It is the nature of these things Al , and inevitable that sometimes we will read a Minority report regarding a piece of audio equipment .
New Totaldac DACs in 2023 : d1-unity , d1-triunity , and d1-sublime
- Thread starter CKKeung
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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.
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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.
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.
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.
If that indeed was the problem, then it's a pretty lousy omission by the dealer who sent the unit not to fix it.
I dialed in the bias according to the manual and with the dealer..trust me we tried everything. I did everything I could to keep the dac, wasn't for me in the end. It is NOT a warm DAC contrary to what alot of people characterize it as. It's a very neutral DAC with a huge soundstage and in my system the mid range left alot to be desired. So along it went.
I think I got a pretty good idea of how that DAC sounds with the time I had with it. My characterization is how I making sense of what I heard compared to other dacs. Thats how it sounded to me in my system. YMMV...I'd say overall it's very neutral in terms of tonality.
The question is how you define "neutral" I guess.
Your experience reminds me of hearing the Lampizator Baltic. Lampi DACs have the reputation of being "analog" sounding. However, I found the Baltic lean and emphatically lacking body. It was even grey sounding on some vocals. Almost shocking when you think about the fact that it's a tube DAC. Others who have heard the DAC share my observation.
This is not to preclude the possibility that other Lampi DACs may sound very different.
For my part I can only put your expenses with The Helene Dac down as some form of anomaly ! yours being the first report that I have ever read referring to that particular Dac and using those terms , quite the opposite in fact , were if anything , mention has been made of a slightly over full , dense , well textured and toned midrange for some listeners taste , somewhat addictive to others .
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For my part I can only put your expenses with The Helene Dac down as some form of anomaly !
yours being the first report that I have ever read referring to that particular Dac and using those terms , quite the opposite in fact , were if anything , mention has been made of a slightly over full well textured and toned midrange for some listeners taste
I have heard the same. To which I say:
Maybe.
These days I find hard to believe anything anymore, until I have heard it for myself.
Unfortunately many impressions depend very much on system context, and in another context a given component can make a very different impression.
I have heard many comparisons in a friend's system, and sometimes changing a cable, like interconnect or power cable, or even the footer support, forces re-evaluation of a component.
In that sense, to say that high-end audio is confusing would be an understatement.
I have heard many comparisons in a friend's system, and sometimes changing a cable, like interconnect or power cable, or even the footer support, forces re-evaluation of a component.
In that sense, to say that high-end audio is confusing would be an understatement.
Agreed, I don't believe anything anymore until I hear it in my system. Not to disparage the opinions/experiences of others but those things (like measurements) have become nothing more than a baseline for me to make a judgement as to whether it's worth listening to in my system. I am still shocked at how the Helene sounded, maybe it was an outlier, but it's not the first time I brought something in based on an opinion and it wasn't my sound. Too many factors to even spend time trying to figure out..Does it sound good = yes- Buy it...Does it sound good= No, Do not buy it. Works out well for me ultimately. Nothing to agonize over, other than getting the gear you want to hear into your room...Thats a whole different conversation though.
I think that's the correct attitude. Opinions of others are a useful data point to narrow down potential options, nothing more.
Great that you were able to get all this gear into your room without having to buy it. Not everyone is in the position of having the opportunity to do that.
Yes, I've put in the work (and money for shipping) to listen to DACS, or have local contacts who have helped. Happy it's over and done with however... But back to the TotalDAC, it's without question the best DAC I have heard in my system. Hopefully more folks will get a chance to listen to these DACs, they are VERY special.
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