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Topping D90 Balanced USB DAC Review

jhwalker

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I am using microrendu Roon+HQ Player DSD512 44k base without clicks

Glad to hear it! I may spend some time this weekend trying to nail down exactly what is causing the occasional click / pop at DSD512. Could be the Mac Mini where I run Roon server is just THAT much underpowered, could be wireless network underrruns, etc. Good to hear it’s not necessarily the DAC - I’ve had DACs before that we’re just the slightest bit unstable at their top sampling rate.
 

Gradius

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All DSDs are standardized at 44.1kHz.

Correct, they come as:

DSD64 = 44,1kHz x 64 = 2,8224Mbit/s
DSD128 = 44,1kHz x 128 = 5,6448Mbit/s
DSD256 = 44,1kHz x 256 = 11,2896Mbit/s
DSD512 = 44,1kHz x 512 = 22,5792Mbit/s
DSD1024 = 44,1kHz x 1024 = 45,1584Mbit/s
 

ivarsmu

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Here You can see upsampled 96/24 to DSD512 48k base as Autorate family upsampling with HQPlayer.
DAC is Gustard X22 (ESS 9038)
Screenshot 2020-08-01 at 08.31.08.jpg
IMG-4320.JPG
 

Gradius

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Toku

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Here You can see upsampled 96/24 to DSD512 48k base as Autorate family upsampling with HQPlayer.
DAC is Gustard X22 (ESS 9038)View attachment 76100View attachment 76101
Commercially available DSD files are only 44.1kHz base, but of course the 48kHz base DSD file can be created by the file conversion function of the software. The file can be played back with a commercially available DAC without any problem.
 

Gradius

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Here You can see upsampled 96/24 to DSD512 48k base as Autorate family upsampling with HQPlayer. DAC is Gustard X22 (ESS 9038)

Some hardware can support DSD @ 48kHz, but is off the standard as really is 44.1kHz, or 2.8224Mbit/s (64x/64fs).

"DSD uses pulse-density modulation encoding—a technology to store audio signals on digital storage media that are used for the SACD. The signal is stored as delta-sigma modulated digital audio; a sequence of single-bit values at a sampling rate of 2.8224 MHz (64 times the CD Audio sampling rate of 44.1 kHz, but only at 1 ⁄ 32768 of its 16-bit resolution). DSD can be recorded in Standard Rate (2.8 MHz or 64fs), Double DSD (5.6 MHz or 128fs) and Quad DSD (11.2 MHz or 256fs). "

Source:
https://www.nativedsd.com/information/about-dsd
 

Gradius

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What speaker amp you guys recommend? True 100W RMS (stereo) to use with D90+A90?

Until $1k. For my little future audiophile project.
 

Matias

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burma

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Watched this today. Interesting. Are good measurements the only thing that should or do matter?

 
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jae

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What speaker amp you guys recommend? True 100W RMS (stereo) to use with D90+A90?

Until $1k. For my little future audiophile project.

Purifi, but you might have to push your budget by a little.
 

EdW

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Watched this today. Interesting. Are good measurements the only thing that should or do matter?

If you’ve got the gift of the gab and not too much technical knowledge putting together a review like this could be done pretty quickly. I do not see proper blind testing of dac A vs dac B with several reviewers which would be needed for a decent subjective review. Also takes a lot of work! So this video has no merit in my opinion.
I use Amir’s painstaking measurements and notes to shortlist the equipment I wish to choose from and thereby save a lot of time, money and frustration
 

JohnYang1997

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Watched this today. Interesting. Are good measurements the only thing that should or do matter?

I've unsubscribed for years.(probably about 2 years) All of the audio gd bs and then all the tube amps bullshit. Then there was THX 789 was just good for the price. Ok.
 

BDWoody

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Watched this today. Interesting. Are good measurements the only thing that should or do matter?

Of course not. Ergonomics, connections, features...
 

hmscott

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Has anyone with the D90 / A90 / ? fixed or substantially improved the RCA connection "noise" by shortening RCA cables or buying better shielded RCA cables? How about better shielded USB cables?, or some other method of reducing the PC noise brought in through the USB cable? If you've debugged your noise problem to root cause + solution, please let us know the details.

Before I spend $ on new RCA / USB cables or other solutions, I'd like to know if it's worth the effort. I'd like to use RCA output from the A90 to drive power speakers, but I could put the extra $ instead into better powered speakers + XLR cables.

Thanks for the suggestions, I found these premade RCA Mogami 2534 1.5 foot / 0.5 foot sets ( 4 wire) and premade RCA Mogami 2549 (2 wire) 1.0 foot as a jumper between the A90 / D90 MQA - see their Construction and Specifications images for more details:

0.5 Foot – Directional Quad High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors
by WORLDS BEST CABLES
https://www.amazon.com/0-5-Foot-Directional-High-Definition-Interconnect/dp/B01ALHT7CI

1.5 Foot – Directional Quad High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors
https://www.amazon.com/1-5-Foot-Directional-High-Definition-Interconnect/dp/B01ALHUSYE

Mogami 2534 vs 2549 - EMI shielding vs "Sound"...?

1 Foot – Directional High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2549 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ALFR02Y

Robert R 5.0 out of 5 stars Brand Lives Up To Its Name
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2020
Verified Purchase
"Very nice high quality interconnect. I did some research and the Mogami 2549 in this offering seems to be a better option vs. heavier shielded cable also offered by WBC which only improves EMI resistance. Some posts claim that the wire in this cable sounds better vs heavier shielded counterparts. At the end of the day, this is a high-quality well soldered interconnect with excellent packaging and presentation. It's serving my needs well in between my E30 DAC and 789 Amp."

The 0.5m XLR cables from SKW are working fine - no noise even at H Gain 100% volume... so for now I'll stick with those. Amazon has SKW 1.5m as the shortest length; the 0.5m length I sourced from Hifigo in China:
https://hifigo.com/products/skw-hif...ixer-amplifiers-1-pair?variant=32043150934065
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33034630648.html
https://www.amazon.com/SKW-Balanced-Female-Microphone-2-Pack/dp/B07Q8Q16F9
Good news, the Mogami 2534 based World's Best Cables (WBC) got rid of the RCA noise. The WBC Mogami 2534 RCA cable pair also got rid of most of the USB noise.

I also got a Tripp-lite shielded cable with Ferrite Chokes, and it does reduce the small amount of GPU load noise by a noticeable amount, but just swapping in the RCA Mogami 2534 wired cable was the biggest change. A WBC Mogami 2534 XLR pair round out the cable changes.

Now I can only hear a smidge of GPU noise at 100% GPU usage, but it's so low I can't hear it while playing media - I can enable / disable the GPU load and not hear any difference in the audio. No more USB crackling either.

I can turn up the A90 volume to 100% on H Gain switched to XLR and no noise. On H Gain switched to RCA the "low level hum" without hash noise starts in at 2 oclock. So far I have no headphones that need that much drive. The highest I drive my headphones is 12 oclock on H Gain.

For now that's all good enough, and it was worth the cost and effort.

I also bought a Mogami 2549 based RCA cable pair, I'll try that out later. I'll probably pick up a WBC 2549 based XLR pair too and pair them all up together. Comments say they sound better than the 2534 heavy shielded cable, but I went with the heavy shield product first to make sure I gave the new cabling the best chance.

The cables aren't "cheap", but they aren't expensive either. If you have RCA noise problems or USB noise problems I'd recommend them as a last ditch solution before giving up on the A90 / D90.
1 Foot – Quad Balanced Microphone Cable Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Neutrik NC3MXX-B Male & NC3FXX-B Female XLR Plugs. *sold as a single cable, buy 2x*
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WU1BP10

1 Foot – Directional Quad High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ALHTVMO

1 Foot – Directional High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2549 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ALFR02Y/

Mogami 2534 wire:
Mogami 2534.jpg

Mogami 2534 soecs.jpg

Mogami 2549 wire:
Mogami 2549.jpg

Mogami 2549 soecs.jpg

WBC RCA Faraday cage wiring design:
Mogami 2534 RCA cable wiring diagram.jpg

Tripp Lite USB 2.0 Hi-Speed A/B Cable with Ferrite Chokes (M/M) 3-ft. (U023-003)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008VOPCGY
 
Last edited:

JohnYang1997

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Good news, the Mogami 2534 based World's Best Cables (WBC) got rid of the RCA noise. The WBC Mogami 2534 RCA cable pair also got rid of most of the USB noise.

I also got a Tripp-lite shielded cable with Ferrite Chokes, and it does reduce the small amount of GPU load noise by a noticeable amount, but just swapping in the RCA Mogami 2534 wired cable was the biggest change. A WBC Mogami 2534 XLR pair round out the cable changes.

Now I can only hear a smidge of GPU noise at 100% GPU usage, but it's so low I can't hear it while playing media - I can enable / disable the GPU load and not hear any difference in the audio. No more USB crackling either.

I can turn up the A90 volume to 100% on H Gain switched to XLR and no noise. On H Gain switched to RCA the "low level hum" without hash noise starts in at 2 oclock. So far I have no headphones that need that much drive. The highest I drive my headphones is 12 oclock on H Gain.

For now that's all good enough, and it was worth the cost and effort. :)

I also bought a Mogami 2549 based RCA cable pair, I'll try that out later. I'll probably pick up a WBC 2549 based XLR pair too and pair them all up together. Comments say they sound better than the 2534 heavy shielded cable, but I went with the heavy shield product first to make sure I gave the new cabling the best chance.

The cables aren't "cheap", but they aren't expensive either. If you have RCA noise problems or USB noise problems I'd recommend them as a last ditch solution before giving up on the A90 / D90 :)
1 Foot – Quad Balanced Microphone Cable Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Neutrik NC3MXX-B Male & NC3FXX-B Female XLR Plugs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WU1BP10

1 Foot – Directional Quad High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ALHTVMO

1 Foot – Directional High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2549 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ALFR02Y/

Tripp Lite USB 2.0 Hi-Speed A/B Cable with Ferrite Chokes (M/M) 3-ft. (U023-003)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008VOPCGY
Wow. And I also just realized that this was USB related noise that happened in the dac. It's nothing to do with the amp. Fuck we wasted a lot of time on the A90....
 

hmscott

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Wow. And I also just realized that this was USB related noise that happened in the dac. It's nothing to do with the amp. Fuck we wasted a lot of time on the A90....
No, there was RCA noise without the USB cable connected. With the SKW RCA interconnect pair + SKW XLR pair or RCA only there was noise. When I reconnected the USB cable that added crackling noise. Then if I added a GPU load it got really noisy.

Now there is no noise in RCA only in L / M Gain at 100% volume. In H Gain there is some very low level hum starting at 75% Gain, which I'll never hit anyway. In XLR only there is no noise or hum in H Gain 100% volume.

I'll try some cable wrapping on ferrite cores or at least clip on ferrite jackets to see if I can kill the last of that hum. I'd never heard the hum before - the rest of the noises were drowning it out. With the other noises gone now I hear that very faint low level hum at 75% Volume in H Gain.

Now I can try RCA to AMP / Speakers, probably with WBC Mogami 2534 cable - but I'll test the Mogami 2549 based cables first before deciding which to use for the longer run.

Thanks for your help and patience John :)
 
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