Topping D10B upgrade to D90SE or going a different route. Is it worth it?

[cochinada]

Hello all,

This is my first post.
I've been reading with most interesting many reviews with measurements of many DACs so far and would like to have your opinion on a subjective matter.

I have a Topping D10B and have the opportunity to get my hands on a D90SE as good as new for about 60% of MRPP or so.

My current speakers are DIY but sound a slight sibilant at the higher frequencies, at least according to a friend of mine who admittedly has much better earing than myself and to whom I trust a lot since he now manufactures and still modifies many power amps, including my current one, phono stages, speakers, you name it. He's some king of electronic guru. To my earing my speakers are great but there is always room to improvements (I've already did acoustic treatment on my living room).

My questions are:
would I gain anything noticeable upgrading to the D90SE (which measures better) or not? I'm afraid that most likely I won't be able to tell the difference but I wonder if anyone can at this kind of performance already.
would I gain more with an RME ADI-2 FS DAC V2 and take advantage of the EQ it has so I can attenuate the treble response a bit?

I guess basically what I would like to understand is if it is worth it to replace my current DAC or I won't tell the difference in an A/B test like I've read here so many times.
But if that's the case, what exactly is the point in measuring all these DAC parameters and responses after they surpass what already cannot be heard if you get my point?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[staticV3]

would I gain anything noticeable upgrading to the D90SE (which measures better)

No. Any improvements the D90SE could bring are outside of what humans can perceive.

would I gain more with an RME ADI-2 FS DAC V2 and take advantage of the EQ it has so I can attenuate the treble response a bit?

You would, but then again, everything the RME can do in DSP, can also be done with free software on your PC or a Raspberry Pi.

what exactly is the point in measuring all these DAC parameters and responses after they surpass what already cannot be heard

We can only make sure that the DAC surpasses what already cannot be heard by measuring it.

 

[AnalogSteph]

The deviations of a speaker tend to be literally orders of magnitude greater than those of a competent DAC. The D10 Balanced may not have a handy volume control knob (you need to spend a bit more to get one, though still less than for a D90 SE), but its performance is definitely preamp grade.

What does "speakers are DIY" mean in this context? Were they built from an existing kit with known performance? The things you'd need to take some decent measurements are still a fair bit cheaper than a used D90 SE. (Thanks to windowing, almost anyone should be able to get decent results in the treble area.) If you are primarily interested in frequency response and less in minimum distortion and noise, a $79 UMIK-1 may do the trick.

 

[cochinada]

Thank you very much for your valid inputs!
So it is as I suspected. I was likely trying to justify to myself that buying the D90SE for a great price was justified.
In the meanwhile I learned I can use the DSP program on my streamer (JRiver) so I will give it a try for zero cost.

As a side note, and since you asked, my speakers are built from scratch. They are not based in any kit but are a product of my imagination only. All the planning and design was mine except for the XO. They are 4 ways with passive crossovers. The XO design was made by the author of VituixCAD2, a very well know dude in the speaker DIY community.

 

[Dunring]

I've had the d90se a couple of times but still stick with my Topping d10b since if you like the default filters you'll never notice the difference. The fun alternative would be the SMSL M300 which has colors and filter settings. With both you can make a change you can notice.

 

[linger63]

Hello all,
My current speakers are DIY but sound a slight sibilant at the higher frequencies, at least according to a friend of mine who admittedly has much better earing than myself and to whom I trust a lot since he now manufactures and still modifies many power amps, including my current one, phono stages, speakers, you name it. He's some king of electronic guru. To my earing my speakers are great but there is always room to improvements (I've already did acoustic treatment on my living room).

Many thanks in advance!

It shouldn't matter if YOUR FRIEND is from NASA....
It's YOUR system in YOUR house which YOU will be listening to.
YOU already said the sound is great so then why do anything?

 

[cochinada]

It shouldn't matter if YOUR FRIEND is from NASA....
It's YOUR system in YOUR house which YOU will be listening to.
YOU already said the sound is great so then why do anything?

If he was from NASA, for sure I wouldn't listen to him but you made a very good point indeed!
I'm also older than him so most likely I've lost some hearing in the higher part of the frequency spectrum.