Also @Extreme_Boky , would it be cheaper to get a Topaz isolation transformer to provide clean power from the get go?
or will it not have the same effect as the voltage regulators?
cheers
or will it not have the same effect as the voltage regulators?
cheers
You can search the web for what distinguishes the Holo May from other DACs. I'll refrain from giving it accolades because that might be deemed as biased.
I decided to go with this DAC based on what I found/saw inside the 2 units (the power supply and the DAC unit). I also really liked the USB card/interface PCB... another unbelievable piece of engineering... everything in this DAC was exactly like what I appreciate and value truly, in a well-designed DAC. The parts selection and how they were combined throughout the DAC was also exactly what I ended up doing on my gear / with my mods, after close to 4 decades of experience. So, it was (the May DAC) a perfect choice for me.
There are many good DACs out there; each bringing something special to satisfy a particular taste... the most important thing is to listen, if you can.
I do not like isolation transformers - they kill the dynamics in sound, in my system... but, your opinion might be different. If you like what you hear - that's a good enough reason not to care what others think.
I’ve seen measurements and heard good things about the DAC. was just wondering what you thought about it since you are Knowledgeable technically.
have you heard the benchmark DAC3? Out of really good measuring DACs it’s my fav. I didn’t particularly like the RME ADI.
do you think ‘ upgrading’ the transistors on the Marantz headphone amp part, would offer better performance?
currently there are two Sanken 2SD2081 Darlington BJT transistors feeding the headphone amp part.
they are located just above IC99 In the below link to the diagram.
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/2859921/Marantz-Hd-Dac1.html?page=60#manual
The RME ADI is a professional DAC that measures good, but sound character-wise it reminds me of the song; "The Polyester Girl". I could not listen to that thing for longer than 10min... but my taste might be completely different from yours. Many people like this DAC. As I said, listen and decide for yourself.
DAC3 I haven't had the pleasure to demo at my place.
I'd leave the Darlingtons alone... just do the voltage regulators as I suggested...
DAC3 I haven't had the pleasure to demo at my place.
I'd leave the Darlingtons alone... just do the voltage regulators as I suggested...
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Yeah I didn’t like the RME at all either. Flat and boring.
the benchmark is completely different. But then again John Siau is a great engineer and spent his earlier years exclusively in the digital domain.
Bryston makes a good chip DAC as well. The BDA-3
id love to hear the Holo May one day and might buy one. I just heard the Denafrips Venus II at home for around two months and didn’t like it. Too soft and an exaggerated soundstage. Very smooth and low attack and speed. So that kinda steered me away from discreet R2R. But people tell me the Holo May doesn’t suffer from that. It’s punchy and quick.
the benchmark is completely different. But then again John Siau is a great engineer and spent his earlier years exclusively in the digital domain.
Bryston makes a good chip DAC as well. The BDA-3
id love to hear the Holo May one day and might buy one. I just heard the Denafrips Venus II at home for around two months and didn’t like it. Too soft and an exaggerated soundstage. Very smooth and low attack and speed. So that kinda steered me away from discreet R2R. But people tell me the Holo May doesn’t suffer from that. It’s punchy and quick.
I do not use the pre-amp. Holo May DAC goes straight into a modified Aleph J. There are no capacitors in the whole signal path, end-to-end. I added (Aleph J) local decoupling capacitors, removed the DC offset trim pots and placed the TX2575 Naked Foil resistors in their place, the amp is only a 2-gain stage design, and the output is a single-ended Class-A stage). The interconnects are balanced/XLR pure silver ribbons, annealed. This is quite a revealing system. In this particular system, Holo May is the perfect source for me. It can also be used to tune the sound to an individual/particular mood, and/or various source files' quality. If used with HQPlayerPro, it will process anything up to 1.536MHz PCM / 1024DSD. AND ..... it has a pretty darn good NOS implementation. So.... as you can tell, the finesse can be tailored/fine-tuned to a great degree. Any harshness at the source end would show / any wooliness would also show... any flaw would show immediately. I worked on this system long and hard to get to where I am now.
I listen to Bryston BDA3 at my place. It was a great experience. Great DAC. Great DAC IC (albeit a bit old...), and a fully discrete analog class A output stage... a great power supply as well. I think you can get one second-hand for a very reasonable price.
I listen to Bryston BDA3 at my place. It was a great experience. Great DAC. Great DAC IC (albeit a bit old...), and a fully discrete analog class A output stage... a great power supply as well. I think you can get one second-hand for a very reasonable price.
ah you have a Pass designed amp nice. I need to try one of those at some point.
im sure you modding it made it even better or to your liking.
I sometimes use HQ player. That should be an option for a lot of DACs nowadays , for them to offer a pure NOS mode to make the most of third party filters such as HQPlayer which are great and a simple chip on board can’t do but a laptop or PC can.
the Bryston is awesome. My only complaint is that it sounded like it had a bit too much space in between instruments. Which I attribute to its minimal phase filter it uses. But Bryston is awesome and after I contacted them they said they could send me the file to change to the linear phase filter.
super duper punchy DAc as well.
yeah they come second hand at good prices and are way better than some cheap topping stuff, which personally I think sound horrible.
I use a benchmark LA4 into an AHB2 as amplifier duties and love it.
they make some super well engineed stuff.
im sure you modding it made it even better or to your liking.
I sometimes use HQ player. That should be an option for a lot of DACs nowadays , for them to offer a pure NOS mode to make the most of third party filters such as HQPlayer which are great and a simple chip on board can’t do but a laptop or PC can.
the Bryston is awesome. My only complaint is that it sounded like it had a bit too much space in between instruments. Which I attribute to its minimal phase filter it uses. But Bryston is awesome and after I contacted them they said they could send me the file to change to the linear phase filter.
super duper punchy DAc as well.
yeah they come second hand at good prices and are way better than some cheap topping stuff, which personally I think sound horrible.
I use a benchmark LA4 into an AHB2 as amplifier duties and love it.
they make some super well engineed stuff.
I wish I learned more about electronics to at least mod audio devices.
I learned enough to mod my guitar amps, but those are far simpler circuits and work to create pleasing distortion.
i could learn now, but it would take far too long At 55. I already got two degrees, but always admired people doing electronics work and even plumbing.
@Extreme_Boky , it’s cool you know electronics well
p.s , is there anyway to use the scope on REW to measure the crossover distortion or where to safely set the bias on the Marantz headphone amp?
I learned enough to mod my guitar amps, but those are far simpler circuits and work to create pleasing distortion.
i could learn now, but it would take far too long At 55. I already got two degrees, but always admired people doing electronics work and even plumbing.
@Extreme_Boky , it’s cool you know electronics well
p.s , is there anyway to use the scope on REW to measure the crossover distortion or where to safely set the bias on the Marantz headphone amp?
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@Extreme_Boky
i forgot to ask
does number 6 below mean to turn up the volume all the way up when adjusting the bias?
doesn’t really make a diff
i forgot to ask
does number 6 below mean to turn up the volume all the way up when adjusting the bias?
doesn’t really make a diff
@Extreme_Boky
it makes no diff in the reading on the voltmeter anyway.
but the instructions are odd
shouldn’t I just wait 30 min and then adjust since the idling current changes with temp?
and then check after a day or so to make sure it didn’t drift?
thanks
it makes no diff in the reading on the voltmeter anyway.
but the instructions are odd
shouldn’t I just wait 30 min and then adjust since the idling current changes with temp?
and then check after a day or so to make sure it didn’t drift?
thanks
If you want to see the crossover notch in REW you will need an interface of some kind to get the analogue audio into the computer.
You will need a sine wave preferably into a load similar to the headphones you normally use. With a headphone amp such distortion shouldn't really be an issue. It should be biased well into the Class A region and I doubt you will be able to see a notch. To see lower level distortion will need more.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/measuring-crossover-distortion-bias.356402/
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/measuring-crossover-distortion-bias.356402/
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@rfbrw , yeah I know how to use REW with a AD and measure distortion from the DAC by connecting the analog out of the DAC and measuring using an FFT.
such as what I did here with the Marantz below in the pic.
to measure where the crossover distortion is for the headphone amp, do I need to pass a 1khz sinewave and take the headphone out Jack of the headphone amp and pass it through a load like mt headphones into the AD And use the oscilloscope in REW?
thanks
such as what I did here with the Marantz below in the pic.
to measure where the crossover distortion is for the headphone amp, do I need to pass a 1khz sinewave and take the headphone out Jack of the headphone amp and pass it through a load like mt headphones into the AD And use the oscilloscope in REW?
thanks