Possibly helpful for those in the market:
As a D70s owner myself, I'll post what I found were useful, albeit subjective comparisons. Per a couple of other reviewers/users from Soundnews/Amazon, they wrote as follows (for anyone else who are trying to decide a good option for them):
1. per SOUNDNEWS:
Thank you for the insightful review Sandu! How would you compare this (referring to SMSL VMV D1SE) to the Topping D70S?
Sandu V. Mod
Jonathan •
4 months ago
Hey Jonathan,
D70S is still
smoother, mellower and gentler sounding, making it ultimately more "musical" in a way. It's also slower and lighter on its feet. Its doesn't deliver as much bass energy down low and I don't find it as engaging.
For heavy instrumental music (classical, blues and jazz) D70S might be a better option, otherwise I would go with D1SE as a better all-around unit. Plus, its sound color options make a substantial difference and you can tune it to your liking.
2. Top reviews from the United States
SirEliah
5.0 out of 5 stars Jack of All Trades - Master of Some.
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2022
Verified Purchase
Outstanding DAC, the hype about this DAC is real. Under a thousand dollars, I think only the Denafrips Ares II, the Topping D70s, and the Schiit Bifrost 2 are on equal footing in terms of value per dollar spent. Compared to the D1SE, the aforementioned DACs aren't better, they're just different. Others have called the D1SE a great 'allrounder' of a DAC, and I would agree - it does everything right, and some things are outright great; it may not be the obvious leader in every segment of performance, but it doesn't have any faults or weaknesses.
A quick comparison:
Denafrips Ares II: Best
natural timbre, almost perfectly
realistic rendering of acoustic instruments.
Topping D70s
: Huge soundstage with great detail and dynamics, all of it
very smooth without glare.
Schiit Bifrsot 2: Big Boom-Boom sound, huge dynamics and grunt without any harshness.
VMV D1SE: A bit of all of the above, without any obvious shortcomings.
Huge plus: 10 Customizable sound profiles, which add either even, odd or both order harmonics across 3 different levels.
This may help others when buying a unit, be it new/refurb or used. If not for my D70s purchase (and I am happy with it), the SMSL could be an option. Only issue I had with other SMSL/Loxjie models is they couldn't make a solid optical connection as the plug did not fit securely and it kept falling out and other users appeared to have more QC issues with SMSL in the past. Didn't inspire confidence at the time but perhaps thise issues were dealt with.
As to the Topping E50, it gives you alot when compared to the above and depending on your speakers/amp/ears, you may not experience a material difference in SQ. I came from a Lavaudio DS600 which performed very nicely in my system and jumping up several hundred dollars I experienced more/less marginal improvements in the categories I pay attention to given my equipment and listening levels. With better equipment and louder listening and room treatment, the differences will likely be more noticeable. If you listen to more budget equipment and lower /moderate levels, the SQ differences may not be as evident. With the E50, one could improve the SQ by adding a better power supply (perhaps). If you don't need XLR or I2s the E50 is a fine dac and inexpensive, plus it has a matching headphone amp if that's your thing.
I choose the D70s at the time for price (sale), performance and maximum flexibility should I need/act upon it. It matches my amp size-wise well enough and the two work well together (synergy).
Hope this helps.