Grizaudio Posted November 29, 2022 Posted November 29, 2022 This device looks very interesting. After contacting KitsuneHifi, they have confirmed the following. - The device runs Gen2.1 USB tech found in the KTE Spring 3, & May DAC. - It should offer a SQ lift over a standard Pi4/PC, and allows open source software to be run. - The device offers two modes, streamer, and USB DDC. I'm super keen to grab one, just waiting for KitsuneHifi to confirm multi channel capability of the USB port running Roon bridge/Ropieee. Picture copied from Kitsunehifi website. https://www.kitsunehifi.com/product/holoaudio-red-ddc-network-streamer/ L7audiolab measurements: Crazy good. https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/holoaudio-red/ 4
Grizaudio Posted December 2, 2022 Author Posted December 2, 2022 (edited) Ok so Jeff @ Holoaudio confirmed the rear USB port is a full standard usb2.0. Edited December 2, 2022 by Grizaudio
Niktech Posted December 8, 2022 Posted December 8, 2022 Has anyone purchased one and can comment on the sound quality of the Red purely as a streamer and it’s noise floor? I see Indie Hifi have them for sale \ on sale. Cheers
Grizaudio Posted December 8, 2022 Author Posted December 8, 2022 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Niktech said: Has anyone purchased one and can comment on the sound quality of the Red purely as a streamer and it’s noise floor? I see Indie Hifi have them for sale \ on sale. Cheers Hi I contacted Indie (Hugo), and he added the unit to the web. I was going to order one... Noise floor, looks excellent on the measurements. Edited December 8, 2022 by Grizaudio
Niktech Posted December 8, 2022 Posted December 8, 2022 8 minutes ago, Grizaudio said: Hi I contacted Indie (Hugo), and he added the unit to the web. I was going to order one... Noise floor, looks excellent on the measurements. Yes, that’s what I thought too. It would be good to get some listening impressions of it out in the wild though before taking the plunge. 1
Grizaudio Posted December 8, 2022 Author Posted December 8, 2022 Just an FYI. Hugo will receive two stock deliveries, a few in three weeks, and then some more in four ish weeks.
Tobes Posted December 8, 2022 Posted December 8, 2022 I'm curious about the Red as well. With the Holo May dac I've actually reverted to using the usb out from my M1 mac (via an LPS powered iFi usb hub) in preference to the ethernet connected uRendu. Wonder how the Red compares to the uRendu? The Red does have the DDC function (eg usb>I2S) that could be interesting. 1
Grizaudio Posted December 8, 2022 Author Posted December 8, 2022 20 minutes ago, Tobes said: I'm curious about the Red as well. With the Holo May dac I've actually reverted to using the usb out from my M1 mac (via an LPS powered iFi usb hub) in preference to the ethernet connected uRendu. Wonder how the Red compares to the uRendu? The Red does have the DDC function (eg usb>I2S) that could be interesting. The May has some pretty serious jitter rejection (PLL). Can you hear the difference between USB sources?
Tobes Posted December 8, 2022 Posted December 8, 2022 2 hours ago, Grizaudio said: The May has some pretty serious jitter rejection (PLL). Can you hear the difference between USB sources? Well I use the iFi iUSB3 hub because I have it (and the Uptone LPS). The May does sound fine straight out of the M1 mini - but I've convinced myself it sounds a little better with the iFi. BTW I don't think the PLL is in play with USB as that runs asynchronously, with the May providing the clock. The other digital input streams include clocking data, so the PLL would be in play. After doing some reading it seems lot of listeners in the forums, including the very experienced, say the May's USB input is indistinguishable from its I²S input. This is rarely the case and testament to the quality of the May's USB implementation. So maybe the DDC function of the Red is redundant with the May? Who knows? 1
Grizaudio Posted December 8, 2022 Author Posted December 8, 2022 7 minutes ago, Tobes said: Well I use the iFi iUSB3 hub because I have it (and the Uptone LPS). The May does sound fine straight out of the M1 mini - but I've convinced myself it sounds a little better with the iFi. BTW I don't think the PLL is in play with USB as that runs asynchronously, with the May providing the clock. The other digital input streams include clocking data, so the PLL would be in play. After doing some reading it seems lot of listeners in the forums, including the very experienced, say the May's USB input is indistinguishable from its I²S input. This is rarely the case and testament to the quality of the May's USB implementation. So maybe the DDC function of the Red is redundant with the May? Who knows? Well if the Holoaudio Red is based on the USB implementation of the May, it sounds sound very good indeed. 1
Tobes Posted December 8, 2022 Posted December 8, 2022 2 minutes ago, Grizaudio said: Well if the Holoaudio Red is based on the USB implementation of the May, it sounds sound very good indeed. Yeah, so I wonder if that will allow the May's I²S input to surpass the USB input when the Red is used as DDC?
Grizaudio Posted December 8, 2022 Author Posted December 8, 2022 My needs are more modest, I'm just hoping to improve the USB signal into my multichannel DAC. The May is already exceptional, not sure what you need to improve.
Tobes Posted December 8, 2022 Posted December 8, 2022 54 minutes ago, Grizaudio said: The May is already exceptional, not sure what you need to improve. Well, I thought my previous dac was fine until I heard the May. You don't know what's possible until you hear it. 3
Grizaudio Posted December 8, 2022 Author Posted December 8, 2022 35 minutes ago, Tobes said: Well, I thought my previous dac was fine until I heard the May. You don't know what's possible until you hear it. I wish holo made a multichannel dac. I’d be all over it.
wikeeboy Posted December 8, 2022 Posted December 8, 2022 Thanks for the head sup @Grizaudio I'm currently borrowing one of @gibbo9000's Raspberry Pi's. Such a simple roon endpoint, i'm a fan. This holo product seems reasonably priced, using some of the Pi tech but taking it a step further. Ticks most of my boxes such as Roon, Tidal, Quobuz, Spotify, Airplay etc. Would love to know how it sounds. At the asking price it's almost a no brainer to purchase unheard. 1
Grizaudio Posted December 8, 2022 Author Posted December 8, 2022 (edited) 4 minutes ago, wikeeboy said: Thanks for the head sup @Grizaudio I'm currently borrowing one of @gibbo9000's Raspberry Pi's. Such a simple roon endpoint, i'm a fan. This holo product seems reasonably priced, using some of the Pi tech but taking it a step further. Ticks most of my boxes such as Roon, Tidal, Quobuz, Spotify, Airplay etc. Would love to know how it sounds. At the asking price it's almost a no brainer to purchase unheard. No probs. I believe you need to load you own choice of software. Are you aware? Edited December 8, 2022 by Grizaudio
Tobes Posted December 8, 2022 Posted December 8, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Grizaudio said: No probs. I believe you need to load you own choice of software. Are you aware? I don't know if that's gonna be correct - that doesn't make sense for a product like this not to provide an OS. The apps of course will need to be Holo supplied to work with their hardware. Maybe you choose which apps - NAA, Tidal etc you wish to load? Edited December 8, 2022 by Tobes 1
Grizaudio Posted December 8, 2022 Author Posted December 8, 2022 (edited) You are correct Red runs it’s own software, with a menu that allows installation or different endpoints. https://www.kitsunehifi.com/product/holoaudio-red-ddc-network-streamer/ I would probably just run a different SD card with Ropieee loaded. I need a fairly recent kernel for my Motu ultralite mk5 DAC. On email to Jeff, he indicated the player should have no issues running Ropieee, ubuntu etc. Edited December 8, 2022 by Grizaudio 1
gibbo9000 Posted December 8, 2022 Posted December 8, 2022 1 hour ago, wikeeboy said: Raspberry Pi's. Such a simple roon endpoint, i'm a fan. The Red sounds an interesting bit of kit! On the Pi (as Roon end point) I need to find a few minutes to try one with its digi-hat using Optical or SPDIF out - as I understand it the hat sits on the I2S bus and bypasses the USB functionality. Just need to check that Ropieee accepts it. 1
Grizaudio Posted December 8, 2022 Author Posted December 8, 2022 2 minutes ago, gibbo9000 said: The Red sounds an interesting bit of kit! On the Pi (as Roon end point) I need to find a few minutes to try one with its digi-hat using Optical or SPDIF out - as I understand it the hat sits on the I2S bus and bypasses the USB functionality. Just need to check that Ropieee accepts it. Ropieee is compatible with most hats. 1
lubos64 Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 On 8. 12. 2022 at 5:51, Tobes said: Na Červený jsem taky zvědavý. S Holo May dac jsem se ve skutečnosti vrátil k používání USB z mého M1 mac (přes LPS napájený iFi usb hub) přednostně před ethernet připojeným uRendu. Zajímá vás, jak si stojí Red ve srovnání s uRendu? Červená má funkci DDC (např. usb>I2S), která by mohla být zajímavá. Mám otázku. Když posíláš data z M1 do uRendu přes HQPlayer, je možné poslat DSD nativně? Jde mi o to vyhnout se omezení DSD DoP. Děkuji.
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted January 3, 2023 Volunteer Posted January 3, 2023 4 hours ago, lubos64 said: Mám otázku. Když posíláš data z M1 do uRendu přes HQPlayer, je možné poslat DSD nativně? Jde mi o to vyhnout se omezení DSD DoP. Děkuji. Translation “I have a question. When you send data from M1 to uRend via HQPlayer, is it possible to send DSD natively? My concern is to avoid the restriction of DSD DoP. Thank you.” @lubos64 could you please post in English ? 1
lubos64 Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 Před 5 minutami sir sanders zingmore řekl: Překlad "Mám otázku. Když posíláte data z M1 do uRendu přes HQPlayer, je možné poslat DSD nativně? Jde mi o to, abych se vyhnul omezení DSD DoP. Děkuju." @lubos64 mohl bys prosím napsat v angličtině? "I have a question. When sending data from M1 to uRend via HQPlayer, is it possible to send DSD natively? My point is to avoid DSD DoP limitation. Thanks." There are translators.
Tobes Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 10 hours ago, lubos64 said: "I have a question. When sending data from M1 to uRend via HQPlayer, is it possible to send DSD natively? My point is to avoid DSD DoP limitation. Thanks." There are translators. Yes, with HQPlayer you can output native DSD from the M1 to the uRendu. Not sure if it makes any difference to the sound since DoP is just the container for the DSD data.
lubos64 Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 Před 2 hodinami Tobes řekl: Ano, s HQPlayer můžete na výstupu nativního DSD z M1 do uRendu. Nejste si jisti, zda to dělá nějaký rozdíl ve zvuku, protože DoP je pouze kontejner pro data DSD. I'm all about resolution. My Accuphase DP750 natively does DSD256, but of course only DSD128 via DoP. You can send them DSD DoP via USB from the M1. That's why I was wondering if DSD can be sent natively via RJ45 to uRend or perhaps to Holo Audio Red. Thank you for the excellent message that it can be done. I will try it in the near future.
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