Totaldac Reference D1
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I got my D1 Dual as well today!
Will be interesting to match the analysis.
As a sneak preview: i understand very well what dallsjustice is talking about... after thirty seconds
Just two hours of listening and and what can I say .. amazing.
I will post my review soon, but I can summarize with: musical instruments do not seem "to be"; "they are".
I Will post soon more details.
First impressions are:
Compared to BADA and to DCS Scarlatti, the D1 is more natural, detailed but with great sweetness and harmonics. The sound stage is greater than never listened. Air and harmonics around instruments are so real which you can see any players into the three-dimensional layer.
Violins are "silky", not shrill or dried. During great symphonies, you can clearly recognize violins, violas and cellos exactly where they are.
This is really a great product. To follow
I forgot: test have been made with and without Pre (Spectral). My preference is without Pre. D1 driving directly Spectral Amp (DMA 150 S2 and DMA 260) through MIT Oracle Matrix 50 unbalanced.
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the D1 is more natural, detailed but with great sweetness and harmonics. The sound stage is greater than never listened. Air and harmonics around instruments are so real which you can see any players into the three-dimensional layer.
Violins are "silky", not shrill or dried. During great symphonies, you can clearly recognize violins, violas and cellos exactly where they are.
I hear inflections of the bows and of voices that i not only didn't hear before but simply 'couldn't' hear before! And this without loosing the coherence of the music being played.
I regard myself as above all a music-lover (classical albeit ) but we need to go through the dark forests of equipment selection to keep up to date and... because we think it fundamentally contributes to purify our love for the same music...
Now, in those processes only rarely do I come across something that I can call a quantum leap. Clearly, the Totaldac is for me such leap that is hard to describe, let alone add anything sensible to what has been written in the previous pages. To put it in other words, the virtues that are described about the D1 Dual are simply all true! And there are many of them!
I guess the very low noise floor, the dimensionality of the stage, the extreme linearity of reproduction, the total absence of distortion (all of them in relative terms of course and in comparison to my current equipment) give the effects talked about. (Positively) Surprising such level of reproduction is possible with 'simple' 44.1/16 CD's.
Maybe I am still on a cloud, wanting to be all of it so true because I actually paid for the damn thing, so I will wait a few weeks before making my final comments with an explanation on what I have been comparing this unit with, in which environment, etc.
I even have 10 more days to go if I am to return the product but now, you would need to rip it from my lifeless hands...
Violins are "silky", not shrill or dried. During great symphonies, you can clearly recognize violins, violas and cellos exactly where they are.
I hear inflections of the bows and of voices that i not only didn't hear before but simply 'couldn't' hear before! And this without loosing the coherence of the music being played.
I regard myself as above all a music-lover (classical albeit
) but we need to go through the dark forests of equipment selection to keep up to date and... because we think it fundamentally contributes to purify our love for the same music... Now, in those processes only rarely do I come across something that I can call a quantum leap. Clearly, the Totaldac is for me such leap that is hard to describe, let alone add anything sensible to what has been written in the previous pages. To put it in other words, the virtues that are described about the D1 Dual are simply all true! And there are many of them!
I guess the very low noise floor, the dimensionality of the stage, the extreme linearity of reproduction, the total absence of distortion (all of them in relative terms of course and in comparison to my current equipment) give the effects talked about. (Positively) Surprising such level of reproduction is possible with 'simple' 44.1/16 CD's.
Maybe I am still on a cloud, wanting to be all of it so true because I actually paid for the damn thing, so I will wait a few weeks before making my final comments with an explanation on what I have been comparing this unit with, in which environment, etc.
I even have 10 more days to go if I am to return the product but now, you would need to rip it from my lifeless hands...
the D1 is more natural, detailed but with great sweetness and harmonics. The sound stage is greater than never listened. Air and harmonics around instruments are so real which you can see any players into the three-dimensional layer.
Violins are "silky", not shrill or dried. During great symphonies, you can clearly recognize violins, violas and cellos exactly where they are.
I hear inflections of the bows and of voices that i not only didn't hear before but simply 'couldn't' hear before! And this without loosing the coherence of the music being played.
I regard myself as above all a music-lover (classical albeit
Now, in those processes only rarely do I come across something that I can call a quantum leap. Clearly, the Totaldac is for me such leap that is hard to describe, let alone add anything sensible to what has been written in the previous pages. To put it in other words, the virtues that are described about the D1 Dual are simply all true! And there are many of them!
I guess the very low noise floor, the dimensionality of the stage, the extreme linearity of reproduction, the total absence of distortion (all of them in relative terms of course and in comparison to my current equipment) give the effects talked about. (Positively) Surprising such level of reproduction is possible with 'simple' 44.1/16 CD's.
Maybe I am still on a cloud, wanting to be all of it so true because I actually paid for the damn thing, so I will wait a few weeks before making my final comments with an explanation on what I have been comparing this unit with, in which environment, etc.
I even have 10 more days to go if I am to return the product but now, you would need to rip it from my lifeless hands...
flyer, didn't you spend quite a bit of time selecting your previous digital? i seem to remember you having the vivaldi, TAD and others in and finally deciding on the LaSource? so is it safe to say that you feel the totaldac tops all of the units you have previously had in the system?
I am glad you did this test. I use Krell 900e monoblocks. I had the top Krell pre and Nordost CAST connection between Krell pre and monos. I also tried a couple of other highly touted pre-amps. None of them came close to doing what the totaldac does directly. IMO, the Krell pre was the best and pretty close to the performance of the totaldac direct to amps. But i heard a little more space and snappier bass from the totaldac going directly to the amps. I haven't gone through this exercise since I got the totaldac d1 monos but I would expect the difference to be even greater.
I have also previously written about different dither applications to volume. I've found that Vincent's 69 bit dither volume control is the best application. I did this with blind testing using someone I really trust that doesn't have a dog in the fight.
Michael.
I have also previously written about different dither applications to volume. I've found that Vincent's 69 bit dither volume control is the best application. I did this with blind testing using someone I really trust that doesn't have a dog in the fight.
Michael.
I am glad to have found, thanks to you and this forum, a very killer DAC. last evening, with a couple of audiophile friends fan of Spectral gears, we made some tests.
1. D1 coaxial input with MIT Oracle MA digital and Berkeley USB (note: on D1, TREBLE FIR filter ON)
2. D1 USB input with Kimber USB cable (because my reference USB cable Ridge Street Audio design Alethias is too short)
3. Berkeley Alpha with MIT Oracle MA digital and Berkeley USB
4. DCS Scarlatti with MIT Oracle MA digital and Berkeley USB
all tests have been made without pre, directly on Spectral AMP.
all of us have selected the test Nr.1 as favorite.
better texture and full-bodied sound was the overall remarks.
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The Berkeley USB brought better detail to my system. The totaldac d1 digital also delivers the details. The totaldac USB converter brings something more though. There's a relaxed persona to the USB converter. Ive had quite a few digital pieces pass through and the only common thread ive found is that the better ones let you play at higher levels without feeling like the music is aggressive or harsh. That's what the totaldac d1 digital converter brings that the Berkeley couldn't deliver. I am surprised at how much of a difference it is since I previously thought the Berkeley couldn't be bettered. I was so wrong.
Hi michael, sorry if I come back to your post. I am thinking to upgrade the D1 with the reclocker, may you add some other comments (if you remember)?
Yes. I did compare the Berkeley with the MIT oracle ma-x AES cable against the Digital D1 reclocker with same cable. The D1 is better. I remember everything sounded calmer, more relax and natural. Sorry, I don't have better details. I don't think you would be sorry you did it.
This is one of the most fascinating threads in a long time - rather quite informative. Keep it going, we are listening vicariously.
Thought I would share my experience...I have recently added a TotalDAC D2, Server/Reclocker plus various bits and pieces (USB filter, SDD NAS, router) to my system. The DAC was first in place and its certainly very good. It gets special with the addition of the reclocker which makes a nice improvement. The Cubox server side took some tweaking and didn't work out of box...I've recently got things working. The TD server is also a significant improvement over my notebook running JRiver (although JRiver is WAY nicer to use than Mpad!). So, with the full TD experience now in place, I'm very happy. I've auditioned a significant number of contenders and my preference led me to TotalDAC. I would really like to acknowedge and thank Adam (Elberoth on this forum) for his wonderful hospitality...I visited him several months ago and we spent some time together and A/B'd the MSB stack and TotalDAC. These are both great options and it comes down to personal preference. As it happens, he prefers MSB, I prefer TD. In Adam's system we also clearly heard the importance of the USB converter (in this case it was Berkerley and Soulution). Both were a clear improvement with the Soulution the winner (we both agreed on this point!).
Although TD are a small operation Vincent has been very responsive and helpful...I highly recommend TD. Cheers, Nigel
Although TD are a small operation Vincent has been very responsive and helpful...I highly recommend TD. Cheers, Nigel
IMO, more and more I am convinced which Totaldac D1 is fantastic. When coupled with resolving system (like mine) lets you listen every detail adding a great touch of finesse and reality.
I do not know how D1 is with tube or high efficency loudspeaker, but for my taste, D1 driving directly Spectral Amp is a really amazing combo.
I do not know how D1 is with tube or high efficency loudspeaker, but for my taste, D1 driving directly Spectral Amp is a really amazing combo.
Are you saying you like the Soulution converter better than the one in the total Dac server?
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