Review and Measurements of Totaldac d1-six DAC

[simbloke]

My bit perfect NAS is an HP Micro Server, cost me about £230 quite a few years ago, still going strong.

My bit perfect streamer is an Odroid C1+, cost about 40 quid a few years ago.

Even if I included my bit perfect switch (Cisco 2950 second hand) it still doesn't add up to a bit perfect network cable.

 

[AndrovichIV]

I found more info on the french forum.

Inside the Box, there is :
4TB SSD + small SSD for the OS (not Windows) + Inter I3 processor to run Roon + power supply

https://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum...elite-et-dac/dac-totaldac-t29963819-4710.html

that's one expensive computer all right. I bet he got the "audiophile edition" of the intel chip

 

[AndrovichIV]

Ethernet cables sold at totaldac (390€) are bitperfect.



1kg???!!

View attachment 30492

What would be the price of a non-bitperfect Ethernet cable? I don't need so much quality for my office rig.

the price is okay, since the cable is bit perfect. Obviously.

 

[AndrovichIV]

The whole thing makes me mad. France has sunk so low. Whether it be politics, literature or engineering, we're now officially a banana republic.

nah, you're not. Trust me, I come from one.

 

[diegooo1972]

that's one expensive computer all right. I bet he got the "audiophile edition" of the intel chip

It could be 4tb ssd or 2 nvme M2 970 evo but i fear he can have saved money to put 1 normal 4tb ssd sata...
He didn't mention nvme M2. Also the I3 instead of i5.
I bet for a 1k components pc + ethernet cleaner ( cleaning what ) + power supply.
And considering that with mini itx power supply the room for power supply components is really small I wonder how much you can spend there.

 

[AndrovichIV]

It could be 4tb ssd or 2 nvme M2 970 evo but i fear he can have saved money to put 1 normal 4tb ssd sata...
He didn't mention nvme M2. Also the I3 instead of i5.
I bet for a 1k components pc + ethernet cleaner ( cleaning what ) + power supply.
And considering that with mini itx power supply the room for power supply components is really small I wonder how much you can spend there.

If he got a HD that would be going too far, since I remember the literature says that the DAC-1 top is supposed to reduce vibrations or something like that.

 

[diegooo1972]

Especially ssd that vibrates at the frequency of 1.21 gigawatts...

 

[estuardo4]

1000

Congratulations, you won a Totaldac D1 courtesy of ASR. Shipping costs are to be paid by you please.

 

[solderdude]

Dear Vincent,

I just filled my cart with the following items as I would like to upgrade my system.

Was looking for a streamer, a DAC a nice amp and some speakers ... I am filthy rich so hit me with some decent gear.

d1-player, Roon core server or UPNP server: E 8,900.-
d1-twelve-mk2 DAC (3 boxes): E 32,500 and would like 3 dB more subbass so add E 6,500
Almost forgot my reclocker... E 3,950.- it seems I might need it with your DAC.
Needs to be connected via good sounding USB cables.. E 1.750.- (will I need more than one given the reclocker ?)
Add an Totaldac/Bibacord AES-EBU cable, 1m: E 1,800.- will you ?
Pesky powercords ... I could buy the $40k ones but yours wiil probably be O.K. need ehhm 4 of them at E 780 a piece = E 3,120
Don't know if I will be needing it but is never wasted ... live-power one-box power supply with 5 outputs: E 6.500.-
Ah yes ...need a power amp ... Amp-1 power amplifier: E 19,900
I will probably need the live-power one-box power supply with 5 outputs as well: E 6,500.-

hmm just saw you also sold some speakers ... thinking about building me a Dolby Atmos ... nah just kidding stereo will do.
d150 speaker, a pair, excl shipping: E 46,000.-
I see it needs a subwoofer ... after all the +3dB subbass add-on for my DAC needs to be audible.
subwoofer for d150 speaker, a piece, excl shipping: E 6,500.-

A small question... I see you sell speakers but also 3-way filters ... do I need the 3 way active crossover/DAC d3-core : E 9,950.- and is that for both channels.

My cart is now. E 153.870,- is shipping included ? Do you take cash ? Shall I hit the 'buy now' button or do I need some more stuff as well ?

 

[BDWoody]

Dear Vincent,

I just filled my cart with the following items as I would like to upgrade my system.


Pesky powercords ... I could buy the $40k ones but yours wiil probably be O.K. need ehhm 4 of them at E 780 a piece = E 3,120

Clearly, you just don't care enough about the emotional connection you will, sadly, be missing out on.

 

[KenG]

View attachment 30497

Maybe the translation is out of context but It’s really astonishing to me how much contempt he has for his customers based on this 3 sentence answer.

Like at least fake it and state how much of your time, money and R & D went into the high end products that justify a premium price.

 

[g29]

After reading the responses to this thread, there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that ASR will be able to measure high $$$ DACs from the likes of MSB or elsewhere.

 

[soundwave76]

^ I wouldn’t be so sure. We might even see the exact opposite...

 

[JJB70]

I think many of us would respect such an expensive DAC if the measurements were stellar and set a new benchmark or if it just had wow factor as bonkers audio jewellery. I would never pay 13000 euros for a DAC (it certainly adds a new perspective to the price of those D&D speakers) but I can get why people would pay for stellar measurement so as to get the best or just want audio jewellery like the Sennheiser Orpheus stuff. But 13,000 euros for shoddily made junk that looks like I made it?

 

[THW]

there’s kilobuck stuff here that has been well received IIRC, it simply has to measure well.

 

[firedog]

View attachment 30497
View attachment 30498
View attachment 30499

As I mentioned previously-more people buy his higher end DACS than his lower end ones (only 7000 Euro). That really explains it all.

 

[VintageFlanker]

I think many of us would respect such an expensive DAC if the measurements were stellar and set a new benchmark or if it just had wow factor as bonkers audio jewellery.

Sure thing. Like the State of the Art 30K$ APx555 deserve some respect. We recently see well received reviews for 3000$ DAC (Element X) and Power Amp (AHB2) because both show exelent performance, regardless the price! (still not 13K€ though).

 

[amirm]

Last posts on HCFR by Vincent from Totaldac, about Amir's measurements :
"il faut juste ne pas laisser de boucle de masse ni poser l'alim trop près du DAC"
> you have to not let ground loop and to not put the power supply too close to the DAC.

The transformer box in the last test was 6+ inches away on the right. There are companies that totally avoid this kind of mains leakage with the transformer inside the box. He can't accomplish that with the transformer outside of the box unless I put it in the house next door???

Here is Matrix audio's Element:

There is no sign of mains leakage even though the Element has a lower noise floor than d1-six.

The whole point of balanced XLR connections is to be free of such things.

Anyway, I tested the unit both ways, with Earth connection ON and OFF while measuring output noise by itself (no signal)

As we see, it makes no difference whether the menu option for earth connection is set or not.

Changing the option clicks a relay in the DAC, not the transformer box. So it is not changing the real safety earth connection anyway (thank heavens).

Notice though how keeping the unit earthed causes a bunch of spurious tones to pop up.

 

[VintageFlanker]

The transformer box in the last test was 6+ inches away on the right. There are companies that totally avoid this kind of mains leakage with the transformer inside the box. He can't accomplish that with the transformer outside of the box unless I put it in the house next door???

Here is Matrix audio's Element:

View attachment 30514

There is no sign of mains leakage even though the Element has a lower noise floor than d1-six.

The whole point of balanced XLR connections is to be free of such things.

Anyway, I tested the unit both ways, with Earth connection ON and OFF while measuring output noise by itself (no signal)

View attachment 30516

As we see, it makes no difference whether the menu option for earth connection is set or not.

Changing the option clicks a relay in the DAC, not the transformer box. So it is not changing the real safety earth connection anyway (thank heavens).

Notice though how keeping the unit earthed causes a bunch of spurious tones to pop up.

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)

 

[solderdude]

I guess the DAC is meant to be connected to speakers with a broken woofer and with no signal applied.
In such a case it performs admirably when not earth connected. The improvement is well over 20dB and impressively low.
It is not recommended to play music through it though, that ruins the wonderful specifications.