I wasn’t tagged, but I know you’re familiar with this brand. It’s a great option that seems to fly unnoticed. They can make custom voltages.
Edit: I use the LPS with an iFi Supanova power cable and I’m extremely pleased with the results.
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That’s nice to know actually!
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Yeah, I was gonna order one for my Qutest before I decided to sell. It’s definitely an option I’ll keep in mind if I ever need a quality PSU.
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Has anyone seen any comparison between the Holo Red and Matrix Audio X-SPDIF 3? I haven’t found much regarding the Matrix, but I know there’s a few sources for the Holo (including Goldensound’s review).
I’m just curious as to how they compare.
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I message a guy not too long ago in another forum because I was trying to find a DDC to integrate with my system, this is what he told me below. I also added context on the question I ask him:
Me:
"Hey, messaging you because I saw you posted that the Holo Audio Red is comparable to the Matrix X-Spdif 3. I got a couple of questions for you if you do not mind answering them.
In your previous post you did mention you like the Holo Audio Red more than the Matrix X-Spdif 3 via AES/EBU. Do you like the Red a little more than the Matrix as just a DDC?
Also, I’m new to DDC and is planning to get one. I just want something to convert USB to AES/Coaxial well. I was thinking about the 3 options below.
Holo Audio Red
Matrix X-Spdif 3
Singxer SU-6"
Him:
"Yes, at first I compared Red to X-Spdif 3 just very quickly. As brand new out of the box Red sounded as good as X-Spdif 3, I supposed that after burn in Red destroy X-Spdif 3. And this did not happen. For example my Spring 3 KTE sounded completely different before and after long burn in, so I assumed the same for Red, which was not the case.
So yes, X-Spdif 3 and Red are in par in sound quality. Not exactly the same, but very similar.
Before Spring 3 KTE I preferred AES/EBU on all my previous DACs. It is almost universal input, golden rule to go for on most DAC, so it is good choice. Also not so sensitive to cable quality.
Best bang for your buck is probably Matrix X-Spdif 3, not expensive, very solidly built, upgradable via external PS (12V exactly). Very good sound for the money even without PS, better than X-Spdif 2 (which I still own).
Unless you don’t need streamer, Red should be easily replaced by X-Spdif 3 just for DDC usage.
Singxer SU-6 is better than X-Spdif 3, never heard on my own setup, but heard it on another setup which I know, and it is very good DDC.
Also Denafrips DDCs are great. Never heard beter DDC than Gaia in my setup (or Hermes, which is the same ddc in less fancy chassis ).
If I where you I would pick Singxer SU-6. Best sound of the 3, also great potential for future upgrade (better external LPS and external clock)."
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Awesome. Thank you for responding.
That’s interesting that he liked the Singxer best since it apparently measures poorly (I think maybe Goldensound measured one).
I wonder what about the Singxer sound he liked best?
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iirc that’s not true
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I think that was regarding AES/EBU connection. I asked him whats his opinion on the Holo Red, Matrix3, and Singxer SU-6 for USB to AES connection and he recommended me to buy a Singxer SU-6. The reason for the Singxer SU-6 is that its more future proof with the ability to upgrade further compare to the other 3 (at least thats what he informed me, not too confident on that) and if I am going to use AES connection the Singxer probably is the best one. The Matrix 3 and Holo Red is best using I2S.
By the way, I ended choosing the Matrix 2 as my DDC even though the guy recommended me to get the Singxer SU-6. Someone in this community gave me a great deal with on the Matrix 2, so I just ended up getting the Matrix 2 instead of the Singxer SU-6. 1 reason is because money is tight right now for me (bought some furniture, so every dollar counts). 2nd reason is because I’m using AES, I don’t think the difference in sound quality is too huge compare to the Matrix 3. I think the sound quality difference with the Matrix 2 and the Matrix 3 will have a huge leap if I use I2S, but my DAC (Mojo Mystique Evo Basic) don’t use I2S.
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Totally get that, I was just wondering what about it sounded better to him.
I had an X-SPDIF 2 and I thought it was a great little DDC. It does scale with a better PSU (the iFi iPower Elite is the best one I used before selling).
The Mojo sounds like a great DAC, I’m sure it’s a sweet pairing. Thanks again for the thorough responses.
I must be mistaken then
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I use 4 of the iFi Elite PSUs, one of which powers my X-SPDIF 2, and have been extremely pleased with each. It made a noticeable difference going to that on the Matrix vs. the cheap Chinese LPS I originally bought for it.
My understanding about these and power supplies in general based on a bunch of concerned reading I did at first when I discovered they’re not LPS, is that if it’s an SMPS or LPS, it doesn’t matter that much. How well it’s built/implemented is what’s most important.
These aren’t the greatest PSUs ever made, but they are excellent for the price, especially when used with at least one of the iFi AC iPurifiers on the same circuit.
I originally bought one to use on my Roon ROCK, but it doesn’t provide enough watts for any moderate to heavy processing, so it would power off any time I added albums to my library. I looked into TeddyPardo but was very displeased with their customer service. I purchased the unit and 6 weeks later, finally contacted them asking to cancel and suddenly, the unit was on the plane ready to ship.
They seem like clowns and have terrible communication. That alone was enough to ensure I’ll never buy new from them.
EDIT: as usual, I didn’t finish reading before responding.
So, it seems the only comparison of the X-SPDIF 2 vs. 3 is that conversation @SaberPunch had that didn’t really provide anything helpful or useful regarding the differences, other than the 3 is better. Did you ever get more info from them or just let it go since you ended up with that deal on the 2? I’m curious if it really only is better than the 2 with the IIS output or if all digital outputs have improved.
It’s also pretty annoying the 3 is 12V. The 2 is 5V. THESE IFI POWER SUPPLIES AREN’T CHEAP.
God damn it, I wish I hadn’t read this thread. Now I’m questioning if I should get a streaming endpoint for my 2-channel system instead of having the ROCK feed the X-SPDIF 2 into the Mojo like it does currently.
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The X-SPDIF 2 vs. 3 information I got from a post in another forum. I DM the another guy comparing the Singxer vs Holo Red vs Matrix 3 as I was going to buy one of them.
Post regarding the Matrix 2 vs Matrix 3:
Person A:
“Doing an A/B comparison between AES and I2S on my Denafrips Venus II from the new X-SPDIF 3 I notice clear differences in dynamics, transparency and detail. The differences were nowhere near as obvious with X-SPDIF 2 in the same test, so clearly there was an improvement there. Extremely difficult to do the same comparison between the two versions of the Matrix DDC on say AES, but I’d say there’s not much point upgrading to the new version unless you are using I2S. I use a high quality dual power supply for the iFi Zen Stream and the Matrix X-SPDIF 3, both running at 12.0V.”
Person B:
“ > You mean that the I2S sounds better right?
They did some improvements on the I2S port regarding power/noise”
Person A:
“Correct, there is clearly an improvement in the I2S on X-SPDIF 3 when compared to the previous version, that I still own. I came to that conclusion by comparing I2S to AES XLR on version 3, knowing that on version 2 there wasn’t much difference between the two outputs. The new DDC I2S port seem definitely cleaner, with darker background and improved dynamics than XLR. Is AES better on the new version, too? Hard to say as I haven’t done the comparison. That’s why I said above that if you don’t use I2S an upgrade might not worth it. Moreover, the quality of your DAC input has a major role to play. No point using I2S or upgrade to version 3 if you prefer the AES or coaxial inputs of your DAC. Denafrips seem to love I2S, hence I would benefit from any improvements in that area.”
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Thank you! Sounds like the 2 should be just fine since I’m only using coaxial.
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There is a link that I’m currently using to learn more on DDC and Digital reclocker. The thread was made by the same people here, but it’s an old thread in another forum (I still think it’s really interesting). When I get more money/experience by next year, I want to explore more on DDC/digital reclocker and what DAC I want to do it with.
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Yes.
And a commentary on the DDC discussion. Without saying which cables are being used in what connection and without testing in one’s environment you’re never going to get an apples to apples comparison. Most DDCs will make a significant impact and may even help very high end gear. However they do have sonic differences and will be subject to preferences in those sonice differences. Better here is going to be entirely subjective.
Also a comment on getting information from some guy online…
When someone says shit like this the hair on the back on my neck stands on end because I would hate for just factually incorrect info to be shared to someone that’s just starting out their research. The comment about the “Hermes and the Gaia being the same just a cheaper chassis” the guy is clueless.
Also on the Holo Red
It’s a DDC (OR) a Streamer it’s not both and some people as just not aware of that. It’s probably a fine device for the price point but a couple of things on it are not going to compete with a serious dedicated offering. The power supply and the clocks on it are good for the price point but it likely won’t compete with something like an MX3 because of those clocks and a potentially much improved power supply. But the MX3 isn’t a bridge. People buy things for different priorities.
If you have a cheap DDC, you can improve it by buying a good mid-fi one. If you have a good mid-fi one you can improve it by buying a higher end one but they’ll cost A LOT more. And again, may have a different sonic characteristic that you may not like. (look at the Shit list for a good start point) and if you have good Bridge/Streamer you may very well improve it by putting in a clock between it and your DAC. But again, cables and outputs matter so just don’t expect everything someone says to be gospel and get rid of the “Better” idea because they’re all better than naked, what you’re asking for is what sonic characteristics you prefer which is obtained by what clock/cable/output combination.
Didn’t proofread, apologies.
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The iFi Zen Stream was mentioned earlier. Would that be a decent place to start with a streaming endpoint, especially since I already have the accompanying Elite PSU for it, or is there something better for not (too) much more?
I have a Pi2AES in my office and it’s fine. I’ve got an extra RPi4 or two laying around, as well. Is one of the Pi2AES lites good enough? Or would a Zen be better than that? I guess if I’m setting a budget, it’d be like $1000. This likely won’t happen any time soon, but it’ll give me something new to obsess over. 
I will do my own research as well, I don’t expect people to feed me information or anything, but I always appreciate nudges and personal anecdotes since there are so many routes to go.
you can absolutely do better than the zen stream with a $1K budget.
That said though, the RPi4 with a decent HAT or the Pi2AES are more than good enough that I wouldn’t necessarily bother with an upgrade like that or with buying another streamer like the ifi
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You’d have to spend a couple grand to get appreciably better than this, especially with AES/EBU connection. As @orrman said they’re a great B4B product and they scale very well with improved power.
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That’s great to know. I’m going to try swapping them then first to see what, if any, differences I can tell between the listening room being fed by the ROCK + X-SPDIF 2 and the Pi2AES w/iFi Elite PSU.
Thanks, all!
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With my move to Antipodes I lost airplay connectivity between my computer and chain. That means that I can’t use my desktop monitors for watching youtube etc
For now I just connected the mac straight to the Rockna over USB (the Antipodes is using AES) and since it’s not any critical listening it’ll do.
I’m wondering if future me should have a DDC between the two or it’ll be better to insert a raspberry pi and get airplay back (could use i2s or AES and skip USB but will introduce PSU noise from the rpi)… maybe there’s a third option I’m not thinking of?
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