D90 is nowhere near the price of rme. I do not know what he was talking about.
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Topping D90 Balanced USB DAC Review
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iamoutdoors
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Nango
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RME is only one item on your desktop. Its amp is class-leading for earphones, and reference for headphones. Tons of other features, incl. r/c, on top.
D90 is $700 and DX7 is $600. Every next gen seems to have a $100 increase in price. Guess what's going to happen in the next few gens? When it reaches RME price
too soon to judge Theres just 1 question in my mind now, that is will Topping products built to last, for at least 10 years? Or show sign of failing after 2-3 years? The company itself is a rising dragon, I hope it wont fall because of QC
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Somewhere hidden in this image are clues to the measurements
H x W x D: 1.8 x 8.8 x 6.3 inches rounded up.
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Crazy_Nate
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Curious to see if there's a tweak coming to fix some of the minor issues. Looks excellent otherwise!
bequietjk
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In spite of the growth of the community and the staggering new measurements of all of these products and great engineers, I was wondering if there already exists a thread describing the technical and real world effects of each of the measurements posted here. Say, a reference and pinned thread describing what the multitone test actually does and how it can affect audio. The jitter test, THD, IMD. A description and breakdown of each of these tests for new enthusiasts looking to learn more and a grand reference point for all of us. Personally, I couldn't explain any of the tests to any of my friends even if I wanted to, and even telling them that a DAC that scores well in the J test and has a high SINAD doesn't give justice.
A MASTER Measurement Test Description thread.
Thank you, ASR and the community involved in making this an amazing reference for technology, engineering and music lovers alike!
A MASTER Measurement Test Description thread.
Thank you, ASR and the community involved in making this an amazing reference for technology, engineering and music lovers alike!
No. Because ak4499 is expensive and it took multiple iterations to make it right. And the performance lives up the performance. Have you found better performing dacs for lower price? Have you seen ak4499 implementation that perform nearly as good? I hope the answer is pretty obvious.D90 is $700 and DX7 is $600. Every next gen seems to have a $100 increase in price. Guess what's going to happen in the next few gens? When it reaches RME price
Theres just 1 question in my mind now, that is will Topping products built to last, for at least 10 years? Or show sign of failing after 2-3 years? The company itself is a rising dragon, I hope it wont fall because of QC
Also making more expensive products don't mean they won't make new mid range even budget range products in the future. It's just expanding the target range. There are many more to come. Many more.
Finally !!! I have been waiting for this review. Thanks, Amir! And thanks to WolfX and his excellent contributions as well. It's good to see the enthusiam and support for Amir's ASR creation growing steadily. This is an invaluable reference for many of us laymen.
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OP
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Actually, I just posted a much more updated and extensive version of the first link: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...derstanding-digital-audio-measurements.10523/
bequietjk
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Duly updated. TYVM.
maxxevv
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The main draw of the RME device over the D90 is the integrated nature of it. DAC + HP Amp + DSP. By that measure, I could just pit the DX7Pro against it too, by I digress with that.
But a D90 + SP200 still outperforms the RME for its main 2 functions and as is, still cheaper at full MSRP. The missing thing would be DSP. But that can be augmented in (some free) computer software too. Just not the convenient integrated experience of the RME.
And not forgetting that DAC and DSP functions get obsolete pretty fast in the grand scheme of electronics. So some may argue that its better to have separates that can be swapped out at lower cost in the long term ( 4~5 years).
Its a compromise both ways, not just cost in my opinion as the integrated experience may be important to some people, separate from costs/ value.
D90 is $700 and DX7 is $600. Every next gen seems to have a $100 increase in price. Guess what's going to happen in the next few gens? When it reaches RME price
[...]
But still DX7 Pro has a powerful headamp inside with both jack and XLR outputs for headphones and is a bit cheaper.
From a measurement perspective they're about the same and, of course, inaudible distortions for sure on both devices.
bequietjk
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Ummm I wouldn't be so sure @veeceem . I take RME as an extremely competent collaboration of people and to say that Topping could best them in the same price range would be quite a tall claim. I see what you're saying, and that Toppings advances have been insane. But, you must also consider how long the RME ADI-2 DAC has been at the top tier! And still is!
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