I have the Cyan 2 on my desk atm. It works very well with HQPlayer upsampling. I like this DAC because I can forget about it and focus on the amps/headphones.
Holo makes some of the best bang for the buck products out there. A $1.2k R2R of this quality is rare. I think it beats the Denefrips stuff in the price range, and build quality is 2nd to none. I had the Spring 3 for a couple of years and sold it for nearly what I paid for it, so Holo holds its value over time.
I could hear the big difference using susvara and holo bliss between may and cyan2. however cyan2 has that holo sound that i love , so sold bulky expensive may and settled with cyan2.
Thanks for the video. Man you are passionate about your equipment and music but you may want to think about decaf lol. Love your enthusiasm. I just received my Cyan 2 and it’s the best sounding DAC I’ve heard. I’ve heard about 10 different DACs with my high-end 2.2 music only setup and the detail and soundstage of this DAC is other level. I’m streaming from my Bluesound Node N130 using the included USB cable. This is just a DAC and it has limitations of use but if you want just a DAC I highly recommend the Cyan 2. Rock on!
Just got the Cyan 2 yesterday and IMO this review is pretty much spot on. Love the DAC. Going to keep it as my end-game DAC. Which will definitely give me a lot of confidence it won't bottleneck my source chain... but can I hear a massive difference between this and my Topping D70 Pro, Chord Mojo 2, or Bifrost 2/64? Not really. Not a ton. I also use HQPlayer extensively and while It's nice to be able to output 1.5mhz upscaled music to the Cyan 2, I'm not sure it's significantly better or even noticeably better than outputting 768khz to the Topping or Mojo, or even 192 to the Bifrost 2/64. I have also done quick A/B testing between the Bifrost and the built-in DAC on the Woo Audio WA7 and don't even hear much difference there either. Even the differences on amps I'm finding aren't massive, with only the most noticeable being with big tube amps. Love the design, love the build quality, I love having it in my setup, but it's definitely not something anyone needs to chase or lust after, IMO.
This is pretty much where I'm at. I got the Cyan 2 to know that I had a source that would settle that 'maybe I'm underserving my amp/headphones' thought and would let me fuck with HQPlayer, again, without the nervosa setting in. I found differences to my last DAC (Merason Frerot) but they were pretty small. I like how this looks, I like how its simple, I like how I can just not worry about it and enjoy my other shit (and music... that too).
I have had a Cyan 2 for a couple weeks It works well for me and it is worth checking out 100% I added an Inday DA4X-R - 4x1 SPDIF Digital Audio Switcher with a remote so I can use use it with multiple sources specifically 4 X into 1 Hope everyone finds what they are looking for
Good tip. The big knock I had heard about the Cyan is that it doesn’t auto-detect inputs which can be pretty annoying if you jump from streaming to TV or whatever. I had not heard of that product so will check it out. Sounds like a good solution. I’m sort of on hold till more reviews come about about the Geshelli Dazee but a couple of days ago it was at the top of my list. Always wanted an R2R.
peeps in the comments so often praise their own abilities and how sure they are about their setups and listening prowess. And yet, they hardly ever mention ab tests or anything of the sort but they do enjoy referring susvaras and so on. surprised one doesn't need a He-1 too. my old iPhone 5 sounds a little different from my lg v60 and both sound a little different from my desktop chains. I have no idea which sounds better after years, and since it's that little of a difference, I care less and less about dacs.
I have a Cyan 2, and I like it a lot. I don't mind the auto switching at all because I only use one source at a time. With Bliss KTE and HE1000SE, it sounds really good.
Agreed re speakers vs. Headphones for dac evaluation. Especially with R2R dacs. My Schiit Gungnir MB is very similar in just being a box. And very good. But only on speakers can I hear all of its goodness.
I might have gotten this had it a smaller footprint, but I don't think it would fit on my desk. I'll stick with the smaller Bifrost for now. It still does a great, hassle-free job.
I had the Holo Spring 1 running into my SPL Phonitor XE into Audeze LCD 2.2. The audio quality difference is MASSIVE between that and any other lower budget DAC. It's VERY evident when you go back and forth between DACs. The same also applies to speaker setups.
Spot on review Zeos! I’ve had my Cyan 2 for two months and love its simplicity. I’m running a Bluesound Node via USB but I am waiting for the Holo Audio RED streamer/DDC to arrive. I also have my Audiolab 6000cdt CD transport connected to the Cyan 2 via a glass fiber Toslink cable. To use the CD transport I turn off my Bluesound Node streamer which is on a dedicated power strip for the Node and my tube phono preamp. I’m using ROON on a Mac Mini M1 with a CAT6 Ethernet cable to the Bluesound Node and soon to the RED. The RED is a ROON Bridge and I want to steam not only FLAC files, Tidal and Qobuz but also DSD. Loved your review of the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ (I own one), but hope Kitsune sent you a review sample of the Cyan 2 and so you didn’t have to borrow it like the Mytek.
@@VintageStereoCollectorChannel be interested in what sound differences you hear using the Red instead of the Node as a streamer into the Cyan2. I’m holding off on using the Red since I like the Node app and interface and the Cyan2 sounds great with the combination.
A good dac to buy if you want to focus more on amps and headphones, where most of the tunability in audio exists. Me personally I don't like all the LEDs because I never switch rates at all.
It depends how good your headphones / loudspeakers . I can hear Chord TT2 difference between filters 1/2 vs 3/4 and also it depends if you are listening to shitty modern "wall of sound" compressed to fkk music or music that has headroom in my opinion.
If DACs are a solved matter then my Grace m9xx would sound exactly like my Geshelli J2S, when in actuality the difference is immediately noticeable through my S17 Pro amp.
Source is the most important thing limiting your chain. You can't put a lipstick on a pig. 2 walls of sound by cheap sigma delta designs won't give you any depth or size even through an expensive amp or speakers.
If like me you have only one source where you're going to use it, then for the money, it's the absolute best DAC you can get at the moment (Sep 2024). My 2-channel setup has this plus a streamer, 6k of old-skool amplifier, 5k's worth of stereo floorstanding speakers and I've reached my audio nirvana.
As far as not being able to hear Dacs, it is all relative to your chain. If you have a Susvara or SUV and a 465/AIC 10 or similar amp, your chain is revealing enough to hear the difference in DACs. I'm older and I can hear the difference and I'm not the most sensitive audiophile out there.
I heard a very very little difference when I used denafrips Ares 2 when I am using Sennheiser hd800s with hdv820 amplifier and heard a big difference switching thx 789 to hdv820 but when i bought susvara omg everything matters changing from the dac inside hdv820 to the denafrips Ares was as big as changing the Amp I was hearing the pros and cons people talk about about that dac now am thinking to jump crazy high end
Bingo. And Zeos is using S/PDIF optical from his PC, which to convert it digital to digital S/PDIF your computer will use the CPU and internal clock which will introduce jitter and is something you really don't want as a DAC tester and reviewer. I posted this to his vids years ago for the first time in the comments but since he's not much into the technical side of things he ignored my comments. This is also why I take DAC reviews and DAC opinions by ZEOS with a grain of salt.
I can hear plenty differences in dacs using even a hd650. Sure you need a more expensive ones to hear depths and width but hd650 or a fostex is enough to show tonal differences in dacs.
I think you don't get any difference on your bigger speaker set up is you have them too close to the wall and not enough diffusion behind them. Your nearfield setup is like 10 or so feet from the wall, so of course you get stage and depth.
Well the sound isn't coming from the wall, Ive heard giant setups with depth in the 4 meter range. Its all a matter of how your brain is interpreting it.
Soundstage is only a thing if the sound was recorded on a stage. And headphones should be the best way to tell DACs apart, since they can be highly resolving.
On SS. Wrong. Some hardware can compress width on all recordings. on HP vs Speakers. I was in that camp for years. Now I have to concede. The Nearfield setup is the way.
I couldn't agree more. HQPlayer, Audio- PC, NAA/Network Bridge (no direct usb to DAC) to a Holo DAC and you can recognize a lot of space in width and depth on a good headphone like Susvara. But, of course, only if this sense of space is real and on the recording. the differences between shapers/modulators and filters can be clearly heard with very different types.
@@JonnyParker- I know. But, the point is: "Good luck claiming reproduction is accurate or faithful to what the producer engineered." And if the concept of accuracy doesn't apply here, then there are all sorts of DSP you can use to introduce spatial effects during playback, all without paying large amounts of money for a hardware implementation.
I have the Cyan 2 on my desk atm. It works very well with HQPlayer upsampling. I like this DAC because I can forget about it and focus on the amps/headphones.
Holo makes some of the best bang for the buck products out there. A $1.2k R2R of this quality is rare. I think it beats the Denefrips stuff in the price range, and build quality is 2nd to none. I had the Spring 3 for a couple of years and sold it for nearly what I paid for it, so Holo holds its value over time.
So many years later... ZEOS is still yabbing about DAC's while screwing everything up by using S/PDIF optical out via PC?
Ya gotta get some of that PC goodness via optical or it just doesn't sound right 😊
I could hear the big difference using susvara and holo bliss between may and cyan2. however cyan2 has that holo sound that i love , so sold bulky expensive may and settled with cyan2.
You sold May for Cyan2?
I did the same. May is not desktop friendly.
Thanks for the video. Man you are passionate about your equipment and music but you may want to think about decaf lol. Love your enthusiasm. I just received my Cyan 2 and it’s the best sounding DAC I’ve heard. I’ve heard about 10 different DACs with my high-end 2.2 music only setup and the detail and soundstage of this DAC is other level. I’m streaming from my Bluesound Node N130 using the included USB cable. This is just a DAC and it has limitations of use but if you want just a DAC I highly recommend the Cyan 2. Rock on!
Just got the Cyan 2 yesterday and IMO this review is pretty much spot on. Love the DAC. Going to keep it as my end-game DAC. Which will definitely give me a lot of confidence it won't bottleneck my source chain... but can I hear a massive difference between this and my Topping D70 Pro, Chord Mojo 2, or Bifrost 2/64? Not really. Not a ton. I also use HQPlayer extensively and while It's nice to be able to output 1.5mhz upscaled music to the Cyan 2, I'm not sure it's significantly better or even noticeably better than outputting 768khz to the Topping or Mojo, or even 192 to the Bifrost 2/64. I have also done quick A/B testing between the Bifrost and the built-in DAC on the Woo Audio WA7 and don't even hear much difference there either. Even the differences on amps I'm finding aren't massive, with only the most noticeable being with big tube amps. Love the design, love the build quality, I love having it in my setup, but it's definitely not something anyone needs to chase or lust after, IMO.
This is pretty much where I'm at. I got the Cyan 2 to know that I had a source that would settle that 'maybe I'm underserving my amp/headphones' thought and would let me fuck with HQPlayer, again, without the nervosa setting in. I found differences to my last DAC (Merason Frerot) but they were pretty small. I like how this looks, I like how its simple, I like how I can just not worry about it and enjoy my other shit (and music... that too).
you should try with holoaudio bliss amp and susvara. you will hear the big difference.
What headphones are you using?
@@KXP70 my primary rotation is between HE1000se and ZMF Atrium. But I sometimes also use the Bokeh and Focal Clear OG.
@@noob9103 I am definitely considering the holo audio bliss at some point in the near future. Susvara, maybe. But the amp would come first for me.
The thing I dislike about most dacs is not enough coaxial inputs. The Aries 2 does.
I’m good …no longer of the DAC merry go rounds..Denafrips Ares 12-1 …and I’m good
Solid
I was kind of expecting a Holo the Wise Wolf background...
So were we all.
I have had a Cyan 2 for a couple weeks
It works well for me and it is worth checking out 100%
I added an Inday DA4X-R - 4x1 SPDIF Digital Audio Switcher with a remote so I can use use it with multiple sources specifically 4 X into 1
Hope everyone finds what they are looking for
Good tip. The big knock I had heard about the Cyan is that it doesn’t auto-detect inputs which can be pretty annoying if you jump from streaming to TV or whatever. I had not heard of that product so will check it out. Sounds like a good solution. I’m sort of on hold till more reviews come about about the Geshelli Dazee but a couple of days ago it was at the top of my list. Always wanted an R2R.
@@williamhicks2763 This is the switcher
Inday DA4X-R - 4x1 SPDIF Digital Audio Switcher
Made in Oregon
I dislike company that comes out many models of DAC, try seduce and luring consumer for upgrade, and hype comes after that...
Time to review the Geshelli Dayzee. It’s got “Z” in the name. Coincidence?
Input voltage is selected by a switch inside the case. This can be seen in the photos on their own web site.
Yeah sorry I'm a buttons guy, they can "try" the minimal/swavue look but I just see cost cutting. Holo Cyan 2 can kiss my azz.
I mean. Less to break. And no fingerprints. Lol
Cost cutting is literally the point. To give you better audio at a more accessible price.
. Sure wish Geshelli or Schiit cloned either the Enyo or Cyan 2.
Acid Jazz, Funk & Brass 🔈🔉🔊
Who cloned what?
This is so entertaining! 😊😊😊 Thank you for this!
Dac DAC....Dac Dac DAC
Wanna see my DAC?
How big is your Dac?
I got a little Chinese Dac.
6:56... when it tilts too much down and the issue it causes... this was probably filmed already when I first mentioned it
The real issue with this unit is the auto switching feature. It doest work. It needs a manual switch big time.
when are you going to do a review of the iBasso DX180????????????
zeos, I bought the Violectric HPA V281 LE and love it. what sub 💎 DAC would you pair with it?
I'm not in a rush, so i can wait for a good deal
I mean. This works. But sub 1k the SMSL D2r ROHM dac works.
No switching between inputs is strange?
You are so right!!!
The quality makes more difference when listetning to speakers
peeps in the comments so often praise their own abilities and how sure they are about their setups and listening prowess. And yet, they hardly ever mention ab tests or anything of the sort but they do enjoy referring susvaras and so on. surprised one doesn't need a He-1 too. my old iPhone 5 sounds a little different from my lg v60 and both sound a little different from my desktop chains. I have no idea which sounds better after years, and since it's that little of a difference, I care less and less about dacs.
I have a Cyan 2, and I like it a lot. I don't mind the auto switching at all because I only use one source at a time. With Bliss KTE and HE1000SE, it sounds really good.
Agreed re speakers vs. Headphones for dac evaluation. Especially with R2R dacs. My Schiit Gungnir MB is very similar in just being a box. And very good. But only on speakers can I hear all of its goodness.
My 2 cents. Get the best preamp you can get before getting a good DAC. Preamp is thr heart of a good system
It's priced close to a Schiit Yggy GS+. Schiit may be boring at times but it's $400 more which is close. Just a thought...
Any idea how this compares to a Geshelli J2 akm4499 with sparkos pro 2590 op amps?
I might have gotten this had it a smaller footprint, but I don't think it would fit on my desk. I'll stick with the smaller Bifrost for now. It still does a great, hassle-free job.
I had the Holo Spring 1 running into my SPL Phonitor XE into Audeze LCD 2.2. The audio quality difference is MASSIVE between that and any other lower budget DAC. It's VERY evident when you go back and forth between DACs. The same also applies to speaker setups.
Patiently waiting for Zeos review of the Fiio FT1 and Eris comparison.
Digital? Transducer > Amp > Dac...Vinyl? Source > Transducer = Amp’s
Thanks , I realized that I probably don’t need to buy Cyan 2 now 😀 I can stick with mojo 2 for a while
Maybe good as a mastering DAC? would like to try out combinations one day
Spot on review Zeos! I’ve had my Cyan 2 for two months and love its simplicity. I’m running a Bluesound Node via
USB but I am waiting for the Holo Audio RED streamer/DDC to arrive.
I also have my Audiolab 6000cdt CD transport connected to the Cyan 2 via a glass fiber Toslink cable. To use the CD transport I turn off my Bluesound Node streamer which is on a dedicated power strip for the Node and my tube phono preamp.
I’m using ROON on a Mac Mini M1 with a CAT6 Ethernet cable to the Bluesound Node and soon to the RED. The RED is a ROON Bridge and I want to steam not only FLAC files, Tidal and Qobuz but also DSD.
Loved your review of the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ (I own one), but hope Kitsune sent you a review sample of the Cyan 2 and so you didn’t have to borrow it like the Mytek.
@@VintageStereoCollectorChannel be interested in what sound differences you hear using the Red instead of the Node as a streamer into the Cyan2. I’m holding off on using the Red since I like the Node app and interface and the Cyan2 sounds great with the combination.
@@BobbyBass-x6i - hope to receive the Red in 6-7 weeks🙏🏻
A good dac to buy if you want to focus more on amps and headphones, where most of the tunability in audio exists. Me personally I don't like all the LEDs because I never switch rates at all.
Honestly. If you were a pro gamer. Just put this behind your other equipment. Face down on the carpet. Forget about it.
If DACs are more or less the same for headphones (from a certain level onwards), does the R2R thingy then make any difference for headphones?
Ive had a "softening" of edges with R2R in general. But this is me and my job to listen that hard. Mortal men should have less pressing concerns.
@@ZReviews Thank you for making this clear. As a mortal man I now know what to (not) do. 🙂
My dac smells like cheese
Thanks 4 Truth !!!!!
Some people say they can hear the difference between filters in a DAC. I can't. 🤷♂
Yeah I got nothing on that front still.
It depends how good your headphones / loudspeakers . I can hear Chord TT2 difference between filters 1/2 vs 3/4 and also it depends if you are listening to shitty modern "wall of sound" compressed to fkk music or music that has headroom in my opinion.
Depends on filter implementation. Most directly use the pre built ones on the chip.
DACs are a solved matter. Some people got frustrated that a dac being technically perfect didnt bring the nirvana they expected.
If DACs are a solved matter then my Grace m9xx would sound exactly like my Geshelli J2S, when in actuality the difference is immediately noticeable through my S17 Pro amp.
Source is the most important thing limiting your chain. You can't put a lipstick on a pig. 2 walls of sound by cheap sigma delta designs won't give you any depth or size even through an expensive amp or speakers.
A dac without an input button/ switch is like a preamp without a volume knob. Nonsensical design.
If like me you have only one source where you're going to use it, then for the money, it's the absolute best DAC you can get at the moment (Sep 2024). My 2-channel setup has this plus a streamer, 6k of old-skool amplifier, 5k's worth of stereo floorstanding speakers and I've reached my audio nirvana.
@lw2978 that's good for you. For the money, I would rather spend a little more and get a yggy GS, which conveniently comes with buttons plus a remote.
A little more? It's double. @corrrect
@@Rob-Davidson the YGGDRASIL + GS2 is $1,699.
@corrrect when I go to Schiit website, the cheapest version is $2300. The upgraded version is $2700.
As far as not being able to hear Dacs, it is all relative to your chain. If you have a Susvara or SUV and a 465/AIC 10 or similar amp, your chain is revealing enough to hear the difference in DACs. I'm older and I can hear the difference and I'm not the most sensitive audiophile out there.
I heard a very very little difference when I used denafrips Ares 2 when I am using Sennheiser hd800s with hdv820 amplifier and heard a big difference switching thx 789 to hdv820 but when i bought susvara omg everything matters changing from the dac inside hdv820 to the denafrips Ares was as big as changing the Amp I was hearing the pros and cons people talk about about that dac now am thinking to jump crazy high end
Bingo. And Zeos is using S/PDIF optical from his PC, which to convert it digital to digital S/PDIF your computer will use the CPU and internal clock which will introduce jitter and is something you really don't want as a DAC tester and reviewer. I posted this to his vids years ago for the first time in the comments but since he's not much into the technical side of things he ignored my comments. This is also why I take DAC reviews and DAC opinions by ZEOS with a grain of salt.
I can hear plenty differences in dacs using even a hd650. Sure you need a more expensive ones to hear depths and width but hd650 or a fostex is enough to show tonal differences in dacs.
I think you don't get any difference on your bigger speaker set up is you have them too close to the wall and not enough diffusion behind them. Your nearfield setup is like 10 or so feet from the wall, so of course you get stage and depth.
Well the sound isn't coming from the wall, Ive heard giant setups with depth in the 4 meter range. Its all a matter of how your brain is interpreting it.
“Featureless box” is a deal breaker for me, regardless of what kind of system I’d be using it in.
but why
An R2R is just one way of doing a DAC. All the resistors have to be matched.
you think they mismatch them? lol
Soundstage is only a thing if the sound was recorded on a stage.
And headphones should be the best way to tell DACs apart, since they can be highly resolving.
Yikes
On SS. Wrong. Some hardware can compress width on all recordings.
on HP vs Speakers. I was in that camp for years. Now I have to concede. The Nearfield setup is the way.
Convolution reverb
I couldn't agree more. HQPlayer, Audio- PC, NAA/Network Bridge (no direct usb to DAC) to a Holo DAC and you can recognize a lot of space in width and depth on a good headphone like Susvara. But, of course, only if this sense of space is real and on the recording. the differences between shapers/modulators and filters can be clearly heard with very different types.
@@JonnyParker- I know. But, the point is: "Good luck claiming reproduction is accurate or faithful to what the producer engineered." And if the concept of accuracy doesn't apply here, then there are all sorts of DSP you can use to introduce spatial effects during playback, all without paying large amounts of money for a hardware implementation.
You should check there pre.Deafnnutd neutral and reviewers dream with three (count em 3!) sets of outputs