Vincent Brient may be headquartered a few kilometers from Mont-Saint-Michel, but he is clearly not a tourist, given the number of projects and changes Totaldac undergoes every year !
After reworking his DACs to improve performance with the d1-unity range (Tested in VU#56 FR ; Remarkable), the Supélec engineer launched a new range of network transports earlier this year with the d1-streamer-live and sublime, and is now back to CD playback with a d1-CD transport.
Compared throughout its development to a tape player in order to reproduce the analog sound as closely as possible, the new CD transport uses Totaldac’s well-known frame, in which a massive copper plate is decoupled by three anti-vibration feet below, and internally by four springs to another carbon plate, on which an Austrian PRO-CD8 playback mechanism sits. Integrated from the top, the CD, blocked by a pallet press, can then be left in the open air, or covered by a hood, which obviously limits dust as well as reinforcing the silence of rotation.
Limited to 44.1 kHz in 16 bits, i.e. the sampling rate of a CD, this transport cannot read SACDs, but it gives the signal reliability to the 40th of a femtosecond thanks to its high-precision clock. To connect it to the DAC, coaxial (BNC adaptable) and AES/EBU digital inputs are available, while the Totaldac live-power ultra-low-noise power supply is added as standard, upgradeable with other, even more powerful, from the brand.
This new high-performance Breton player can be tried out directly by contacting the manufacturer on its website, and is priced at 7 500 €.
15/04/2025