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Topping D90 Balanced USB DAC Review

Blur

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Anyone see a way to identify version / production run date on these units? I would like one, but want to make sure it's a later unit.
 

Jeffrankko

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A topping DX7 Pro would do just nice, for your set-up. Anything more is overkill. I'd say, order one and don't look back. There will always be the next best thing on the horizon..
Thanks for the suggestion.

The DX7 Pro that Veri suggests would be hard to beat if you want an all-in-one option. It just depends on what you are looking to achieve in your upgrade. For instance what are your priorities for power, performance, features, and connections? Do you anticipate adding more headphones in the future? High impedance or low (as in IEM)? What is a comfortable budget range for you?

In other words, it is hard to make strong suggestions if we don't have a better idea what would suit your needs and wants. Perhaps ask yourself what about your current setup leaves you wanting something different.
I am looking more for an upgrade. Budget wise I am willing to go for RME-ADI 2 or DX7 Pro or D90+THX 789. But I am guessing my upgrade is currently also limited by my other gear (JBL LSR305p and HD6XX). So I am seeking opinions for the best option.
 

daftcombo

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Thanks for the suggestion.


I am looking more for an upgrade. Budget wise I am willing to go for RME-ADI 2 or DX7 Pro or D90+THX 789. But I am guessing my upgrade is currently also limited by my other gear (JBL LSR305p and HD6XX).
Totally useless upgrade for the JBL since it has a standard ADC/DAC inside that will reconvert the signal to digital and back to analogue again.
 

Veri

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And for the 6XX it's obviously more than good.. :)
 

Blur

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Ordered one of these to finish up my balanced end-game rig. I even asked Topping about the concerns in this review figuring it doesn't hurt to ask. Two hours later I had a response and they said "We have checked the design and the product itself, and have not found any problems or mistakes in this regard for the time being." I mainly asked about the lack of a steep filter and the extra tone at ~ 40kHz from the aliased components.

It was nice of them to respond so quickly.
 
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SpeleoFool

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You just sold a Monoprice 887, lol.

I just picked up the D90, which replaced a DX7s as the DAC in my office setup. I gave the DX7s to my wife, but then I wanted to pair that with an amp. I was thinking about picking up another Drop 789 until I saw your pic. Now she gets mine, and I'm copying your stack. :-D
Stellia Stack, January 2020.jpg
 

SpeleoFool

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This is the exact upgrade that I’m thinking of as well. I’m interested to hear your thoughts on the upgrade from the DX7s.
The DX7s is already so stupendously transparent that I'm not certain whether there are any audible advantages to this upgrade. I'd have to do quite a bit of A-B testing to see whether I can detect any differences, but that wasn't my motivation for upgrading so I haven't bothered to do that. For me, the D90 was attractive mostly for the sake of putting to rest a few minor neuroses:

1. SINAD jump from 108 -> 120 eliminates any doubt of transparency
2. No ESS hump = No OCD triggers
3. My Astell&Kern players use AKM chips, and I love the sound; if there's anything to AKM filters or something, that's another point of appeal
4. The D90 adds Bluetooth support, which I will probably never use, but I could.
5. Comes with the remote, lol

Fluffy stuff aside, subjective listening has been perfection. How much of that comes from objective transparency and how much is simply a side effect of peace of mind gained from the above list doesn't matter to me. What does is that this setup, paired with the Stellias, is among the cleanest, most detailed, most enjoyable listening experiences I've had anywhere from any equipment.

Since this isn't Audio Pleasure Review, here's a fun experiment that this stack passed with flying colors:

At the very end of the last track on Dark Side of the Moon ("Eclipse"), a bit of an orchestral version of "Ticket to Ride" by Beatles accidentally made it onto the recording. It's on the Tidal version, just after the quote at about 1:35. The most audible (and recognizable) part occurs about 1:55. The story behind this audio watermark is on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_(Pink_Floyd_song)

Anyway, that song snippet is extremely faint, and it may not be audible at all on less-resolving equipment. I found it by accident while listening to the Stellias on an A&K DAP, then looked it up and found the Wiki story above. Since then it has become a fun litmus test for various playback chains to get a sense of how much micro-detail comes through. With the D90/789 combo (and the volume turned up a bit), I can clearly hear the entire snippet in detail from just after the spoken bit until the fadeout at the end of the track.
 

majingotan

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At the very end of the last track on Dark Side of the Moon ("Eclipse"), a bit of an orchestral version of "Ticket to Ride" by Beatles accidentally made it onto the recording. It's on the Tidal version, just after the quote at about 1:35. The most audible (and recognizable) part occurs about 1:55. The story behind this audio watermark is on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_(Pink_Floyd_song)

Heard the orchestra track playing on the right channel using the $9 Apple lightning DAC/amp BTW. No need for an ultra transparent DAC it seems as I'm guessing that orchestra track is about -40 to -50 dB from full scale. I listened to it on Apple Music instead of Tidal in this case.
 

SpeleoFool

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Heard the orchestra track playing on the right channel using the $9 Apple lightning DAC/amp BTW. No need for an ultra transparent DAC it seems as I'm guessing that orchestra track is about -40 to -50 dB from full scale. I listened to it on Apple Music instead of Tidal in this case.
That's a good data point. :)

I also have a $10 USB headset adapter + Drop x Sennheiser PC37X headset at work that I use for conference calls. If I change Tidal output to that, I can just hear the high points of the orchestral bit with the headset volume dialed to max, but I can't make out detail like I can with the better stack. If I didn't know it was there and wasn't listening for it, I doubt I'd notice it. It's clear as day with the D90+789. I've got Ether CX in the office today, and they're plenty resolving to get the full detail, too.
 

Snafu

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Is this "Ticket to ride" included in DSOM 2011 remasters ?

thanks
 

majingotan

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Add my Yamaha HS7 speakers fed from a ~82 dB SINAD Bifrost 2 to the one's that can hear the orchestra track as well. I'm not that surprised that even a terribly measuring DAC in the red zone (in terms of dB) can still pull this off as long as you have a reasonable 75-80 dB listening level on this track. My subjective moral point is that if you need to crank the volume to max to listen to that track, you ought to change your speakers to a decent one like the Yamaha HS7 or even the JBLs.

@SpeleoFool. Love that FAW cable you have there. It adds a nice touch to the Stellia
 
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Snafu

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I need to crank up some volume to hear it through Duntech Opals, but it's there (Topping D50s, Denafrips Hestia + tube power amps).
Tape hiss is awful (and no it's not system hiss, everything goes dead quiet after song ends).

But if i listen with my Oppo Reno phone and Oppo PM3's connected directly to phone i can hear TTR easily :D

Didn't know about TTR, thanks :)
 

SpeleoFool

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@SpeleoFool. Love that FAW cable you have there. It adds a nice touch to the Stellia
Thanks. I do, too. It's probably my favorite upgrade cable for any of my headphones. The stock Focal cables are pretty awful, but I don't think that's really news to anyone familiar with Focal headphones.

I pick up balanced cables terminated in 2.5mm for most of my headphones. That gives me the ability to use everything natively with balanced outs on my A&K DAPs, and I use adapters like the Massdrop 2.5 -> XLR (pictured in my previous post) to use the same cable with any other playback gear.

I'm not convinced that cables make a meaningful / repeatable difference to sound quality; my main requirements (besides 2.5mm termination) are good physical build quality, length (~ 1.5-2m), and low microphonics (physical noise transmitted by cable sheaths--supple braided cables seen quietest in general).

As long as those requirements are met, I'll consider aesthetics and may pay a little extra for something that looks nice, particularly for my nicer headphones. I found that particular style from Forza Audioworks via a Google Image search. :) I had to request the dual color scheme prior to ordering, but Matt @ FAW was very accommodating. The darker color is a "transparent black" insulation over copper, which yields a shade of bronze that nearly perfectly matches the Stellias' color scheme.

In any case, that cable exceeds expectations for every one of my functional requirements and wishlist items. I couldn't be more pleased, and FAW is one of the first places I'll look for future cable needs.
 

SnowRang3r

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I wonder when the MQA version will come (their own page says MQA version comes later) and if the price will be much more.

I know some people aren't a fan of MQA but TIDAL is the best streaming I can use in Canada anyways, I'd pay for Qobuz if I could.
 

richpjr

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I wonder when the MQA version will come (their own page says MQA version comes later) and if the price will be much more.

I know some people aren't a fan of MQA but TIDAL is the best streaming I can use in Canada anyways, I'd pay for Qobuz if I could.

Thought it was supposed to be released in March for an extra $100, but I could have that wrong.
 

jcadduono

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Aw man, I was wondering why my D90 Bluetooth only went like 3 feet and stuttered a lot, so I unscrewed the antenna and the antenna actually came off with the inside (the white part and gold cylinder thing) of the SMA connector still inside the antenna :(
I am guessing it was like this from factory as I've only had it a few days now and haven't bumped it against anything.

Has anyone gotten photos of the connectors on the PCB? I wonder if it would be easier to just solder a new SMA connector on myself instead of spending $80 to ship it back for replacement. (and wait time...)
 

Shoaibexpert

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With the thermal issues noted with ESS 9038 Pro implementation in M500....is it worthwhile to upgrade (don't know if it's that) from M500 to D90?
 
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