I have followed the work of Vincent Brient and his company Totdac from the very beginning and have also been using various Totaldac products for a long time.
Brient is not one of those designers who releases an upgrade just for the sake of upgrading. He’s an engineer and an avid music advocate by trade. Anything that comes out to the public, the successors of the previous products, the new iteration (MK version), or a completely new product has to be of the utmost precedence and positively different, or it will not see the light of day.
Totaldac digital-to-analog converters are very different. They are by all means not typical-sounding DACs. By default, Brient always carefully avoids any kind of signature or sonic imprint to stay as close as possible to the original audio recording.
To stay in tune with the music, Brient often invites musicians to his studio and captures these performances in high resolution. These recordings serve as reference material and are published on his YouTube channel.
This is a great way for people to virtually experience Totaldac’s reference system at headquarters and also allows them to replicate and compare what was captured on their systems when evaluating the Totaldac product.
Tri(unity)
The d1-triunity benefits from the new Totaldac “unity” DAC architecture, in which around 290 components on the electronic circuit boards have been improved or added.
The d1-triunity is a d1-unity but with 3 R2R ladders per channel instead of one, resulting in lower noise and the true scale of each instrument.
The “unity” architecture allows for better clock distribution, lower jitter, lower R2R power supply rail impedance, and lower noise in the digital section.
The R2R line resistors are still the favored naked Vishay foils. The output stage is also completely new, both in terms of components and schematics and uses only discrete components.
This new output stage generates an unbalanced 3.5V signal and a balanced 7V signal with low impedance for the best versatility to be connected to all preamplifiers, all integrated amplifiers, and also directly to all power amplifiers.
The “Unity” architecture provides more presence, more contrast between the timbres of each instrument, more contrast between the sizes of each instrument, more clarity, and at the same time more body and more dynamics, the sound is more realistic and natural, giving more pleasure and no fatigue.
The sound was refined and fine-tuned with an analog master tape player in direct comparison and with digital recordings from Totaldac. These listening tests were carried out in the new Totaldac auditorium.
The new “unity” architecture makes it possible to upgrade all Totaldac d1-x DACs to this new architecture.
The Music
The sound architecture of Totaldac has consolidated more than just a renowned name. At its core, it is about reflecting the core characteristics of music with purism and vibrancy all of its own. The d1-triunity DAC continues the legacy and proven universality, but above all extends the basic fundaments.
d1-triunity sounds familiar and yet very different from the previous models. The already powerful inner crux is now augmented by decoding and translating the ones and zeros with an overarching balancing act across different musical genres. A highly alluring virtue worthy of special mention.
As always, here are some reference albums that pinpoint the differentiae of Totaldac d1-triunity.
Jeff Lorber Fusion – Prototype
The newfound sublimity and unadulterated fluidity were immediately evident with Prototype, an album that earned Jeff Lorber a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in 2017.
When everything is in order, the Prototype cascades with an admiringly engaging rhythm and tempo. The firm, tight, and spot-on beat and synchronicity have always been present in Totaldac DACs, but d1-triunity simply takes it a step further by seamlessly matching ever-varying tempi and instantly adhering to underlying varieties, allowing Prototype to unfold with steadfastness and in the complete absence of strutting phenomena that many DACs struggle with regardless of the price tag.
Gounod: Faust Ballet Music; Bizet: Carmen Suite
The Living Stereo classic immediately showed where the d1-triunity spreads out sonically. Carmen Suite demonstrated a vivid and clear principle of the next generation Totaldac, bringing out bass and midrange with a new level of sharpness and precision and the newly introduced high clarity as well as tempo precision and a higher level of detail.
The d1-triunity uniquely mirrors the Royal Opera House Orchestra under the direction of Alexander Gibson, tracking the dynamics and momentum of the orchestra without being reductionist. Something that even more expensive DACs struggle with.
The slightest dynamic fluctuations are reproduced with greater fluidity and clarity at both the micro and macro levels, producing completely different results than one would expect at the given price level.
Like every audio component, the DAC is an electronic microcosm that requires hundreds of correct decisions to not only work technically correctly but also to be at the height of sound quality. This is where the mature products show their virtues, and the d1-triunity is a clear example of the fact that a refined and complex whole is more than the sum of its parts.
The latest Totaldac DAC, like its predecessor, easily triggers the emotional connection, but in the latest iteration, the interval feels even faster.
Verdi Macbeth Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala Claudio Abbado
Like the rest of the reference music, Verdi Macbeth pointed directly at the most impressive density of information that d1-triunity is capable of deciphering by targeting the very epicenter, at the helm of music’s gravity. A star ensemble with Shirley Verrett, Piero Cappuccilli, Placido Domingo, and Nicolai Ghiaurov under the baton of Claudio Abbado is a sonic and emotional treat.
Again outside the norm, Totaldac d1-triunity invigorated and enlivened Macbeth with a greater sense of spaciousness, with more than expected foundations at micro and macro levels, while always operating with the seamless juxtaposition of power and feathery grandeur, keeping harmonic integrity intact. This, too, is a rare achievement for any DAC.
Laurence Rosenthal & His Orchestra – Rashomon (Original Music From The Broadway Soundtrack)
On the edge of the bizarre and the sonorous, but very delicate and dear to yours truly, Rashomon presents a highly exceptional and expressive composition that makes it impossible to describe everything it reveals in a few sentences. It has to be experienced to be fully appreciated.
With the iconic Broadway soundtrack by Laurence Rosenthal & His Orchestra, d1-triunity has once again shown how much thought has gone into this DAC and how much dedication Brient has poured into this upgrade.
The poignant narrative and kaleidoscopic soundscape should evoke a state of heightened attentiveness and Totaldac d1-triunity feels perfect and natural at every dramatic unfolding and rendering of the music. I don’t think I can pay a better compliment in this regard.
Conclusion
Vincent Brient is keeping his loyal Totaldac customer base happy with the gradual product updates in a phased manner. This also attracts a steady stream of new customers interested in the highly desirable Totaldac DACs eco-system.
What Brient has achieved with his Totaldac company is nothing ordinary, mainly because he has gone his way from the outset and consciously departed from the usual norms.
Over the years, Brient’s expertise from his previous work in telecommunications and intensive, ongoing research and development has paid off, and the Totaldac CEO has passed on his passion and know-how in what is to date the most impressive single-box Totaldac I have had the pleasure of hearing and experiencing.
With 3.5Vrms RCA and 7Vrms output and a new, updated inner core, the Totaldac d1-triunity DAC not only handles music effortlessly and thrillingly, but it also makes it emotion-tugging and tangible with crystallizing quality and offers a remarkable kind of musical insight without sacrificing the unity of timbre, timbre, and, above all, speed and clarity.
d1-triunity is all about pure energy transfer. It feels as if nothing is holding back the performance, with a balancing act that is on par with far more expensive DACs.
What makes this one-box total DAC so unique and unlike any other is its singular ability to make a meaningful emotional connection, extending the underlying emotions of the music while keeping a finger on the pulse of the aural microcosm and upholding the music fundamentals.
The Totaldac d1-triunity DAC avoids portraying a false reality and fading out the valley effect that even some more expensive DACs can’t escape. Instead, it concentrates on the vivid and genuine form of the music.
I’ve salivated the Totaldac d1-triunity over the 2023 and it’s truly endearing DAC that connects one with the deeper sense of the music.
The digital age has reached a plateau, and the d1-triunity reflects this comprehensively. It also proves how Totaldac perpetually manages to play in a league of its own.
For what it represents on so many levels, I grant the Totaldac d1-triunity DAC a 2023 Mono & Stereo Upper Echelon Product Award.❖
Price
- d1-triunity DAC: 24.000euros incl VAT in Europe, 22000 euros excl VAT out of Europe
Specifications
- 192KHz asynchronous Xmos USB, 192KHz coax RCA, 192KHz AES-EBU, 96KHz optical, selected from a remote control.
- 44.1KHz, 48KHz, 88.2KHz, 96KHz, 176.4KHz and 192KHz, 16 to 24 bit formats supported.
- as an option, DSD (DoP standard) supported on coax, AES-EBU and USB inputs.
- embedded custom clock with anti-jitter FIFO memory.
- 3.5Vrms max RCA, 7Vrms max XLR analog output.
- volume control, adjusted by a remote control and an OLED display, works for all inputs.
- phase polarity selected by remote control.
- non-oversampling DAC compensation filter activated or disactivated by remote control.
- display switched off by remote control.
- R2R DAC technology using 300 pieces of 0.01% VAR Bulk Metal® Foil resistors Vishay Foil Resistors.
- class A discrete transistor output stage.
- external power supply to minimize the noise on the embedded preamp.
- aluminium and PMMA enclosure with massive pure copper antivibration plate.
- power consumption 14.2W @44.1KHz, 16.5W @192KHz.
- DAC dimensions: height 110mm, width 360mm, depth 290mm.
- power supply dimensions: height 65mm, width 122mm, depth 180mm.
- weight 8kg
Available options
- damping feet.
- live-power grade power supply, highly recommended
- DSD (DoP) option.
- silver massive aluminium front panel.
- 115V power option.
- BNC coaxial digital input instead of RCA.
- 2, 3, 4 way active crossover or more, by associating several DAC boxes.
Contact
Totaldac
Rennes and Mont-Saint-Michel
web: www.totaldac.com
e-mail: totaldac@totaldac.com
mobile phone: +33 6 18 03 14 08