You can make babies in the back of a Camry. Just try that in an Aventador…you’d need back surgery!
I just traded in my mint-condition Aston Martin DB5 for a used Jeep Liberty. That f’ing DB5 didn’t even have 4 wheel drive, for god’s sake. What’s the point?
Yes–the Camry is way better looking than that Italian whatever-it-is (humidor?).
He knows what he is selling. And he’s good at it. But, it isn’t audio gear.
WHERE IS THE DISLIKE BUTTON!
Btw… That video was fricken torture. 30 min in, and he still hasn’t done any listening. I skipped entire 5 min segments because I can’t stand hearing him repeat “professionally made switch box” and “3 identical amps” 30 times in a row, or the other BS he was ramblingb on about.
I think the next person who posts a Zeos video should get a special forum title: Small Zenis.
You’re killin me. 
The way I see it, he’s just a data point when it comes to determining my decision to purchase something or not. I would be extremely concerned if there was a product that had absolutely no faults and nobody disagreed with it. However, when a product is super polarizing (50/50), I also will have to see if I fall on one side or the other. With the example before, not everyone likes the camry. Is it a good car? Of course it is but you’re going to find someone who absolutely hates it. There isn’t going to be a car that everyone loves but there’s a general consensus that the car is either good or bad.
Zeos did his A/B comparisons using the 789 amp in the first part of the vid, but hooked up the the best amp he had a bit later on and still didn’t notice a difference (Italian Reference amp I believe). I actually value Zeo’s opinion here, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with him. He doesn’t tend to have or review a lot of ultra high-end/summit-fi gear (which I personally think gimped his results) and according to what he said in this vid it seems like he doesn’t want to. Maybe it’s all for the best…
That said, his results do indicate the Holo May is likely a device for those looking to squeeze the last 1-10% out of an audio setup. It isn’t really a value buy and given the price that should be fairly obvious. I also don’t really understand how it could be argued that “DACs make zero difference in sound” unless Zeos is simply stating that this particular DAC doesn’t compared to the other two he tested.
I can’t really argue with you on any particular point:-)
IMHO that assertion has a long history in high-end audio. I’m sure there were audio luddites just 1-2 days after Edison invented to wax cylinder–but I recall this type of thinking really picking up speed when CD audio launched in the '80s. All the stars aligned to make that “no differences line” a party line backed by real money:
At that moment in time, big money had gone into inventing the CD and equally big money was pouring in the marketing of it. Opposition to CDs’ sound was not only of zero interest to the players on a technical level (who cares how good something sounds?) but also was against their commercial interests to even acknowledge
Analog audio–vinyl & reel-to-reel–was easy to kick to the curb: neither measured as well as digital (especially vinyl) & neither had any deep-pockets proponents in the marketplace. Analog was about to experience a nuclear winter lasting decades…no one with a big megaphone was sticking up for it
So the party line became “bits are bits” and all who said, “No, wait–this CD of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony sounds like dogshit compared to the same performance on vinyl–why is that?” were ignored and sidelined
Over time the early nay-sayers were proven correct, and now even industry types will admit that early digital masters sound like ass and have been improved by subsequent technologies & remastering
But…that legacy of defending digital sound seems to remain active in this or that corner of audio. Specifically, people who already have a “measurements matter more than listening” bias are quite ready to state that DACs are the exception to the rules of audio reality–there really can’t be any sonic differences from DACs because they’re digital.
Hey guys, whether you agree with an opinion or not, let’s make sure we’re not insulting each other or other people for their opinions on gear.
I don’t like stepping in to clean up threads so keep the discussion to the gear and the opinions around the gear and not insulting the individuals with opinions on said gear.
Truly amazing insight here… And it raises and interesting question; why do people tend to invest themselves so heavily in a particular outcome or opinion in audio? For example…if it turns out the new system I’m building ends up sucking ass, but just so happens to measure wonderfully and be lauded by nerds across America, I’d be pissed off and would care less what anyone else thought. Yet if it turns out to be awesome, but I find out later that it measures like crap and the same army of nerds shit on me for it, I would secretly care. At least a little bit. This makes no logical sense at all and it bothers me. Why would I secretly give a single eff what anyone else thought in either of these situations? The human condition? The desire to fit harmoniously within the herd?!? Also, why do people end up listening to people like Zeos, or the slew of other reviewers out there, instead of figuring things out for themselves? Just natural followers? Laziness? Lack of available information? Confirmation bias?
Regardless…the long and storied legacy of people pushing agendas can’t be ignored, especially in audio as you articulated so well. Maybe one day everyone will just STFU and let the sound speak for itself instead of constantly trying to shape it’s narrative.
I think most people do listen for themselves once they get the gear. The problem is deciding what to buy during a pandemic and possibly a lack of local options for certain gear. Many people don’t really have any other way to gather data except for reviews and online info.
Yeah, make sense and that is absolutely fair. Hard to decide on something with limited information.
Maybe it would sound better with a $5000 power cord?
Anyway, this stuff is way over my head and pay grade. I had to really talk hard to myself to spring for
$200 worth of JDS DAC/Amp set up.
My biggest problem with the video was the constant motion. Kind of made my stomach churn.
He needs to ditch the head mounted camera so I can concentrate on what he’s doing and saying.
Wouldn’t hurt to clean up his language either. I was always told a foul mouth masked *****.
Just my humble opinions.
LJK
I don’t go in with any ‘analog sucks’ or ‘digital sucks’ type of things; I love 'em both, and it’s all down to the gear. But I totally agree about those measurements - I never look at them; I’m into listening to music, not analyzing graphs and numbers, and yes, I realize that many people do both - that’s great! But judging by specs instead of hearing? Dunno about that…
It’s kinda cool though when you can see what you’re hearing on measurements so you can eventually find some benefit from that. Ears first is a good place to start.
A spring 1 KTE is up for sale for a good price!!
I take his evaluations seriously but find it difficult to watch his videos for very long. Too much rambling and off-topic stuff. It is entertaining up to a point, and certainly original, and I also understand the need to create a kind of persona to build up subscriptions and … of course, always, get signups for the Patreon. Not hatin’ but I can’t really watch these long enough to get to the actual review.