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Review and Measurements of the Topping D70 DAC

gvl

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You can set the volume a little bit lower and you will avoid that wrinkle. Anyway, the music didn't stay at 0dB, probably is very rare music peak of 0dB.

Inter-sample overshoots are a thing.
 

Tks

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At that price, I thought Topping would have mopped everyone in a stand-alone DAC config at this price bracket. I still think to this day the DX3 Pro was some designer throwing everyone a special treat. Topping are also about to cannibalize themselves seemingly in the mid-top end once the DX7 Pro releases, and then you have the D2 actual top-end flagship , but unless that thing mops the competition thoroughly, things like the RME and Okto will forever be encroaching on it as they offer a serious price/featureset at the price the D2 will be attempting to compete at.

With the specs, I'm surprised the top-end power wasn't more controlled for. Especially considering the delay this thing seemingly went through.
 

Dogen

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I guess, still D70's release must dilute DX7s' demand.

Maybe, but it’s more likely to attract more people to buy one Topping solution or another. They’ve done a very nice job here! It seems they are striving for engineering excellence and listening to the feedback of users and reviewers. The traditional audio companies, in contrast, have largely been coasting on past accomplishments.
 

Nango

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They should also start paying more attention to the design of the front, it was already mentioned above they use up to 5 different fonts for labelling the knobs, model, brand name. It doesn't look nice.
 

gvl

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And most importantly, is the case grounded? In the best Schiit fashion DX7s' case is not.
 

typericey

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Thanks for the review Amirm!

Random thoughts:

- a bit disappointed with dim display but perhaps it's to protect against OLED burn in

- I think one can't say the D70 has worse value than SU-8 because it's $200 more expensive yet measures similarly. what about the other aspects of the product like build quality, reliability/durability, quality of the components like buttons, jacks, remote, capacitors, relays, pcb, certifications, etc. etc. (in short, perhaps the extra $200 went to what the AP can't "see")

- I wonder if the IMD saturation can be fixed with firmware. Non-issue though with my intended use as a DAC/pre.

- Sticking with my plan upgrade from D50 to D70...in a month or two...when the early adopters tell me there are no bugs or reliability issues.
 
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amirm

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- I think one can't say the D70 has worse value than SU-8 because it's $200 more expensive yet measures similarly.
It does NOT measure similarly. It is better in many regards.
 
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amirm

amirm

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- I wonder if the IMD saturation can be fixed with firmware.
I don't think so. If there was higher output voltage firmware could be changed to reduce the level and with it, distortion. But as it is, the level is at 4 volts so no headroom to take away.
 

GTsmokeya84

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I for one am super happy, I ordered the D70 the day Amazon offered it. Now I feel even better after this review. I pretty amp'd since I will have a SMSL SU-8 and a Cambridge Audio Dac Magic Plus and soon the Topping D70. Not a bad lineup in my eyes. Thank you amirm for your work and dedication!
 

Jimster480

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I don't care too much about those quality of life difference so I'll go for the SU8. I use it for a desktop setup and I just need a DAC with performance decent enough. Seems a bit hard to justify the doubled price for the D70
There is also the D50 which is supurb and around half the price of this.
Infact I'd like to see a comparison of this DAC vs the D50 because going back to look at the original tests of the D50; this D70 doesn't seem much better.
 
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Jimster480

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If I’m not mistaken they are different products in that the DX7s includes a balanced headphone amp - and a very good one at that.
Yes it does. It has supurb performance and power (despite higher output impedance) and it actually costs $100 less than this DAC-only product.
I have the first gen DX7 and nothing released thus far has got me interested in switching.
 
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amirm

amirm

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There is also the D50 which is supurb and around half the price of this.
Infact I'd like to see a comparison of this DAC vs the D50 because going back to look at the original tests of the D50; this D70 doesn't seem much better.
I just got a replacement board for my D50 so once I repair it, I will do some comparisons.
 

Jimster480

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The performance here is supurb, but the price is still getting up there. Although it does beat the VMV 1 or whatever (atleast in some aspects) for half the price.
I'm cheap though so.... If you are fine with RCA I still think that the D50 + JDS Atom can't be beat for roughly $350. Then you have $650 to drop on a technically excellent headphone like a mrspeakers Aeon. Or even buy a number of other high end low distortion headphones (depending on your tastes).
Which gives you a ton of performance for $1000.
Overall it's just amazing what can be had today for such a low price!
 

gvl

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I tested mine with a multimeter as per a test on here and didn't find any case grounding issues.
I haven't opened it to confirm though.

The EGC doesn't land on the chassis in a secure fashion. The conductivity you saw is through PCB traces which will evaporate well before your circuit breaker trips in case of a ground fault. Well, at least it is the case on my DX7s, I had to open it up when I shipped the board for repairs. The EGC lands on the PCB ground plane, that's it. Somehow it escaped Amir's scrutiny, but hey, we all know he is a Topping schill :)
 
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Jimster480

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The EGC doesn't land on the chassis in a secure fashion. The conductivity you saw is through PCB traces which will evaporate well before your circuit breaker trips in case of a ground fault. Well, at least it is the case on my DX7s, I had to open it up when I shipped the board for repairs. The EGC lands on the PCB ground plane, that's it. Somehow it escaped Amir's scrutiny, but hey, we all know he is a Topping schill :)
I see, maybe it's different on the first gen DX7? I don't have a DX7s.
I'm not going to open it to find out though as it works perfectly for the past 2 years now?
 
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