Holo Audio Cyan 2 technical measurements

Holo Audio Cyan 2 technical measurements

Standard Prologue
If you are unfamiliar with audio measurements please use a search engine with the query:
"audio measurements" or "audio measurement handbook"
Look for publications by Richard C. Cabot and also by Bob Metzler, both from Audio Precision. There are other useful publications as well. These will provide basic knowledge.
Interpretation of the following measurements is beyond the scope of technical measurements posts.

The data presented were collected as follows:

1. PrismSound dScope III, picoscope 5243B, Tektronix ADA400A balanced probe
2. Balanced XLR cables Belden 1800F with Neutrik 110R AES connectors
3. Single Ended cables Mogami 2964 1 meter with Amphenol RCA connectors
4. 100 Kohm load used for measurements
5. dScope analyzer sample rate 48 KHz unless otherwise noted
6. DAC 44.1 KHz sample rate, 24 bit depth unless otherwise noted
7. Audioquest Forest and Schiit Pyst USB cables
8. Vaunix Lab Brick USB hub
9. Shielded 14AWG and 16AWG power cables

Measurements are made in accordance with AES17:2015

Holo Audio Cyan 2
Measurements for record commenced after warmup of at least 168 hours.
Measurements and listening evaluation were performed over a period of several months.
Select balanced measurements were performed twice, one month apart for consistency verification.

What follows is an examination of Cyan 2 performance.

Index
Post 1 - measurement setup description, highlights
Post 2 - spdif input - Bal XLR outputs part 1
Post 3 - spdif input - Bal XLR outputs part 2
Post 4 - spdif input - SE RCA outputs
Post 5 - USB ASIO - Bal XLR outputs
Post 6 - USB ASIO - SE RCA outputs
Post 7 - square wave response
Post 8 - Distortion Surfaces
Post 9 - reserved for additional data and corrections

Notable highlights:
Cyan 2 demonstrates excellent performance, as has become expected of Holo Audio products
Balanced output Dynamic Range of 140 dB!!!! One of the highest of any DAC.
Very low inferred jitter performance with spurs below -138 dBFS
When run 88K spdif from Dante only two spurs at -158 dBFS
Residual noise in audio band is exceptionally low.
Near perfect 20 Hz square wave response at -3 dBFS without the usual overshoot found on most DAC
Very low distortion, less than 0.0005% for THD+N, THD, D2, D3, 4+HD+N etc.
Balanced output Cross-talk is essentially dual mono with > 150 dB isolation at 1 KHz
Balanced output Gain Linearity is nearly perfect to -120 dBFS, less than ±2.5 dB to -130 dBFS
Single Ended performance is slightly less than Balanced output, as is typical
Single Ended performance is still exceptional compared to numerous other DAC SE outputs

Jeff Zhu has made quite intelligent design trade-offs to eliminate nice but not necessary features of the higher end DACs in the Holo Audio lineup, while maintaining exceptional audible performance. This brings the Holo NOS R2R experience to a larger audience at a much lower price point.

Well done Jeff Zhu at Holo Audio & Tim at Kitsune HiFi!

Commentary:
Power supply is at least 50% of any audio component's design. The higher the level of performance the more the power supply matters. Holo Audio recognizes this, enhancing Cyan 2's power supply, keeping noise to microvolt levels while supplying 10s of volts throughout the system. Exceptional performance by design.

The Cyan 2 is an engaging, immersive R2R NOS DAC.

Here are several particularly synergistic listening setups (of many) I used to audition the Cyan 2:

xDuoo TA-66 with Thomson-CSF 6080WA output tube

One of the best desktop systems if you enjoy HD6x0 and HD800 headphones. The immersion and engagement factor is very high so it may not be suitable for listening when attempting to perform actual work, even with the volume turned down. Many hours have been enjoyed with this system now.

EC Studio B with Elrog 300B tubes

A rich, luxurious presentation. Definitely easy to lose time absorbed in the music library.

Cyan 2 Dynamic Range

Very few DACs achieve 140 dB DR. Very remarkable considering the Cyan 2 is Holo Audio least expensive R2R NOS DAC.

Cyan 2 Distortion 1 KHz FFT spdif input Bal output

Power supply noise spectrum are at or below -131 dBu in balanced output!
0 dBFS = +16.15 dBu making PS noise spectrum -147 dBFS.
-131 dBu is 1.74 uV!
There is NO audible power supply noise. None. Nada. Very well done Holo Audio!

 

spdif input Bal output measurements part 1

Cyan 2 Dynamic Range spdif input Bal output

Excellent performance for a R2R NOS system

Dynamic range, in simplified terms
1. find maximum output voltage at 0 dBFS
2. find residual noise with a -60 dBFS 1 KHz stimulus, removed from analysis by window notch
3. Dynamic Range is the difference between maximum output and residual noise
Specifics are in AES17 section 9.3 (measurebators do your homework please)
Example here:
https://www.maximintegrated.com/en/design/blog/spec-dynamic-range.html

Why we have a -60 dBFS stimulus
Some clever codec designers include an output gate that shuts off when there is no signal present. This has the dual benefit of lowering output idle noise while also gaming the measurements. AES became wise requiring a -60 dBFS stimulus so any such gates are open during measurement and true Dynamic Range performance measured.

Cyan 2 Distortion 1KHz FFT spdif input Bal output


Cyan 2 Gain Linearity spdif input Bal output -140 dBFS range


Cyan 2 Distortion vs Frequency spdif input Bal output - right channel 44 KHz


Cyan 2 Distortion vs Frequency spdif input Bal output - right channel 88 KHz

Observe how upsampling to 88 KHz reduces the distortion above 20 KHz

Cyan 2 Imaging spdif input Bal output


Cyan 2 Residual Noise spdif input Bal output

Exceptional residual noise performance, especially considering the price point.

Cyan 2 Multitone spdif input Bal output 48 KHz

Exceptionally clean performance.

 

spdif input Bal output measurements part 2

Cyan 2 Inferred Jitter spdif input Bal output 44 KHz

Very low jitter with most spikes below -138 dBFS

Cyan 2 Inferred Jitter spdif input Bal output 88 KHz

Fewer spikes with input upsampled to 88 KHz

Cyan 2 Inferred Jitter spdif input Bal output Dante 88 KHz

Nearly perfect performance using Dante at 88 KHz to Cyan 2 spdif using standard scale range for DAC inferred jitter measurement

Cyan 2 Inferred Jitter spdif input Bal output Dante 88 KHz

Changing scale to observe down to -170 dBFS – amazing performance!


Complete spdif input Bal output analysis report pdf attached

 

spdif input SE output measurements

Cyan 2 Dynamic Range spdif input SE output


Cyan 2 Distortion FFT spdif input SE output


Cyan 2 Gain Linearity spdif input SE output


Cyan 2 Distortion vs Frequency spdif input SE output - Left Channel 44 KHz


Cyan 2 Distortion vs Frequency spdif input SE output - Left Channel 88 KHz

As with Bal output observe reduction of distortion above 15 KHz

Cyan 2 Imaging spdif input SE output


Cyan 2 Residual Noise spdif input SE output


Cyan 2 Inferred Jitter spdif input SE output


Complete spdif input SE output analysis report pdf attached

 

USB ASIO input Bal output measurements

Cyan 2 Dynamic Range ASIO input Bal output


Cyan 2 Distortion FFT ASIO input Bal output


Cyan 2 Gain Linearity ASIO input Bal output


Cyan 2 Distortion vs Frequency ASIO input Bal output - Left Channel


Cyan 2 Imaging ASIO input Bal output


Cyan 2 Residual Noise ASIO input Bal output


Cyan 2 Inferred Jitter ASIO input Bal output


Complete ASIO input Bal output analysis report pdf attached

 

USB ASIO input SE output measurements

Cyan 2 Dynamic Range ASIO input SE output


Cyan 2 Distortion FFT ASIO input SE output


Cyan 2 Gain Linearity ASIO input SE output


Cyan 2 Distortion vs Frequency ASIO input SE output - Left Channel


Cyan 2 Imaging ASIO input SE output


Cyan 2 Residual Noise ASIO input SE output


Cyan 2 Inferred Jitter ASIO input SE output


Complete ASIO input SE output analysis report pdf attached

 

square wave response

Cyan 2 20 Hz 0 dBFS square spdif input Bal output

BW ~= 48.7 KHz
Nearly perfect square wave response with no overshoot and no clipping at 0 dBFS
The following measurements are substantially similar to this one.

Cyan 2 20 Hz 0 dBFS square spdif input SE output


Cyan 2 20 Hz 0 dBFS square ASIO input Bal output


Cyan 2 20 Hz 0 dBFS square ASIO input SE output

 

Distortion Surfaces

Remarkably low distortion surfaces and very consistent across frequency. Impressive.

 

reserved for additional data and corrections

 

What a champ! Both the Cyan2 and @atomicbob

Just to confirm: the difference between the 2 spdif input Bal output jitter tests at 88.2kHz are the dScope on one hand and the Dante on the other? There seems to be a significant difference between the two

 

Correct. dScope III has an older spdif interface. It was originally released in 2002 and may have received updates since. I acquired mine in 2014. DACs didn't perform well enough for it to be an issue until most recently. I may rerun the Inferred Jitter tests with AES. During the period I was testing the Cyan 2 my lab bench was configured for DAC comparisons using spdif.

The Dante endpoint used in this measurement is an RDL SF-ND2
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1351701-REG/rdl_sf_nd2_network_to_digital_audio.html
But it is the AES output sending the signal to the Cyan 2 spdif via a Sescom AESEBU1 transformer.