New Totaldac DACs in 2023 : d1-unity , d1-triunity , and d1-sublime

[Argonaut]

Wow. That is interesting. Is exactly the opposite of what I would expect from an Aries Cerat product, based on what I've heard.

It is the nature of these things Al , and inevitable that sometimes we will read a Minority report regarding a piece of audio equipment .

 

[Argonaut]

Well I was solely vinyl prior to this DAC, brought a bunch of DACs in recently to listen.

In the interests of completness might you enlighten us as to which other makes and models of DAC you auditioned ? aside from the one make and model that you chose to spotlight.

 

[skids929]

In the interests of completness might you enlighten us as to which other makes and models of DAC you auditioned ? aside from the one make and model that you chose to spotlight.

I started out thinking I would get what I wanted for under $10k, so a pretty wide range actually. Holo Audio May, another very neutral, colder sounding DAC, which was also contrary to what I had read. (so take what I say at face value, all systems are different). Also, the Wavedream Signature, several Audio Note dacs, from 1.1 all the way up to the 5.1. Berkeley, and T+A DAC 200..Only one I wasn't able to listen to was the PBD MPD 6 or 8, which I may still get an opportunity to listen to the 6. I would imagine thats where the competition really is for the Totaldac.

People need to hear these DACs, it's a shame they aren't more widely distributed, I think it gives a persona to them that makes them more niche-they're not. I had always heard good things, but never had a chance to listen to one due to the lack of dealer presence and ultimately availability. It wasn't until one of my Audio friends took the plunge and bought one (Unity) and insisted I hear that I listened to one and was shocked. So for me, I listened to enough DACs that once I heard the TD I knew almost immediately it was the sound I preferred. It's really an incredible product.

 

[Al M.]

I started out thinking I would get what I wanted for under $10k, so a pretty wide range actually. Holo Audio May, another very neutral, colder sounding DAC, which was also contrary to what I had read. (so take what I say at face value, all systems are different). Also, the Wavedream Signature, several Audio Note dacs, from 1.1 all the way up to the 5.1. Berkeley, and T+A DAC 200..Only one I wasn't able to listen to was the PBD MPD 6 or 8, which I may still get an opportunity to listen to the 6. I would imagine thats where the competition really is for the Totaldac.

People need to hear these DACs, it's a shame they aren't more widely distributed, I think it gives a persona to them that makes them more niche-they're not. I had always heard good things, but never had a chance to listen to one due to the lack of dealer presence and ultimately availability. It wasn't until one of my Audio friends took the plunge and bought one (Unity) and insisted I hear that I listened to one and was shocked. So for me, I listened to enough DACs that once I heard the TD I knew almost immediately it was the sound I preferred. It's really an incredible product.

What did you think of the Audio Note DACs?

I hope that the Playback Design MPB 6 or 8 are much better than the MPD 5. A friend had the latter, and it was very underwhelming. Grey, mechanic and muddied sounding. Perhaps his computer audio setup at the time, which is now much improved, was partially to blame, but be that as it may, the DAC left a negative impression.

 

[skids929]

What did you think of the Audio Note DACs?

I hope that the Playback Design MPB 6 or 8 are much better than the MPD 5. A friend had the latter, and it was very underwhelming. Grey, mechanic and muddied sounding. Perhaps his computer audio setup at the time, which is now much improved, was partially to blame, but be that as it may, the DAC left a negative impression.

AN were ok, surprisingly my favorite one of the ones I heard was one of the lower DACs. At the end, I felt for the money you can do better, but maybe I just listened to the wrong ones, because there are so damn many. I'd say whatever AN DAC you consider make sure it has Signature parts inside. Just my opinion...As far as PBD, this is another dac with widespread praise. Is it for me? No clue..I can't extol the virtues of hearing equipment in your own room and system enough. It's the ONLY way to truly eval a piece of gear. These last few months have been a complete pain in the behind with bringing gear in, paying shipping and then carving out time to listen, but worth it in the end.


PS- I also listened to the Aqua La Scala, and there were probably some others I am forgetting.

 

[Al M.]

AN were ok, surprisingly my favorite one of the ones I heard was one of the lower DACs. At the end, I felt for the money you can do better, but maybe I just listened to the wrong ones, because there are so damn many. I'd say whatever AN DAC you consider make sure it has Signature parts inside. Just my opinion...As far as PBD, this is another dac with widespread praise. Is it for me? No clue..I can't extol the virtues of hearing equipment in your own room and system enough. It's the ONLY way to truly eval a piece of gear. These last few months have been a complete pain in the behind with bringing gear in, paying shipping and then carving out time to listen, but worth it in the end.


PS- I also listened to the Aqua La Scala, and there were probably some others I am forgetting.

Yes, there is no substitute for listening in your own system! Or if that's not possible, listening in another system that you know well. And then form your own conclusions, all other opinions, glowing or not, be damned. One thing that is important is that all the units auditioned had been broken in, that can make a large difference.

I've heard the Audio Note DACs are rather midrange centric to make them sound more "analog". What's your experience?

What did you think of the Aqua La Scala in your system?

 

[skids929]

Yes, there is no substitute for listening in your own system! Or if that's not possible, listening in another system that you know well. And then form your own conclusions, all other opinions, glowing or not, be damned. One thing that is important is that all the units auditioned had been broken in, that can make a large difference.

I've heard the Audio Note DACs are rather midrange centric to make them sound more "analog". What's your experience?

What did you think of the Aqua La Scala in your system?

Yes these were all demo units and I agree on break in..In the case of the La Scala the unit sent to me was older, I think had old tubes, and lacked and update that no dealer or even the distributor even knew about, so not sure I got all of it. It was only when I sent the serial number to the owner of the company that I got straight answers on updates that were done to the line (significant updates to the power supply too). For me that was a deal breaker that dealers didn't know about it and were sending older units. I got a general idea of how that dac sounds though, it's very good overall for the money. I wouldn't pay for than $6k for it, retail is $8500. The whole experience was just odd, from distributor to dealer to manifacturer and for me that all plays into my decision on a dac.

AN dacs were nice, clear, nice mids (not even close to the TD) lacked some detail, but the flow & coherency to the music was fantastic. I am sure with some tube rolls they can level up. I'd say they sound analog, but then again that depends because I've heard some hyper detail sounding analog and that is not AN.

 

[morricab]

Yes, exactly. Threw a massive soundstage (Totaldac is the same) but lacked mid range body and bass. Honestly sounded way more neutral than I thought it was going too. Had a cold feel to me, and compared to the Triunity the hi end frequency/sparkle wasn't even close.

Sounds like the biasing of the tubes was not really correct (it has lots of adjustment). One thing AC DACs are not is hollowed out in the middle when bias is set appropriately it can be made to sound lean with some bias settings.