Review and Measurements of Totaldac d1-six DAC

[AndrewDavis]

It is really sad how many people are fooled in the audio world. I have been to this years biggest audio show in Munich, the "High-End". Atleast 50% of the shown stuff were special cables and other questionable stuff. The people there actually loved it
View attachment 30072

That looks like it was hijacked from a Borg hive.

 

[Blumlein 88]

This DAC is for those who want a NOS design; can one be found for way less $$$$ absolutely! This type of DAC will never spec like a chip based SDM period. NOS are meant to be paired with a CPU/software that can do the job better than a DAC chip based design. This is all preference and debatable or course.

The Soekris looks like a better NOS DAC.

 

[jsrtheta]

What a wanker review!
I also live in France and never heard of Totaldac btw.

The review is terrifying.

 

[jsrtheta]

One has to wonder what a report like this can do to resale values of such equipment... However I don't think all Schitt bashing on ASR, deserved or otherwise, made a big dent in used Yggdrasil value looking at head-fi and ebay sales, which could indicate that audiophile community is immune to common sense.

Common sense is called "common" because it's so rare.

 

[MZKM]

Here’s a picture with the remote, Amir may want to save your souls but I don’t care:

 

[LSB]

View attachment 30049

..... In some cases like THD+N vs frequency brand new ground is broken,

Thanks for your great work. Ive never seen a TotalDac and cant afford one but question the measurements from the manufacturer and also to be non-biased from you.

Your measurements appears to be incompatible with the manufactures noise floor data? The manufacturer has gone to extreme lengths to have sourced very low noise resistors for the R2R ladder with Current noise: 0.010 μV (RMS)/Volt of Applied Voltage or -160dB
http://www.totaldac.com/fichiers/fft-d1-six.gif

Have you ruled out from your side if

1. your measurements have an artifact eg did you try a different power supply or test the ripple and noise from your lab supply?

2. Did you check the DAC internals to see if anything came loose in shipping?

3. Testing ultrasonics noise on a filter-less NOS DAC may appear disingenuous. As some NOS DAC users prefer to control upsampling and filters with software you may consider that useful for future NOS DAC testing?

Currently there are three explanations for your data
1. TotalDACS are all rubbish.
2. Your measurements are broken eg from power supply noise
3. The unit is faulty

It would be great for you to be loaned a clean transformer based power supply and a different TotalDAC unit to do further tests

As for the owner I would be asking the manufacturer to service and remeasure the DAC with comprehensive measurements. The one FFT they supply is a worry as the signal is so low it looks like they are trying to hide THD and IMD. If TotalDAC can supply a FFT why cant they publish a series of tests that show THD and IHD?

Maybe it doesn't matter. Based on your listening tests the DAC sounds good and with the marked performance gain expected from a NOS DAC being fed upsampled filtered bits could sound wonderful to some.

 

[Zog]

that amount of distortion is clearly a feature, not a bug.

I so get this man! Like those broaches made from beetles - not a bug, not a creature - it's a feature.

 

[amirm]

1. your measurements have an artifact eg did you try a different power supply or test the ripple and noise from your lab supply?

This is a multi-voltage AC power supply with tons of pins on the connector. It would be hard to emulate it with another transformer (other power supplies produce DC so won't work). Even if I could emulate it, I would not dare taking a chance with a $14,000 unit that belongs to someone else.

And regardless, how on earth would such an expensive unit require an aftermarket power supply to work right?

Recall that my AC lab supply for 230 volt input is lab grade and produces very clean AC power, much better than what is in my house. So that ought to be enough tail wind for this to do its thing.

Finally, none of the issues I saw were power related. Yes, there are power supply components but they are not the core problems.

 

[amirm]

Your measurements appears to be incompatible with the manufactures noise floor data?

I didn't post any measurement of noise spectrum by itself. Mine are all with a full amplitude signal which often raises the noise floor (noise modulation).

And as mentioned, FFT noise floors are not real. They are reduced in level by how many points the FFT uses. I can give you any noise floor you like to see based on manipulating the FFT points. I have explained this in the measurement FAQ: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/understanding-audio-measurements.2351/

These are all from the exact same device. Analyzers can now use millions of points for FFT, and with it, show (artificially) extremely low noise floors.

 

[amirm]

Currently there are three explanations for your data
1. TotalDACS are all rubbish.
2. Your measurements are broken eg from power supply noise
3. The unit is faulty

My data has been scrutinized across some 200 DACs. No company, no individual has ever shown them to be in error.

Whenever we see such poor results, people automatically go to option #2 and #3 in your list. Why? Why are you searching for scapegoats? Is it that shocking that a DAC that has almost no measurements or specifications, built out of discrete parts, could perform poorly? Where have you been? We have measured a number of these products. Again, no one has come back with measurements to the contrary.

I suggest writing to the company and asking them to produce the same measurements as I have performed. Then we have something to discuss.

I listened to the unit and there is no sign of it being broken, or having power supply noise. Nor do the measurements indicate the same.

 

[amirm]

As for the owner I would be asking the manufacturer to service and remeasure the DAC with comprehensive measurements. The one FFT they supply is a worry as the signal is so low it looks like they are trying to hide THD and IMD. If TotalDAC can supply a FFT why cant they publish a series of tests that show THD and IHD?

That incredibly low signal will indeed take away any chance of distortion/IMD to show up there. Distortion products are many dBs lower than the main tone. When the main tone is at -120 dB, the distortions will be in the noise.

As to owner doing this and that, the right next step is not for him to incur more expense. It is for the manufacturer to post their measurements. Let's see if in the best case scenario they can show better performance.

 

[amirm]

Not the same upsampling as HQP and it depends if you send PCM or dsd, and dither and filters and source content played

I know. I am familiar with HQ Player and have an expired trial to show for it. It is not software that I like but will review it some day.

 

[WolfX-700]

R2R……

 

[solderdude]

Fall of the Wall : How have the audiophile forums changed since the collapse of the Wall?

There is a reason I do not visit Innerfidelity any more.
https://www.audiostream.com/content/totaldac-d1-direct-dac-review
This demonstrates why.

 

[firedog]

For those not previously familiar with TotalDAC: all their models routinely are reviewed with results like: "best tone"; "most natural sounding"; "lets me relax into the music", etc. Often called the best DAC the reviewer has ever listened to.

Conclusion: the company has a design philosophy based on the owner's personal listening tastes, and many people find the distortion in his DAC euphonic, just like he does. Lots of people appear to prefer NOS dacs, even though they don't measure well. There's a reason we talk about "euphonic" distortion.

The people who love the sound of the DAC won't give a whit about the measurements. And to be honest, why should they? In the end, it's about listening enjoyment for them.

Personally, I'd want to find a unit where the "sound" appeals to me that also measures well.

 

[firedog]

There is a reason I do not visit Innerfidelity any more.
https://www.audiostream.com/content/totaldac-d1-direct-dac-review
This demonstrates why.

Yes, he loves totaldacs. And if you show him the measurements he will say he doesn't listen to measurements and they are irrelevant.

"it thrilled, surprised, wowed and disturbed me with its preternatural ability to translate digital content into emotionally-charged musical playback."

 

[VintageFlanker]

I also live in France and never heard of Totaldac btw.

Same here. I don't find Totaldac that "popular" with French audiophiles. Most of us (I mean 99%) can't afford this anyway...

 

[maty]

Perhaps many of its owners use it with noisy tube amplification so that the deficiencies of the DAC are hidden, I say.

 

[JJB70]

13000 euros to do something others can do for the price of a sandwich and they still can't get it right. Frankly it's almost embarrassing that a company can make something like this and more embarrassing to read the review posted by Solderdude.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Hey Keith : Boris J is your problem now ... You wanted him so you manage him now then !!!

Not many people wanted him actually including me, only a few thousand conservative party members were eligible to vote. You are right though, he is indeed our problem and a major con job IMHO.