 kte, which replaced my Venus 2.... And I also bought a Cyan 2 to compare to the Spring.
I also use HQplayer to upsample everything to DSD....always.
HQplayer definitely takes time to sort out, especially to get your settings right. I would say most people need more than even a couple months to really get comfortable with it.... And know what settings work best on their system. And when you get it right, it really does make a difference.... And there are literally hundreds of combinations you can pick from.
Admittedly though... You need a decent computer to do all the combinations. But you save yourself money from needing to buy an expensive streamer.... So there's that.
Thanks Mike! 🍻 Yea, HQ player boot camp was intense! How do you like the Cyan 2 so far?
Fantastic value..... But, falls short of the spring 3 (using HQplayer to DSD) by just a smidge.
@@mikehuntington4440 Hi Mike, did you ever tried Audirvana? In my experience it has a very good sound too on my M3 Mac.
Surprised that the optical input was so bad
@@mat.b. out of my tv though, not the Spring. 🍻
I2S was developed as an internal link and it relies on the clock of your source. That's rarely a good thing unless your streamer is better than your dac. The USB in on the Spring 3 is it's best input. Talk to Tim. It's taken from the MaY and uses the Spring 3's oven controlled clock for timing. It's why you just leave it on or in standby.
All ports were great but USB from my computer was mainly used for music streaming. It did not disappoint!!🍻
Nice but at close to $7,000 here it’s a bucket load of cash for a DAC.
@@aussie8114 that’s a lot! Are you talking about the May??
@@MisterChibs No, the spring 3 top spec with pre amp. $6,890
@@aussie8114💰wow!
No power button on the remote? No thanks
Why do you need a power button on a dac? Shouldn’t cost more than a few dollars per month in electricity to just leave it on.
Would love if they added a standby button! I typically do leave it on but that’s out of laziness 😅
too much money!😭😭
No such thing as “burn-in” for a DAC.
My favourite Mark Twain quote: “It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so. “
@@MisterChibs If you think DACs require a burn-in, your understanding of the device is a complete and utter embarrassment. And 500 hours? Seriously, how clueless are you, exactly?