Review and Measurements of Totaldac d1-six DAC

[diegooo1972]

I must say that some things in this thread made me very angry.
First time for me to face snake oil in high end audio so clearly.
I knew it was there but not at this point.
But others made me really laugh.
Like the castle and the lone cable for example.

 

[Dialectic]

Cstien on HCFR was remarkably polite in his criticisms of TotalDac. Thanks to him for sharing his experiences some months ago.

And thanks even more to the TotalDac owner in Europe who shipped his TotalDac to Amir. Perhaps it was Cstien himself (though I think he had a d1-12, not a D1-6 like the one measured here).

This is without a doubt my favorite thread in the history of ASR--mercilessly slaying the false giants of the audiophile press.

The TotalDac-loving knucklehead who "writes" the Twittering Machines blog just put up a post called "Why I Hate Measurements." I won't link to it because I don't want him to make more money. (And it's of course incoherent and written in a style that attempts to evoke Raymond Carver but instead just sounds illiterate.) Suffice it to say that this review has touched a nerve and upset a lot of willfully uneducated guys who have acted as the promotional arm of a bunch of scammy companies in the cottage industry of audiophilia.

 

[amirm]

Translation:
- Why questioning measurements made by ASR?
- Because he (Amir) shows that my noise curve is wrong, but in fact, it is true...

That is a serious argument.

This is strange as I explained to him for a second time that noise measurement I did was to confirm his results. That it showed my unit is not broken as a result.

What was wrong with his measurement of noise was that it was misleading, making people think the unit has no distortion (due to use of very low level signal such that the distortions would be buried in noise).

So once again, my measurements are similar to his misleading measurement.

 

[zermak]

Here another review in french where the guy tests the 1.750€ USB GIGAFILTER.

The cable shits its system.

http://patatorz.com/2018/05/14/test-review-retour-rapide-sur-le-totaldac-gigafilter/

View attachment 30552


We can see the cable itself feeling sorry.



This guy was more lucky though: (in english)
https://audiobacon.net/2018/05/01/totaldac-d1-usb-gigafilter-cable-review/

The Gigafilter has a distinct sound most Totaldac owners will be familiar with. It’s very relaxed, smooth, neutral-ish/warm and provides a very easy listening experience. There are an ease and tameness to the lower and upper registers while maintaining a pseudo-densely relaxed tone across the entire spectrum. The first impression that comes to mind is “relaxed liquidity” and secondly “midrange forward and fullness.” Although there is a trade for smoothness over texture, this midrange presence makes voices very full-bodied and intelligible. There is absolutely zero grain or harshness with this cable. Probably the least amount of grain and grime I’ve heard on any USB cable. Instead of being airy and tactile, it has a more “antique”, sweeter, and softer allure.

A USB cable that doesn't do the job? Yes, you got it.

Is there a teardown of this Gigafilter? Does it hide gems like in the power supply?

About that item and this DAC: expensive audiophile gear has gone nuts... or well it was already but now we can prove it.

I read all this discussion. Can't remember who said it, sorry. About the price of this DAC being 6 times the French average employee wage: you are lucky over there then. We dream of that here just south of the Alps... It is more likely 11 times.

@graz_lag All good here (on a 200cd/m² sRGB-ish calibrated monitor). I would check your monitor settings.

 

[Xulonn]

So it seems he does not know how to properly take a picture either, this one of Mont Saint-Michel is clearly overexposed ...

I think my photo editor's "Surrealistic" filter looks better (on my cheap monitor) - and the word also describes the character of this thread about his DAC...but then again, my hearing is better than my color vision.

 

[TomatoTBone]

The HCFR thread is reaching the heights of anti-logic argumentation.
Btw there is nothing to expect from people who disdain "numeric files", "chips" and "measures" (pronounce with a disgusted pout). I'm generalizing a bit, but damn.

 

[amirm]

The TotalDac-loving knucklehead who "writes" the Twittering Machines blog just put up a post called "Why I Hate Measurements." I won't link to it because I don't want him to make more money.

I don't mind linking to it. People need to read what yarn these people spin: https://twitteringmachines.com/why-i-hate-measurements-i-dont/

1. What nonsense. I have tested 150+ DACs. Nowhere in all of to measurements any edict to buy certain gear. Indeed the opposite is true in subjectivist reviews where they will praise this and that product as the best they have heard and hence, the owner needs to save up pennies forever to buy them.

2. We don't at all. Enjoyment however comes from great recordings and music. If it is based on false evaluation of gear where more than the ear is involved in how it performs, then that is a false god the person is worshipping. They best not come here trying to convert us to said religion. But they are welcome to live in that illusion otherwise.

Note that this is no different than the intolerance Michael is showing toward us. How about our enjoyment and experience being dismissed out of hand? That is fair but not the other way around?

3. What nonsense. We all listen to music because we love music first and foremost. This is common to both camps. What we say though is that buy transparent gear so that you can hear what is great about your content. Save money by buying high performance gear and put that toward more music or other enjoyments in life.

4. We don't tell people to buy what we own. High-end subjectivists tend to do that a lot more. We tell people to buy products that are engineered well to be transparent to the source.

That what we find to be cheaper is an asset. Per above, it allows you to put more money toward buying content, not hardware that either does nothing to improve your sound, or make it sound worse.

Only in audio do people complain if there is a way to save money!

5. We just got condemned by him as a group and he lectures us in the reverse??? At least we have decades of audio research and science behind what we say in addition to real, hard, repeatable, objective data. What does he have on his side? Word salad that is uses to describe everything expensive?

And oh, we are NOT measurement first. Let me repeat: we are NOT measurement first. We love to put listening tests first but that data is harder to come by so we opt for objective measurement, engineering and design principles, and years of audio research to base our opinion on. I am sure if Michael get sick, he goes to a doctor who performs objective measurements of his to decide what is wrong with him. Why does he think audio science is any different? After all, there is large overlap between our analysis of sound and medical interest in one's hearing.

 

[Hugo9000]

I think my photo editor's "Surrealistic" filter looks better (on my cheap monitor) - and the word also describes the character of this thread about his DAC...but then again, my hearing is better than my color vision.

View attachment 30554

Now it has that classic 'picture postcard' look I remember from my youth!

 

[Xulonn]

Now it has that classic 'picture postcard' look I remember from my youth!

Indeed - with my color vision defect, I often prefer my photos "colored" a bit - but not my music.

 

[amirm]

And then he finishes with this:

The man made a video about this topic. But that was not enough. He then wrote this blog. And he says we have no impact on him? He is stewing like there is no tomorrow. The anger and frustration is written all over of his text and video. He should do some serious soul searching to realize why.

A lot of it has to do with the fact that well, there is no facts he can use to counter our work. Just words of frustration.

The lack of self-awareness is incredible in Michael's work, yet he goes to analyze us. I say look within first, before worrying about us. That, is and will continue to interfere with his enjoyment of music....

 

[simbloke]

He's angry because he's been busted. Oh, don't seem to be able to comment on this blog either. Can't stand the truth?

 

[Xulonn]

And to think that I was worried about the U.S. under President Trump starting a war with Iran when it appears that, "under the radar" as they say, a battalion of French subjectivists has attacked an American objectivist audio forum! I have notified the White House of this act of aggression against patriotic Americans and their allies!

 

[VintageFlanker]

a battalion of French subjectivists has attacked an American objectivist audio forum!

Ok, I got the joke but...
What the hell (us) Frenchs have to do with that? There is plenty of French members here and on French forums who are "objectivist-friendly" and find @totaldac's performance unacceptable.
Also, I see ASR as an international website, not an American one.

 

[diegooo1972]

I always stumble upon ignorant people that complain about their ignorance.
They just ignore every logic consequence and there's no way they are going to study what they love.
If that it's not ignorance I don't know what it is.
And again if you want to be part of a forum where the word "science" is in the middle I think you must understand that study and learning are 2 basic facts.
And pretending that we are not here cause we love music in the first place is just to put words in the mouth.
I'm disgusted by these attitudes. Nothing less.
It's nearly crazy that we have to defend ourself.
They probably fear that ASR can be even more exclusive then high end audio.
I know that this is not the case but I'd love to let them think that way.
In the last century nothing like that could have happened.
Science was respected and well honored.
Now people chattering their own business pretend to be on the same level of an engineer or a filosopher or whatever researcher.
This century is very ignorant.

 

[Dialectic]

And then he finishes with this:

View attachment 30555

The man made a video about this topic. But that was not enough. He then wrote this blog. And he says we have no impact on him? He is stewing like there is no tomorrow. The anger and frustration is written all over of his text and video. He should do some serious soul searching to realize why.

A lot of it has to do with the fact that well, there is no facts he can use to counter our work. Just words of frustration.

The lack of self-awareness is incredible in Michael's work, yet he goes to analyze us. I say look within first, before worrying about us. That, is and will continue to interfere with his enjoyment of music....

For Mr. Lavorgna, it's as though owning the stuff (or borrowing it) and taking pictures of it for Instagram/blog is the goal--not actually listening to it or having even the faintest understanding of how it works or what makes some gear sound more acoustically transparent than other gear.

And there is no attempt in Lavorgna's writing to make a coherent statement of his views or a cogent objection to ours.

I wouldn't be annoyed if Mr. Lavorgna and his brethren said, "I don't care what the measurements indicate, and I'll go on listening to my Totaldac because I like it" (for no good reason, of course, but that's fine). The attempt to paint Amir and us as dogmatists and philistines is where Lavorgna, Brient et al. go off the rails.

Like many people, I am badly bothered by fakers. After the last few days, I don't think Mr. Brient or Mr. Lavorgna should be making a living doing whatever it is that each of them does. (Audio engineering? Writing?)

 

[BigVU's]

Became a patreon because of articles like this. I can admit I can't tell the difference in the measurements let alone have something to offer or contribute to the science of it. I do believe that being transparent in audio or anything for that matter of integrity is only scary for those who are hiding something or simply do not want to accept the truth. That I like. Warm dirty dacs I think I like as well, at least a review forum such as this allows me to decide for myself based on objectivity. And so earns my dollarino's in support of the spirit of humanity. Bravo.

PS would have been better if the response was - hey it's not about the finite measurements of our product but more about our secret society of being cool. People get our stuff because we are sexy - deal with it and your number crunching.

 

[Xulonn]

Ok, I got the joke but...
What the hell (us) Frenchs have to do with that? There is plenty of French members here and on French forums who are "objectivist-friendly" and find @totaldac's performance unacceptable.
Also, I see ASR as an international website, not an American one.

-------------
Aha! A traitorous French objectivist who hides behind an anonymous handle and avatar at an enemy forum in a hostile foreign country gets upset - proves my point! And I have my audio/video grade USB cable connected as I write this post. Yield now - you stand no chance...
-------------
Actually, I agree with you completely - TotalDAC does not represent the French people, and ASR is indeed an international forum - one of my favorite things about it.

it was a lame joke written as I am in serious procrastination mode, and I would have been better off taking a siesta and then completing the task at hand which I have committed to finishing this evening.

The "people of France" obviously do not support (or for that matter, even know about, or care about) a flame war between a fans of a French audio manufacturer and a USA-based internet audio science forum.

I noticed that the situation here is so ripe for sarcasm that a number of normally polite ASR members have been posting quite a few snarky remarks - but not hard-core flames or insults - in the direction of TotalDAC and its defenders. What a bunch of bullies we are, hurting the feelings of innocent TotalDAC customers and fans!

 

[AndrovichIV]

After 59+ pages in this thread the thing that is most shocking to me is that:

"The degree to which it bested what I knew (including APL Hifi, Audio Aero, dCS, EMM Labs, Esoteric, Weiss, Meitner and Zanden) was unexpected." 6moons (http://www.totaldac.com/REFERENCE-D1-eng.htm)

refers to a DAC with something like 83 dB SINAD. This alone should make entire Hi-Fi websites close their doors

 

[Xulonn]

Like many people, I am badly bothered by fakers. After the last few days, I don't think Mr. Brient or Mr. Lavorgna should be making a living doing whatever it is that each of them does.

They don't make me angry - I recognize the psychology behind their actions and words, and feel a bit sorry for them. If people have disposable income and want to waste it on audiophoolery and revel in the verbal and written rituals that surround it, fine.

But I will join with my peers here to help to inform and educate those who were suckered into joining the cult - but only if they are seeking evidence-based audio information, and choose to participate here at ASR. We have some incredible resident experts here with a wide spectrum of academic and working backgrounds related to audio, and I, for one, am honored to be part of this community.

ASR does not seek out subjectivists and try to force them to repent and convert, but if they come here on their own and ask questions, they can enjoy a lot of free advice based on science, reason and logic. If they have science and reason-based knowledge to share, that information will be gladly accepted.

However, if they demonstrate that they are here to battle against objectivity and reason - rather than to share and learn about evidence-based audio - they will meet strong resistance. If they continue to spout unsupported subjectivist nonsense, they will likely end up on the receiving end of some ridicule and mockery - as is happening in this thread.

 

[THW]

All amps are colouring. I just admit selecting the ones to do it in a manner that kill music less than some.

wat

how does an audibly transparent device colour the sound, this does not make sense