Adding to this old thread ...
I extensively compared Holo Red and Mano 3.5 with multiple DACs, including Tambaqui and what I eventually settled on, my very modified Mhdt Orchid.
I had been using an old streamer from Auralic for several years and had never wondered "do streamers matter" ... because of course they shouldn't.
Boy was I wrong. The difference b/w Tambaqui connected direct to ethernet and using Holo Red or Mano 3.5 makes it clear that the built in streamer is not doing this DAC any favors. Very significant and important difference.
Once I accepted that streamers matter, I explored both the Red and Mano extensively, including different linux distributions on both, and lots of work to improve my network upstream ... which also shouldn't matter, but it turns out it does.
The Holo Red is a tremendous value, and extremely flexible. It is easy to use. Its flexibility can be a little intimidating. I tried with Roon (separate Roon server) and Qobuz Connect and various UPNP clients. All work well. To my ears Gentooplayer was better than the native linux distro that comes with the unit.
The Mano is simply much better in every way, except it is less flexible. I only wanted SPDIF out via BNC, with the option for I2S down the road. Or you can choose AES, but not both, whereas with Red you have all the output options, including running it as a bridge w/ USB output. For my needs the benefits of this flexibility were not a priority.
Fast forward and now I run Audirvana instead of Roon, with a headless version running on a server and the Mano as renderer (as I did with Roon). Audirvana sounds slightly better than Roon. Gentooplayer opens the door to endless tweaks to the OS ... and that's a rabbit hole that I am not that interested in, but you can go there if you want. Magna Hifi configures their units following best practices, so it's plug and play ready to go.
I did opt for the TMCB upgrade, so don't know how to contrast w/ units that have standard fuses.
The Mano is a set it and forget it type of component. Leave it on all the time. Many new streamers have screens and apps and other bells and whistles that make them the primary interface to your system if you want. All my gear is in a closet in another room, so none of that interests me, but that's another consideration that neither the Red nor the Mano provide.
Current digital setup:
NUC w/ Fedora + Audirvana headless --> LHY switch --> Gustard NP18 --> fiber to system, all on dedicated AC sub panel --> Gustard NP18 Pro --> ethernet --> Etherregen --> ethernet --> Mano 3.5 --> BNC SPDIF --> Orchid --> Soulution pre + rest of system
All ethernet runs are supra except b/w Etherregen and Mano, which is Audience
