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Has anyone compared the Terminator Plus to the Holo Audio May (KTE edition)?

I know each of these has been discussed separately on this forum, and I've seen comparisons between the original Terminator and the Holo Audio May.  But I haven't seen direct comparisons between the Terminator Plus (which is supposedly a substantial upgrade to the original) and the May.  So I thought I would pose the question. 
I'll be upgrading from my Chord Qutest soon (I like the Qutest a lot, but I know there's better out there), and my budget will be around 5 - 9k.  I'm interested in R2R DACs because of their supposed natural/analog sound.  And I've heard/read that these two R2R DACs punch above their price points.
128x128hiphiphan
verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,463 posts
 
I just had a customer do a side-by-side between the Weiss 501 DAC and a Denafrips Terminator+ and he said it wasn’t even close.  The Weiss is far better.  He does place a premium on detail and imaging vs warmth.

In addition to the Weiss 501 which is an awesome DAC, I would look at the Rockna Wavedream Edition, the Audiobyte Hydra Stack (VOX, ZAP & HUB) though the hub is delayed and even the Chord TT2 and MScaler which could be in range with a trade of the Qutest.   I think all would be a step up from the Terminator+.  
hiphiphan's avatar
hiphiphan OP
72 posts
 
Thanks. John Atkinson was very impressed by the 501's bigger brother. I might have to add Weiss to the list.
verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,463 posts
 
The difference between the 501 and 502 is the headphone amp.  The 502 has a fully balanced headphone amp while the 501 does not.  The DACs and other features are identical between the two units which is why there is only $1000 difference in price.  
orosie's avatar
orosie
19 posts
 
I have been using a Denafrips Terminator+ with Gaia DDC for about a year now, and the source rig is a BIG step up from my last source, which was Auralic Aries G2, Vega G2 and Leo GX clock. That was a an $18k MSRP stack that does not hold a candle to the Terminator+.

Of course just my opinion, like others. No better, no worse.

For reference, my system consists of:

Harbeth M40.3
McIntosh MC601 monoblocks
McIntosh C50 preamp
PS Audio P20 Power Regenerator
Denafrips Terminator Plus DAC
Denafrips Gaia DDD
SOtM sMS-200Ultra Neo streamer
Custom built NUC8-i7 with Teddy Pardo PS running Roon ROCK

Good luck!
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
John Atkinson was very impressed
Even more so with the Holo May, the Weiss only "rivaled" it.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/holoaudio-may-level-3-da-processor-measurements
In almost every way, the HoloAudio May (Level 3) is the best-measuring D/A processor I have encountered, rivaled only by the Weiss DAC502 and MBL N31.—John Atkinson

And then there’s this review also. Watch the 2nd half as well.
https://youtu.be/Wa3sOSRa-U0

Cheers George
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