TotalDac D1 Seven

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada

I did a tentative two days ago by posting the same article:
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?25009-The-Great-DAC-Off!&p=499248&viewfull=1#post499248

The only reply was from Marc. But yes I agree with you; that was an interesting article from their subjective findings.

* The article is extremely short, nothing in depth, absolutely nothing.
And, I thought I saw comments not long ago @ the bottom of that article, but perhaps I am mistaking.
 
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Blue58

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2013
886
668
1,155
London, UK
I am curious on the negatives on the Denafrips DAC, I have read elsewhere it is a giant killer? Maybe not then...

I gave it a try after reading the giant killer claims but for some reason it didn’t like being attached to my server, perhaps the Amanero driver was not fully compatible with the Windows10 build, and I could hear some distortion on some tracks of various resolutions. Both NOS and Upsampling was tried. It did work with a MacBook Pro with no apparent distortion but only average sound quality.

It was a relief to get back to the T+A Dac8dsd which is a real giant killer, with a little modification :rolleyes:

Cheers
Blue58
 

GuillaumeB

VIP/Donor
Mar 10, 2014
267
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UK
www.boyeraudio.com
As my d1-seven has continued to run in it has sounded better and better, I would say that it definitely benefitted from a good week of 24/7 playback to start to show its best. I couldn't have been more pleased.

I found that placing three Ansuz DTC pucks underneath the unit also really helped, and worked better than the HRS Nimbus which I also have. I do however use HRS damping plates on top of the units.

However the most exciting thing has been the addition of an Echole power supply, specifically designed by the good folks at Absolare/Echole to match the Totaldac DACs. I first came across this concept at Munich last year when Kerem (owner of Absolare) showed me photos of a prototype unit being made. The Echole power supply is essentially carved out of a solid piece of aircraft grade aluminium and features transformers with Echole secondary wiring. The unit is quite heavy and solid (mine which has one transformer is over 25kgs!), the idea being to be impenetrable to EMI/RFI and dampen mechanical vibration. It also comes with an Echole DC cable which also feels like a substantial improvement over the cable that ships with the Totaldac.

This power supply is phenomenal! It almost feels as though I have upgraded my amplifier or speakers (rather than DAC!), the sound just projects so much better into the room, with much greater resolve and imaging is pin sharp. I'm actually lost for words as to how to describe this, the improvement is just so great! I can't recommend this enough.

I am told to expect this to improve a fair bit more over the coming days. In the meantime here are a couple of images:

c748ad05-490d-4edb-8a0a-15e40d262cf9.jpg

IMG_0390.jpg

Guillaume
 

cat6man

Well-Known Member
Feb 6, 2013
890
994
1,155
west of NYC, east of SF
any price estimates for the echole power supply?

has anyone else tried 3rd party or other power alternatives?
anyone know what the power requirements are (voltages, currents)?
 

CKKeung

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,050
3,165
1,410
Hong Kong
any price estimates for the echole power supply?
has anyone else tried 3rd party or other power alternatives?
anyone know what the power requirements are (voltages, currents)?

The Totaldac external psu contains only one toroid transformer with multiple outputs. The AC-DC circuit is located inside the Totaldac main chassis.
IMG-20160524-WA0022.jpg

In Hong Kong Kenneth Lau is famous for making psu upgrade for various HiFi brands.
Here is his psu to replace the original Totaldac psu. There are 2 O-type transformers each of them is dedicated to output one voltage.

IMG-20160524-WA0023.jpg

He makes also a bigger sized version which can supply both a Totaldac dac and a Reclocker simultaneously.
IMG-20160719-WA0027.jpg
 
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GuillaumeB

VIP/Donor
Mar 10, 2014
267
85
333
UK
www.boyeraudio.com
any price estimates for the echole power supply?

has anyone else tried 3rd party or other power alternatives?
anyone know what the power requirements are (voltages, currents)?

Yes the single transformer version is $7,500.

All the secondary windings are Echole Omnia.

The unit has been running 24/7 since Tuesday (so about 120 hours now) and has had a few ups and downs SQ-wise as it continues to burn in. I'm told the silver, gold, palladium alloy takes time to settle. It's an extraordinary transformation though, and I imagine in a week or so it will be incredible.

Guillaume
 

PTCL

Well-Known Member
Apr 9, 2018
13
7
108
USA
My journey of Totaldac started with a D1-Dual and a reclocker, which I loved. I upgraded to D1-Six after holding off for more than a year. For my listening preference, I had reservations with the Six for classical and choral music. I considered the sweet sounding Linn Klimax DS/3, but could not accept the unilateral connector orientations and also valued D1-Six more for dimensionality and transparency. I inquired and learned about the D1-Seven project in July 2017 which I kept quiet for Vincent. I finally upgraded to D1-Seven recently after saving. Kudos to the friendly Vincent for turning around quickly. He received the Six on Saturday and I got the Seven back the following Friday. I have listened to the Seven with the Gigafilter USB for three long sessions in three consecutive days so far. My impression is for the combination of Gigafilter, Totaldac reclocker (unchanged), and D1-Seven.

The combination has the following characteristics: alive in macro and micro dynamics; transparent with excellent timbre; delicate ambiance to project soundstage width, height and depth; weighty/rhythmic tones; layered presentation with my favorite mid-hall perspective; natural openness; bloom and clean textures of complex, combined voices and instruments. These characteristics are notable even over D1-Six based on memory. This setup produces the satisfaction and realism of a live orchestra, which has been illusive so far. Like good equipment, D1-Seven and Gigafilter sounded good from the start after warm-up for an hour. Some manufacturers profess that break-in is for users to adjust to new equipment. I equate that to lowering user expectation.

I had an original Totaldac USB/filter before changing to a much pricier USB cable. It was better and I would not mention the brand name. I grudgingly tried a plain-looking Totaldac Gigafilter USB, because the other brand could not supply a 1.5 meter for my new setup. I went to a concert last night including Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. I came home to compare Gigafilter USB with the other brand with the last track of Symphonic Dances and the 1st track of Belkis, Queen of Sheba on Reference Recordings 24/176 HRx. I played the two tracks once on each cable and repeated again. It was obvious on the first path that dynamics, ambiance, transparency, tone colors and soundstaging were much better with the Gigafilter. The comparison was over after confirmation in the second path. It is hard to put a sensible margin of superiority but I would venture to guess “roughly 50%”. The significant margin may have resulted from that the Gigafilter enabled D1-Seven to shine. Conversely, that cable costs 30% more than a Gigafilter.

The experience gives me newfound respect for the plain looking Gigafilter USB with, I initially thought, an obnoxious box. I contacted Vincent for an explanation. He pointed out "Try this very high end USB filter and discover the capability of your DAC" on his website. I obviously did not think much of it before. Amusingly, I moved from a DAC with a CNC aluminium chassis to Totaldac's sheet metal, dampened with a copper plate and a 3M sheet nonetheless. My reaction on seeing external/internal Totaldac pictures the first time was .."really?". Then I listened for myself, got the essence, and liked it in person.

My conclusion is straightforward. For existing owners considering a Totaldac upgrade, just save for a D1-Seven and pick up a Gigafilter. The combination is sublime. If you have a Totaldac server or another digital transport (Melco N1 ZH/2 for me), the Gigafilter USB is indispensable for an immediate improvement in the meantime. It is hard to believe the leap until an experiment. I am not interested in qualifying my opinion against other competing equipment or constantly promoting my own. As I finally hear something capable of reproducing the realism of live concerts, I will just spend more time listening.

Cheers!
 
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BF38

Well-Known Member
Oct 31, 2017
168
44
113
Hi PTCL,
my own TOTALDAC's journey started quite just at his birth, seven years ago but now, i'm at excatly the same stunning place as you, server + seven...and I measure my luck every day when I press play ! congrats to us... hihi.

and not to stop in such a good way, i also have TOTALDAC trumpet speakers since a few months now, driven by an integrated Absolare S (currently compared to the Altius version... Aïe, not a super great idea for the banker, so what !)

Be well in music

Totaldac d150_piece.jpg
 

Kris

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2019
947
971
183
Not sure if this is a good place to post it but
I just updated my 3 TotalDAC reclockers with Vincent to MK2 .
Also Vincent created self powered USB board in one of my reclockers that is a clear step up in SQ.
Also it blocks the noise from the server that was passing via bus power line.
If you dont have self powered TotalDAC board installed it is well worth investment.
 

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