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Topping D90SE Review (Balanced DAC)

Abekat

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I finally got around to trying the upgrade, but it's now onto v.1.88. I assume this will carry the earlier aspects of the 1.87 upgrade. Is this the case?

If so, I'm still having very brief dropouts about every 30 seconds to 1 minute. That is far superior to the 13 second dropouts that I was experiencing before and far better than using the Buetooth option, which I have been using for TV viewing.

So, my question is: would there be any sense in my trying to downgrade to 1.87?
Some dude in this very thread had this problem and wrote that the 1.87 patch worked for him. Then the 1.88 update came, and the problem was back.. Pretty stupid. So yes, you should use the 1.87 update. And thanks to him, cant remember his name. I was just reading this thread while waiting for my unit to arrive and was happy it worked when I installed the patch. So I posted the solution (again) if anyone missed it the first time (since no one didnt really reply).
 

Dgob

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Some dude in this very thread had this problem and wrote that the 1.87 patch worked for him. Then the 1.88 update came, and the problem was back.. Pretty stupid. So yes, you should use the 1.87 update. And thanks to him, cant remember his name. I was just reading this thread while waiting for my unit to arrive and was happy it worked when I installed the patch. So I posted the solution (again) if anyone missed it the first time (since no one didnt really reply).
As completely counter intuitive as it seems, in downgrading from 1.88 to the recommended 1.87 everything WORKS!!! Glorious TV sound with no dropouts.

Apologies to those who recommended this fix and were ignored. And thanks to all.
 
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johnnyindia

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HappyMetalGuy

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Seems like the DAC is as good as the D90 and the Headphones amp as good as the A90 for all intents and purposes; so why is it less expensive than the standalone D90
D90/A90 is 18 months since released and DX7 Pro+ it's new and also not cheap. We normally get (from Topping and SMSL) better performance from newer products at same or cheaper prices, so I think it's normal. I've compared several DAC's SMSL D300 and M500 MKII and Topping DX5, DX7 Pro+ and E30. I decided to keep SMSL M500 MKII just because of all the options are available through front button and remote.
 

johnnyindia

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D90/A90 is 18 months since released and DX7 Pro+ it's new and also not cheap. We normally get (from Topping and SMSL) better performance from newer products at same or cheaper prices, so I think it's normal. I've compared several DAC's SMSL D300 and M500 MKII and Topping DX5, DX7 Pro+ and E30. I decided to keep SMSL M500 MKII just because of all the options are available through front button and remote.
You're saying the DX7 Pro+ is newer? And the DAC has the same quality specs as the D90? I simply need a DAC for pro audio, to connect a pair of ATC monitor speakers to my interface, and the D90 is the best spec DAC I can find. The DX7 Pro+ would be nice to have a headphone amp built in, but not at the expense of the DAC quality.
 

Marc v E

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@johnnyindia the dx7pro+ dac section measures better than the d90se
 

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Rottmannash

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But only 1 point on SINAD.
 

Dunring

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I've had the DX7Pro and currently have the A90/D90SE and both sound amazing, but the stack has more power. I'd just go by price and what the most demanding headphones you plan are going to need. Even the stack can run out of gas with the HE6SE with a -6 or -7db preamp reduction to equalize. The Arya is so happy on XLR in middle gain though. Even the Beyerdynamic DT880 600 ohm is ok on the less powerful single ended, but it's not infinite headroom with replaygain, EQ, or pre-volume war recordings.
If you're into single ended headphones that are demanding, the A30Pro has a little smaller soundstage but tons of power on both connectors. It will warm up a room 1-2F degree though if you leave it on all the time (it's a good "winter amp"). It did just great with the D10b DAC if you want to save some money.
I had the regular version for 2 months, and with the + version out, if you can steal one on eBay it's really good. It's just not an infinite amount of power.
 

Dgob

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Hi All, just a couple of quick questions with which I hope someone can offer me some advice.
  1. Do you know if there would be any mileage in my changing from ALSA to ASIO?
  2. And, assuming there is, could you suggest how I would go about achieving this - bearing in mind my very limited technical abilities?
At present I'm using Windows 11 from my laptop into the Raspberry Pi4 to feed my Topping D90SE with Roon. Whereas the Roon 'Audio' used to read ASIO with the Holo Audio Spring3 KTE, it now reads ALSA with the D90SE. The touchscreen of the Pi4 also no longer shows the image of the album, which it did with the Spring3. Hence my above questions. And, as I said, I would really appreciate any advice that anyone can offer here.

Many thanks in advance
 

Trell

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Too generic answer. I borrowed it from my A90 now. It is not so sensitive.
Replacing a blown fuse with a less sensitive one without knowing why it blew is not a good idea.

The manufacturer put that specific fuse into the device for a reason and you don’t know if it’s safe to replace it with something less sensitive.
 
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