Review and Measurements of the Topping D70 DAC

[chosen_too]

If you're talking about D50 (no S) vs D70: Both reviews are not comparable, as these units have been tested with different instrumentation and tests, apart from SINAD uptated later by @amirm .

I have only d50, not S version, not even heard about it before you told me.

 

[VintageFlanker]

I have only d50, not S version, not even heard about it before you told me.

Ok. It measures better in many tests and comes close to D70 performance-wise. It hasn't been released yet however.

 

[diegooo1972]

@Moriarty Ahhh. I ain't get this point of view. I was just talking about personal blind auditions.
Honestly in that sense I agree with you.
Personally I don't think I can trust other taste and feeling about sound.
And as I said people get use to their sound more then they think. My opinion of course.
When there are little differences others psychology became a decisive factor that I won't trust.

 

[typericey]

So I was able to sell my D50 and am ready to pull the trigger on the D70. If for any reason anyone thinks I shouldn't, let me know now!

Why I am upgrading:
I need a relatively affordable DAC/Pre with balanced outputs and a remote for volume control.

Why the D70:
I was really happy with the D50 and had no issues running it so I figure going with Topping again would be my safest bet. The SMSL SU-8 was one of my options as it's cheaper, but I have no experience with the brand and I'm turned off with the v1 issues as well as the reported popping noise when switching formats, even with v2.

 

[Bamyasi]

So I was able to sell my D50 and am ready to pull the trigger on the D70. If for any reason anyone thinks I shouldn't, let me know now!

Why I am upgrading:
I need a relatively affordable DAC/Pre with balanced outputs and a remote for volume control.

Why the D70:
I was really happy with the D50 and had no issues running it so I figure going with Topping again would be my safest bet. The SMSL SU-8 was one of my options as it's cheaper, but I have no experience with the brand and I'm turned off with the v1 issues as well as the reported popping noise when switching formats, even with v2.

Mine died within two hours upon arrival and is now heading back to the retailer. So beware of the Topping's QC problems when choosing retailer, to be able to return it easily if it fails.

That said, I loved the sound while it worked. But I would agree with another post that it sometimes sounded way too smooth compared to my DX3 Pro. Do not ask me what it means since I've had D70 for too short period to measure the effect properly

 

[typericey]

Mine died within two hours upon arrival and is now heading back to the retailer. So beware of the Topping's QC problems when choosing retailer, to be able to return it easily if it fails.

Sad to hear this. Yours is the first issue I've heard with the D70. I hope the replacement process goes smoothly. The retailer where I plan to purchase is listed on the Topping website as an authorized dealer so there is some peace of mind to be had there. Plus, I've read here on ASR that Topping is responsive and helpful with issues and that's another thing that I like about the brand.

May I ask how your unit died? What happened exactly? Perhaps you can email Topping about this? It can help them improve their products and QC.

 

[amirm]

So I was able to sell my D50 and am ready to pull the trigger on the D70. If for any reason anyone thinks I shouldn't, let me know now!

Why I am upgrading:
I need a relatively affordable DAC/Pre with balanced outputs and a remote for volume control.

Why the D70:
I was really happy with the D50 and had no issues running it so I figure going with Topping again would be my safest bet. The SMSL SU-8 was one of my options as it's cheaper, but I have no experience with the brand and I'm turned off with the v1 issues as well as the reported popping noise when switching formats, even with v2.

Those are good reasons for going for D70. Balanced output makes you much more immune to vagaries of ground loops/PC noise.

 

[Toshinden]

I have bought the jds atom for my sennheiser hd 600 ,do you think to use this amp with d70 is a good combo or it is overkill?
Jds dont have xlr input i regret a little bit because ppl say xlr is better than jack...

(Iam a newcommer in audio "tech"things)

 

[lator]

I have bought the jds atom for my sennheiser hd 600 ,do you think to use this amp with d70 is a good combo or it is overkill?
Jds dont have xlr input i regret a little bit because ppl say xlr is better than jack...

(Iam a newcommer in audio "tech"things)

I tested Burmester 052 dac ($5000+) with JDS Atom and HD600 yesterday with some live concert footage and gotta say JDS scales amazingly with the source. There are cheaper well engineered unbalanced dacs though so better look what's available before committing to D70 would be my advice. Don't worry about XLR vs RCA, HD600 will get all the power you need with RCA and single ended headphone cable.

 

[amirm]

I have bought the jds atom for my sennheiser hd 600 ,do you think to use this amp with d70 is a good combo or it is overkill?
Jds dont have xlr input i regret a little bit because ppl say xlr is better than jack...

(Iam a newcommer in audio "tech"things)

It is a great combo. YOu only need XLR input on the amp if you experience hum/noise. Most people do not so you are good and future proof as far as the DAC.

 

[Veri]

I tested Burmester 052 dac ($5000+) with JDS Atom and HD600 yesterday with some live concert footage and gotta say JDS scales amazingly with the source.

Scaling with source... hate this sort of sentence. A (proper) $100 DAC and a $500+ DAC hardly differ in raw performance, scaling is a meme..

 

[maxxevv]

I think he means that the Atom is "revealing". If the source is flawed with some sort of output coloration / distortion, the Atom will amplify it gnats and all.

 

[Veri]

I think he means that the Atom is "revealing". If the source is flawed with some sort of output coloration / distortion, the Atom will amplify it gnats and all.

That's fair enough put that way I definitely agree. "Scaling" immediately makes me think of reddit/head-fi where people claim ridiculous things, where spending enough money really "opens things up" overcoming the "veil" etc...

 

[lator]

That's fair enough put that way I definitely agree. "Scaling" immediately makes me think of reddit/head-fi where people claim ridiculous things, where spending enough money really "opens things up" overcoming the "veil" etc...

Times certainly have changed from the days I built my living room speaker setup 10-15 years ago. Or at least there is accurate information more readily available nowadays to make informative choices.

However one thing I am still not 100% convinced is the trend of cheap power supplies accompanied with these well measuring modern cost effective devices. A common theme with all I have tested so far is somewhat one dimensional or for a lack of a better word compressed lower register and bass reproduction.

Or could it be that I have grown accustomed to distortion in the lower register and am finally able to hear how clean bass reproduction is supposed to sound like? Have been thinking about this a lot recently after getting back to headphones after a long while.

 

[06S2k07Si]

For those interested...

Topping D70 for $399 shipped from Shenzhen Audio. lowest price I've seen.

https://m.shenzhenaudio.com/topping...hi-res-audio-with-remote-control-decoder.html

 

[diegooo1972]

@lator Everybody always say that the older sound was someway better in some cases or frequencies.
I'm quite sure that people get accustomed to the sound they are used to because brain adapt to get the best out of what they ear.
It's absolutely possible that listening to some kind of distortion for years can make a very clean sound too flat.
In the end it need some time for brain to be able to decipher and adapt to new sound and differences.
Something I always read is that after sometime the new sound is a lot better.
Someone attribute that to burning components only. I have to disagree.
We adapt to new kind of sound progressively.
For example I make this considerations.
In a very loud environment after days we bacame less annoyed by those sounds.
Brain tend to exclude annoying sounds.
And if we have to listen to lower volume sounds we can concentrate and ear a little better.
It's faster but it take some time too.
Considering that it can take sometime, I prefer to judge equipments from measurements. Or maybe in a doubleblind audition. But that's nearly impossible for me in my country.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

Would be fun to hear d 70 in youtube.....so if someone can record a small piece...thank you!

 

[daftcombo]

Would be fun to hear d 70 in youtube.....so if someone can record a small piece...thank you!

What is the point?

 

[Veri]

What is the point?

To imagine owning one

 

[CTRLM]

For those interested...

Topping D70 for $399 shipped from Shenzhen Audio. lowest price I've seen.

https://m.shenzhenaudio.com/topping...hi-res-audio-with-remote-control-decoder.html

Now this is why I don't play the stock market....my timing sucks!

Mine arrived today