Review and Measurements of Topping D90 4499DAC

[Rigel]

Hi Rigel, I am new on this forum, but I also ordered the D90. Do you already have some comments about what you think of it? There are not much online reviews as yet, so every impression counts .

Hello AndyLu. Welcome to the forum.

I tell you. Sorry for the English, I use a translator.

I always use the PC to listen to music and so far I have been using an M51 DAC. It is a good DAC, but its USB input is not good and that is why (and because I also like DIY and experimentation) for some years I have been experimenting with several USB / AES digital interfaces USB conditioners, power supplies etc. . To take advantage of it.
With some I have done well and with others not so much, but with the D90 I have been surprised at how good the USB input is, simply using a simple cable, this statement may seem absurd, but I am so used to using various devices to take advantage of the M51. The USB input has been greatly improved since 2012 that the NAD M51 came out.
The D90 is very good, I doubt that you are not happy with the purchase if you are looking for transparency and high resolution in the sound as it happens to me. You can hear clearly, the separation between the different sounds or instruments and the low level details are perceived more clearly.
I bought the D90 thanks to the Amir test, because I wanted to check personally, if my personal taste on the sound, could correspond to a good technical execution. Now I could say that it has been.
When comparing the M51 with USB / AES interface, linear power supply etc. With the D90, the latter I appreciate more detail. Details are heard in the songs I had not heard before. I am combining it with an SMSL SP200 and a Sennheiser HD800.
Using the USB input of the NAD itself, the differences are already quite wide in favor of the D90.
Even though the USB input of the D90 is so good, on the Topping website you can read that the best input would be the IIS, it is possible that you combine it with a Matrix Spdif 2.
In a review of the D70 that I have read, it is also commented that in his ears, the best entry of the D70 is the IIS.
I will comment if I encourage you to tray it.

I have not had problems with drivers, configurations or playback, although there are things that I have not yet tried. DSD files for example.
It has good exterior finishes, the machining is quality. And inside it is also well finished. I have not seen any bad welding for example or bad termination. The buttons are solid aluminum, nothing plastic.
Anyway, happy with the purchase. I guess you will know the review that was announced in a thread of this forum. Just in case take a look.

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/topping-d90-review-a-genre-master/

 

[Veri]

Even though the USB input of the D90 is so good, on the Topping website you can read that the best input would be the IIS, it is possible that you combine it with a Matrix Spdif 2.
In a review of the D70 that I have read, it is also commented that in his ears, the best entry of the D70 is the IIS.
I will comment if I encourage you to tray it.

On paper there is really nothing to improve though, using I2S. Jitter is already picture perfect.
I think it's just another thing they want you to buy...

 

[Rigel]

Possibly. The bad thing is the fight against doubt and temptation

 

[AndyLu]

Hello AndyLu. Welcome to the forum.

I tell you. Sorry for the English, I use a translator.

I always use the PC to listen to music and so far I have been using an M51 DAC. It is a good DAC, but its USB input is not good and that is why (and because I also like DIY and experimentation) for some years I have been experimenting with several USB / AES digital interfaces USB conditioners, power supplies etc. . To take advantage of it.
With some I have done well and with others not so much, but with the D90 I have been surprised at how good the USB input is, simply using a simple cable, this statement may seem absurd, but I am so used to using various devices to take advantage of the M51. The USB input has been greatly improved since 2012 that the NAD M51 came out.
The D90 is very good, I doubt that you are not happy with the purchase if you are looking for transparency and high resolution in the sound as it happens to me. You can hear clearly, the separation between the different sounds or instruments and the low level details are perceived more clearly.
I bought the D90 thanks to the Amir test, because I wanted to check personally, if my personal taste on the sound, could correspond to a good technical execution. Now I could say that it has been.
When comparing the M51 with USB / AES interface, linear power supply etc. With the D90, the latter I appreciate more detail. Details are heard in the songs I had not heard before. I am combining it with an SMSL SP200 and a Sennheiser HD800.
Using the USB input of the NAD itself, the differences are already quite wide in favor of the D90.
Even though the USB input of the D90 is so good, on the Topping website you can read that the best input would be the IIS, it is possible that you combine it with a Matrix Spdif 2.
In a review of the D70 that I have read, it is also commented that in his ears, the best entry of the D70 is the IIS.
I will comment if I encourage you to tray it.

I have not had problems with drivers, configurations or playback, although there are things that I have not yet tried. DSD files for example.
It has good exterior finishes, the machining is quality. And inside it is also well finished. I have not seen any bad welding for example or bad termination. The buttons are solid aluminum, nothing plastic.
Anyway, happy with the purchase. I guess you will know the review that was announced in a thread of this forum. Just in case take a look.

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/topping-d90-review-a-genre-master/

Thank you for the response. I am expecting the D90 to arrive end this month/beginning next month. At the moment I am using a Pro-ject Pre box S2 Digital. I have seen that the measurements for the D90 on this site are much better than for the Pro-ject. I am anxious to hear the difference. At the moment I own a JDS labs atom head amp which I am going to use for now with the D90, maybe that needs an upgrade too .

 

[TheInquiring]

Dear experts:

Could somebody please report on the differences in sound you have in your systems with the D90 serving as a DAC vs. as a DAC + Pre-amplifier?

 

[Audiotone]

I recently bought the topping dx7 pro, played very nice for two months and then gave up playing (main fuse on the back keeps blowing)
Sent it back to shenzenaudio (seller) and I am waiting for the refund.
So I need another DAC now and was planning to go for the topping d90 (I do not use headphones in my main system)
but I need to know if volume control is working in dsd mode.
I had the RME dac on loan, wich plays wonderfull, but when fed with dsd material there is no way to control the volume in Roon or on the DAC.
My setup is as simple as possible: roon server, usb dac balanced to poweramp to speakers.
The topping dx7pro had volume control when playing in dsd mode.
I would appreciate if someone could help me out on this.

kind regards,

Tony

 

[Yviena]

I recently bought the topping dx7 pro, played very nice for two months and then gave up playing (main fuse on the back keeps blowing)
Sent it back to shenzenaudio (seller) and I am waiting for the refund.
So I need another DAC now and was planning to go for the topping d90 (I do not use headphones in my main system)
but I need to know if volume control is working in dsd mode.
I had the RME dac on loan, wich plays wonderfull, but when fed with dsd material there is no way to control the volume in Roon or on the DAC.
My setup is as simple as possible: roon server, usb dac balanced to poweramp to speakers.
The topping dx7pro had volume control when playing in dsd mode.
I would appreciate if someone could help me out on this.

kind regards,

Tony

In DAC mode no as topping has said volume bypass is used, but PRE mode yes.

 

[Tks]

I recently bought the topping dx7 pro, played very nice for two months and then gave up playing (main fuse on the back keeps blowing)
Sent it back to shenzenaudio (seller) and I am waiting for the refund.
So I need another DAC now and was planning to go for the topping d90 (I do not use headphones in my main system)
but I need to know if volume control is working in dsd mode.
I had the RME dac on loan, wich plays wonderfull, but when fed with dsd material there is no way to control the volume in Roon or on the DAC.
My setup is as simple as possible: roon server, usb dac balanced to poweramp to speakers.
The topping dx7pro had volume control when playing in dsd mode.
I would appreciate if someone could help me out on this.

kind regards,

Tony

Just one thing, you actually can control DSD volume on the RME, through DoP format.

 

[AudioQuality777]

Owners of the D90, please write the date of manufacture of your device. These are the first four digits of the serial number. There is information about a malfunction in a certain batch.

 

[Marutks]

My D90's date of manufacture is 1910 ,

what malfunction? problem of AES interface?

 

[AudioQuality777]

This is what is written here.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...d90-balanced-usb-dac-review.10519/post-329204
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...d90-balanced-usb-dac-review.10519/post-330096
ASIO, WASAPI, KS, windows mixer. D70 works properly, but D90 speeds up with PCM 44.1/88.2 etc. It's fun to be able to watch YouTube on 4x speed. I think it's just defect in usb-module or unit firmware. There is no problem with optical input.

The D90 is just the batch of manufacture 2019-10.

 

[AndyLu]

Owners of the D90, please write the date of manufacture of your device. These are the first four digits of the serial number. There is information about a malfunction in a certain batch.

Mine is 1910 also. It is still not clear to me which batch is faulty and which batch is not. Can you give more specifics about the exact date?

 

[AudioQuality777]

Your D90 doesn't have these problems?Apparently there is no dependence, D90 which was faulty apparently the percentage of marriage and not legalness.

 

[Marutks]

Mine doesn't have this problem. But I don't use windows or any driver software.
I tried changing sample rate in Mac OS audio settings and Audirvana output. They all sound the same.

 

[Ema79]

I ordered the Topping D90 yesterday. At the beginning I was oriented towards the Matrix Element X, but after doing various tests the active preamplifier always wins over the integrated one of the dac. So I focused on a Pure dac.

I listen to Music with tower speakers, Monitor Audio Platinum PL200 model, Extrema voice bases, Audia Flight Pre MKII preamplifier and power amplifier Pass X 150.8.

As soon as this Dac D90 arrives I will inform you about how it sounds on my system. Previously I owned 3 reference dacs all of Northstar Design (Italian brand).

1: Northstar extremo (dual Burr brown 1792A)
2: Northstar Supremo (Ess Saber 9018)
3: Northstar Venti (Ess Saber 9038pro)

Of these I do not know the actual measurements, but supreme and twenty were quite different from the extreme. The extreme was faster, more detailed, more dynamic. Subsequent flagships (i.e. Supreme and Twenty) share the same design. They are slower machines, They have more resolution and separation of the instruments, but they lost in dynamics and fluency compared to the extreme (dac which is now 15 years old).

Espandi
Comprimi

 

[Marutks]

Most DACs sound the same. I tried D90, Topping DX7 Pro and Burson C3X ( dual ESS).
They all sound the same with Monoprice 887 amplifier.

 

[AndyLu]

Your D90 doesn't have these problems?Apparently there is no dependence, D90 which was faulty apparently the percentage of marriage and not legalness.

No, I don't have this problem. My D90 Serial number starts with 1910.

I tested on a PC (Win 10) via USB with Audirvana:

• D90 over Wasapi. 16-44.1 FLAC and WAV files. Without upsampling. No problem. Plays correctly. Correct tempo and correct pitch.
• D90 over Wasapi. 16-44.1 FLAC and WAV files. With upsampling to 24-768. No problem. Plays correctly. Same tempo and same pitch.
• D90 over ASIO (with Topping ASIO driver 4.67.0). 16-44.1 FLAC and WAV files. Without upsampling. No problem. Plays correctly. Correct tempo and correct pitch.
• D90 over ASIO (with Topping ASIO driver 4.67.0). 16-44.1 FLAC and WAV files. With upsampling to DSD. No problem. Plays correctly. Correct tempo and correct pitch.

Also Tested with standard Windows media player, Foobar2000 and VLC Media player. All flacs and wave files with samplerate 16-44.1 play correctly.

 

[Veri]

Most DACs sound the same. I tried D90, Topping DX7 Pro and Burson C3X ( dual ESS).
They all sound the same with Monoprice 887 amplifier.

Yep experienced the same thing with the Drop 789.

 

[SirOli]

I don't have this problem. My D90 Serial number starts with 1910 too.

Tested with Win10 1809 (USB + AES via Singxer-SU6)

 

[JohnYang1997]

This is what is written here.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...d90-balanced-usb-dac-review.10519/post-329204
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...d90-balanced-usb-dac-review.10519/post-330096
ASIO, WASAPI, KS, windows mixer. D70 works properly, but D90 speeds up with PCM 44.1/88.2 etc. It's fun to be able to watch YouTube on 4x speed. I think it's just defect in usb-module or unit firmware. There is no problem with optical input.

The D90 is just the batch of manufacture 2019-10.

It's not a batch problem. There's probably only that one unit that has this issue. After brief investigation, it's probably the XO responsible for 44.1khz/88.2khz was misplaced with the one for 48khz/96khz. If you buy one, the chance of having the same issue is minimal.