Totaldac new DACs
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It is a new DAC with unity architecture, based on 2 R2R ladders per channel, so the price is just between the d1-unity and d1-triunity, for those who want better than d1-unity but can't afford the d1-triunity.
I would rather recommend that you upgrade your d1-monobloc to a d1-digital-sublime reclocker + d1-triunity, or better to a d1-sublime.
Not really, but we can talk about the details of such an upgrade by email.
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Here is the Totaldac Qobuz playlist. Some of these tracks were used at the Munich show.
https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/21846544
https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/21846544
I have the Triunity and absolutely love it. I don't know what your upgrade path would be from what you have now but if you can reach for it I'd say it's well worth it. Best DAC I have ever owned and I've had some big names in the past.
It's all a matter of taste, but this is easily an end game dac for most.
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A new option is released in the Totaldac line and is already available for new orders or for the upgrade of an existing product.
The live-clocking is an option for the current Totaldac DACs, reclocker and streamer which improves the jitter rejection and makes the sound even more live and real.
It optimises the clock and the digital signal distribution to make the timing of each audio sample more precise, this is a key point in digital audio.
The treble especially gets more pure and you feel that the singers and instruments get more body, they get closer to the un-amplified concert.
This option is recommended to all streamers, reclockers and DACs in your system, each upgraded box will make a step forward in the sound realism.
The live-clocking is an option for the current Totaldac DACs, reclocker and streamer which improves the jitter rejection and makes the sound even more live and real.
It optimises the clock and the digital signal distribution to make the timing of each audio sample more precise, this is a key point in digital audio.
The treble especially gets more pure and you feel that the singers and instruments get more body, they get closer to the un-amplified concert.
This option is recommended to all streamers, reclockers and DACs in your system, each upgraded box will make a step forward in the sound realism.
How is the upgrade implemented? Is it a hardware or software upgrade? And if it means those of us in the US have to send our DACs to France what is the turn around time for this?
It is 100% hardware.
I need 2 working days maximum per box to make it.
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Hello folks, I have upgraded to the live-reclocking option! I use a TOTALDAC Sublime with great satisfaction, for me to switch to this successful step was initially a mental choice, I think the clock path is crucial in digital, even more so than the type of conversion and the power supply system. Time is of the essence in digital!
So, having unpacked the components placed on the rack and connected the cables, let's proceed to listening!
Honestly there is little to say, it is evident from the first notes, the difference with respect to the basic configuration is clear and distributed over the entire audio spectrum. The name has not been chosen at random, indeed there is a transport towards the live event, but maintaining the dimension of the perceived musicality, this is very difficult, it takes very little to veer into an excessive enrichment that if at first it can fascinate then it could turn out to be a questionable choice! Both bass, midrange and treble receive greater energy, bringing out spontaneously all that micro information that is so fundamental for a three-dimensional reconstruction of the reproduced event.
Voices take on even more vigour as well as stringed instruments, notes retain their life by diluting their natural decay, the sculpted and more turned bass is a pleasant discovery!
Recommend this upgrade, it's like owning a new source!
In other words, if you have a Totaldac product you must do this update!
So, having unpacked the components placed on the rack and connected the cables, let's proceed to listening!
Honestly there is little to say, it is evident from the first notes, the difference with respect to the basic configuration is clear and distributed over the entire audio spectrum. The name has not been chosen at random, indeed there is a transport towards the live event, but maintaining the dimension of the perceived musicality, this is very difficult, it takes very little to veer into an excessive enrichment that if at first it can fascinate then it could turn out to be a questionable choice! Both bass, midrange and treble receive greater energy, bringing out spontaneously all that micro information that is so fundamental for a three-dimensional reconstruction of the reproduced event.
Voices take on even more vigour as well as stringed instruments, notes retain their life by diluting their natural decay, the sculpted and more turned bass is a pleasant discovery!
Recommend this upgrade, it's like owning a new source!
In other words, if you have a Totaldac product you must do this update!
Hi Vincent,
May we know more about this new Live-clocking Upgrade?
Are more of it more beneficial in a Totaldac system?
A Sublime needs more than one such upgrade?
How about lower models such as Triunity. Shall we install it in the dac main unit and also any additional Reclocker if we are using one?
Many thanks!
Hi CKKeung,
Yes it is better if each component has the live-clocking option: the DAC and the reclocker(s), so 3 boxes can should have this option is case of the d1-sublime DAC.
Yes although it has been developed with the current line in mind.
Michael Lavorgna, editor of twitteringmachines.com, reviewed the new live-clocking option installed in a Totaldac d1-unity DAC:
"The totaldac Live Clocking Option brought me closer to the performers, in closer contact with the things responsible for making the music I love by seemingly offering a clearer and more precise rendering of them in Barn which in turn meant an easier and deeper connection to that music.
And an easier and deeper connection to music is a difference I classify as a clear improvement that is worth the price of admission.
Color me sold."
https://twitteringmachines.com/review-totaldac-d1-unity-w-live-clocking-option/
"The totaldac Live Clocking Option brought me closer to the performers, in closer contact with the things responsible for making the music I love by seemingly offering a clearer and more precise rendering of them in Barn which in turn meant an easier and deeper connection to that music.
And an easier and deeper connection to music is a difference I classify as a clear improvement that is worth the price of admission.
Color me sold."
https://twitteringmachines.com/review-totaldac-d1-unity-w-live-clocking-option/
I would also like to add here my impressions of TOTALDAC's GIGAFILTER USB cable ... (there is also a post on the forum)
I've been testing some usb cables for a few months now, to connect the output of my streamer (momentary, I'm waiting for a new toy from Lucas Audio Lab) to the input of my TOTALDAC Sublime! Vincent, the owner of TOTALDAC claims that his creature prefers aesebu connections, but I find it very difficult to find a pure aesebu connection using a PC as a streamer/music server, there always seems to be a double conversion! The PC based on commercial hardware always uses an internal connection via the usb standard! Then let's use USB! Interestingly, changing USB cables changes the sound, for obvious reasons that can be traced back to digital noise reduction or modulation and time delay attenuation (more generally speaking). There are those who believe this and those who have many doubts about it, claiming that there is no basic research that can reveal the real electronic reasons why digital signals are so annoyingly dependent on the type of cable used.
We have a Spirit USB, an old version from a Danish cable manufacturer Dyhrolm Audio priced at 545 euros per metre.
We have an Oyaide Continental 5S V2 USB cable, costing around 450 euros for a metre and twenty.
We have a TOTALDAC d1 USB first version costing around 450 euros for a short length of cable encapsulated in an armoured filter.
We have an AUDIOQUEST DIAMOND USB, costing 929 euros for a metre and a half.
We have my reference cable one metre long, costing over 3000 euros
We will compare these cables with Totaldac's new one-metre GIGAFILTER USB cable costing 1750 euros.
Both the Oyaide and Audioquest have pure silver internal conductors, Dyhrolm Audio's Spirit is a mixed gold-silver and copper cable, TOTALDAC's cable is not known for its composition, it looks like an industrial cat 8 cable encapsulated in an armoured filter but much larger than the previous version. For my reference cable, the internal composition is not known.
The road test will come out with the new article soon, here I focus on the final conclusions and reflections.
I honestly can't fault any of the cables in the comparison, in each cable there are certain characteristics that define its own sound, this is to say that even though I have made a ranking we can find good in every product!
The Oyaide comes across as the least successful cable in the test, as it pushes too hard in the mid-high range, sounding less organic than the others, the apparent perceived detail being more a feature of the material used in its manufacture. It may be fine in a mid-range system that requires a boost up and a damping of low frequencies.
Dyhrolm Audio's Spirit is more balanced than its Japanese predecessor, but it remains more homogeneous, tending to mask things a bit in between! I consider it as a generalist cable with neither too many faults nor merits. For its price, it is nevertheless recommended.
TOTALDAC's first filtered cable, which I think can only be found on the second-hand market, is definitely better than the previous ones, pushing into cable territory costing over a thousand euros. Balanced sound with a lot of detail, wide and credible soundstage, highly recommended!
AUDIOQUEST's Diamond, while containing a nice silver weight, breaks away from metal stereotypes by presenting outstanding characteristics. Wide soundstage, increased dynamics making you perceive details that before were difficult to appreciate, perhaps due to a lesser masking of the digital information due to an active isolation system patented by the American company. In the end, it remains an excellent cable that can be used without too many worries in most audio systems.
We arrive at the summit, where my reference cable fights it out with TOTALDAC's new GIGAFILTER cable.
Making a necessary premise, I believe that at these levels, the audio system we have at our disposal is very important. Using a digital source at a very high level, I am always on the lookout for the best cable to add that extra grain to the music reproduction. Both cables present absolute characteristics, very wide soundstage, extreme dynamics allowing you to perceive even the slightest detail easily without too much attention mode, i.e. you don't have to concentrate on the track to understand one or the other thing, everything is brought with extreme clarity. It is interesting how these cables return a greater wealth of information underneath where the music is lacking in the vast majority of systems that are always ready to go boom boom without a real tonal note of what that boom boom is, here there is something more, very low level information that allows the digital source to reconstruct more accurately what is going on underneath in the depths of the music!
In the end and after quite a few months of plugging and unplugging I preferred TOTALDAC's cable, the GIGAFILTER compared to my reference has something more, a sort of ambience, an aura, a sense of greater naturalness that makes me prefer this type of approach especially for long listening sessions.
I would like to add a consideration. I tried the TOTALDAC GIGAFILTER cable on the system of another friend of mine to see if the conditions that I heard on my system were also present in a more modest system. I must say that, even in a lesser form, I perceived the same naturalness combined with record-breaking dynamics and resolution! It seems, from the test done, that even in smaller systems the GIGAFILTER can give a nice boost to digital reproduction, which is no small thing! Try it out and maybe let me know. Distinctive features: takes the digital feel out of music, brings you closer with a more natural and relaxed performance while maintaining dynamics and resolution at a very high level!
I've been testing some usb cables for a few months now, to connect the output of my streamer (momentary, I'm waiting for a new toy from Lucas Audio Lab) to the input of my TOTALDAC Sublime! Vincent, the owner of TOTALDAC claims that his creature prefers aesebu connections, but I find it very difficult to find a pure aesebu connection using a PC as a streamer/music server, there always seems to be a double conversion! The PC based on commercial hardware always uses an internal connection via the usb standard! Then let's use USB! Interestingly, changing USB cables changes the sound, for obvious reasons that can be traced back to digital noise reduction or modulation and time delay attenuation (more generally speaking). There are those who believe this and those who have many doubts about it, claiming that there is no basic research that can reveal the real electronic reasons why digital signals are so annoyingly dependent on the type of cable used.
We have a Spirit USB, an old version from a Danish cable manufacturer Dyhrolm Audio priced at 545 euros per metre.
We have an Oyaide Continental 5S V2 USB cable, costing around 450 euros for a metre and twenty.
We have a TOTALDAC d1 USB first version costing around 450 euros for a short length of cable encapsulated in an armoured filter.
We have an AUDIOQUEST DIAMOND USB, costing 929 euros for a metre and a half.
We have my reference cable one metre long, costing over 3000 euros
We will compare these cables with Totaldac's new one-metre GIGAFILTER USB cable costing 1750 euros.
Both the Oyaide and Audioquest have pure silver internal conductors, Dyhrolm Audio's Spirit is a mixed gold-silver and copper cable, TOTALDAC's cable is not known for its composition, it looks like an industrial cat 8 cable encapsulated in an armoured filter but much larger than the previous version. For my reference cable, the internal composition is not known.
The road test will come out with the new article soon, here I focus on the final conclusions and reflections.
I honestly can't fault any of the cables in the comparison, in each cable there are certain characteristics that define its own sound, this is to say that even though I have made a ranking we can find good in every product!
The Oyaide comes across as the least successful cable in the test, as it pushes too hard in the mid-high range, sounding less organic than the others, the apparent perceived detail being more a feature of the material used in its manufacture. It may be fine in a mid-range system that requires a boost up and a damping of low frequencies.
Dyhrolm Audio's Spirit is more balanced than its Japanese predecessor, but it remains more homogeneous, tending to mask things a bit in between! I consider it as a generalist cable with neither too many faults nor merits. For its price, it is nevertheless recommended.
TOTALDAC's first filtered cable, which I think can only be found on the second-hand market, is definitely better than the previous ones, pushing into cable territory costing over a thousand euros. Balanced sound with a lot of detail, wide and credible soundstage, highly recommended!
AUDIOQUEST's Diamond, while containing a nice silver weight, breaks away from metal stereotypes by presenting outstanding characteristics. Wide soundstage, increased dynamics making you perceive details that before were difficult to appreciate, perhaps due to a lesser masking of the digital information due to an active isolation system patented by the American company. In the end, it remains an excellent cable that can be used without too many worries in most audio systems.
We arrive at the summit, where my reference cable fights it out with TOTALDAC's new GIGAFILTER cable.
Making a necessary premise, I believe that at these levels, the audio system we have at our disposal is very important. Using a digital source at a very high level, I am always on the lookout for the best cable to add that extra grain to the music reproduction. Both cables present absolute characteristics, very wide soundstage, extreme dynamics allowing you to perceive even the slightest detail easily without too much attention mode, i.e. you don't have to concentrate on the track to understand one or the other thing, everything is brought with extreme clarity. It is interesting how these cables return a greater wealth of information underneath where the music is lacking in the vast majority of systems that are always ready to go boom boom without a real tonal note of what that boom boom is, here there is something more, very low level information that allows the digital source to reconstruct more accurately what is going on underneath in the depths of the music!
In the end and after quite a few months of plugging and unplugging I preferred TOTALDAC's cable, the GIGAFILTER compared to my reference has something more, a sort of ambience, an aura, a sense of greater naturalness that makes me prefer this type of approach especially for long listening sessions.
I would like to add a consideration. I tried the TOTALDAC GIGAFILTER cable on the system of another friend of mine to see if the conditions that I heard on my system were also present in a more modest system. I must say that, even in a lesser form, I perceived the same naturalness combined with record-breaking dynamics and resolution! It seems, from the test done, that even in smaller systems the GIGAFILTER can give a nice boost to digital reproduction, which is no small thing! Try it out and maybe let me know. Distinctive features: takes the digital feel out of music, brings you closer with a more natural and relaxed performance while maintaining dynamics and resolution at a very high level!
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