The manual indicates "Analog Output" as "PCM 48K NOS", even though digital input is 44.1-1.536M...this does not mean it downsamples to 48K before running PCM through ladder does it??
Well I'm liking it. About 20 hours continuous music so far, still has a slight edge in the 5-7k region - not sibilance, and "edge". Hoping this will still soften (has some so far) with time on the ladder and/or output stage
I think it has the Yggdrasil beat in separation/placement & clarity, and is right there in pure micro I think (only listened with Atrium so far -Utopia will be the test). It is more even FR as well, though it is behind the Yggdrasil in pure slam & dynamics
I'm just using Roon's built in DSP (which is just an implementation of that popular open source DSP I can't remember the name of at the moment) for now (i.e. the "precise, linear phase" setting), I might dink with HQP later...
I wonder if the slight edge you hear is due to R2R weirdness in the highs. R2R DACs are known for having ringing/hash/rasp/edge in the treble, even ones that are tilted dark
Possibly @ChaChaRealSmooth , though I can say it is better today already. Cyan's mid high area is similar to my Yggdrasil A2 (and GungMBA2 before that) in that it is not a "relaxed" presentation. Still, there is an "edge" there that the Yggdrasil does not have, either that or I am just more used to the Yggdrasil's presentation.
Yeah, Holo, despite being NOS, is still a modern R2R sound. If the edge is the R2R highs, it'll get better but won't totally go away (this was my experience with the basically every Schiit DAC).
How are the transients? If the transients are sharp that could give it a bit of an edge to the sound.
Transients are about the same as Yggdrasil (or that loaner Spring 3 KTE we had a couple of years ago) as far as sharpness/speed goes so that is not it in-of-itself. They aredifferent though from the Yggdrasil in how they pop from a more "blackground" - in that sense in keeping with Holo house sound.
I did some A/B with Yggdrasil this morning and I had forgotten how much I hate it. After about 10 minutes both DAC's sound the same ;) I have returned to extended listening to get a better sense of differences...
Nowadays I hate directly A/B testing and will avoid it if I can. I'll do it on occasion for some reviews but otherwise....no. I'd rather listen to music.
Another 24 hours of continuous music and a change to feeding it via I2S via Pi 2 Design Mercury streamer (I think mine is V1). Using Roon to OS to 172/192 (max of I2S). "Edge" is all but gone - now sounding like expected R2R upper mid/low treble (i.e. not relaxed, but not glassy/edgy)
Some were asking about the automagic switching of inputs (no user control). USB trumps I2S (and I suspect everything else), and won't even switch back unless you physically unplug USB. Could be an issue for those who switch inputs alot
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