Holo Audio Red vs Singxer SU-6

[hardcore]

Hello, it seems like you are making a great progress on the digital inputs with good devices in hand. Could you also compare the PC to Singxer (USB) to Devialet (AES) option with the other combinations you tried.

Hi @ada, the PC ---USB---> Singxer SU-6 ---AES---> Devialet is my regular setup before testing the Holo Red.

I have done many tweaks to the PC:
- Use an optical USB cable between PC and Singxer to provide galvanic isolation. This is a Fibbr Alpha USB cable which is fully fibre.
- Use a HDMI filter device (ifi HDMI iSilencer+) to reduce electrical noise from the TV, which makes quite a difference in sound.
- Use a USB Ethernet adapter and isolate the USB ground and 5V power using ifi USB iDefender and separate power supply.
- Disabled USB interrupt moderation in Windows (a gamer tweak called the xHCI IMOD tweak), this helps too.
- Choose the best sounding USB port on the PC, different ports can sound very different.
- I plan to replace my optical HDMI cable with a new pure fiber HDMI cable, which will provide total isolation from the TV.

Comparing the PC to using the Holo Red as a streamer, the PC sounds slightly darker, and the soundstage is slightly smaller. The Red sounds more nimble and clean with better microdetails.

On the PC, the sound changes after Windows has been running for a while. The PC sounds best after a reboot while the Holo Red sounds good consistently.

Comparing the Red's AES output with the Singxer connected to Red's USB output, the Singxer has a slightly airier soundstage and smoother highs which makes it sound a bit more relaxed.

Now with the Holo Red --- USB --> Singxer SU-6 --- AES --> Devialet, this is the best my system has sounded so far. I'm going to test the Red for a few more days and I'm tempted to get it.

The sound of the PC and Streamer changes a lot depending on the network connection. I made some big improvements by adding fibre ethernet isolation on the network, and this improves the sound dramatically. The network switch also affects the sound, experiment with different ports on the switch as they sound different.

I changed all my ethernet cables to solid core *unshielded* cables. In the past, I used shielded ethernet cables, but they color the sound making it sharp and edgy. Changing to solid core unshielded cables was a revelation. A few friends tried this in their systems and all had big improvements in sound.