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Review and Measurements of the Topping D70 DAC

AlexC1202

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I just received a D70, Bluetooth version. So far, I've tested the USB and optical SPDIF inputs, works great!

However, I cannot see the D70 advertising itself via Bluetooth. I have tried my Linux PC, my Android 10 phone, and a Windows 7 laptop. None of those client devices see the D70 advertised.

I also have a Topping DX3Pro, which I was able to use via Bluetooth with all the mentioned devices. Am I missing something silly, or is there a chance I got a unit with a broken Bluetooth?

I hope you found the issue yet, but if not, I experienced the same thing and I solved it by giving it a factory reset, then after that, I unplugged it, left it for 20 seconds and them plugged it back in. I am by no means and expert, but it seems the caps need to be drained of power or something like that. Beware, if you change the DAC to Dac only mode, you’ll need to unplug and plug again. Hope this helps!
 

AlexC1202

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Hello everyone!

I recently purchased this DAC and I’m trying to figure out how the DAC only mode works.
I am pairing the D70 with an Electrocompaniet ECI6 integrated amp, and I would like to use the preamp within the amp. For that I put the Topping into DAC only mode. Can someone please explain to me what that means? Does that mean the DAC will output the full power of 4V out of the XLR’s just like I would have it in preamp mode on full-blast (0 db)?
in this case, judging from the graphs, would it be better to use the DAC togheter with it’s preamp and set the volume control at 13 db (where the lowest distortion is)?
 

kkeretic

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Hello everyone!
I am pairing the D70 with an Electrocompaniet ECI6 integrated amp, and I would like to use the preamp within the amp. For that I put the Topping into DAC only mode. Can someone please explain to me what that means? Does that mean the DAC will output the full power of 4V out of the XLR’s just like I would have it in preamp mode on full-blast (0 db)?

Yes, in DAC mode the DAC will output max volume line out signal just like in preamp mode at 0db.
in this case, judging from the graphs, would it be better to use the DAC togheter with it’s preamp and set the volume control at 13 db (where the lowest distortion is)?

Possibly. But in DAC mode the signal bypasses preamp electronics so less processing results in less altered signal. Honestly, I hear no difference between the DAC mode and preamp mode at 0db, even with the volume set to -10db ~ -15db and volume compensated on the amp.
 

AlexC1202

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Yes, in DAC mode the DAC will output max volume line out signal just like in preamp mode at 0db.


Possibly. But in DAC mode the signal bypasses preamp electronics so less processing results in less altered signal. Honestly, I hear no difference between the DAC mode and preamp mode at 0db, even with the volume set to -10db ~ -15db and volume compensated on the amp.

Thank you for the reply. I appreciate it. To be honest, I tested it both ways, and just like you, I hear no difference. But i’m a fickle human being, and even if I don’t hear a difference I still need to he sure that I’m using the DAC in the “best” possible way, just for peace of mind. Hence, the reason I posted the question.

All this being said, I think I will leave the D70 into DAC only mode, as this way there’s less processing or the signal.
I’m quite new to this hobby, and was totally surprised to find out that the preamp within the DAC doesn’t add power to the signal but instead just cuts it down. I lived all my life believing preamps add volume, not cut it down.

Oh well, the more you live, the more you learn.
 

kkeretic

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But i’m a fickle human being, and even if I don’t hear a difference I still need to he sure that I’m using the DAC in the “best” possible way, just for peace of mind. Hence, the reason I posted the question.
My advice is to just try to enjoy the sound that suits you regardless of the technical aspects and settings.
 

Tactica

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I'm not fully sure if a balanced DAC like the Topping D70 would be beneficial to introduce into my setup of Monolith THX AAA 887 and DT-177X headphones. As I understand the DT-177X's are internally balanced, but require a custom cable from Hart Audio Cables or similar.

The Topping D70 looks like a perfect DAC for my system, but I would like a confirmation, that a fully Balanced signal path from D70 to 887 to DT-177X is beneficial or even possible?
 

Veri

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The Topping D70 looks like a perfect DAC for my system, but I would like a confirmation, that a fully Balanced signal path from D70 to 887 to DT-177X is beneficial or even possible?
Are you using RCA into 887 right now? If no issues like noise etc, then no, XLR-ing everything will make the signal much louder. But if there's no common mode noise issues to fix, I don't see any "benefit" here. It will only cost you a lot of money: new DAC, XLR interconnects, DT-177x cable/mod.
 

Tactica

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Are you using RCA into 887 right now? If no issues like noise etc, then no, XLR-ing everything will make the signal much louder. But if there's no common mode noise issues to fix, I don't see any "benefit" here. It will only cost you a lot of money: new DAC, XLR interconnects, DT-177x cable/mod.
I am currently running RCA from Schiit Modi 3 to the THX AAA 887, and there's no issues. Just wondering if going balanced would be an improvement, or good future proofing for potential other headphones, I am planning to upgrade the DAC anyway, so that's why I was looking at Balanced DAC's.
 

Veri

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Balanced out on the 887 can futureproof for really demanding headphones (HE-6/HE-1000 etc). But most headphones don't need that much power, honestly. Balanced input will also clip gain III, while with single ended RCA input you can use the whole range up to gain III.

I would say a single ended DAC gets you just as far. Unless, your RCA interconnects causes issues (noise, hum). You can also still use the balanced 4-pin XLR output, regardless of using a balanced DAC. The THX has balanced output on both inputs.
 

bboris77

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I just experienced a peculiar quirk on my Topping D70. I was listening to some 96kHz Master track quality files in Tidal. I have it set up in Exclusive mode with software MQA unfolding. I am on the latest XMOS drivers (4.82). All of a sudden, the sound cut out, but the song appeared to be playing in the application. I tried playing some 44kHz tracks, but there was no sound, and the frequency on the display remained locked on 96kHz.

I switched from USB to optical input (using my PS4 Pro), and the D70 worked perfectly and locked onto the 48kHz signal. Went back to USB, still stuck at 96kHz with no sound. Restarted Tidal, no success. As soon as I shut the power off on the back of the D70 and turned it back on, everything went back to normal and worked perfectly.

I wish I had just rebooted my Windows before to see if that would have done the trick. It appears that for some reason the D70 locked onto the 96Khz sample rate through the USB input and would not allow anything to interrupt this datastream until the unit was turned off and rebooted. I am wondering if shutting down the source (PC) would have resolved the issue, or perhaps turning it off and on is the only solution. I have read of very similar things happening with various XMOS-based Topping devices on various forums (DX7, DX7s, D50 and D70), so I am fairly sure it's not my unit but some kind of Windows 10/ XMOS driver bug in conjunction with Topping devices.

I wonder if you guys experienced this kind of behaviour, and if you did whether you were using Tidal at the time. I am trying to see what causes this glitch. I have had the unit for about a month, and this is the first time it happened.
 

Makoku

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Hello!
I paired my topping d70 with a monolith thx aaa 887. I have the dac connected to the amp via xlr and rca. My output is set to "rca+xlr" My problem is it seems I don't get any output from the xlr connection alone (I even set up output as r+x on the set up menu) If I unplug the rca connection I don't have any sound until I plug the rca back again. I'm trying to use my thx thru xlr and my wa7 thru rca. Am I missing something?
 

Veri

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Hello!
I paired my topping d70 with a monolith thx aaa 887. I have the dac connected to the amp via xlr and rca. My output is set to "rca+xlr" My problem is it seems I don't get any output from the xlr connection alone (I even set up output as r+x on the set up menu) If I unplug the rca connection I don't have any sound until I plug the rca back again. I'm trying to use my thx thru xlr and my wa7 thru rca. Am I missing something?
The 887 has an input switch. You're sure it is on XLR input?
 

kkeretic

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I wonder if you guys experienced this kind of behaviour, and if you did whether you were using Tidal at the time. I am trying to see what causes this glitch. I have had the unit for about a month, and this is the first time it happened.

I am using only Foobar2000 and something similar happened once or twice after messing/experimenting with the output settings. Switching the DAC off and back on resolved the issue.
 

Rhern213

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Just picked up a D70, I'm having a really odd issue of extremely low volume. Tested from multiple input sources with the same problem. I know the D70 has slightly low output voltage of 2v, but even at max volume on my amp it's still just average volume compared to my other DAC, plus the sound gets distorted. Has anyone encountered this issue? Maybe a wrong setting? I'm beginning to think I got a faulty unit.
 

IslandMD

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Just picked up a D70, I'm having a really odd issue of extremely low volume. Tested from multiple input sources with the same problem. I know the D70 has slightly low output voltage of 2v, but even at max volume on my amp it's still just average volume compared to my other DAC, plus the sound gets distorted. Has anyone encountered this issue? Maybe a wrong setting? I'm beginning to think I got a faulty unit.
Did you make sure to set the Voltage selector switch to 115V?
 

KingFiercer

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Yup, I also tried switching back and forth from PRE/DAC mode and still nothing.
I got a similar result when I connected both the RCA and XLR and set the same RCA+XLR output mode. Try to select output only RCA or only XLR.
 
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KingFiercer

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What's about volume level in both windows and driver? Windows mixer affects ASIO too if your Topping is default device.
screenshot.jpg


Addition: Sorry, now I see that you also tested different inputs as well. There's something wrong with unit I think.
 
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Rhern213

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What's about volume level in both windows and driver? Windows mixer affects ASIO too if your Topping is default device.
View attachment 60427

Addition: Sorry, now I see that you also tested different inputs as well. There's something wrong with unit I think.

I'm not using a pc anyway. I'm using 2 streamers as sources, a Cambridge Audio CXN and a Chromecast Audio, tried both through spdif and coax and got the same issues. So it does look like a faulty unit :/
 
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