You're probably thinking Spring or May (Bliss is the amp)
Holo Audio Cyan 2 DAC
- Thread starter JerseyD
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You are right! Meant Spring! Forgive me...I have a foggy Covid head!
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Louisiana
500+ Head-Fier
My thought was to upgrade, I have been thinking about buying a Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE for a long time and bought the Cyan 2 to get an idea of Holo Audio "House Sound" first.
My R28 is wonderful, and without upsampling it sounds better to me than the Cyan 2, but of course that's always a matter of taste.
If you use HQPlayer and your PC have the horsepower for DSD upsampling, buy the Cyan 2, if you want just listen to music without upsampling, buy the R1
The R28 conjures up a holographic representation of the music that I have never experienced with any other DAC - R28, tube amps and ZMF headphones - nobody really needs more music.
Audio-GD makes great products, unfortunately the "better" devices are so absurdly big that they just don't fit on my sideboard
One more opinion from me about USB vs. I2s:
I can't help it, but to my ears it just sounds fuller and, above all, more holographic via I2s from my Gustard U18
With USB, the stage feels wider and deeper, but the overall presentation seems a bit thin to me, not bad, but i miss something.
When the new batch of Holo Audio Red comes out in March, I'll test USB again, but until then I'll probably stick with I2s.
I would be interested to hear the opinions of other Cyan 2 owners, which connections do you prefer?
Last but not least, I will order an AES cable to test this again - I will report back.
Exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. Thank you! I will be using it only with a Node 2i via coax, so no PC, no HQP. Looking to just plug and play Qobuz.My thought was to upgrade, I have been thinking about buying a Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE for a long time and bought the Cyan 2 to get an idea of Holo Audio "House Sound" first.
My R28 is wonderful, and without upsampling it sounds better to me than the Cyan 2, but of course that's always a matter of taste.
If you use HQPlayer and your PC have the horsepower for DSD upsampling, buy the Cyan 2, if you want just listen to music without upsampling, buy the R1
The R28 conjures up a holographic representation of the music that I have never experienced with any other DAC - R28, tube amps and ZMF headphones - nobody really needs more music.
Audio-GD makes great products, unfortunately the "better" devices are so absurdly big that they just don't fit on my sideboard
Louisiana
500+ Head-Fier
To be on the safe side: buy both, and a tube amp for each.
R28 -> Euforia, Cyan 2 -> HA-3A
I am actually toying with the idea of buying both and keeping the one I like more. Resale of either would be pretty easy, and the $ lost would be small and probably worth it. Head-Fi logic in full effectTo be on the safe side: buy both, and a tube amp for each.
Hello,
I can get a Merason Frerot DAC + POW 1 at the same price that the Holo Audio Cyan 2.
Did annyone test them ?
Which one choose ?
Best regards.
I can get a Merason Frerot DAC + POW 1 at the same price that the Holo Audio Cyan 2.
Did annyone test them ?
Which one choose ?
Best regards.
The exact comparison you're looking for: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/holo-audio-cyan-2-dac.970886/post-17955186
The search function is useful for stuff like this
JjB067
100+ Head-Fier
I have been enjoying the Holo Audio Cyan2 DAC for the last few days, and thought I should share my initial impressions. Thanks to Magna HiFi for a fast and efficient delivery. Up to this point, I was using a Denafrips Pontus II 12th ed (v1.4 firmware) as my main DAC, and the Cyan2 is my first foray into Holo Audio territory.
So I was keen to compare these two DACs. I used an Eversolo DMP-A6 streamer with upgraded LHY Audio linear power supply as source, this fed via USB a Denafrips Hermes DDC, which then fed the two DACs over AES. Both DACS then feed a preamplifier over balanced XLR connections, then onto a power amp and speakers. The Pontus was set to NOS mode for this comparison with the Cyan2 which only has this option. I used locally stored FLAC files upsampled to 176.4 kHz to feed the system, I don't use HQPlayer so this is the best upsampling I can currently perform. There was a slight volume imbalance between the two DACs, so it was necessary to increase the volume by two notches on the preamplifier (Denafrips Hestia) when switching to the Pontus input compared to the Cyan2 which was hotter. This adjustment felt right to my ears and to a sound app on my phone, but I did not calibrate the difference more precisely.
So after many days listening to the Cyan2, I can say it presents a detailed, clear, precise sound with an excellent soundstage. In comparison to the Pontus II, there is an increase in clarity and precision in placement, with the soundstage about as wide but a touch deeper, it feels more voluminous and contains more "stuff". The Pontus would claw some of this small difference back if OS mode were used, which is how I normally listen to it. So the absolute differences are small but add up to a distinct effect, you definately know you are dealing with a different beast. Using music like Aurora "The God's We Can Trust", Agnes Obel "Citizen of Glass", the multilayered female vocals seem more three dimensional and more alive, the Pontus is almost polite in comparison at times. This impression was confirmed using more electronic music like Jean Michel Jarre "Oxygene 7-13" or Boris Blank "Electrified", indeed some of the tracks felt to me like the best versions I have ever heard. The Pontus II is excellent of course, but the Cyan2 leaves an impression of being just a notch up in performance. I felt as the A/B comparison continued, that I wanted to listen to the Cyan2 rather than the Pontus II.
I normally use Dirac room correction, so will now put that back in the chain and continue to compare these two R2R DACs, I will report back in a few days. All this just my subjective opinion using my ears, kit and room limitations of course.
So I was keen to compare these two DACs. I used an Eversolo DMP-A6 streamer with upgraded LHY Audio linear power supply as source, this fed via USB a Denafrips Hermes DDC, which then fed the two DACs over AES. Both DACS then feed a preamplifier over balanced XLR connections, then onto a power amp and speakers. The Pontus was set to NOS mode for this comparison with the Cyan2 which only has this option. I used locally stored FLAC files upsampled to 176.4 kHz to feed the system, I don't use HQPlayer so this is the best upsampling I can currently perform. There was a slight volume imbalance between the two DACs, so it was necessary to increase the volume by two notches on the preamplifier (Denafrips Hestia) when switching to the Pontus input compared to the Cyan2 which was hotter. This adjustment felt right to my ears and to a sound app on my phone, but I did not calibrate the difference more precisely.
So after many days listening to the Cyan2, I can say it presents a detailed, clear, precise sound with an excellent soundstage. In comparison to the Pontus II, there is an increase in clarity and precision in placement, with the soundstage about as wide but a touch deeper, it feels more voluminous and contains more "stuff". The Pontus would claw some of this small difference back if OS mode were used, which is how I normally listen to it. So the absolute differences are small but add up to a distinct effect, you definately know you are dealing with a different beast. Using music like Aurora "The God's We Can Trust", Agnes Obel "Citizen of Glass", the multilayered female vocals seem more three dimensional and more alive, the Pontus is almost polite in comparison at times. This impression was confirmed using more electronic music like Jean Michel Jarre "Oxygene 7-13" or Boris Blank "Electrified", indeed some of the tracks felt to me like the best versions I have ever heard. The Pontus II is excellent of course, but the Cyan2 leaves an impression of being just a notch up in performance. I felt as the A/B comparison continued, that I wanted to listen to the Cyan2 rather than the Pontus II.
I normally use Dirac room correction, so will now put that back in the chain and continue to compare these two R2R DACs, I will report back in a few days. All this just my subjective opinion using my ears, kit and room limitations of course.
This is exactly the comparison I was waiting for. Thank you for sharing your impressions
According to you, is the difference between the 2 worth the upgrade? I know that if I upgrade I will be losing money, so I was wondering if it is worth it
JjB067
100+ Head-Fier
Well the Pontus II is a bit more expensive than the Cyan2, so I wondered whether I was slightly mad in buying the Cyan2 at all. But I am now glad I did, it is a distinctly different overall sound which I seem to prefer. However different people might judge this differently so it I difficult to advise really. I can see if you are using HQPlayer that the Cyan2 would be quite attractive and worth doing due to the high sampling rates possible. I am staying away from all of that for the moment at least !
Thank you for your reply. If I may ask specific questions, it may help me decide: does Cyan 2 have a typical R2R sound that is warm and analog? what I like with Pontus is that every note is impactful (in particular the bass) and well extended. Is the sound of Cyan 2 similar in this aspect?
What I don't like in Pontus is the fact that the sound may appear to be bloated and slow, which makes it less good for modern music but excellent for jazz or vocals. According to you, would you say that Cyan 2 is more an all-around DAC for all types of music?
JjB067
100+ Head-Fier
Well the bass on the Cyan2 is at least as good as the Pontus II, I felt it to better on some tracks actually. Your point about speed on the Pontus II is a good one, I felt with some tracks that the Cyan2 was a touch livelier and faster and dealt with electronic stuff better, but the Pontus would improve in that regard if OS mode were used. I also listened to some Alison Krauss slow bluegrass, and then I felt both DACs were the same. So the Cyan2 can deal with all really, just you can't turn on OS or any filters to customise to different music types as you can on the Pontus.
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