Never heard the analog in my rig, was initially tempted but the d1-dual was a better value for money spent. Isn’t the analog equivalent to a d1-single at best in terms of ladder counts?
The shocking revelation to me is that I could not tell the L1 apart from my D1-six on one of the filter settings (not nos for some reason but dsd resampling in the L1). I do not doubt some of these expensive units differentiate a bit more when played on good speaker rig setup but, for our lowly headphone systems, I have lived in peace with my L1 after that experience, probably won’t revisit de dac market for another 5 years or so...
The L1 is like 1500USD, isn’t it? Why not just trying it out before shelling out 10x for something whose case machining may have cost just as much as key components inside? Better yet, have both in house and tell us back what you heard
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Good luck in your search in any case,
Arnaud
I disagree. I found big differences between DACs. All I can think is the TotalDAC6 and your L1 have a similar sound signature maybe? Could be a coincidence.
In reply to the OP, for example, while I had my 009 and Carbon I owned the Audio Note DAC 5 (30K new) which I bought used.
I had that a home and demo'd there DACs
1. MSB Platinum with Signature PS
2. Naim CD555
3. CH Precision C1
4. Lampizator Golden Gate
5. Chord DAVE
6. My Audio Note Kit 4.1 modded
All those DACs sounded very different. The tube based DACs sounded more right to my ears and brought more body and solidity to the music, better female vocals etc.
The C1 was good, but had some sibilance / treble issues on certain material
The DAVE was detailed but in the end I preferred the tube DACs sound long term
The Naim was good, dynamic and nice soundstage, but a bit boring
MSB was close to a typical DS type of sound, though it was R2R, though I believe it has filters and may force up sampling?
The Golden Gate was good, and there tube rolling very flexible. But I felt the DAC 5 was better.
The DAC 5 is a great DAC, no filtering, no up sampling, nice gain stage, tube regulated.
My current DAC has the best of any of these DACs without the pitfalls, is super dynamic and very solid presentation. No fatigue at all, very like a top turntable IMO.
The above DACs were tested on both my 009s and my Zingali horn speakers.
My advice, is try if possible at home, or take your amp and HPs to the dealer. I am convinced you will get the DAC and final sound you are happy with then.