Holo Audio May DAC

@falconquest  Sorry to torture you.  I can't help myself!  ;)
2nd day impressions:
All tracks played from Tidal on ROON.  
Bill Evans Sunday at the Village Vanguard is sounding like I've never heard before.  Those familiar with this recording will know how truly live this is.  Lots of ambient sound of folks in the club and very realistic sound.  With the May DAC and its huge soundstage the music surrounds me.  I can hear Bill's feet on the piano pedals and the thump of the bassist's hand when he hits the wood of his stand up bass as though it's in the room with me.  I keep turning around to see if someone came in the room as a result of things I had not heard before, at least not with such realism.  
Radiohead's OK Computer (OKNOTOK Version), opening track Airbag, is a difficult track to play without sibilance in the high frequency sounds (cymbals) in particular.  The Mytek Brooklyn did a great job of settling this down, but the May DAC does it with much more authority and clarity.  This track is much better resolved with the May, with a liquid sound that does not fatigue or irritate.  I'm hearing things I hadn't heard after several thousand listenings.  
Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways - False Prophet is one of my favorites from this record, and the vinyl pressing I have sounds the best that I've heard.  The Tidal version through the May is as close to the vinyl sound as I've heard.  Sounds a little better in OS mode to my ears.  NOS sounds less lively to me.  
Anything to complain about?  Not yet, but even as natural as this DAC sounds I can tell it hasn't yet fully relaxed and opened up.  It needs to be broken in and I only have about 12 hours on it so far.  I can tell it's getting a little better each listen so that's pretty fun to hear.  

@redwoodaudio I have yet to break out the ganja on this one, but it's in the cards, probably over the weekend.  Cheers

@falconquest I forgot to mention that Holo Audio has a pretty generous trade-up program for owners of the Spring DAC.  Check it out on the Kitsune website.

I can’t decide between the Holo Audio May Dac and the Denafrips also. How did you decide on the Holo Audio over the Denafrips Terminator?   The review I read 
https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-40-denafrips-terminator-ares-ii-page-2
compares the two directly and the reviewer seemed to prefer the Denafrips in OS mode to the Holo and the Brooklyn Bridge.  In NOS mode he was more split. 
Also the Holo is sold through a retailer in Europe (Magna) and US (Kitsune)  whereas the Denafrips comes direct from Singapore which implies better value as no retailer margins to eat in to the price. 
How did you decide to go with the Holo Audio May?

@duckworp

there is really no way to know but to buy/borrow and try in your own system, and compare a vs b and with extended listening, with listening levels carefully equilibrated

i have been through just over 20 dacs in the past 8 months since the pandemic has had me at home more than ever

there is just no way to know by reading reviews and hearsay on boards like this ... few reviewers compare dacs head to head and even then it is not in your system, it is their taste, their ears, their cables, their streamer, their room ... the utility of the reviews and forum second hand hearsay/touts is to identify what may be worth trying if there seems to a groundswell of positivity ... no more no less

when you get into dacs it is about the presentation, the timbre, the imaging/space, the clarity with transients etc etc... system matching is key

the holo may is the hot new dac... six months ago it was the dena term... six months before that it was audio mirror tubador... before that it was the mhdt orchid... before that it was the ps audio ds... before that it was the schiit yggy .... you follow? ... the merry go round continues and never stops... be patient, wait and they will show up used (and broken in), then buy a well cared for piece and experience it yourself

I read the same Stereophile review. Also, there is a good review by the Hans Beekhuyzen YouTube channel.

I was in the market for a reference DAC, so I bought the V2 Holo May. I have had it about a month, and I couldn’t be more pleased. It shows zero evidence that I can hear of any digital artifact. It sounds very natural and musical and has only continued to improve since I first started using it. It has a huge power supply and I noticed I got a larger, more realistic soundstage and punchier bass with it. I am feeding it FLAC files from a laptop via USB going through an Intona Isolator & Impedance Controlled USB cable. I got the Intona before the May arrived, and I noticed that it alone improved the sound from my previous DAC.

In the latest edition of Stereophile, the Recommended Components has been updated to include the Holo Audio May and the Denafrips Terminator. They rank the May at A+ and the Terminator at A. The May replaced the Denafrips Ares in my system, and I can confirm that the Denafrips provides a very nice sound, though the Ares is no match for the May.