[a1uc]

The issue is my D1 Dual would have to be sent to Vincent and the total cost with shipping etc would be around 1650.00 for the DSD and psu upgrade etc .

If I Was to send it back I would probably just upgrade to mono blocks to make it worth it

 

[romaz]

You still have the Studio on order ! I thought that you canceled your order after you heard the TotalDAC direct headphone out ? Do you still believe that an external headphone can being something additional to the TotalDAC Headphone OUT ? Expecialy with the D1-mono ?

May be Some extra musicality or some extra " meat " ?

Yes, for now.  I am #17 on the list for a Studio and so my number won't be called until next year.  To be honest, I don't know what my system will look like when I'm done as this is a process of discovery that is evolving but I will say that I have heard a lot of headphone amps including the Egoistas and the Woo 234 Monos and the Studio remains the best non-electrostatic headphone amp I have heard.  It is probably equal to the BHSE.  The problem with the BHSE is it can only drive 1 headphone I am interested in while the Studio can drive many plus it can drive speakers.
 
Once the monoblocs are burned in, I will be comparing headphone direct via XLR against headphone connected to my EC Balancing Act with PX-4 tubes.  We will see what it adds.

 

[romaz]

I consider the BHSE+ STAX SR009 the best Headphone experience I ever heard.

 
I'm glad you liked the Dharma that you listened to at the Paris show this weekend.  There is no denying the appeal of the clarity that electrostatics bring.  As I stated, I have a Dharma coming in and I am very interested to see how it sounds connected directly to the monoblocs.

 

[romaz]

The issue is my D1 Dual would have to be sent to Vincent and the total cost with shipping etc would be around 1650.00 for the DSD and psu upgrade etc .

If I Was to send it back I would probably just upgrade to mono blocks to make it worth it

I see your dilemma.  I suggest you don't upgrade until you feel you have to, that means until you have enough DSD material to warrant the upgrade.  Most good material is still only PCM. 
 
If you are looking for a more meaningful impact, consider upgrading your source because the TotalDac is extremely revealing of the source.  I like the Sony you have a lot.  In fact, I own a Sony ZX2 player and I love it with my CIEMs but the Sony is roughly on par with the Auralic Aries I have, meaning it sounds good but it doesn't do your TotalDac d1-dual justice.
 
There is a an Aurender dealer based in Illinois who will send you an Aurender N10 for home evaluation with no obligation (you just have to cover shipping).  The unit is already pre-loaded with 1 TB of music including a full library of DSD material.  Once you hear it with your TotalDac, you will see what I'm talking about within 30 seconds.  It may have an even greater impact than going from dual to monobloc.  The reason I bring up the N10 specifically is that it can process DSD to PCM internally.  This means that if you don't have a DSD-capable DAC, you can still play DSD.  If you are interested, PM me and I will provide you his contact info although you will have to wait your turn because this demo unit is headed my way.

 

[a1uc]

  I see your dilemma.  I suggest you don't upgrade until you feel you have to, that means until you have enough DSD material to warrant the upgrade.  Most good material is still only PCM. 
 
If you are looking for a more meaningful impact, consider upgrading your source because the TotalDac is extremely revealing of the source.  I like the Sony you have a lot.  In fact, I own a Sony ZX2 player and I love it with my CIEMs but the Sony is roughly on par with the Auralic Aries I have, meaning it sounds good but it doesn't do your TotalDac d1-dual justice.
 
There is a an Aurender dealer based in Illinois who will send you an Aurender N10 for home evaluation with no obligation (you just have to cover shipping).  The unit is already pre-loaded with 1 TB of music including a full library of DSD material.  Once you hear it with your TotalDac, you will see what I'm talking about within 30 seconds.  It may have an even greater impact than going from dual to monobloc.  The reason I bring up the N10 specifically is that it can process DSD to PCM internally.  This means that if you don't have a DSD-capable DAC, you can still play DSD.  If you are interested, PM me and I will provide you his contact info although you will have to wait your turn because this demo unit is headed my way.

My Totaldac D1 Server can process DSD to PCM   , I dont use the Sony with my D1 Dual    I had the Vega and Aries also already 
 

1. VRD Monoblocks
   NBS Preamp
   Totaldac D1 Dual /Totaldac D1 Server Music Storage NAS SSD - Dedicated Router - (2) Paul Hynes SR-5 Linear PSU - Controlled by Ipad
   Speakers :Joseph Perspective's
   Cables : Antipodes reference Speaker / IC's - Wywires Silver Juice II - Totaldac D1 USB
   Uberbuss/Mongo III Power Cable All Furutech GTX-D ® Rhodium & Gold Receptacles
   Headphone HD-800  LCD-X 
   Woo Audio WA-22
   Sony HAP-Z1ES

 

[romaz]

  My Totaldac D1 Server does that also , I dont use the sony with my D1 Dual

Sorry, I just caught that you have both the d1-Server and the Sony.  No need to upgrade your source.

 

[a1uc]

  Sorry, I just caught that you have both the d1-Server and the Sony.  No need to upgrade your source.

Yes that is why I never sent back the D1 Dual didnt see a 1650.00 value there just to have DSD , since I can still play my DSD 

 

[Beolab]

A little ot but how do you guys think the MSB Analog holding up against the Total DAC Balanced , if you have heard them both?

Im only interested in the SQ.

 

[romaz]

A little ot but how do you guys think the MSB Analog holding up against the Total DAC Balanced , if you have heard them both?

Im only interested in the SQ.

I heard the MSB Analog with Analog Power Base and Quad Rate DSD USB a few times this summer.  I once targeted this DAC and it did everything well but the TotalDac is tonally richer, more vivid but not in any artificial way.  That was the one feature that stood out the most.    

 

[nepherte]

  I believe they have released it already.  Antipodes is a Linux-based machine and they have announced their Roon option will be available in December.  If you know someone smart enough to port Roon to the TotalDac Server, you will have a line of people lining up for it, I'm sure.

It hasn't been officially released just yet, although I'm pretty sure that they sent out alpha or beta versions to vendors already. I also don't see why there is a need to port Roon. If they target linux, and ARM based devices, then it should also work on the TotalDAC. I actually informally offered Vincent to figure the whole "run Roon on TotalDAC" out for him. Not sure whether he took me serious though.

 

[Yoga]

  I heard the MSB Analog with Analog Power Base and Quad Rate DSD USB a few times this summer.  I once targeted this DAC and it did everything well but the TotalDac is tonally richer, more vivid but not in any artificial way.  That was the one feature that stood out the most.    

 
Are you speaking of the dual (similar price), twelve or mono (over double the price)?

 

[romaz]

   
Are you speaking of the dual (similar price), twelve or mono (over double the price)?

Some will argue this but I believe the MSB Analog in full regalia actually competes more with the d1-single (which is an excellent DAC) and is outclassed by the d1-dual (IMHO).  For those of you who own a d1-dual who are wondering what a d1-single sounds like, plug a headphone into the headphone port in the back of your DAC and that is what a d1-single sounds like, still excellent and so this is not an insult to the MSB Analog.  I would easily pit the d1-dual against the Signature DAC V with standard clock and the monoblocs against the Diamond DAC V fully loaded. My point is that MSB is not a high value proposition and that you have to spend roughly twice as much for an MSB product to equal what you would get from TotalDac.
 
TotalDac sells direct.  Vincent is basically a one-man show with comparatively much less overhead.  MSB sells only through dealers who likely charge close to a 100% markup once you factor in the extras.  Try to configure an MSB Diamond DAC on their website and you find you will need to spend an extra $6k for the better power supply (why sell a DAC at this level with the option for an inferior PSU to begin with?), an extra $3k for a digital attenuator, an extra $15k for the Femto 33 clock (really?), an extra $1900 for the preferred quadrate DSD USB port, $1k for RCA analog inputs, $1k for XLR balanced inputs...you get the message.  By the time you've similarly configured a Diamond DAC V, you've spent $50k.
 
Go to the What's Best forum and you'll find plenty of debates about which brand is best and you will find each brand will have its loyal camps.  Bottom line is that both make excellent DACs but you cannot compare these brands dollar for dollar because TotalDac will win every time.

 

[arnaud]

Soundwise, I can't say, but, I was drown to Vincent's product for the exact reason romaz stated (direct sales, very humble / convervative engineer) rather than msb.

I also heard from other people (superfred) that the D1 is not embarrassed my the MSB until you hit well above its price. I guess that applies to all the configurations, but I will have to get my kids through their schools until I can even think about what lies above the dual .

Also, it's been shared already but, no matter how transparent the transducer is, at some point you're imo not fully exploiting the dac if you strictly listen to heaphones as a large part of what these high end dacs bring lies in the soundstage where speakers make them stand more apart from each other than any regular headphone can.

My gut feel is that for headphones, money is better spent on the source (reclocker / server what not) but I surely wouldn't spit on a D1 twelve if I was offered one .

Arnaud

 

[negura]

I have been reading a lot of great comments in regards to tonality, staging, backgound blackness etc. My main concern with the TotalDAC DACs are the resolution figures. I have only read speculation in regards to the ENOB and that was from a while ago. Did anyone speak with Vincent meanwhile, or has some more information?

 

[yellowblue]

I came from a Auralic Vega which many regard to have a very good resolution. The Dual is better than the Vega in resolution and much much better when it come to tonality.