Holo May KTE, are your days numbered? HoloAudio Cyan 2 DAC REVIEW

[@KenMoreira]

Holo Spring 3 KTE owner here. Good to see Holo Still pushing the envelope forward.

[@Berkanann]

I bought mine 5 months ago and I agree with every word in the review. :)

[@Magmun500]

Considering Gustard X30 hopefully you and a few others will be reviewing that.

[@matthewhilty4209]

It's really amazing how DACs get smaller better and cheaper every few years, Thank You for your insight and sound impressions.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@matthewhilty4209 got to love that trickle down technology

[@BobbyBass-x6i]

Thanks for the video. Your review is spot on based on my experience. I’ve been running mine nonstop for a couple of weeks and it’s the best sounding DAC I’ve heard out of the 10 I’ve tried. It has limitations as you noted. If you want just a DAC and the best sound for about $2K or less, this is the one IMO. Why you most certainly will ask. The sound of cymbals is just right not too harsh and not too rolled off. Drums sound like they are playing in front of you. I’m hearing details on my very revealing system I never have before. I noticed slight differences comparing other DACs in this price range but this one was noticeable right out of the box. Highly recommend. Rock on!

[@Pictus_Invictus]

Thank you for the review! You are the most enthusiastic reviewer about Cyan 2. BTW, the new Topping D90 III Discrete 1-BIT DAC looks very interesting.

[@phantomplastics6582]

Superb review. Thank you for all the work you do for us.

[@infn]

I received my Cyan 2 and it immediately whooped my Audio-gd R7's arse which was around $2.5K when it was new. It has everything, holography, deep soundstage, superb timbre and dynamics but what really drew me in was the clarity and transparency. I feel that it won't become dislodged from the main system anytime soon, and might even cause another one or two more to come my way.

[@mikee2298]

I love my Cyan 2. I connected a switch with a remote, works great

[@heyguyslolGAMING]

Great vid, tyvm. As a Spring 3 KTE w/ pre-amp owner; if this is as good as you say, this is definitely worth a consideration for anyone in the market. I love my Spring 3 but the price and size was a bit of a draw back.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@heyguyslolGAMING it’s shocking how good it is sonic I mean to be fair it’s spring to extreme edition so. and it always sounded different to spring three and may it’s very special at this price point where everybody can reach for it though you have some funny quirks honestly it’s a steal

[@jocool7370]

If they build an input selector in it, I'll buy one.

[@JonnyParker-]

Cool review man interesting how you say you enjoy this more than Chord TT2 and stuff , was that for mostly classical and acoustic stuff cos TT2 really excells with electronic music and has great bass detail .

[@mikehuntington4440]

Bought the cyan 2 after owning the spring 3 kte for almost 2 years. Using HQplayer to upsample to DSD, the Spring was better still....but only by a very small margin.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@mikehuntington4440 and that’s my point, this bloody unit is so good, and you’re admitting the huge size 60 W drawer, incredible heat, and get to spend $2300 on something else

[@middleearthltd]

The apex level DAC reviewers for me are Hans and iiWi and it is worth watching their reviews I have a Cyan 2 and it works for me Worth checking it out No features may be a problem for some but it may be just what some may like a lot I use a SPDIF 4x1 in and out with a remote if I want to switch

[@stevendavis1135]

I would say wavetheory then passion for sound follow by currawong

[@c34webb]

You need to get your hands on the Gustard R26. Pre amp, streamer, remote control, and one of the most musical dacs I’ve heard to date. Would love to know your thoughts on it.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@c34webb yes, I’ve been wanting to review this line of DAC for awhile, but trying to work out who I can work with to get them in

[@connorduke4619]

Excellent review. Could you also please review the new Teac UD-507? Teac makes some very competitive Dacs using their own proprietary Dac chips.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@connorduke4619 if it’s possible to get hold of, then maybe yes 🐅

[@dtdcampbell]

What Preamp would you recommend using with the Cyan 2? Much appreciate the reviews and enjoy your videos.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@dtdcampbell if you’re using a HP amplifier, you should be okay, but if you want a pre-best to give me a price point Thank you, glad you enjoyed the reviews

[@dtdcampbell]

@@ConvinceMeAudio in my head I am thinking sub $2500 for a preamp down the road. Since initially will be using with a headphone amp. I am curious about the Denafrips Ares 15th. Which I am debating between the Cyan 2 and Ares 15th. Any chance you will get one in for review?

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@dtdcampbell holoAudio serene KE the reviews on the channel m8 it’s fantastic

[@whocares0503]

The only other DACs I was looking at were the Laiv and the Schiit Yggy GS+. But both od those cost a bit more in one case and only a smaller bit for the Yggy... Though if money is tight the Cyan 2 is a no brainer...

[@engolivecomau]

Interested to hear your point of view of cyan 2 VS wandla, to solid state amps and to tube amps.

[@TheVeganVicar]

Koji, thank you for another wonderful digital to analog converter review! 👌 Reverend Dr. Thomas, ✝️ The Vegan Vicar 🌱

[@one-rv2bx]

Had an Angus beef burger for dinner last night, it was delicious!👌 Supreme Master Chief 💀 One ⚡

[@VintageStereoCollectorChannel]

Thanks for your review. I’ve owned a Cyan 2 for several months now and it’s everything you described. Were you able to test with the Holo Audio Red? I watched your comparison vid you made featuring the Red. I ordered the Red on 9/3 which wii replace my Bluesound Node. Running Roon on a Mac Mini M1 with a CAT6 cable to the M1. Looking forward to playing DSD files thru the Cyan 2 with the Red.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@VintageStereoCollectorChannel only with rockna net and zen streem Seen as the rate is almost the same price I think it’s a bit skewed so I would recommend something else because this is more for the I want to spend as little as possible category

[@jordohayes]

I hope Holo Audio releases a KTE version of the Cyan 2 and gives us 1) an input selector 2) a method to dim the lights and or turn them off completely. I believe most of us would pay for the improvements vs jumping to the Spring.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@jordohayes completely there with you, that’s why I stated in the review an additional $200 would not have been too much to ask for the functionality aspect, for some reason they like to corner themselves into this $1100 price

[@Mladenac]

Or make red lights, orange lights. These blue are like fireflies

[@paulwg2112]

I’m here for the real music

[@keithjohnson2863]

Would this benefit from using a DDC to convert a USB signal to I2S? My dream is to front this with the Holo Audio Red.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@keithjohnson2863 that is a very skewed set up, the red cost almost as much, I think a cheaper option might be feasible

[@cheveyo2403]

the trick to get better highs is upscaling your music. just pcm at higher samplerate. it will open up the highs this is due to a limitation of NOS to rolloff the high frequencies at lower samplerates. is is basically circumventing some quirk with digital audio.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@cheveyo2403 we already do it with HQ player and M scaler

[@harrypavouris3251]

is it always on if not in use or it goes in stand by mode ? Thank you for your review as i have been considering this dac.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@harrypavouris3251 if the signal is there, it’s always active but it doesn’t go into sleep mode

[@PaulFauteux-i7t]

He got a good one. Mine is unspectacular at best.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@PaulFauteux-i7t let it play 250h don’t switch it off

[@adrianwong8153]

Hello, thanks for the video. What is the best matching streamer?

[@edwardbit8225]

There a loads of 1st class dacs below 5k that beat 10k plus dacs this is one of them.

[@alexk1239]

Fantastic review, thank you! As you mentioned the comparison to chord qutest, which one you would pick for electronic music?

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@alexk1239 hmmm I think still possibly cyan too but some people might like the separation and gaps between elements of cutest just depending on your presentation

[@alexk1239]

@@ConvinceMeAudio Thank you so much. The separation of sounds at chord dacs is very addictive as well as prat.

[@jordohayes]

I’ve read that Spring 3 needs 24hrs to sound its best. Any truth to that and or have you found better results with the Cyan 2 remaining powered on? Thanks!

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@jordohayes yes, definitely sound it’s best after 24 hours once it’s broken in, which takes roughly 250 hours, but I never ever switch my equipment off unless it’s tubes or class a comma so mine was on for 18 months LOL

[@jordohayes]

@@ConvinceMeAudio yours might have sounded THE BEST in the world then 😂

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@jordohayes 😂

[@leendertbruynder459]

How would it compare to a Denafrips Pontus 2 ?

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@leendertbruynder459 sorry bud I’ve not played about with this unit yet so can’t say for sure

[@cheveyo2403]

cant you use a ddc as input selector? or like the RED

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@cheveyo2403 so in theory, it works on an active basis, if you don’t have USB connected, it will automatically switch to the active channel without needing to do anything, so possibly

[@Maurizzio_]

HELLO! I have been saving for the L1 May to replace my Qutest on a $15K treated stereo system. I do not oversample, do not mind the input selection caveat. How far/much do you think would that $3K delta between cyan2 an L1 may sonically improve? Thank you!

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@Maurizzio_ speakers, you need to get may mate for that kind of set up that’s a different category This is a different situation when you’re implementing heavy duty to channel world set ups

[@Maurizzio_]

@@ConvinceMeAudio Thank you for the feedback.

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@Maurizzio_ rockna wavelight is sensational landed for review two days ago

[@markthambas2713]

vs laiv please

[@hiatsini]

As much as Id like to bang the hype drum, I was not overly impressed by Cyan 2. I thought it was good for the price and had very agreeable sound, but in NOS mode it was a bit smeared and the imaging and depth wasnt great, and in HQP DSD256 it improved in imagaing and staging but still lacked tonal density and realism. There are dacs that are cheaper that do better in depth, tonal weight, and texture. I thinn it depends on your sonic priorities whether you will prefer it in the price range

[@billparkins3064]

Is there a major difference in the balanced outputs vs the single ended?

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@billparkins3064 I have always used a balanced and to end apart from chord product, I think measures a little bit better possibly

[@mikehuntington4440]

Where you mainly using PCM r2r? Or DSD?

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@mikehuntington4440 pcm really not a fan of DSD man I don’t like the presentation and how soft it is

[@arielext]

so euhm... 5 tigers? :)

[@ConvinceMeAudio]

@@arielext I wish, nearly couple of funny quirks

[@zzezzobike]

😂😂😂😂

[@joecartwright9221]

I didn’t even go to kindergarten. Started the first grade cold turkey 🦃