I may have mentioned this in other reviews but it bears repeating. It forms an important part of the cognitive process in my reviewing. When I hone in on a product's most obvious quality from the start, I base initial listening on music that capitalizes on that aspect of its reproduction. Then I embark on other musical journeys and explore other sonic qualities later. In the case of the TotalDAC d1-core, the first thing that struck me was its tone/timbre beauty and sheer musical presence. These are aspects that grabbed me and did not let go throughout. The TotalDAC d1-core was the most fluidly organic digital component I've experienced yet. I therefore pulled out a horde of acoustic instrumental recordings to wallow in their oh-so-true replication. Acoustic guitars from maestros Luc&Lagrène, controlled percussion from Maarten Van der Valk, Renaud García Fons' Middle-Eastern acoustic bass, the bell-like vibraphone and marimba mastered by Robert Oetomo, grouped cellos and violins by Australian crack ensemble FourPlay… you name it. These acoustic instruments were recreated astonishingly present, real and palpably true. It was clear to me early on that in terms of tonal purity, extraordinary beauty and effortless musicality, the TotalDAC d1-core eclipsed several higher-ticket/high-profile digital units I'd reviewed recently. What a ripper of a start.

But make no mistake, this was no overly romantic, syrupy and cozy digital device produced by a designer bent on taming digititus nervosa. The d1-core is as resolute and satisfyingly detailed as digital playback comes. Low-level microdynamics and nuances are pulled from the depths of a mix to enhance the verisimilitude created by the tonal accuracy at hand. All this is presented in a manner that never grates unless you're listening to material thus produced; and if the rest of the system is of the appropriate balance tonally. In terms of frequency response you'll have digital to die for. It's capable of charming the grooves off the most ardent vinyl enthusiast. In fact, I feel confident to present that challenge to analogue lovers. Hear the TotalDAC and be prepared to reevaluate digital's capabilities to produce music.

Big recordings such as Puscifer's "Momma Sed" from V is for Vagina came across with all the power and depth this recording can provide. The underlying minutiae weren't swamped by the amazingly deep low end whereby this recording is capable of flexing drywall panels given full-range speakers like our Wilsons. And the d1-core didn't hold back either. It produced all the subterranean shock waves you'd need to ripple your abs along with colour and texture. While dynamic contrast may not quite match a four-box dCS stack for an extreme example, it was satisfying enough to not leave me wanting. In fact, it was superbly expressed throughout and may only noticeably come a close second to the dCS stack if A/B'd directly. Then we're not talking apples and apples but absolutes in terms of a particular performance aspect. In other words, you never feel as though you're missing out on resolution.

Tracks from Curandero's Aras as file or on disc were rendered beautifully, with outstanding guitar detail and stunning attack on the percussive instruments. Both sounded extraordinarily real—again that melange of tonal beauty and precision—and communicated the true craftsmanship of Ty Burhoe and Miguel Espinoza as shaman musicians. Good Jazz recordings like Miles Davis' Kind of Blue or Dave Brubek's Time Out, coincidentally from memory released in 1959 both, were an absolutely absorbing and involving listen. The cliché or myth goes like this: "…the music was so involving that I forgot about the equipment". Consider that no myth. There was an open window on a layered performance both spatially and in musical subtlety. What's more, halfway through the review I installed the optional second power supply and was gratified to find improvements in both disc and file performance with a slightly larger soundstage and more solid bass output. Was the extra power supply upgrade worth the dosh? In my system and with my tastes, a resounding yes though the unit with just the single power supply was rather special already.

Conclusion. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a truly outstanding digital component; in the literal sense of outstanding. That it marries a resistor-based network with all the inherent labour intensities of matching and arranging precision resistors with the latest connectivity, streaming and software playback capabilities via Roon etc. and still offers optional features such as headphone output and bass management while making provision for future updates via the inbuilt MicroSD card; and all that at the asking price of Monsieur Brient… that's quite the feat and sentence, too. The d1-core sounds pure and beautiful while slamming it with power and depth. It's detailed and nuanced and spacious and open. My system sang, ergo, an easy Blue Moon Award. Simply put, I loved it!

TotalDac website