I found the may a noticeably different dac. It’s a bit cleaner and less rolled off than the Spring family. Cleaner? Yeah, but personal preference will play a big part.
Something to keep in mind is imoedance and sensitivith - the ZMF is totally opposite the Focal. The A&S have multiple taps, but some amps may prefer one or the other. Best to try before you buy at this price.
So many choices and so many personal preferences and opinions. I felt the verite closed was very similar to the verite open but the vo is lighter. Very detailed and really good for vocal, details. Listening to Sarah McLachlan on the vo and it was an excellent fit. I listened to the Outkast on the vo and it was a little too forward and in your face. Something warmer, less in your face would be better for music like Outkast.
I’ve talked to Justin about his amps and what would work for ZMF headphones, he suggested the Ovation for a quieter noise floor.
I think there are subtle changes going from the Spring 3 KTE to the May. It’s nothing like going from a Bifrost 2 to a Spring 3 KTE. I personally like the pre amp on the Spring 3, it doesn’t take away from the dynamics, you can adjust the volume at the pre amp/dac instead of at the amp and you have a remote to change the volume.
So many choices and what works best for you or what synergy works best for you. Good luck.
Having bought a Hugo 2 a few years ago I always thought a DAVE would be in my future. Especially with the M-Scaler. Now I am kind of curious how the May would do with HQPlayer upsampled 2M taps. I watched a few reviews on the Mola Mola, and it is impressive, but the May seems to get more praise.
I have placed an order for the May. Thanks again for everyone’s suggestions!
After having researched sub $10k amplifiers, I have some conclusions and concerns:
Others I have considered are:
So now I am leaning towards getting an amp to hold me over until I get The One. I would love to get a tube amp but I leaning towards the Headamp GS-X Mini as I have watched several reviews and all of them are positive. (Opinions welcome here as well!)
Regarding the volume control range “issue”: Does it even matter if fed from Qobuz on a computer? Do I loose much of sound quality if I lower the volume from within Qobuz? I do know that if the DAC has volume control it looses an equivalent amount of dynamic range. Or can you not use the volume control in Qobuz at all with the May / Stellaris setup? Seems like a very basic question…
Yes when using Utopia on my Stellaris I have only up to the 1 on the volume. If you are able would need to use a Pre to have more volume range.
DNA is also made by hand by a single person.
TBH I imagine only the Ovation would be usable with Utopia, but you might find luck depending on tube rolls you do.
Its a good amp, but only standard version. Quad 2A3 will be expensive, and the amp is overpriced anyways.
I hear its okay, but some of the tubes are quite odd choices and might be hard to find.
You will still lose dynamic range with software volume controls. I would imagine getting a quality pre would make more sense.
I have the A&S Kenzie Ovation and it’s a great pairing with my Utopias. The Kenzie has a low to zero noise floor. Every once in a while I get a very small hum that’s cured by moving my cord or restarting the amp, so it doesn’t seem like it’s relayed to the amp itself. Virtually all times I turn it on and there’s no noise to even suggest it’s powered on.
Works just as well with my ZMF VC and Aeolus and my HD 800S.
I don’t find that to be an issue. The pot is incredibly smooth so I have no problem dialing in a perfect volume. Ive never felt limited by the limited pot range, especially with one as nice as those on DNA amps. I wouldnt get hung up on it but only you can determine if you actually “need” a larger volume range. As I said, its a non issue for me. I run SE out from the May to the Stellaris with Utopia.
Stellaris is single ended/RCA in only unless you opt for the XLR inputs to be installed, which adds a fair bit to the price for the transformers used. I only mention as you posted re using balanced out from the May.
the 1/4" single ended output on Stellaris is -6dB, so the simple solution is to use the 1/4" jack instead of xlr
Do you still like to use the Utopia on the Stellaris? Is there enough wiggle room to get the volume near where you would want it?
Hmm, this is probably a question to which there is a clear answer. I don’t know, but I would guess that there should be essentially no loss in quality – apart from the loss of dynamic range – to lower the signal level of a digitally encoded signal in software. Does anyone know for sure?
Interesting… What makes the Ovation stand apart? Different types of tubes or for other reasons?
This is very good news. Thanks!
Yes, and, as Donald explained to me:
5dB attenuation is noticeable and will improve the range some, but at that region of the TKD volume potentiometer, there’s around 25dB range between 0-1, so 5dB will manifest as a small change in knob setting down there.
And he is proposing to maybe use the stepped attenuator (from the Special) instead. But that’s an expensive upgrade.
Utopia and Stellaris is one of the best combos imo. I can get enough room on the pot as its very high quality.
The best way I know is with an AVC. You set the pot to 100% on your amp and use a AVC (essentially an external volume control), to control. Will give you more range depending on how its built/how you make it.
Power. Most of the A&S amps have too much power which in turn doesn’t work well with more sensitive headphones.
Besides Ovation, perhaps also check out the directly heated triode amps that have nulling/hum pots - Agartha and Rockwell. DNA Stellaris and Stratus have nulling pots.
Consider Violectric.
Moderately powered single ended triode tube amps tend to do well for acoustic music and instruments - so rock and classical. They may not always be optimal for electronica and pop, where it may be helpful to also have a solid state amp for those genres depending on your preferences.
I preferred a Violectric 281 and a Bryston bha1 to the gsx mini.
I don’t have my May and Stellaris yet, but in general I’ve been happy with Goldpoint stepped passive attenuators between my other DACs and amps.
The HA300 looks the goods with its two chassis, lovely finish and sweet VU. There are a couple of challenges though. The rectifier tubes (22DE4) are an odd tube and quite hard to find, especially matched. The stock tubes aren’t great but there are plenty of vintage and new examples. The other challenge is the stepped attenuator means quite big volume jumps and as it’s a very powerful amp that can be an issue. Lots of people complain about Cayin amps being “noisy” and whilst this can be an issue with some 300B topologies, I certainly found that with mine, even with high impedance cans. It has a lush sound though, as you’d expect. Can be found pretty cheap second hand but probably not too many around. My 2C.
I’ve used the Starlett with Verite, hd800 and utopia. Wavedream signature outputs 10vpp which roughly translate to 3.5vrms makes it unbearably loud for most recordings even before the potentiometer hits 1. I’d suggest adjusting the source output to get better volume range. For reference I’m typically on -5 to -8db on my wavedream which gives me plenty of wiggle room. No noticeable effect on sound for me.
Man, I feel like your first post is a great combo for the PC/desk if the price doesn’t make you flinch. I use the Verite Closed + M Scaler + Dave and it’s a great sound. I’m a huge fan of tubes as well, but as a do-it-all 24/7 setup, the M Scaler + Dave is tough to beat in my opinion. I always felt guilty taking Zoom calls through my tube amp all day. 
I went through the Dave very quickly, lasted maybe 3 months, not that I disliked it, but rather it just wasn’t what I wanted. There is a lot of personal preference in everything at this level, if your spending this amount of money you owe it to yourself to go audition some options.
The chord DAC’s are a very specific sound.
DAC’s are relatively easy to audition at dealers, and I’d take the internet’s viewpoint with a big grain of salt and listen for yourself.
How are you planning on running the May with the Stellaris Special? I assume the latter has single ended inputs unless you went for the balanced upgrade?
I am considering the Stellaris but the balanced input upgrade is $2400. That probably is a bit much for not much audio quality gain (speculation of course, since I haven’t heard them).