Topping D90 Balanced USB DAC Review

[EchoChamber]

Searching for "kaiboer" on AliExpress you can find them with descriptions in English as well

Would anyone be able to translate these specs? Especially the second and third row. I couldn’t find the full specs translated on the AliExpress page...

 

[EchoChamber]

i still confused buy kaiboer 0,25m or buy mogami gold 0,9m (shortest)
the mogami price maybe more expensive than kaiboer, in china marketplace kaiboer is the best selling for their xlr but in aliexpress no one buy
If you were me, which one would you buy? especially for the lenght of the cables 0,25 vs 0,9

I’d go Mogami or Canare, these are pro audio references. The Kaiboer cable looks a bit stiff and I don’t think the triple shielding is really necessary, especially being a star quad.

 

[burma]

Thanks for the update! I just updated the firmware of my D90 MQA and I now see 32 bit support! It worked fine on Catalina 10.15.5, no issues there, I just had to browse back to the downloaded folder to find the .bin for the installer.

View attachment 71622

Just out of curiosity, how did this look before firmware 1.24? Did it show 16bit and 24bit? Just strange it's not showing 16bit now.

 

[EchoChamber]

Just out of curiosity, how did this look before firmware 1.24? Did it show 16bit and 24bit? Just strange it's not showing 16bit now.

Yes it did show 16 and 24 bit. It doesn’t affect the functionality or sound quality as far as I can tell though. With version 1.24, when playing MQA or outputting DSD from Roon, it will auto switch to 24 bit. Everything else will stay on 32 bit.

 

[fendy323]

I’d go Mogami or Canare, these are pro audio references. The Kaiboer cable looks a bit stiff and I don’t think the triple shielding is really necessary, especially being a star quad.

mogami 2549 vs 2534 which one sir?
i found a seller sell both of them

 

[mocenigo]

mogami 2549 vs 2534 which one sir?
i found a seller sell both of them

the star quad one, 2534

 

[Dclone]

i have a simple question guys.. i dont know how to enable * dac mode * in the manual , these is preamp mode and dacmode , ( line out mode settings) i have a * line out* button on the controller but when i press it it does nothing , and on the manual it says * invalid button * for that button .. how do i activate dac mode? thx apart from that , i must say i absolutly love it , had the dacmagic100 before and it was kind of harsh , now its smoother and yet more detailed in a way already liked my hd800s but now i LOVE them , feels good to listen to the music instead of the sound now.

Switch off power Burton on backside. Switch on while holding in left button on front. Release left button. Nos You are in the menu and can do a lot of changes. Don’t fortet to save and exit!

 

[Dclone]

so basiclly just buy xlr cable any lenght?
and shielded is better?
can you share 1 picture/link for shielded cable sir ?

click here this one shielded or no ya?

I am on vacation right now. Far from home. But the cables i use is of a Swedish brand named Supra. I use their cable serie named Lo Rad. I must have shielded cables because I have no way to totally separate source/signal cables from Powercables.

 

[Dclone]

so basiclly just buy xlr cable any lenght?
and shielded is better?
can you share 1 picture/link for shielded cable sir ?

click here this one shielded or no ya?

Sorry. I do not understand one single sign or word in the link. I do not speak or read chinese. Have answered Your question in another post. I am away from home. On vacation. But shielded cables are very, very important for sound quality in MY system in MY environment. Everyone might not need shielded cables but I do. Supra is a cheap good quality brand in MY opinion. (Caps are for pointing out that it is my experiences in my system).

 

[fendy323]

the star quad one, 2534

i read so many post but they said 2534 hold the hi freq and 2549 is more clear ?

 

[EchoChamber]

i read so many post but they said 2534 hold the hi freq and 2549 is more clear ?

Buy them both and see which one you like best. Star quad geometry will provide better noise rejection. In my experience, sonic differences between well designed cables are minimal. You might have a hard time telling them appart.

 

[burma]

Yes it did show 16 and 24 bit. It doesn’t affect the functionality or sound quality as far as I can tell though. When playing MQA or our outing DSD from Roon, it will switch to 24 bit. Everything else will stay on 32 bit.

I emailed support, and they had this to say.

"Since only two formats can be set, we choose the higher 24 bit and 32 bit. Due to the limitation of support provided by the hardware, whatever Operation System you used，you will get the same result for D90 standard version and MQA version. "

 

[burma]

You can't even call padding 'conversion'. It is simply putting a 16 bit integer into a 24 bit integer. It is just easier for a computer to work with.
It is still a 16 bit value put in a 24 bit integer. No quality loss, no quality gain.

Your other question:

This is how the D90 device properties look on Windows:

View attachment 71741

So yes, here it shows 16 bit options.

So I emailed support, and they said the below, which doesn't make sense when I see your screenshot, so I emailed them back but haven't heard yet. It's also interesting that you only have up to 384000Hz and not up to and including 768000Hz in all modes.

"Since only two formats can be set, we choose the higher 24 bit and 32 bit. Due to the limitation of support provided by the hardware, whatever Operation System you used，you will get the same result for D90 standard version and MQA version."

 

[fendy323]

Buy them both and see which one you like best. Star quad geometry will provide better noise rejection. In my experience, sonic differences between well designed cables are minimal. You might have a hard time telling them appart.

so if you were me which one would you buy?

mogami 2549 vs 2534 ?

 

[AndyLu]

So I emailed support, and they said the below, which doesn't make sense when I see your screenshot, so I emailed them back but haven't heard yet. It's also interesting that you only have up to 384000Hz and not up to and including 768000Hz in all modes.

"Since only two formats can be set, we choose the higher 24 bit and 32 bit. Due to the limitation of support provided by the hardware, whatever Operation System you used，you will get the same result for D90 standard version and MQA version."

The screenshot I showed you was the properties of the Topping D90 in the WASAPI settings of Windows. Maybe Windows adds those 16 bits entries as a default? I don't know. It can be an OS thing. But as I said... who cares? Because the DAC does not handle 16 bits natively anyway. The end result is the same.

 

[Veri]

The screenshot I showed you was the properties of the Topping D90 in the WASAPI settings of Windows. Maybe Windows adds those 16 bits entries as a default? I don't know. It can be an OS thing. But as I said... who cares? Because the DAC does not handle 16 bits natively anyway. The end result is the same.

Exactly. Why you need 16-bit??

 

[burma]

Exactly. Why you need 16-bit??

I was simply curious as to why it shows this way, that's all. Could have been a bug, maybe not, who knows what else. Like why didn't the MQA version have 32bit until now? So it's good to be curious.

On another note, I would argue for listening all you need IS 16bit

 

[burma]

The screenshot I showed you was the properties of the Topping D90 in the WASAPI settings of Windows. Maybe Windows adds those 16 bits entries as a default? I don't know. It can be an OS thing. But as I said... who cares? Because the DAC does not handle 16 bits natively anyway. The end result is the same.

I care I see people fretting over USB cables, and I say, "Who cares?", but to each his own of course. Where does it say that the DAC doesn't handle 16bits natively?

 

[AndyLu]

I care I see people fretting over USB cables, and I say, "Who cares?", but to each his own of course. Where does it say that the DAC doesn't handle 16bits natively?

If you put a 16 bit number 10 in a 24 bit integer the result will also be 10. It will stay bit perfect. A 16 bit number or a 24 bit number or a 32 bit number is only a container to put values in. If you put number 10 from a 16 bit container into a 24 bit or 32 bit container it still will be number 10. Any modern DAC (including the D90) nowadays operates natively in 24 or 32 bits (because the processors are designed to handle 24 and 32 bits also). But if you put a 16 bits number into it, it still will be the same number. Again, in other words: it will stay bit perfect.
That is why I don't care , because there is nothing to care.

It is like putting something in a slightly oversized box. The thing in the box will stay exactly the same even if the box is bigger. The D90 is a 'bigger box' because it can handle values bigger than will fit in 16 bits also.

 

[EchoChamber]

so if you were me which one would you buy?

mogami 2549 vs 2534 ?

Let me try to summarize all my posts in this thread regarding cables so far below:
(these are my preferences today, as I write this post, based on experimentation and my subjective observations - not all are backed by science or data)

XLR vs RCA => XLR (balanced)
Length of cable => shortest possible for the task at hand
Shielded vs unshielded => shielded
Cable capacitance => lowest available
Cable geometry => star quad
Pro cable brands in order of preference:
(I only use those for XLR connections and DIY headphone cables, I use Supra Cables in other parts of my systems)
1- Van Damme
2- Canare
3- Mogami (I haven't had Mogami cable in my system in a long time)

If I were you, I'd get this:
Van Damme Starquad Microphone Cable, part number 101-072-001RP - look for a distributor in your country. In the US, you can order here.

If I lived in a world that only had Mogami cable available, then I'd go for an assembled XLR cable using their star quad microphone cable, the Neglex No. W2534.