Review and Measurements of Totaldac d1-six DAC

[amirm]

I think, the AP 2522 can't go higher than 192kHz.

But my APx555 does. It goes way up to nearly 2.5 Megahertz (not a typo). This gives us a usable bandwidth of 1 Megahertz.

Our main tone again is 10 khz and everything else is extra/unwanted. Ignoring the high frequency spectrum (a lot of which is due to lack of filtering in the output of d-six) we see the same subsonic tones at 2, 4, 6 and 8 kHz. That is the same thing we saw before with AES-17 filtering at 48 kHz sampling. So problem is there independent of capture bandwidth in my analyzer.

But wait.... there is more! See what happens when I change the our tone frequency from 10 kHz to 10.05 kHz:

Hell breaks loose, that is what happens! Notice the addition of 150 Hz and harmonics.

I mean really. It is getting so hard to find our signal among all this extra junk.

There is some serious clocking and or grounding problem here folks. This not a working DAC. It is a synthesizer. You give it one tone, it plays hundreds starting at low to high frequencies. Can you say this steps on your music detail? I knew you could.

So please. Put to rest this notion that something is wrong with measuring this DAC. How many ways do we test it before we put the blame where it belongs: the DAC.

These may be the reason the designer does not post any measurements even though he says he has an AP2522 analyzer. He knows he will scare everyone from his product....

 

[amirm]

I see you still have it! Would you please just ad RCA graph to definitely end the debate? (I will be curious what @totaldac will have to say after that... many things, I guess)

Yeh, there was a hold up on shipping it so I thought I test a few more things.

Here is RCA output for the last graph I posted for XLR:

It is the same mess.

 

[THW]

honestly the fact that this contraption needs so much babying (at least according to the designer) compared to even much cheaper devices should already be considered scandalous.

 

[amirm]

Here is the Dashboard with RCA out and Coax input (instead of USB):

It is essentially the same as the USB/XLR dashboard.

 

[solderdude]

With or without the FIR I guess its crap all the way... hooray for filterless NOS DACs ...
it is truly a blessing and our ears will filter all of this out for sure and make it sound more analog/real and heavely.
Timing also is impeccable.. I need to get me one...I also want to enjoy truly great sound.

 

[gvl]

But my APx555 does. It goes way up to nearly 2.5 Megahertz (not a typo). This gives us a usable bandwidth of 1 Megahertz.

View attachment 30517

Our main tone again is 10 khz and everything else is extra/unwanted. Ignoring the high frequency spectrum (a lot of which is due to lack of filtering in the output of d-six) we see the same subsonic tones at 2, 4, 6 and 8 kHz. That is the same thing we saw before with AES-17 filtering at 48 kHz sampling. So problem is there independent of capture bandwidth in my analyzer.

Haven't you heard of Brient harmonics? They are just like normal harmonics but with even coefficients that are less than 1. Very hard to come by yet field proven to enhance DAC musicality and listener's enjoyment.

 

[Thomas savage]

Yeh, there was a hold up on shipping it so I thought I test a few more things.

Here is RCA output for the last graph I posted for XLR:

View attachment 30519

It is the same mess.

It's not a mess Amir , it's art.You bloody heathens don't know creativity when you see it.

Vincent here is painting with spurious tones , it's masterful. If you look hard enough you can see Jesus.

 

[THW]

It's not a mess Amir , it's art.You bloody heathens don't know creativity when you see it.

Vincent here is painting with spurious tones , it's masterful. If you look hard enough you can see Jesus.

Yeah I agree, we simply aren’t big brained enough to appreciate sprays of spurious tones across the entire frequency range, this is art so abstract it is hard to even imagine

Truly a product for the most elite of audiophools... I mean audiophiles

 

[Thomas savage]

Yeah I agree, we simply aren’t big brained enough to appreciate sprays of spurious tones across the entire frequency range

Truly a product for the most elite of audiophools... I mean audiophiles

They could very well contain the word of God but us nonbelievers will never know.

Shame on us.

 

[Snafu]

Vincent here is painting with spurious tones , it's masterful.

I prefer Rothko....

 

[KSTR]

It would be intersting to see how other discrete custom R2R design with much lower price would compare, for example the entry level model from Denafrips.

 

[graz_lag]

Srajan Ebaen
John Darko
Michael Lavorgna
Rafe Arnott
just to name few of the clowns out there, where are you now?
Come out, it would be su funny to hear from you!

 

[zalive]

Yeh, there was a hold up on shipping it so I thought I test a few more things.

Here is RCA output for the last graph I posted for XLR:

View attachment 30519

It is the same mess.

So, how much in this graph belongs to the inaudible? Including the part portrayed <20kHz?
In your THD+N vs frequency graph (90kHz bandwidth) the ultrasonic (>20 kHz hence directly inaudible regardless of level) noise content is included in the graph portraying <20kHz, right?

 

[Biblob]

This DAC plays music on itself. If you buy this you will get free music everytime you play something.

Actually you can just play a couple of random sinewaves and enjoy a full orchestra. Show me where you can buy a full orchestra for 13K. I'd say this DAC has great value!

 

[daftcombo]

Here is the Dashboard with RCA out and Coax input (instead of USB):

View attachment 30521

It is essentially the same as the USB/XLR dashboard.

USB is supposed, among audiophiles, to be an evil connection needing a 1.750€ GIGAFILTER to work properly. But Coax??!!
totalscam doesn't even sell one! What shall we do?

 

[daftcombo]

Don't forget to put all these magazines on the blacklist:


AudioStream:"PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 'the most musically satisfying DAC I've yet heard'"
6moons:"the most fluidly organic"
HifiPig:"I was completely shocked"
HifiStatement:"the best digital source I have heard so far"
AUDIO:"sensational natural sounding"
Stereophile: "makes me feel: very happy"
Audio Art:"Beyond your imagination"
AUDIO-ACTIVITY:"great DAC"
Parttimeaudiophile:"The most analogue sounding"
Stereo times:"the best sounding digital playback"
highfidelity.pl:"outstanding, one of the very best I know of"
mono&stereo:"beyond everything that I have ever tried"
Inearspace:"the best DAC we have ever reviewed"
haute fidélité: Maximum note 8/8 for 5 sound qualities

http://www.totaldac.com/index.htm

 

[solderdude]

So, how much in this graph belongs to the inaudible? Including the part portrayed <20kHz?
In your THD+N vs frequency graph (90kHz bandwidth) the ultrasonic noise content is included in the graph portraying <20kHz, right?

At first you need to understand what the single plot you now talk about (literally 1040 posts back) actually shows, and has been explained by several people what it shows and why.

I would generously say that everything below 15kHz belongs in the audible range and that something like 2kHz at -40dB (which is not masked by the 10kHz tone) falls well within a plausible range of audibility.
And I am putting that mildly with such a huge error of margin that I could even be shot for it when I said that such levels are inaudible.
Please have a look at the plots shown a few posts back (page 52).
Furthermore I would not want the rather high amount of inaudible energy warming up my tweeters either.
Add to that 'we' cannot judge what the speakers and amplifiers that are behind the DAC behave regarding IMD which also could 'fold' back into the audible range but is NOT shown in the measurements. That alone is reason enough to filter ultrasonic content that is not related to the recorded sound.

We discussed this for over 200 PM's in the last 2 weeks... it seems to have been for naught.

 

[Haskil]

Don't forget to put all these magazines on the blacklist:


AudioStream:"PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 'the most musically satisfying DAC I've yet heard'"
6moons:"the most fluidly organic"
HifiPig:"I was completely shocked"
HifiStatement:"the best digital source I have heard so far"
AUDIO:"sensational natural sounding"
Stereophile: "makes me feel: very happy"
Audio Art:"Beyond your imagination"
AUDIO-ACTIVITY:"great DAC"
Parttimeaudiophile:"The most analogue sounding"
Stereo times:"the best sounding digital playback"
highfidelity.pl:"outstanding, one of the very best I know of"
mono&stereo:"beyond everything that I have ever tried"
Inearspace:"the best DAC we have ever reviewed"
haute fidélité: Maximum note 8/8 for 5 sound qualities

http://www.totaldac.com/index.htm

Is John Atkinson made test of Totaldac ? I don't find... for the blabla of audiocritics you have a very good piece of préjugés and apriori with the text about un DAC with Headphone amplifier by Projekt... Atkison made fantastic mesures and wrote with great admiration...

 

[daftcombo]

Is John Atkinson made test of Totaldac ? I don't find... for the blabla of audiocritics you have a very good piece of préjugés and apriori with the text about un DAC with Headphone amplifier by Projekt... Atkison made fantastic mesures and wrote with great admiration...

Of course they made the review when Atkinson was on holiday and so without measurement, otherwise they wouldn't have dared being happy.

 

[peanuts]