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Topping D90 Balanced USB DAC Review

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Wow, just got this in the mail today and I am definitely impressed. My headphones are easily the weak link in my setup now.
 

SpeleoFool

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Mentioned a few pages ago that I was going to copy the D90 + Monoprice 887 stack. Here's the result: :cool:
Stellia Stack Pt 2, January 2020.jpg
 
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Mind sharing what you are using? Cheers
Monolith 887 and D90, I've been trying out a lot of cheaper IEMs but haven't found anything I'm truly wowed by yet. Might just say the heck with it and get the Sony IER-Z1R, straight to the top like I should have done to begin with. I ordered the Monolith M350 IEMs but they sound too distant and too congested even using some Audeze IEM convolution filters (closest thing that I can think of since there isn't one available for those.) Gonna send them back. I don't really want to use any over-ear headphones, I don't like the feeling of them on my head even if they are super comfortable.
Yes this setup is really overkill for IEMs but, hey, why not?
I had ordered the Soncoz SGD1 but got one of the earlier revisions with the XLRs reversed so I returned it. IMO this sounds better, didn't A/B them at the same time or anything though. I was more wowed by this when I first hooked it up.
 

Ntrax

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Monolith 887 and D90, I've been trying out a lot of cheaper IEMs but haven't found anything I'm truly wowed by yet. Might just say the heck with it and get the Sony IER-Z1R, straight to the top like I should have done to begin with. I ordered the Monolith M350 IEMs but they sound too distant and too congested even using some Audeze IEM convolution filters (closest thing that I can think of since there isn't one available for those.) Gonna send them back. I don't really want to use any over-ear headphones, I don't like the feeling of them on my head even if they are super comfortable.
Yes this setup is really overkill for IEMs but, hey, why not?
I had ordered the Soncoz SGD1 but got one of the earlier revisions with the XLRs reversed so I returned it. IMO this sounds better, didn't A/B them at the same time or anything though. I was more wowed by this when I first hooked it up.
Doesnt matter if its overkill or not. Most important you feel the enjoyment while listening to it. If its sounds good...why not?!! hehe heard plenty good about the Z1R iems though. Its a versatile stack though. Pairing matters anyway.
 
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Doesnt matter if its overkill or not. Most important you feel the enjoyment while listening to it. If its sounds good...why not?!! hehe heard plenty good about the Z1R iems though. Its a versatile stack though. Pairing matters anyway.
For some reason my KZ ZS10 Pros are still my favorites. Minor EQ only, I like music that is very "in my face" as opposed to having a wide soundstage, I don't listen to much where an accurate soundstage is beneficial. I have some BQEYZ Spring1 that I think I blew the DD in the right IEM, whoops.

Other IEMs I've had are the Shuoer Tape, Tin P1, KZ ZSX, CCA C12, Blon BL-03.
Tape is just a shouty mess, no EQ will tame that.
P1 is beyond power hungry and just won't get as loud as I would like.
ZSX is technically superior to the ZS10 Pros but I like the bass impact of the ZS10 Pros better.
Blon BL-03 is very nice for a cheap single V-shaped DD but gets congested at higher volume.
Prefer the KZ tuning over the CCA's.
 
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Ntrax

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For some reason my KZ ZS10 Pros are still my favorites. Minor EQ only, I like music that is very "in my face" as opposed to having a wide soundstage, I don't listen to much where an accurate soundstage is beneficial. I have some BQEYZ Spring1 that I think I blew the DD in the right IEM, whoops.

Other IEMs I've had are the Shuoer Tape, Tin P1, KZ ZSX, CCA C12, Blon BL-03.
Tape is just a shouty mess, no EQ will tame that.
P1 is beyond power hungry and just won't get as loud as I would like.
ZSX is technically superior to the ZS10 Pros but I like the bass impact of the ZS10 Pros better.
Blon BL-03 is very nice for a cheap single V-shaped DD but gets congested at higher volume.
Prefer the KZ tuning over the CCA's.
Then i assume the P1 will do super great on the 887 and D90 stack..
 
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Then i assume the P1 will do super great on the 887 and D90 stack..
Even though they did get sort of loud it started to get congested as well.
For a lot of my lower volume videos the 887 and either my Grace SDAC Balanced or Topping D50s just didn't get loud enough, even on Gain 3.
It's ridiculous how much that set could take and still leave me wanting, they're more power hungry than my 600 ohm DT880s.

The ZS10 Pros are loud enough for everything on Gain 1 with the D90, I used to have to go up to Gain 2 for some things with at least the D50s.
 

JohnYang1997

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Even though they did get sort of loud it started to get congested as well.
For a lot of my lower volume videos the 887 and either my Grace SDAC Balanced or Topping D50s just didn't get loud enough, even on Gain 3.
It's ridiculous how much that set could take and still leave me wanting, they're more power hungry than my 600 ohm DT880s.

The ZS10 Pros are loud enough for everything on Gain 1 with the D90, I used to have to go up to Gain 2 for some things with at least the D50s.
Are you already at max volume on 887? If not then don't worry, unless you are maxing it out, gain is basically meaning. Well, if you are maxing out the volume, i suggest to turn it up digitally instead of asking for more analogue gain.
 
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Are you already at max volume on 887? If not then don't worry, unless you are maxing it out, gain is basically meaning. Well, if you are maxing out the volume, i suggest to turn it up digitally instead of asking for more analogue gain.
I leave the 887 on max volume and run the D90 in DAC mode, adjust volume on PC, I'll only up the gain a level if needed.
 
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For the Tin P1, I was giving it everything I had, although I didn't have the D90 at that time. Max volume on the amp, gain 3, max global volume on PC, max volume in MPC-HC with normalization off, no boost. Bluray rips are typically a bit louder than the web rips I watch so they weren't quite as bad.
 

Ntrax

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For the Tin P1, I was giving it everything I had, although I didn't have the D90 at that time. Max volume on the amp, gain 3, max global volume on PC, max volume in MPC-HC with normalization off, no boost.
Seems like you went for RCA instead of XLR....the 887 RCA is very weak. Because is design for XLR.
 
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Seems like you went for RCA instead of XLR....the 887 RCA is very weak. Because is design for XLR.
Don't remember if I was using the Grace SDAC-B or the Topping D50s at the time, so it may have been via RCA.
Either way it was still ridiculous compared to everything else I had tried up to then.
 

JohnYang1997

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Seems like you went for RCA instead of XLR....the 887 RCA is very weak. Because is design for XLR.
XLR input usually gives extra +6db voltage gain. It doesn't mean it's weak. And yes for his situation XLR would certainly help that's for sure.
 
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