ЦАПы — Holo Audio MAY DAC KTE

The MAY DAC KTE is a fully discrete R2R digital-to-analogue converter from Holo Audio, sold as the Kitsune Edition of the MAY and built to order. It follows the Spring 1 and Spring 2 converters in the brand's history. The KTE upgrades include hand-selected DAC modules, exclusive capacitors, CNC-made shields over the modules, 1.5 mm pure OCC silver internal wiring, a Red Nano fuse, silver and rhodium IEC connectors and a copper Kitsune emblem. It is priced at USD 5,598.

Key specs that matter

USB accepts PCM from 44.1 kHz to 1.536 MHz at 32 bit, DSD64 to DSD512 via DoP and native DSD up to DSD1024. Two I2S inputs take the same PCM range and DSD up to 1024x. Two coaxial inputs, an optical input and an AES input handle PCM up to 192 kHz at 24 bit and DSD64 over DoP. The analogue side offers RCA outputs at 2.9 Vrms with 27 ohm output impedance and XLR outputs at 5.8 Vrms with 54 ohm. In non-oversampling mode at 48 kHz, THD+N is 0.00017% at 1 kHz with a dynamic range of 130 dB, and for DSD128 the figures are 0.00025% and 115 dB. Consumption is 60 W, with mains input selectable for 220-230 V or 110-115 V.

Engineering and use context

Conversion relies on resistor ladders rather than a ready-made converter chip, arranged in dual mono with one dedicated DAC module for each channel. The supply section is housed in a separate chassis, and each channel draws from a separate 100 VA O-type transformer wound by hand with flat 6N copper wire rather than round wire, followed by multi-stage regulation. The two boxes share a footprint of 430 x 300 mm. In NOS mode the original data goes straight to conversion without oversampling, and oversampling can be switched on for both PCM and DSD. An upgraded USB module with the Titanis 2.0 circuit and two XMOS chips runs custom firmware to cut jitter and latency. Holo also added a circuit that suppresses clicks when the stream changes between formats. A CNC-machined aluminium remote is supplied, and the front display can show CD track time from an S/PDIF source.

Pairing

The balanced output is well above the usual 2 V line level, so a preamp or integrated with balanced XLR inputs and enough headroom avoids clipping its input stage. Computer and streamer transports connect over USB or I2S to reach the highest rates, while a CD transport fits the coaxial or AES inputs.

Alternatives

The Holo Audio Spring 3 is a balanced discrete R2R converter from the same maker with native DSD1024 support and a dynamic range above 128 dB.