Review and Measurements of Totaldac d1-six DAC

[FrantzM]

I tell you this: Your (or my) ears are not even close, in abilities, to what an Audio Precision is able to measure. Most (if not everything) in Audio reproduction is measurable, with A LOT more accuracy and reliability than human hearing.

And that is all there is to it.
OTOH an entire Industry is predicated on the contrary thus the FUD. obfuscation and bad faith. If one were to remove these from their (often nice but not always, see this very DUT) shiny and pretty cases many High End components would reveal their pedestrian performance or provenance. And there , it bears to rpeat it, lie the power of Amir (and others) measurements. Performed by a professional knowing what he's doing, with intimate knowledge of the protocols and standards, with a stellar track record in the industry and the intellectual chops to argue with most any Fud-maker and BS peddlers, Allow me to be boosterish .. Long Live ASR! Kudos and congratulations to his board and constituency (that includes you too the subjectivists ). The BS has hit concrete wall... It can smear it, not break it or pass over it!! I am pleased!

 

[solderdude]

I'm not saying we've discovered something unmeasurable....but finding the right measurement can be elusive

That's what it is all about. With vinyl there is a reverse process of speakers going on.
There is the matter of mechanical to electrical conversion and its electrical matching to inputs.
Because of the mechanical/electrical conversion it is not easy to measure all parameters that easy.

Nulling vinyl recordings is near impossible I would think.

 

[watchnerd]

Nulling vinyl recordings is near impossible I would think.

That's pretty much what we're finding. The minor speed variations, wow & flutter, make the null finding tools barf.

 

[JJB70]

Wow, it's still going!

My advice to any potential TotalDAC customers is still to buy an Apple USB dongle, you'll have a better DAC and also have 12,990 or so euros to play with.

 

[Negatywny]

apple dongle vs total dac blind test is something i would like to see the most now

 

[Krunok]

apple dongle vs total dac blind test is something i would like to see the most now

Seeing a blind test is definitely a refreshing way of looking at it..

 

[Azeia]

But I cannot tolerate going personal in the way some people here have done. No need to crucify anyone. Such a behaviour does not belong to civilised conversation. If I am wrong then indeed I am in the wrong place.

Instead of being vague, can you cite any examples of people going too personal or being unfair?

How fair people will be in their criticism is going to depend on the context. With Totaldac, the context is a 14,000 dollar product that measures like total crap, and does not even have good aesthetics or build quality to speak of (not to mention that el-cheapo TV remote). Anyone who knows anything at all about engineering would look at this as a borderline scam.

There are also actual outright falsehoods on their website, which were posted here few pages back, like the one about how measurements aren't as useful as listening; again, as many have said in this thread, anything your ears can hear, can be measured, thus by definition the measurements are the most useful tool even if you wanted to achieve a specific sound signature that is not transparent with regards to the source.

Maybe you're not aware but there is such a thing as being too charitable.

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P.S. I wish I could give you more than one like for that last post, @Herbert; I agree with everything you've said there. =)

 

[direstraitsfan98]

I've read all the 1370+ posts in this tread and have no life.
/just kidding about the life part.

I'm fascinated about the ways and how far subjective people are willing to go in the quest to try to convince others that they are right. But still wont prove anything. Especially on a site that says "audio science review". It's also clear that we (objectivists) like to poke the subjective bear to see what nonsense comes out. Hard cold science is a tough rock to handle.

I read up until page 60 or so. The thread has devolved to some pretty crass behavour now. Most of it was entertaining at least. Of relevance to the thread... I was considering purchasing the entry model dac, the d1-core for quite a while as I believed it would be a good match with a Mcintosh amplifier I also am planning on getting. I've of course decided to change my mind, if only because of all the negativity surrounding the dac. I think I would be subject to ridicule by all my peers if I purchased it.

Also, a question to the more knowledgable forum goers: What dacs offer a very good digital volume control? I'm dubious on the quality and implementation of the digital volume control in topping dacs.

 

[Azeia]

I was considering purchasing the entry model dac, the d1-core for quite a while as I believed it would be a good match with a Mcintosh amplifier I also am planning on getting. I've of course decided to change my mind, if only because of all the negativity surrounding the dac. I think I would be subject to ridicule by all my peers if I purchased it.

So the measurements don't mean anything to you? You're more concerned with how people will treat you? =\

What dacs offer a very good digital volume control? I'm dubious on the quality and implementation of the digital volume control in topping dacs.

Can you explain why? I have a Topping DX3 Pro, and from what I saw of the review on this forum, it has practically perfect channel balance due to it's digital volume control. The DX3 can be used as just a DAC btw (both with variable output and line level) and has a remote.

 

[THW]

Yeah I’m also curious why you would think Topping DACs have dubious digital volume control implementation, I don’t see anything particularly bad that pops out in the measurements when volume is changed, at least for DX3

Also IIRC, not many DACs actually offer digital volume control anyway, I think most dedicated DACs output a fixed voltage

 

[watchnerd]

So the measurements don't mean anything to you? You're more concerned with how people will treat you? =\

I think that's pretty normal with any expensive purchase.

Nobody wants to buy an expensive car, watch, etc, and be ridiculed for buying a substandard product.

If it only costs $50...meh, who cares?

Full disclosure: once upon a time, I bought a Schiit Fulla. It sits in a drawer.

 

[Totoro]

In all fairness, high end audio sales ceased to be driven primarily by the priorities of higher fidelity decades ago when The Absolute Sound started publishing.

I think it was some time in the 80s they rebranded from Hi Fi audio to High End audio. Pretty telling, really.

 

[watchnerd]

Let me rephrase, do you not care at all about the measurements?

I mean the way you structured your previous comment seems like you're not even upset at the idea that you may have ended up spending all that money on a bad product, instead it seems that if other people didn't "know" that it performed poorly, that you might still be up for it. If that isn't the case, then I'm sorry, it just came off weird in terms of where your priorities seemed to be.

What previous comment are you talking about?

I didn't make the original remark about caring what others think.

 

[Azeia]

What previous comment are you talking about?

I didn't make the original remark about caring what others think.

Nevermind, I probably shouldn't be commenting right before bed when I'm half-asleep. Sorry. =p

I deleted the post.

 

[Xulonn]

Also IIRC, not many DACs actually offer digital volume control anyway, I think most dedicated DACs output a fixed voltage

I could not find a good DAC-only with a volume, and I had decided that I no longer needed or wanted to use a preamp, because all I needed was a couple of digital inputs and a volume control. So I purchased a Topping DX7s DAC/headphone amp - even though I don't use headphones. It's an excellent performing, bigger, heavier (3Kg / 6.6lbs), classy-looking unit that I consider a step above the host of excellent mini-DACs that Amir has tested.

I consider it to be a poor man's RME or Benchmark, and it only cost $360 via MassDrop. Even though I had two Topping PA3 amplifiers die on me this year, I decided that my bad luck was not typical, and I like to believe that Topping puts more quality into their more expensive components.

So far, it has worked perfectly without a single glitch. I connected my the DX7s to my Intel NUC via USB, and both of my dual-boot boot options (Daphile and Kodi) recognized the DX7s and started working with absolutely no tweaking or configuration required - exactly as well-engineered DACs are supposed to work. It connects to my vintage Classé Model Seventy power amp vis XLR balanced cables.

No hum, no noise, no problem, didn't cost $14K - and my system sounds great. What more could I ask for?

 

[watchnerd]

I could not find a good DAC-only with a volume, and I had decided that I no longer needed or wanted to use a preamp, because all I needed was a couple of digital inputs and a volume control. So I purchased a Topping DX7s DAC/headphone amp - even though I don't use headphones. It's an excellent performing, bigger, heavier (3Kg / 6.6lbs), classy-looking unit that I consider a step above the host of excellent mini-DACs that Amir has tested.

I consider it to be a poor man's RME or Benchmark, and it only cost $360 via MassDrop. Even though I had two Topping PA3 amplifiers die on me this year, I decided that my bad luck was not typical, and I like to believe that Topping puts more quality into their more expensive components.

So far, it has worked perfectly without a single glitch. I connected my the DX7s to my Intel NUC via USB, and both of my dual-boot boot options (Daphile and Kodi) recognized the DX7s and started working with absolutely no tweaking or configuration required - exactly as well-engineered DACs are supposed to work. It connects to my vintage Classé Model Seventy power amp vis XLR balanced cables.

No hum, no noise, no problem, didn't cost $14K - and my system sounds great. What more could I ask for?

View attachment 30842

What, no remote?

https://drop.com/buy/topping-dx7s/details#details

FAIL!! TOTALDAC WINS!

 

[Xulonn]

.

What, no remote?

Actually, the old DX7 remote - a nice aluminum unit - is available separately, but not directly in the U.S. I've seen it advertised by Auiophonics (France) and Shenzen (China). Apparently they made it made it available as a separate item to keep the price of the DAC/Amp down when it was upgraded from the DX7 to the DX7s - I can live with that!

 

[THW]

.


Actually, the old DX7 remote - a nice aluminum unit - is available separately, but not directly in the U.S. I've seen it advertised by Auiophonics (France) and Shenzen (China). Apparently they made it made it available as a separate item to keep the price of the DAC/Amp down when it was upgraded from the DX7 to the DX7s - I can live with that!

View attachment 30845

So the remote is actually aluminium... yeah I’m probably getting this considering that it is compatible with DX3 (what I use)

Yeah was considering getting this because while the default DX3 remote is fine in terms of ergonomics for me, I feel it could be a bit stronger feeling

 

[watchnerd]

.


Actually, the old DX7 remote - a nice aluminum unit - is available separately, but not directly in the U.S. I've seen it advertised by Auiophonics (France) and Shenzen (China). Apparently they made it made it available as a separate item to keep the price of the DAC/Amp down when it was upgraded from the DX7 to the DX7s - I can live with that!

View attachment 30845

But can I reprogram it to work with my TV?

 

[Thomas savage]

We do have a thread about digital volume implementations I think , if anyone's interested do a search .