Topping D90SE Review (Balanced DAC)

[jtwrace]

@amirm , is it possible to overlay the D90 and D90SE on each test?

 

[Helicopter]

Can't read the SINAD chart anymore. Maybe time to divide into separate colors?

This, and the 'Top 20 DACs' chart has 15 DACs in it.

 

[amirm]

@amirm , is it possible to overlay the D90 and D90SE on each test?

It is fair bit of pain as I have to export and import them. Klippel software makes this easy for speaker measurements but AP graphing is not that friendly to use.

 

[restorer-john]

I think someone looked at the thumbnails only in an image search...

 

[jaraheel]

An off topic question: What measure indicates the so-called stage size of a dac here?

 

[Labjr]

This, and the 'Top 20 DACs' chart has 15 DACs in it.

There are so many DACs at the top of the chart. It's deceiving how close they really are.

 

[Trell]

An off topic question: What measure indicates the so-called stage size of a dac here?

What is "stage size" of a DAC?

 

[Labjr]

What is "stage size" of a DAC?

About 12 & 3/4.

 

[bboris77]

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I think someone looked at the thumbnails in an image search...

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It’s a silent “t”.

 

[jtwrace]

It is fair bit of pain as I have to export and import them. Klippel software makes this easy for speaker measurements but AP graphing is not that friendly to use.

Gotcha.

 

[phoenixsong]

Listen to your wallet.

What's the SINAD though?

 

[Cut-Throat]

Sooo this vs Gustard X26 Pro?

This.

I made that decision after reading the reviews on the D90SE. And I promptly ordered the Gustard X26 Pro.... A friend brought over the X26 Pro last week and it had more Authority and 'Body' than my D90.

I already own the D90. It is a great DAC, but here is the 'deal' with the X26. From the Review:

"For the current to voltage conversion (I/V conversion stage), Gustard used only discrete components, not a single op-amp is found in its signal path. Its analog Low-Pass Filter (LPF) also uses only fully discrete components biased into Class-A. Again, no cheap op-amps are found in its signal path. This is a crucial part of any DAC, this is the reason it uses two toroidal transformers and this is why it dissipates so much heat."

 

[TheTalbotHound]

@amirm Could you do a crosstalk measurement for the D90SE like Wolf did?? Just to see if there are any differences there between the prototype and production model.


https://cdn.l7audiolab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Crosstalk.jpg

 

[TheTalbotHound]

I made that decision after reading the reviews on the D90SE. And I promptly ordered the Gustard X26 Pro.... A friend brought over the X26 Pro last week and it had more Authority and 'Body' than my D90.

I already own the D90. It is a great DAC, but here is the 'deal' with the X26. From the Review:

"For the current to voltage conversion (I/V conversion stage), Gustard used only discrete components, not a single op-amp is found in its signal path. Its analog Low-Pass Filter (LPF) also uses only fully discrete components biased into Class-A. Again, no cheap op-amps are found in its signal path. This is a crucial part of any DAC, this is the reason it uses two toroidal transformers and this is why it dissipates so much heat."

Also X26 Pro has a much better crosstalk measurement than D90SE if the prototype is any indication. Would be nice to have this confirmed for the production model though.

 

[restorer-john]

So what we need now is a companion review of the usability and functionality of the device. Maybe a member can do up such a review.

Are there switch on/off thumps/noise or noises when changing sampling rates etc?
How useful is the remote or is it too small/big has poor range etc?
Is the display readable in bright light?
How does the volume control perform? (speed of adjustment- does it remember settings and for how long does it remember)
Is the three button system painful for setting up/menu/filters etc?
Does it get hot?

 

[jcarys]

I made that decision after reading the reviews on the D90SE. And I promptly ordered the Gustard X26 Pro.... A friend brought over the X26 Pro last week and it had more Authority and 'Body' than my D90.

I already own the D90. It is a great DAC, but here is the 'deal' with the X26. From the Review:

"For the current to voltage conversion (I/V conversion stage), Gustard used only discrete components, not a single op-amp is found in its signal path. Its analog Low-Pass Filter (LPF) also uses only fully discrete components biased into Class-A. Again, no cheap op-amps are found in its signal path. This is a crucial part of any DAC, this is the reason it uses two toroidal transformers and this is why it dissipates so much heat."

There's absolutely no reason why a DAC with discrete components and an analog LPF can't sound excellent, but it's the state of the art of the late 90s. If a cheap (or not, I have no idea of current costs) piece of silicon can perform the same functions for 1/10th or 1/100th of the cost, that's how I would design it now. It's the same technology in music creation (synths, DAWs), production (ProTools on a computer workstation), transmission (that computer again), and reproduction (receivers, DACs, computer equalization). Hanging on to one tiny piece of the chain as discrete components makes little sense to me in 2021. But it's available there for $1500 for any customer that wants one. Personally, I'm happy with the E30, it already performs beyond the range of my hearing.

 

[H-713]

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I think someone looked at the thumbnails only in an image search...

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Alright, how does something like that slip through the cracks and not get caught?

 

[Maki]

View attachment 135840

I think someone looked at the thumbnails only in an image search...

View attachment 135842

If you're going to buy, do it now. ROHS Complain units will be a collectible.

 

[gvl]

So what we need now is a companion review of the usability and functionality of the device. Maybe a member can do up such a review.

Are there switch on/off thumps/noise or noises when changing sampling rates etc?
How useful is the remote or is it too small/big has poor range etc?
Is the display readable in bright light?
How does the volume control perform? (speed of adjustment- does it remember settings and for how long does it remember)
Is the three button system painful for setting up/menu/filters etc?
Does it get hot?

In the spirit of ASR there must be a well defined protocol for quantifying these in place first. Can you trust someone with -8 vision and hangover to judge display readability?

 

[JohnYang1997]

There appears to be a discrepancy on this in the manual, the graph says F3 is the default, but the menu description text says the Mode1 fast roll off apodizing is the default. I hope F3 on the graph is not the same as the Mode1 in the text, as it would be very confusing.

The default should be F3 as shown in the graph.