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My experiences with Vincent Brient and TotalDAC go back to about 2010, when a colleague of mine in Munich had an opportunity to borrow a TotalDAC-D1 on the occasion of a visit on business to Munich, and we spent quite a few hours listening to it in comparison to some other well known high end brands at that time- this ultimately led to him buying a pretty comprehensive TotalDAC setup with mono configured TotalDACs and their digital reclocking units housed in a similar chassis. After I bought D1-dual balanced in early 2013, and paired it up with Brainstorm DCD8 and LFPRS rubidium reference oscillators, well, I was definitely dancing not in the street, but in the family room at home!
And yes, this is a sign magnitude R2R ladder DAC, using high precision Vishay foil resistors.
Mine in 2013 had a new copper ground shield/platform, and some other tweaks being readied for series production- my colleague's level of activity with Vincent seemed to have gotten me a little more favorable treatment...
Vincent has not rested on his laurels by any means, branching out into streamers and other related accessories, but also speakers and amplifiers.
Yes, those are Magico speakers in the background, so that listeners may have a well known type to compare against and use if desired when auditioning the electronics. The D100 speakers in the foreground are a 2.5 way with different woofer optimizations, and it is offered also with an optional ribbon super tweeter which can be plugged in later.
This image from the new (today) promotional email announcing the plans for the Munich High End Show later this month also shows the subwoofer and the components with the new "Unity" architecture, which are being introduced it seems at the show. (First I've heard of them, I'm on their mailing list)
It is possible to upgrade older units to the new architecture, in many cases. But not inexpensive...
Still, I wish I could be at the Munich High End show to hear what Vincent is doing these days... I attended once with my colleague in Munich, and to say it was memorable would be a major understatement...
https://www.totaldac.com/index.htm
And yes, this is a sign magnitude R2R ladder DAC, using high precision Vishay foil resistors.
Mine in 2013 had a new copper ground shield/platform, and some other tweaks being readied for series production- my colleague's level of activity with Vincent seemed to have gotten me a little more favorable treatment...
Vincent has not rested on his laurels by any means, branching out into streamers and other related accessories, but also speakers and amplifiers.
Yes, those are Magico speakers in the background, so that listeners may have a well known type to compare against and use if desired when auditioning the electronics. The D100 speakers in the foreground are a 2.5 way with different woofer optimizations, and it is offered also with an optional ribbon super tweeter which can be plugged in later.
This image from the new (today) promotional email announcing the plans for the Munich High End Show later this month also shows the subwoofer and the components with the new "Unity" architecture, which are being introduced it seems at the show. (First I've heard of them, I'm on their mailing list)
The "unity" architecture allows a better clock distribution, a lower jitter, a lower R2R power supply rail impedance and a lower noise in the digital section.
The R2R ladder resistors are still the famous naked Vishay foil.
The "unity" architecture gives more presence, more contrast between the timbre of each instrument, more contrast between the size of each instrument, more clarity at the same time as more body and more dynamic. The sound is more realistic and natural giving you more pleasure and no fatigue.
This sound has been adjusted with an analog master tape player as direct comparison and with digital recordings made by Totaldac.
The R2R ladder resistors are still the famous naked Vishay foil.
The "unity" architecture gives more presence, more contrast between the timbre of each instrument, more contrast between the size of each instrument, more clarity at the same time as more body and more dynamic. The sound is more realistic and natural giving you more pleasure and no fatigue.
This sound has been adjusted with an analog master tape player as direct comparison and with digital recordings made by Totaldac.
Still, I wish I could be at the Munich High End show to hear what Vincent is doing these days... I attended once with my colleague in Munich, and to say it was memorable would be a major understatement...
https://www.totaldac.com/index.htm
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