Here are some of my views of the Holo Spring 3 (Level 2) compared to the Denafrips Ares II and the internal DAC of the Bluesound Node 2i.
Please note that my my findings are based on my experience in my living room and my kit. I am not a reviewer so I will just try explain what I experienced in my own words. I exclusively streamed Tidal from my Node to the DAC?s using Coax. I have a Sugden A21 SE Amp and ProAc Tablette 10 Signature Speakers.
I will start with the Ares vs the Node?s internal DAC. When I plugged in the Ares, the improvement was night and day. The sound was fuller and richer with improved base. The Node?s DAC sounded very tinny/ ?blikkerig? to me and the Ares took care of this with very natural sounding treble and sonic signature overall. The Ares also provides a much larger sound stage and very good instrument separation. The Ares brings out so much detail from the recording that is not apparent from the Node itself. Overall, I was really happy with the upgrade and thought I had found my long-term DAC.. until the Holo came along.
Last week I had the rare privilege to demo the Holo in my setup at home. I was immediately blown away about the improvement in sound over the Ares. The Holo has the same sound signature of the Ares, but just more of everything. What really stands out for me is how the Holo just lets the music play and lets it sound right. The music just flows to you without effort, one of the benefits of a NOS DAC. Yes, it has more detail than the Ares, but not at the expense of the music and its natural flow. With the Ares I often found myself analysing the music, but with the Holo I can just sit back and let the music play.
Last Sunday I listened to music for 12 hours. This in itself is testament to the fact that this DAC is not fatiguing in the slightest. The Holo has more base than the Ares, not just quantity but also more texture. Vocals on the Holo is truly incredible. I listen to lots of Indie rock and pop music that is not really audiophile quality and in a revealing system this can be annoying. The Holo managed to make some of those recordings actually sound good. Actual audiophile recordings are just sublime - Diana Krall and oom Len literally gave me goosebumps.
The final anecdote is my wife walking into the room and asking what is this thing because the music sounds so good. She sat down next to me and started requesting song after song. She said we should buy this! Needless to say, the demo DAC is now a permanent feature on my shelf so this is in no way a sponsored post.
Just to summarise, my views are not that the Ares inferior. It is a really good DAC and even more so at the price. The Holo is just better and so it should be at more than 3 times the price. I am now a really happy Holo owner and can now finally get the hifi shop sound I craved in my living room. I can highly recommend this DAC.
Please note that my my findings are based on my experience in my living room and my kit. I am not a reviewer so I will just try explain what I experienced in my own words. I exclusively streamed Tidal from my Node to the DAC?s using Coax. I have a Sugden A21 SE Amp and ProAc Tablette 10 Signature Speakers.
I will start with the Ares vs the Node?s internal DAC. When I plugged in the Ares, the improvement was night and day. The sound was fuller and richer with improved base. The Node?s DAC sounded very tinny/ ?blikkerig? to me and the Ares took care of this with very natural sounding treble and sonic signature overall. The Ares also provides a much larger sound stage and very good instrument separation. The Ares brings out so much detail from the recording that is not apparent from the Node itself. Overall, I was really happy with the upgrade and thought I had found my long-term DAC.. until the Holo came along.
Last week I had the rare privilege to demo the Holo in my setup at home. I was immediately blown away about the improvement in sound over the Ares. The Holo has the same sound signature of the Ares, but just more of everything. What really stands out for me is how the Holo just lets the music play and lets it sound right. The music just flows to you without effort, one of the benefits of a NOS DAC. Yes, it has more detail than the Ares, but not at the expense of the music and its natural flow. With the Ares I often found myself analysing the music, but with the Holo I can just sit back and let the music play.
Last Sunday I listened to music for 12 hours. This in itself is testament to the fact that this DAC is not fatiguing in the slightest. The Holo has more base than the Ares, not just quantity but also more texture. Vocals on the Holo is truly incredible. I listen to lots of Indie rock and pop music that is not really audiophile quality and in a revealing system this can be annoying. The Holo managed to make some of those recordings actually sound good. Actual audiophile recordings are just sublime - Diana Krall and oom Len literally gave me goosebumps.
The final anecdote is my wife walking into the room and asking what is this thing because the music sounds so good. She sat down next to me and started requesting song after song. She said we should buy this! Needless to say, the demo DAC is now a permanent feature on my shelf so this is in no way a sponsored post.
Just to summarise, my views are not that the Ares inferior. It is a really good DAC and even more so at the price. The Holo is just better and so it should be at more than 3 times the price. I am now a really happy Holo owner and can now finally get the hifi shop sound I craved in my living room. I can highly recommend this DAC.
