incursore61
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Hi Barrows ! Thanks for the valuable information, certainly it takes a few days before making judgments, also I will immediately try to make the settings recommended by you on Audirvala plus.
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Topping D90 Balanced USB DAC Review
- Thread starter amirm
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Found some information here: https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/topping-d90-review-a-genre-master/
In the comment area, someone encountered the same problem as me. Please note that his is the standard version of D90, Xmos 208 USB chip, no MQA.
It seems that this problem does not come from the compatibility of Xmos 216 USB chip and Mac system.
It can only be said that Mac users, think carefully before buying a D90, no matter with or without MQA.
In the comment area, someone encountered the same problem as me. Please note that his is the standard version of D90, Xmos 208 USB chip, no MQA.
It seems that this problem does not come from the compatibility of Xmos 216 USB chip and Mac system.
It can only be said that Mac users, think carefully before buying a D90, no matter with or without MQA.
atomicminded
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I think the case of windows, we have seperate ASIO drivers to get the numbers to the DAC. In OSX, it's probably an issue with the drivers that are built into the operating system. Just a guess, but traditionally, OSX doesn't require drivers for DACS.
But my D70 has zero issue, D70 has the same Xmos 208 USB chip as standard D90 (no MQA).
Veri, I know what you're getting at. It's hard for me to understand why people really think these very pristine-measuring DACs will make any significant difference in their audio-nirvana (unless they have a really very crappy DAC). I'm interested in the D90 because of its measurements and Topping's attention to detail and engineering, yet, they have kept the cost reasonable. Don't mean to demean anyone who thinks they can hear an audible difference in this Topping as compared to any other very-well measuring DAC (but, that IS what it's really all about -- ENJOYMENT -- if you think you hear a difference, and are absolutely convinced of it, then you DO). I liked the D90 because it was one of the best measuring DACs, affordable, actually performed up to its reported standard, and STILL had no noticeable performance glitches. I got the D90 MQA on a bit of a lark (would have got the D90 Standard otherwise), just because I wanted this feature - Do I think it's worth it? - I don't know; I guess I do when I see it's decoding MQA properly, yet my most prized digital files will definitely never be MQA.
If people want to really make a difference, think about speakers, room correction, and if you're an HP aficianado, better headphones (I know that's a very old and tired chestnut). No faults with the D90 MQA yet and still very much enjoying it -- why? -- I think, possibly because it's Silver
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atomicminded
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Veri, I know what you're getting at. It's hard for me to understand why people really think these very pristine-measuring DACs will make any significant difference in their audio-nirvana (unless they have a really very crappy DAC). I'm interested in the D90 because of its measurements and Topping's attention to detail and engineering, yet, they have kept the cost reasonable. Don't mean to demean anyone who thinks they can hear an audible difference in this Topping as compared to any other very-well measuring DAC (but, that IS what it's really all about -- ENJOYMENT -- if you think you hear a difference, and are absolutely convinced of it, then you DO). I liked the D90 because it was one of the best measuring DACs, affordable, actually performed up to its reported standard, and STILL had no noticeable performance glitches. I got the D90 MQA on a bit of a lark (would have got the D90 Standard otherwise), just because I wanted this feature - Do I think it's worth it? - I don't know; I guess I do when I see it's decoding MQA properly, yet my most prized digital files will definitely never be MQA.
If people want to really make a difference, think about speakers, room correction, and if you're an HP aficianado, better headphones (I know that's a very old and tired chestnut). No faults with the D90 MQA yet and still very much enjoying it -- why? -- I think, possibly because it's Silver
I originally was for MQA. ifi audio got me into that game... But, after looking at the Tidal bitrates for MQA, sorry, the bitrate for MQA just isn't as high as FULL 192/24PCM. To test this I went and purchased some recordings from hdtracks in 192/24, and listened in bit-perfect mode comparing the PCM and tidal MQA versions, out to the dac. Full 192/24PCM FLAC is about 5 megabits a second! Tidal's MQA delivers less than half of this, i think. I don't care what the MQA people say, MQA DOES USE ***perceptual lossy encoding*** to reduce bitrate for streaming. Yes, it is WAYYYY better than mp3. BUT, full PCM destroys it. (assuming you have good hearing.)
Also, I'm done with ifi audio.
Yes, still a mystery. I've got to think it's got to have something to do with your OSX system and internal drivers vs. the new USB chip in the D90 MQA (XU216) - but don't let me influence you - I'm just a layman. Many guys on this forum are real Pros. I really feel badly for you, because I know you wanted this D90 MQA to be the bomb (and, for me, it has BEEN, so far). I think there has got to be a solution. I know Topping is not responding right now, but I would hope they could make this right for you. Windows 10 has its own USB 2.0 driver, but every DAC manufacturer seems to come up with their own better one, be it theirs or some other third party's driver that is recommended over the Windows intrinsic one. BTW, I really appreciated the referenced review; this guy actually sounds like he knows what he is talking about - so rare in reviews today. Hoping you can get it resolved; but, if not, the D90 Standard is a really more than viable choice; hope it really doesn't have the same issues with OSX. Know you have Tidal, so hope everything works out.
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Kinda like that; SORRY, iFi guys. But, they do make very pretty units (and very expensive for what they purportedly do).
atomicminded
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95% snake oil, although I'd be interested to hear their "GTO" filter implemented outside of their products.
Just got D90 yesterday, it gets warmer after couple of hours playing than my previous DX3 Pro, is it normal?
I concur with Soundnews' review especially on the airy, lively, multi-layer soundstage produced. Listening from Aries Mini with its Lightning DS apps (no oversampling feature) via USB then balanced output to integrated amplifier and studio monitor speaker.
What is the recommended tool/software on oversampling to try out full potential of D90 ? Sorry for my bad English
I concur with Soundnews' review especially on the airy, lively, multi-layer soundstage produced. Listening from Aries Mini with its Lightning DS apps (no oversampling feature) via USB then balanced output to integrated amplifier and studio monitor speaker.
What is the recommended tool/software on oversampling to try out full potential of D90 ? Sorry for my bad English
Veri
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It's not really good anyway: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s-transient-optimized-filter-whitepaper.4662/
Thanks for your recommendation. But they are not cheap to subscribe? Basically I am listening from speaker system, wonder will there be effect from upsampling?
May be one day will look for A90 headphone amplifier. Currently using ifi Audio Micro DSD BL with HD650
Currently I am using network streamer Auralic Aries Mini (Linux platform)
I have MBPro too, I am still new to upsampling technology, will read and study more in ASR.
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tellsapfel
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@incursore61 Try HQPlayer with ASDM7EC with DSD256. It is not a realistic sound in my opinion but it may does what you are looking for. Also measure your room and / or move your speakers.
Yes it is normal that it gets warm, because there is a (for a DAC quite large) linear power supply with a toroidal transformer in it. Also the whole aluminium housing functions as a heatsink. Nothing to worry about.
The programs I use for oversampling are Audirvana Plus (on Windows) and Foobar2000 (also on Windows). Both have the same excellent audio quality. Audirvana is easier to use than Foobar, but is not free (you can download a trial version). Foobar is free and has more options than Audirvana, but is a bit less user friendly. On Foobar some plugins have to be installed to enable upsampling. Both Audirvana and Foobar (with the newest plugins) provide a lot of options for upsampling (PCM and DSD).
There are also people on this forum who use HQ player, but I have not much experience with that program. The only thing I know is that HQ player is quite expensive and seems to offer a lot of algorithms for upsampling.
Thanks for your reply and advice. Will check out these software.
Yep. If you look on the Topic site you can see the 'innards' of the D90:
I believe it is exactly the same linear power supply as they sell separately. This is probably one of the reasons why this DAC is more expensive than other Topping offerings (together with other more expensive components: Nichicon caps etc.).
those are just marketing from Chinese manufacturers. linear power supply does not provide better measurements at all. Rather, it leaks more noise than switching power supply does[1]. Sadly this fooled so many people. The heat produced also leads to global warming, and cause disasters everywhere. My advice is just stay away from those craps and focus on high quality, efficient and durable products.
[1] https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/inside-the-dac2-part-3-power-supplies
I was simply explaining to @auronthas why it gets warm. The discussion about linear vs switching power supplies has nothing to do with this. It is simply a fact that the D90 has a linear power supply.
By the way your link is to the Benchmark site. Hardly an objective source. Their story is also a marketing story claiming why their spu's are better using a lot of pseudo arguments.
If you really want to make a good argument you should at least point to a site with an objective scientific explanation. Because than you can see that both forms of power supply have their advantages and disadvantages. Things are not so black and white as you seem to claim.
By the way, if you are so worried about the environment why buy audio equipment at all? Isn't all hifi stereo equipment basically unnecessary/a first world luxury/environmentally unfriendly? Does a discussion like that belong on this thread, let alone this forum?
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I am just debunking some marketing hypes. Not intended to answer him or argue with you.
There are plenty of evidence on this site already that linear power supply would not improve sound quality compared to other power sources.
There are audio equipments that use little power and measure great(some of the top performing ones rely on USB power only). I am just expressing my opinion that customers can choose more wisely. Think about environment friendliness and durability (that means no Chinese products such as Topping). That’s just my 2 cents. You don’t need to agree with me.
There are plenty of evidence on this site already that linear power supply would not improve sound quality compared to other power sources.
There are audio equipments that use little power and measure great(some of the top performing ones rely on USB power only). I am just expressing my opinion that customers can choose more wisely. Think about environment friendliness and durability (that means no Chinese products such as Topping). That’s just my 2 cents. You don’t need to agree with me.
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