Topping D70 Pro Sabre DAC Review

[Tangband]

I thought I had déjà vu, but no, it's exactly the same message you put under another bluetooth dac review.
But what has this protocol done to you? Nobody forces you to use it if you don't want to, but for many it is an added value (including me).

NB
If you blindly recognize a flac transmitted in ldac 990 by a bitperfect, I'll buy you dinner

I think its a relevant question why they have bluetooth but not DNLA, AirPlay , wifi and TIDAL/Qubos compability.
Every home cinema receiver from 300 dollars have those . I see the same pattern in every chinese made dac.

Bluetooth is ofcourse convenient but has nothing to do with high SINAD numbers and a very good sound. Lossy codecs and transmission are not necessary at 2023. Bluetooth is an evil thing when cascade coupled with spotify mp3 codec.
-1 (+) -1 = - 3

Dont get me wrong, but for me its totally unnecessary with bluetooth on a highend device . This seems to be a very good dac but it feels like Topping are not taking its customers seriosly with such a low-fi transmission as bluetooth.
Its like offering bike tires on a Porsche.

Every streaming ( except Spotify ) service are now offering lossless or high resolution material to the customers and I really dont like the memory of the dark ages when mp3 ruled.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Now when are they going to make speakers?

 

[nonnyno]

I can't help but feel that they must be cannibalising sales of their own products. Too many products with not enough to differentiate between them with too many product ranges often confusingly named. If I want to buy a top line smsl do I buy the su-10, the d400ex or the d400es. what the difference bwteen the dio range and d range. What amp do I pair wth the d400 series or indeed the su series.

Topping are producing matching stacks but apparently this doesnt really shift that far from e70/l70 combo so .... i'm tempted by the nice display but beyond that i gain nothing. Its all getting very confusing and causes me to think mebbe i'll stick with what I have as its more than good enough. I'll wait for the next iteration or indeed the one after that. Their R&D costs must be through the roof.

 

[amper42]

If Topping provided a 2 year warranty and offered a USA office for service/repairs it would be a step in the right direction. As it is now, Topping products don't have a great track record for longevity or service. A new Topping remote with superior range and function might allow me to consider Topping once again. As it is, I'll pass.

 

[nonnyno]

If Topping provided a 2 year warranty and offered a USA office for service/repairs it would be a step in the right direction. As it is now, Topping products don't have a great track record for longevity or service. A new Topping remote with superior range and function might allow me to consider Topping once again. As it is, I'll pass.

Which manufacturers are better? How many people have had their Topping kit fail inside 2 years. My experience of consumer electronics is if it works fine on day one it'll typically continue working fine for a very long time. If its iffy on day one swap it out because it'll continue to be a problem. Providing local support will raise prices. I should say I sympathise with your pov. It's very annoying when kit fails in a relatively short space of time whatever the price. Can we really expect comparable reliability to western makes at the prices charged?

 

[Tangband]

It‘s interesting that the Dac is More expensive although the amp is More Important for Sound Quality. I am Sure this is a very good dac but I don‘t See big advantages in comparison to a Smsl D6: 5V, better measurements (Which is difficult to Hear), 12V Trigger, More Settings, better display. So for normale usage a D6 is More than enough. The D70Pro is only for geeks?

Geeks want DNLA and TIDAL support, so no. But maybe Im asking to much .

 

[sane4sure]

I guess the real question for some of us is this:

If I really don't have any interest in messing with EQ, how does this compare with the revered RME ADI-2 DAC FS?

 

[Entropy]

How many people have had their Topping kit fail inside 2 years.

I'd imagine many owners of the l30 mk1 and practically all for the Pa5

 

[staticV3]

I guess the real question for some of us is this:

If I really don't have any interest in messing with EQ, how does this compare with the revered RME ADI-2 DAC FS?

The D70Pro has no built-in headphone Amp and lower max Line voltage. In return, you get Bluetooth input and 12V trigger.
Any sound differences are either caused by the comparator failing to match the oversampling filter and/or output voltage, or they're imagined.

 

[nonnyno]

I'd imagine many owners of the l30 mk1 and practically all for the Pa5

but the l30 mk 1 was an early model and the pa5 had issues. Have Topping not improved at all??

 

[PeteL]

Geeks want DNLA and TIDAL support, so no. But maybe Im asking to much .

I am not familiar with any DACs not compatible with Tidal?

 

[xaxxon]

Great dac.

Some mild criticism :
Why implementing bluetooth ? This protocol has nothing to do with high fidelity, - it would have been really great If there was DLNA , Wi-Fi and Airplay compability.

But I guess one cant have it all for this price.

bluetooth is a MUCH simpler protocol that doesn't need a fully functional general purpose computer to integrate. It's cheap and easy and convenient, so no reason not to.

Also, modern bluetooth is VERY high quality.

 

[staticV3]

I am not familiar with any DACs not compatible with Tidal?

virtually all DACs are compatible with Tidal, but only a small number of DACs support hardware MQA unfolding.

 

[TonyJZX]

i do think that Topping have improved their QC... however I wouldnt chance it with my $700

your $700? go right ahead

to me these devices are ephemeral... what happened to the D70 non pro? i am fully ok with "wasting money" on a SMSL SU1 or M300 which is only lunch money but $700???

ALSO the vast majority of these company's "core competancies" is NOT network streaming... once you add wifi and GbE then you got a whole new set of stuff to support and do you expect firmware support from them to be sufficient for the streaming crowd? doubtful

if you're after streaming get *anything* except from these guys... hell get into Pi and that sort of thing

 

[staticV3]

ALSO the vast majority of these company's "core competancies" is NOT network streaming... once you add wifi and GbE then you got a whole new set of stuff to support and do you expect firmware support from them to be sufficient for the streaming crowd? doubtful

if you're after streaming get *anything* except from these guys... hell get into Pi and that sort of thing

umm but the D70 Pro doesn't do Ethernet, nor WiFi.

 

[TonyJZX]

umm but the D70 Pro doesn't do Ethernet, nor WiFi.

yes i know that

i have adequate reading skills

people in on this very page ('pg5') are asking for network capability and i'm giving my reasoning for why this isnt a good idea for these companies... right now... maybe they will surprise us in the far future

 

[staticV3]

yes i know that

i have adequate reading skills

people in on this very page ('pg5') are asking for network capability and i'm giving my reasoning for why this isnt a good idea for these companies... right now... maybe they will surprise us in the far future

Ah I see. You were talking about a possible future where Topping gets into the streaming business.

 

[morillon]

can also simply integrate well-known linkplay oem...
;-)

 

[jensgk]

Well, MQA is basically bankrupt and TIDAL (as the only company using that format) does not seem to be willing to bail them out. TIDAL even announced that their High-Res tier will be available on with FLAC (see the corresponding discussions here on ASR). MQA RIP.

TIDAL does not have the money: https://gizmodo.com/jack-dorsey-block-tidal-jay-z-music-streaming-1850423469

 

[TonyJZX]

never count out a man who dresses and grooms himself like this

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,q_60,w_1315/60d61f05fdb29e4981ec7cbf7967e224.jpg

this goes beyond the scope of this review but i feel like at this point MQA hardware support cant hurt and its probably too late in the game for them... like if its 'free' in an $80 dac then who cares if its free in a $700 dac?

at this point who really cares if MQA fails or succeeds under Dorsey? especially here where people hate it... its not a selling point