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Topping D90 Balanced USB DAC Review

w1000i

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MQA would certainly sound good. But is it better? Is it worth the effort? Is it worth the modification done to the DAC signal chain?
It think like SMSL m500 it uses the xmos x216 chip to decode MQA before the dac
 

Theleb_Kaarna

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Well I returned my D70 for a full refund and ordered a D90 through Apos Audio a few days ago. It hadn't shipped yet, and I was starting to wonder, when I received this email:

This is CJ from the Support team @ Apos Audio.
Apos Audio is proactively monitoring updates on the Novel Coronavirus outbreak. And we have undertaken proactive and preventive measures to safeguard our employees in China. Their health and safety are our number one priority.
This includes keeping our Shenzhen Fulfillment Center in China closed until 2/10 to reduce the risk of virus exposure for our colleagues working in that facility.
Unfortunately, this means your order will not be fulfilled until 2/10.
We are grateful for your patience and understanding through this difficult time. As a token of appreciation, we'd like to issue a $70.00 refund for this delay. Or instead of the partial refund, if you prefer, we will donate that to groups on the ground in China that are helping support all of those affected.
In the meantime, feel free to let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.
Sincerely,
CJ


I very much appreciate Apos Audio, am very sympathetic to China and the rest of the world's plight and am more than fine with having to wait.
 

Theleb_Kaarna

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BDWoody

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Well I returned my D70 for a full refund and ordered a D90 through Apos Audio a few days ago. It hadn't shipped yet, and I was starting to wonder, when I received this email:

This is CJ from the Support team @ Apos Audio.
Apos Audio is proactively monitoring updates on the Novel Coronavirus outbreak. And we have undertaken proactive and preventive measures to safeguard our employees in China. Their health and safety are our number one priority.
This includes keeping our Shenzhen Fulfillment Center in China closed until 2/10 to reduce the risk of virus exposure for our colleagues working in that facility.
Unfortunately, this means your order will not be fulfilled until 2/10.
We are grateful for your patience and understanding through this difficult time. As a token of appreciation, we'd like to issue a $70.00 refund for this delay. Or instead of the partial refund, if you prefer, we will donate that to groups on the ground in China that are helping support all of those affected.
In the meantime, feel free to let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.
Sincerely,
CJ


I very much appreciate Apos Audio, am very sympathetic to China and the rest of the world's plight and am more than fine with having to wait.

Indeed...there's the indulgence of exploring the bleeding edge of audio reproduction, and then there's the real life horror show going on in other parts of the world. Thoughts with those directly impacted.
 

Gradius

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That's a bit too far. It's lossless if CD format is lossless. If MQA is lossy then CD is no better than lossy. It's all about reference.

"MQA is NOT lossless, the original signal is never recovered, estimate to recover at most 17bits (reduces the sampling rate), reduces the frequency range, SNR reduced by 3bit, aliasing with artifacts at 18kHz. MQA encoding filters manipulates drastically the original source."

Source: https://www.hifiplus.com/articles/highresaudio-to-stop-offering-mqa/

There you go, it's 17-bit at best.

More here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/8itd0z
 

JohnYang1997

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"MQA is NOT lossless, the original signal is never recovered, estimate to recover at most 17bits (reduces the sampling rate), reduces the frequency range, SNR reduced by 3bit, aliasing with artifacts at 18kHz. MQA encoding filters manipulates drastically the original source."

Source: https://www.hifiplus.com/articles/highresaudio-to-stop-offering-mqa/

There you go, it's 17-bit at best.

More here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/8itd0z
Then define lossless. Is CD quality lossless? Is 96/24 lossless? Is DxD lossless?
 

JohnYang1997

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If anyone continues to use 'lossless' or 'lossy' when talking about stuff higher than 44.1khz/16bit, one needs to redefine 'lossless' and 'lossy' first.
 

pozz

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If anyone continues to use 'lossless' or 'lossy' when talking about stuff higher than 44.1khz/16bit, one needs to redefine 'lossless' and 'lossy' first.
The issue here is about digital formats/containers, not sampling rate or bit depth. Lossless formats can be compressed and uncompressed without loss of data.
 

JohnYang1997

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The issue here is about digital formats/containers, not sampling rate or bit depth. Lossless formats can be compressed and uncompressed without loss of data.
MQA can be recovered to lossless CD quality. Yet I know it's lossily compressed from higher format.
The key point is him comparing MQA to mp3 which is misleading at best. Lossless 96/24 is better than MQA that is better than CD quality that is better than mp3.
 

Gradius

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JohnYang1997

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Nonono. Don't take this route. We all know MQA is a lossy compression from 96/24.
Is MQA better than CD? If so comparing MQA to mp3 is just misleading. MP3 is lossily compressed from CD or lower, MQA is lossily compressed from 96/24 and preserved all information of 44.1khz/16bit. The extra information is folded under the 16bits.

You never said MQA=mp3 but comparing mp3 to MQA is misleading. We crap MQA because it's unnecessary and the unrealistic claims. Not because it's lossy. It's still better than CD.

Or simpler you can't compare formats compressed from different sources.
 
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Nybto

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Easy, everyone (put the bold type down..). Message here is buying MQA you are a turkey voting for Christmas, or? I am in the market for a D90, I don’t want MQA - I don’t need it (three cheers for Qobuz), I want a built in power supply, I don’t want a volume knob, do want balanced out, I’ll have some velvet bullshit in the sound, only problem is I can’t quite justify the price (over the cost of my musically perfect KTB).. unless that affords 10 years of reliability, I wonder..
 

Masterxyr

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MY GOODNESS! I own the D70 and it is amazing, so I was looking forward to what Topping could improve on with the D90. It looks like they went for the Gold and they pretty much got it! God-tier performance at only $700! Subjectively, there is audibly no difference between the D70 and the D90, but fantastic engineering must be rewarded!

I also believe that companies sending Amir "golden units" is akin to conspiracy theory to me.

maybe, innocent until proven otherwise, though, Ferrari has done it in the past for example... but they're Italian hehe
 

Generic_Bug

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Hi All,

I just bought Topping D90 and I can't believe how good it sounds even with the Consumer-focused Sennheiser PXC 550 (Wired) headphones, connected to the insanely cheap Schiit's Magni Heresy Headphone Amp… This is my first purchase ever of a dedicated DAC and I am amazed by all the difference it makes… I just want to ask if any of you has any idea regarding a really good and quality amplifier to pair with my D90 … I was thinking that Schiit's Ragnarok with the option "Just An Amp" is a really good match-up but I would like advice… Also, I don't seem to understand if a dedicated Preamp like Schiit's Freya+ is going to help my sound setup get significantly better… Any help would be REALLY appreciated !
 

majingotan

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I was thinking that Schiit's Ragnarok with the option "Just An Amp" is a really good match-up but I would like advice… Also, I don't seem to understand if a dedicated Preamp like Schiit's Freya+ is going to help my sound setup get significantly better… Any help would be REALLY appreciated !

Save your money. Freya+ is an effect box while Ragnarok's amp performs far worse than Heresy and as such you would not be able to utilize D90's full performance. I'd recommend the Massdrop Linear amplifier THX 789 if you need balanced outputs instead
 

JohnYang1997

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Save your money. Freya+ is an effect box while Ragnarok's amp performs far worse than Heresy and as such you would not be able to utilize D90's full performance. I'd recommend the Massdrop Linear amplifier THX 789 if you need balanced outputs instead
Maybe he asked for a speaker amp.
 

majingotan

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