Review and Measurements of the Topping D70 DAC

[06S2k07Si]

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

Mine arrived today

Yeah...I understand...we've all been there.

 

[typericey]

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

Mine arrived today

Forget about it. Just enjoy your new DAC and report back here.

 

[CTRLM]

Yeah...I understand...we've all been there.

Forget about it. Just enjoy your new DAC and report back here.

Yeah I'm not stressing about it, just having a bit of fun. The D70 has been working for about 5 hours now

 

[Bamyasi]

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.

It just went silent with blank display at some point and stayed this way regardless of the amount of tinkering I've tried. I was listening to it in my system for about two hours straight when this happened. Checked the fuse (yes, D70 power socket has a fuse installed), tried replacing power cord, nothing worked. The vendor will be sending it to Topping for diagnostics but I have already requested a refund. This is my third issue with the Topping products and I do not feel like buying from this company anymore. Of course, this could as well be my own personal bad luck, so YMMV. In fact, my DX3 Pro (second replacement unit) has been working fine for the past 6 months and I like it. Except for the random shutdowns which were harmless so far.

P.S. I was using XLR outputs on D70 if that matters, with the output level set at -10 dB.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

This is my third issue with the Topping products and I do not feel like buying from this company anymore.

The serious reliability issues with Topping products need to be discussed more. I can only imagine how this forum would react if Schiit products were this unreliable...

 

[daftcombo]

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

Mine arrived today

How does it sound?

 

[BDWoody]

Yeah I'm not stressing about it, just having a bit of fun. The D70 has been working for about 5 hours now

I got mine last week...So I feel your pain...

Good news is that I haven't had any issues whatsoever. Same goes for the dx3. Loving them both.

All I hear is the music, because they do their jobs and simply disappear. I haven't had to futz around with anything, and have no complaints.

If I needed another dac I wouldn't hesitate on either one.

 

[DeepSpace57]

I believe D70 users should use SPDIF input as an AK4118 is boarded on. 777 claims lows of D70 have an impact, whereas chosen_one tells to want more/ it to be less impactful than that of D50. I am of the opinion that they are using different inputs/output. On the other hand, The volume should be around -3db; amirm claims the SINAD rises up 2 points(112) in this way.
The only problem comes from the power unit, I guess. I have no idea as to whether or not taking the power unit off the case is possible to use an LPS.

 

[typericey]

Just ordered mine and also ordered Blue Jeans balanced cables. Both should take at least a week to arrive. This is my first foray into balanced and excited just a tad. Hope my unit doesn't have any issues. In any case I'll make sure to report here.

 

[xevman]

Are the topping qc really issues that rampant? I've owned the d50 dx7s and now the d70 and haven't had a single issue with daily and frequent use, not to mention I know of dozens of people that have Topping Dacs here down under on stereonet au that don't have any issues at all, only praise for the products.

 

[typericey]

I don't have any stats, but my D50 was problem free. In the D70 threads, I've always solicited for reports on real world usage and issues if any. No point in hiding them. Reporting issues would help consumers and Topping alike. So far no D70 issue except Bamyasi's.

I don't read every Topping post here but from what I recall Topping's issues were more on the poor performance and measurements of their speaker amps and the random shutdown (I think) on the DX3 Pro which is more of a bug than a QC issue.

I think the "higher end" Topping stuff like DX7, D50, D70 are problem free; Bamyasi's case seems an isolated one.

 

[gvl]

I acquired a broken DX7s which has since been fixed by Topping. I think it is fair to say that there is some anecdotal evidence of quality issues present in Topping products, however without any real numbers on failure rate it is pointless to make any conclusions about reliability of their products. I've seen reports about issues with Schiit products, same goes there.

 

[nichino]

Just to add to the conversation - my Topping D70 from Shenzhen Audio's Aliexpress store arrived dead on arrival. After much troubleshooting (changing power cables / fuses) they agreed that it was a faulty unit and promptly sent me a replacement within 3 days (China to Singapore) which has been working flawlessly the past 2+ weeks.

Not sure if this adds much to the sample size of QC issues for Topping products, but I came away very impressed with Shenzhen Audio's customer service. They replied promptly and even after business hours to troubleshoot and arrange for the RMA.

Also thanks to @amirm and the forum members who shared their objective measurements / impressions that led me to this wonderful DAC =)

Cheers,
Nicholas

 

[ra990]

Hi all, new to the forum. I appreciate all the work that has been put into testing equipment on this site. I am trying to sell off some of my more expensive equipment and go with a more modest setup. Purchased the D70 from Ebay for $400 and it got to me from China in less than a week! Pretty good feel to the unit, it's got some heft and looks like a high quality product. It's been working well for the past several hours, no complaints with operation. I will say it doesn't quite compete with my Chord DAC (Qutest and Hugo TT2), but it sounds very nice for this price point. If you care about my unofficial impressions (I did try to volume match using android mic application to measure), I notice less details with the D70 than with the Chord DACs and also a slight reduction in the soundstage, but again this is comparing to a DAC costing several times as much, so that's to be expected. I don't know if I will use it in my main setup, but I'm going to give it a few more days to grow on me.

One thing I noticed with the following experiment to test output levels between RCA and XLR:
I have the D70's RCA and XLR outs connected to the RCA and XLR ins of my Liquid Platinum. I have the D70 set at 0db/full volume and outputting signal on both RCA and XLR outs. On the Liquid Platinum, I switch between the inputs while the track is playing and I notice NO difference at all - with a blind test, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between either. So, seems to me like they're both putting out the exact same signal - which is not what I expected. I would expect the XLR to be putting out a higher output signal. It should be 2v RCA and 4v XLR, right?

 

[gvl]

You're one step close from discovering the truth. Do a blind test with matched levels and report the results here if you could reliably detect one from another.

 

[maxxevv]

Just to add, the Qutest default output setting is 3V.

So unless its been set at 2V instead, its not an apples to apples comparison if the D70 is at 2V output.

Output matching should not be at the speakers or the headphones, it should be at the DAC outputs in this case. The amplifier after that only amplifiers the output from them (unless it has some serious design flaws that is).

 

[ra990]

You're one step close from discovering the truth. Do a blind test with matched levels and report the results here if you could reliably detect one from another.

Yes, easily. Tried it and it was easy to do on the Liquid Platinum since the Chord is single ended and D70 using XLR.

More concerned about the output on the D70 being identical between the XLR and RCA - can someone else try that? I assume the 2v vs 4v should be an audible difference?

 

[ra990]

Just to add, the Qutest default output setting is 3V.

So unless its been set at 2V instead, its not an apples to apples comparison if the D70 is at 2V output.

Output matching should not be at the speakers or the headphones, it should be at the DAC outputs in this case. The amplifier after that only amplifiers the output from them (unless it has some serious design flaws that is).

I run my Qutest at 2v.

 

[imagidominc]

Just received the D70 from drop today. Running balanced with XLR Mogami cables into THX 789 and 6XX balanced connector. Audio Heaven. I'm not going to say that there's an objective jump in sound quality from my EL DAC, but the peace of mind balanced gives me is worth it. The only upgrade I see left in the chain is to upgrade the headphones, maybe? But the 6XX is already excellent and will do just dandy until I can afford a high end headphone. Regardless, I would never have achieved this level of audio perfection/smart purchasing without this website. Thank you Amir for doing such incredible work.

Edit: Just received Focal Elex. Yep, this is endgame. I am satisfied.

 

[maxxevv]

Yes, easily. Tried it and it was easy to do on the Liquid Platinum since the Chord is single ended and D70 using XLR.

More concerned about the output on the D70 being identical between the XLR and RCA - can someone else try that? I assume the 2v vs 4v should be an audible difference?

An RCA switcher will probably give you a more coherent comparison. using RCA outputs for both. 4V and 2V SNR figures will differ.

Not sure if it will be audibly different. Haven't done direct comparisons of such.