2. digital
  3. 125958-35

HOLO Audio Spring DAC: Affordable discrete R2R Multibit Dac, could be a winner.

Many manufacturers are going back to R2R Multibit d/a conversion, a good portion of audiophiles are saying it sounds better than the cheaper d/a conversion of Delta Sigma, (1 bit), Bitstream, Saber. etc.
And it says it uses dual R2R’s Multibits to support DSD natively!!? 

Product Description:This new DAC.”Spring” is the first design of a new era, a milestone for HOLO Audio’s own Jeff Zhu. It’s a full discrete R2R type of audio decoder and does not have off the shelf-DAC chip! This is a bespoke custom-designed core DAC module and truly a breakthrough with technology for any DAC chip today. The Spring is here to achieve new heights, new dynamics and simply a full spectrum of audio to please the aural senses. This Dac has been called the poor mans Total Dac / MSB / Wavedream / Chord Dave Etc. It plays with the big boys.

https://kitsunehifi.com/product/springdacbase/

Looks amazing inside for $1,700. Schiit Yaggi better watch out!!!!



Cheers George
128x128georgehifi
bill_k
671 posts
 
Charles,
It would be extremely helpful to hear how both of those comparisons go, especially against the Bricasti SE since that's a more widely known product. I look forward to your further thoughts on the Holo DAC.
Enjoy the tunes!
- Bill

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
6,996 posts
 
Hello Bill,
The primary comparison will be between the Spring DAC  and Bricasti SE. The Yamamoto is definitely a lesser known Japanese boutique product. It has been built by a very talented designer and sounds superbly natural and is musically/emotionally engaging. This comparison would be optional. 
Charles, 
jon2020's avatar
jon2020
913 posts
 
The Yamamoto YDA-01 dac at $2450 would be a better comparison with the Spring dac than the Bricasti SE at about 4 times the price of these 2 products.
Post removed 
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
6,996 posts
 
Jon2020, 
In theory you’re right regarding price category and expected performance. However actually listening to components in your system proves otherwise. I’ve learned that price/performance isn’t a linear relationship. The friend I referred to earlier had the highly touted Playback Designs unit(16 K at the time) in his system several years ago. The truth? It was clearly outperformed by the far less costly Mod wright modified Oppo 2 chassis player! This was with both CD and SACD.

Generally speaking you get what you pay for, in High End audio there are definitely exceptions to this mantra, no question. This has taught me that you must listen to audio products when ever possible. Speculation and expectations can be wrong. This applies to cables as well in my experience.
Charles,
More to discover