It’s not a typical answer I’d give, but I think with the level you’re upgrading to, it would end up being better value in this specific case, but not in others
So when I owned a d1 single, when I upgraded I went right for direct thinking I wouldn’t go past that, then got drivers, and then twelve when I overhauled 2ch, and now eying a sublime, but hey it’s that way for some other people lol. At least I saved myself from going though one or 2 more steps lol.
It could, it’s just more hassle that way
Same. I can easily suggest their dacs, but their digital stuff there’s a lot more options out there that could potentially be more viable or better value as their digital stuff isn’t all that unique in comparison to their dacs
Also keep in mind where you’re going to put your setup. Going for a twelve will add a lot more boxes, a lot more power cables (potentially), so make sure you can actually manage that added size in comparison, also pricier to ship.
Also, you sure that listed totaldac is actually a twelve? Looking on USAM, it actually could be a seven or 6 imo (1 big box is a single dac like a six or seven, streamer + reclocker box, live power multibox, then the player). Price wise that makes more sense to me
Very interesting. Ill keep that option a bit more open then.
hahaha. Yah… I think the only piece if gear I genuinly dont see myslef upgrading at this point is the AIC and that is simply because ive never even heard of anything better that fits my fairly strict size/no expoed tubes needs
How do you feel about live power vs normal power on their reclockers? If I stick with normal power on the reclocker its only 1300 to upgrade which is a fair bit easier to swallow tbh.
TBH I could also simply order live power from Vince and try that before I commit to a full upgrade as well. Would be slightly more costly, but if live power already tilts the dual the way I want it makes me a fair bit more confidant in the full dac upgrade.
Nope. Not confidant in the slightest. I did some quick math on the MSRP he listed and it makes sense for it to be a twelve, but could be a seven as well. Doing the math on the boxes twelve is what seemed most likely but not hyper confidant. Im going to call to bug him about it next week though.
Separate streamer and reclocker? Why would you do that? Isnt the streamer just a reclocker with a streamer board add-on?
Yeah I ended up coming crawling back with the monoblocks in the end, just loved that sound too much lol
I don’t really know since I’ve only really tried stuff with live powers to be honest lol. Just think the live power is probably worth it consistently since a nice psu really helps
You could but up to you, imo might as well just go for the higher tier dac, because that’s 1. going to be a bigger upgrade, 2. going to be easier to sell if you aren’t happy with it, 3. less shipping in the future lol
let’s say seven, 17500 + 350 for silver front panel + 300 dsd, streamer mk2 6200 + 300 silver, 3/4 live power box 5000 + silver 300, d1 player 5000 + 300 silver, (single) esprit power 700 is roughly 36k,
not too far off from the 41k price point accounting for shipping and taxes and whatnot. Adjusting the price for a twelve would be more around 50k + associated fees. I guess it could also be a direct and hit that price point too (although I want to say you might see a driver in that case but not always). Just a bit doubtful it’s a twelve given whats pictured and how it’s worded. Just asking for a picture of the back would clear things up
streamer is a usb filter, reclocker, and streamer board. The player would be the server, so it’s a streamer and server setup (like an antipodes cx and ex or s40 + s30
The player is that little black box that doesn’t match the rest. I meant what would be the point in streamer into a digital since without those being seperate I cant figure out how you get to 4 boxes tbh. Either way, Ill call and find out more next week.
Yah, very true. I think that’s probabaly what makes the most sense to try first and just go from there. That would also let me test live power on the digital since it would mean I would have one
No the player is a 2 box solution, it has a top server part, and the bottom is the psu (special non live power non external) and ethernet isolation potentially built in gigafilter
Then it could be a twelve because of that as well since it has it’s own built in psu iirc, would depend on if that person who specd it out got a 2 box multibox or there’s 2 live powers or regular psu that we aren’t seeing in the picture
Better sound quality for why streamer and server. You’ll notice that a lot of higher end systems separate the streamer and the server, with the streamer being the player aspect (which is why the totaldac name is dumb) and the server providing to the streamer and actually holding or managing the content
oh! That makes sense then. Maybe it was an older version but I saw someone selling the player alone before and it was just the small box, so thats what I was going off of. Yah, in that case, its for sure not a 12.
Seperating streamer and server I get. I was just confused by esentialy stacked DDCs which is what I thought ot was at first.
While I’ve not seen a d1 player in person, I assume it outputs ethernet direct out like an antipodes does which is then sent to the streamer from the player(server). Also I’ve seen totaldac setups with stacked reclockers lol
You can only upgrade to dacs that have more ladders than your current one. The dual has 2 ladders while the unity has 1, so that isnt a possible upgrade. Vincent said he could do a “biunity” (half way between the unity and triunity) for ~9k upgrade (16750 EUR RRP). TBH thats more than I want to dive into, so I’ll have to think about what to do upgrade path wise.
Vincent also told me that its better to skip the digital mk2 and just save up for the sublime reclocker since I already have the mk1 so that answers that question
I think this essentially leaves me scouring the used market for TD unless I want to jump all the way to triunity from where I am (about 14k + my dac). Im going to reach out to the one local guy to find out more (cause why not) but I think realistically this means I’ll probably try a few more flavors before I decide a proper direction (kinda had my eye on that 7k berk ref 2 and would like to try lina again)
Speaking with vincent, the direct dac is internally SE. This means that the XLR and RCA out are the same and that you can get away with only using a single driver if you have an SE chain instead of going the dual mono route. Thought I would let people know that.
All that said, direct + driver is basicaly same cost as triunity which vincent says he prefers by itself so maybe not as relevant of info as it use to be.
Yep, makes no difference from my experience. Dual mono I think is an improvement over single regardless but I think in most cases if one was to get a direct I’d only got a single stereo driver setup personally unless you need balanced or want that next quality bump
And just to confirm, you really dont like the direct without the driver, correct? If so, I am thinking that the seven from canada might be a better choice even if he is willing to split the stack since I think id rather upgrade to the triunity then buy the driver (since that’s what vincent recommends)
What no I think the driver is absolutely worthwhile with a direct, I think without a direct it becomes super pairing dependant but still great. You really want a good preamp or input stage instead is what becomes the struggle otherwise it can sound off or lacking
That makes sense if you’re going to go the triunity route, otherwise I’d rather have the direct over the seven
any chance you tried aic without the driver (think I asked that before but I cant find the answer.
Yah. I think the trinuity probably makes more sense since its what vincent reqs even though its lower cost (feel like I trust dealer reqs that are cheaper way more tbh). My question would mostly be “is not having the driver enough of a detriment to make the direct not worth while”
Honestly don’t remember lol, sorry about that. I could try the twelve without drivers with the monoblocks and see for you but give me a few days on that one lol, but I have my doubts if that would actually translate to the direct and aic chain
I don’t know if it’s that rather than “the triunity likely would make more sense” instead of “the direct w/ no driver being too much of a detriment”
Aside from the lower voltage output which can cause you to need really high volumes which can be less than ideal, it also has a really high output impedance which you have to be careful with as the downstream component would want to be really high, probably 50-100kohms minimum. Basically, your input stage or preamp needs to be really good and properly matched as using direct out without drivers will really put it to the test lol
fair enough all around there. If you do feel like trying it I wont complain about impressions, but 0 pressure.
Sorry. Being a bit scatterbrained this afternoon. The idea would be to get the direct or 7 now, then down the road upgrade to the trinuity (or get the driver). Esentialy neither the direct or 7 would be the end goal and im wondering if the direct would even be worth it without he driver for several months.
Hmmmmmmm. So, I think it would honestly come down to value, and what specific things you’re after. I think the seven is going to be more of what you have but better, wheraes the direct without drivers will def feel like a different direction, potentially not one you might want to take. I think if you are going to upgrade and use what you get as a holdover, I’d go with the seven as long as the direct isn’t going to be a decent bit cheaper.
Sounds good. Hopefully the dealer still has the stack once I get my AIC back and I can just flat out try the direct, but if it was going to be a rough move I didnt realy want to waste his time. TBH I think the seven would end up being cheaper anyways
