Topping RD3 TP Balanced DAC Review

[coptician]

I wonder what market segment this TP line is meant for. They are rack mount, but the RA3 is only 50ish wpc at 8 ohms before the knee, which is no where near enough power for public space applications.

I imagine this is almost entirely a product for the home rack. You know, the kind of device an integrator would sell. Except this is more of a DIY device with much lower price than those sold by such companies.

If I had a 19" rack for Hifi stuff, I would definitely consider adding this to it instead of getting another (also great) DAC. Outside of the features the ADI-2 offers, this seems like a pretty complete package. And with the WiiM Pro offering parametric equalisation starting this or next week...

 

[dasdoing]

I wonder what is so hard about making rack mounts removable like Motu does?

 

[F1308]

Back to 2023...Good.

And GREAT.

 

[F1308]

I wonder what is so hard about making rack mounts removable like Motu does?

It would need some additional screws...jeopardizing net income.

See that there are no olives to remove...

Did removing one olive lead to an airline saving thousands of dollars?

Quite a common story that gets brought up around airports or business meetings when someone wants to provide a famous example of small change for massive savings is the olive story. Apparently th...

skeptics.stackexchange.com

 

[TonyJZX]

i dont see it like that

topping want to force their faux rack series on customers

if you give customers the choice then it dilutes the 'rack professional look' if they dont use it

 

[Bleib]

i dont see it like that

topping want to force their faux rack series on customers

if you give customers the choice then it dilutes the 'rack professional look' if they dont use it

Force? They aren't even sold through many shops.

 

[Sokel]

Force? They aren't even sold through many shops.

If I was about to get one there is no way in this world that I would buy it outside EU.
A few more euros for ease of return and peace of mind is fair in my book.

 

[BossBunos]

Very nice product. Love the fact Topping is making something different than desktop stuff.
Isn't the level for absolute transparency -115? If so isn't that jitter audible?

 

[Anthony LoFi]

I think this product for the price is great value for money.
I believe they will sell well in their target market especially with an independent test of it performace capabilities done by Amir/ASR.

 

[BALKAN_RAKIA]

Audio aesthetics are a generational thing. I am too young to understand the fascination with racks and too old for Japanese cartoons on headphone packaging.

 

[martijn86]

It would be a thousand times better with removable ears (like Behringer for example) as it would fit in more environments.
Optical's and SPDIF's jitter is disapointing (for the ones who use them) ,otherwise good performance.

Everything is removable if you are motivated enough.

 

[F1308]

I think this product for the price is great value for money.
I believe they will sell well in their target market especially with an independent test of it performace capabilities done by Amir/ASR.

I love ASR certified products.

 

[S=klogW]

Is there a setting to adjust DPLL? It should help with jitter on toslink.

Looking at the much higher jitter on toslink/coax vice USB, I wonder if this unit shows poor sinad performance too when using toslink/coax inputs. I bought and measured a Topping E30ii and sinad was similar for USB input (around 117dB) but the sinad for the toslink input was a massive 20dB worse - unacceptable so returned to Amazon!

 

[Gorgonzola]

I like the form-factor for the most part, i.e. the wide casing versus the narrow casing which seemed to be Topping standard, such as my D90 DAC. However I do wish the rackmount "wings" were removable which would make for a nice, ~17" case. I definitely like the large, visible display.

Personally I like the 17" width for most hi-fi components, although I suppose it's too wide for desktop use of folks with otherwise limited space.

 

[EeeGee]

Very nice.
I just wish Topping (or somebody else) will come with a high performance dac in a big enclosure including 5"-7" of spectrum analyser / vu meters / song details swappable display.

 

[Matias]

Audio aesthetics are a generational thing. I am too young to understand the fascination with racks and too old for Japanese cartoons on headphone packaging.

Absolutely! I never read such a perfect definition before! lol

 

[F1308]

Audio aesthetics are a generational thing. I am too young to understand the fascination with racks and too old for Japanese cartoons on headphone packaging.

Then comes the messing of removing all
that STUPID pictures before delivering the present to your beloved ones...

 

[Adis]

You guys have beloved ones?
So 20th century...

 

[JayGilb]

Finally, something bigger than a pack of cigarettes that measures well. I dislike components that can be dragged off of a shelf by cable weight alone.
Yes, all of my gear is 19" rackmount and yes, I'm old.

 

[mdsimon2]

Non-removable rack ears are a war crime.

Michael