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Topping D90 Balanced USB DAC Review

eXlero

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Any good headphone amp...
To be cohesive with this SOTA performance: Massdrop THX 789, SMSL SP200, Monoprice 887, Geshelli Archel 2, Tom Christiansen Audio HPA-1, Schiit Magni Heresy (strangely, the best value performance/power/price here).

my THX 789 has just arrived (to drive my LCD2F), so I'll probably replace my current Matrix Mini-i Pro 2S with the Topping D90, but gonna wait for the MQA version, since I consume music 99% from Tidal HiFi.
 

eXlero

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there will be a mqa Version of the D90?

1577384673299.png
 

da Choge

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my THX 789 has just arrived (to drive my LCD2F), so I'll probably replace my current Matrix Mini-i Pro 2S with the Topping D90, but gonna wait for the MQA version, since I consume music 99% from Tidal HiFi.
Obviousy, no one knows how much at this point, but the D90 MQA version is surely going to cost more than the standard one they have released as of now. How much more would you be willing to spend; $100, $150, $200+? Probably not worth it to me since I use Roon and it can do both the MQA Decode (first unfold) and the Rendering, but it might be nice to have the capability if not overly expensive. That said, I know there are a lot of nonbelievers regarding MQA, but others seem to love it. For Tidal-intensive users, it may make sense if your part of that second group.

- john
 
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majingotan

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MQA version would be at least ~$1000 range.

MQA = satanic, no thanks.

Crazy rip off BS. Tidal has software MQA unfolding built-in for 0.00 USD
 

Gradius

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Crazy rip off BS. Tidal has software MQA unfolding built-in for 0.00 USD

Well, I know, but maninthehighcastle wants MQA @ HW level.

And the price is always $200~$300 more. The unit is already $700 w/o MQA. See why they are satanic? (lol)

And software is limited btw. Only the HW can "unlock" the mqa "hi-res". I don't like and support them, for a number of facts.
 

chasefrench

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Well, I know, but maninthehighcastle wants MQA @ HW level.

And the price is always $200~$300 more. The unit is already $700 w/o MQA. See why they are satanic? (lol)

And software is limited btw. Only the HW can "unlock" the mqa "hi-res". I don't like and support them, for a number of facts.

It is not true that full mqa functionality must cost 200-300 usd more.

Take the SMSL 500 for example, 400 usd for a excellent dac and headphone amp. Its performance is similar to the D50 which costs the same.

I just purchased this on kickstarter, they charge 10 usd more for the mqa version

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andyho/ztella-integrated-usb-dac-cable

I'm interested to hear why people don't like MQA?
 

Gradius

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It is not true that full mqa functionality must cost 200-300 usd more.

Take the SMSL 500 for example, 400 usd for a excellent dac and headphone amp. Its performance is similar to the D50 which costs the same.

I just purchased this on kickstarter, they charge 10 usd more for the mqa version

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andyho/ztella-integrated-usb-dac-cable

I'm interested to hear why people don't like MQA?

WHY they charge you $10 if the unit ALREADY support MQA out the box ????

Why mqa sucks? Some FEW motives:

- Is LOSSY like mp3;
- Is CLOSE/SECRET format;
- Is too expensive for a LOSSY one;
- They limit you if you use software decoding, instead you NEED to use hardware one to have it "all";
- Yet another dumb format we DON'T need it !

Why another format? We already have the wonderful FLAC for years (18 years now), totally open, trully lossless, support 32-bit @ 384kHz (and even beyond, plus multichannel capable), and all that for FREE ! And very well accepted in the industry now.

But anyway, I'm a DSD lover.

PS: about $200~300 more, sorry it's true.
 

chasefrench

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I presume the 10 USD is a licensing fee which plays into your argument.

I have a 3,000 strong FLAC collection but found huge variability in sound quality. Using accurate RIP, some cds sounded great, some awful. This was frustrating.

Tidal sounds far superior to my own collection, and by using tidal / mqa, I have one less audio problem to think about it, I don't think I care whether its MQA or DSD!

However, as we know historically, formats tend to win when there is a commercial incentive to grow them which exists for MQA. They have created a single certification which makes it far easier to unify recording companies and the market. Masters Quality Authentication is also far more marketable to normal consumers than Direct Stream Digital.

At the end of the day, Tidal won me over with its consistency in spite of its commercial nature and that its ~99% as good as DSD / FLAC.
 

majingotan

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Eirikur

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I'm interested to hear why people don't like MQA?
There's a 68 page thread on the subject, if you don't mind sacrificing your weekend reading through it ;)
Search for MQA in topic titles for more information here, you'll find that search works very well on ASR!

I'm happy to see that the D90 has a non-MQA version, assuming its also cheaper this is a very proper approach to let us consumers choose rather than forcing in (useless IMO) new formats.
 

PaulD

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I'm interested to hear why people don't like MQA?
MQA has been done to death, if you want to know why it's rubbish please look at the already quoted posts, which includes the following 2 pertinent items:
https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/163302855-is-mqa-doa
http://archimago.blogspot.com/2017/10/mqa-final-final-comment-simply-put-why.html#more

Properly conducted blind tests have shown that there is no audible advantage to MQA, and there are several technical disadvantages over commonly available 24/96 PCM.
 

Wombat

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It is not true that full mqa functionality must cost 200-300 usd more.

Take the SMSL 500 for example, 400 usd for a excellent dac and headphone amp. Its performance is similar to the D50 which costs the same.

I just purchased this on kickstarter, they charge 10 usd more for the mqa version

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andyho/ztella-integrated-usb-dac-cable

I'm interested to hear why people don't like MQA?


With current cheap internet bandwidth there is no technical justification for it.

The content owners use it as a buffer to protect their HD master copies, the audio definition of which most users kid themselves that they need.
 

eXlero

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WHY they charge you $10 if the unit ALREADY support MQA out the box ????

Why mqa sucks? Some FEW motives:

- Is LOSSY like mp3;
- Is CLOSE/SECRET format;
- Is too expensive for a LOSSY one;
- They limit you if you use software decoding, instead you NEED to use hardware one to have it "all";
- Yet another dumb format we DON'T need it !

Why another format? We already have the wonderful FLAC for years (18 years now), totally open, trully lossless, support 32-bit @ 384kHz (and even beyond, plus multichannel capable), and all that for FREE ! And very well accepted in the industry now.

But anyway, I'm a DSD lover.

PS: about $200~300 more, sorry it's true.

i would pay tops 50-100 bucks more for the MQA version. if it will be this much more (200-300), then I'll go for the non-MQA.
 

Category 5

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Hmm. Is there really an advantage to this over the DX7 Pro though? I use mine in pure DAC mode anyway, but this would have to be less expensive to justify essentially the same performance, without a headphone amp, even if it might not be the best amp for every set of phones.
 

slingshot

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My D90 is suppose to ship today. I would prefer MQA. I have heard it on my Pro-ject S2 and I would pay extra but I did not want to wait.
 
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