Topping D90 Balanced USB DAC Review

[BDWoody]

The sound will be much better.

Mmm...not so much.

 

[BDWoody]

I will need a preamplifier. The question is which pre will not ruin the sound?

You are fine with what you have. Learn to ignore loud claims with zero support beyond what their wives heard from the kitchen...

This is useless nonsense.

 

[Pluto]

Your nonsense only says that you read decimal places in advertising characteristics

If you say so.

 

[AudioQuality777]

Mmm...not so much.

If the difference is obedient it is already a lot. Who will know that it is possible to improve the sound, intentionally do not.

 

[BDWoody]

If the difference is obedient it is already a lot. Who will know that it is possible to improve the sound, intentionally do not.

I have no idea what that means.

 

[Veri]

If it’s not possible to use an external preamplifier, it is not necessary to turn on the DAC mode, but if you can ever try the external preamplifier, the sound is incomparably better. Even the inexpensive Emotive

Don’t deceive music lovers. Your nonsense only says that you read decimal places in advertising characteristics. But you don’t know how to listen to music and trust your perception of music.

Sooo as always. Anything to back that up? You are proudly exclaiming these things yet you having nothing but your experience/anecdote, we can't take that as a truth. Nothing in this review, or on the forum (audiosciencereview) shows that the pre-amp mode should be disabled for optimal sound.

You are just grasping at straws. Please don't proclaim what you think or believe, personally, as facts.

 

[Thomas savage]

Don’t deceive music lovers. Your nonsense only says that you read decimal places in advertising characteristics. But you don’t know how to listen to music and trust your perception of music.

No thanks tar, no one here has any time for this kind of response.

If you want to carry on posting here you will have to cut this out

 

[BDWoody]

You are a well-known Troll on the forum. Everyone knows that.

More of a smart-ass...that's different.

 

[Thomas savage]

[QUOTE="AudioQuality777, post: 374111, member: 1777"]You are a well-known Troll on the forum. Everyone knows that.[/QUOTE]
@AudioQuality777
Consider this a official warning, iv no time for this.

next moves a ban if you continue in this way.

 

[Thomas savage]

More of a ass...that's different.

Fify

 

[BDWoody]

Fify

Not the first, not the last.

 

[Thomas savage]

@AudioQuality777 can you please stop reporting posts in this thread.

It's only you who are causing a issue here .

 

[Zmix]

It appears that the MQA version is now available:

https://hifigo.com/products/topping...t-768khz-pre-amplifier?variant=31763579174961


Who wants to sell me their non-MQA D90...? I'm ready to buy..!

 

[nugget]

Who wants to sell me their non-MQA D90...? I'm ready to buy..!

Motivated non-seller here. I love my D90 and have zero use for an MQA version.

 

[mocenigo]

Don't get anxious. Unless you have to operate your volume control at -40dB or lower, its effect on the sound quality is minimal.

This is another typical audiophile obsession that is totally disconnected from reality.

TBH the typical audiophile obsession regarding preamps is that one NEEDS a preamp in any case, otherwise the system won't sound well. That's the success of products like FM Acoustics FM255: it adds a barely audible warmth just to the mid range (a dab of H2?) and not to treble or bass. You spend a ridiculous amount of money to get a transparent circuit (which used to be a technological feat, but less so today – still, products like Neurochrome's Universal Buffer are a rarity) to which some distortion is added. I could do that in SW to PCM (one of the many reasons DSD as a format is just audiophile madness) and get the same result.

 

[barrows]

DSD is not audio madness, there are real audio benefits to DSD, which apparently you have not investigated. Perhaps you might like to investigate such before making such inaccurate statements, this is OT here (accept for the fact that the D-90 allows for Direct DSD mode, which IME with the D-90 allows for its best possible sound quality).
There are downsides to DSD as well of course (no free lunch applies here), such as the inability to edit it in its native state.

There often appear to be a lot of blanket statements made at these forums which do not apply actual science-I would love to see an actual scientific discussion of DSD recording (A/D) and playback (D/A), without prejudice, on these forums.

BTW, also note that the best measuring D/A converter Amir has tested (Mola Mola Tambaqui) uses a single bit DSD converter in its final stage-there is good reason for this, and for the excellent measurements.

 

[bennetng]

BTW, also note that the best measuring D/A converter Amir has tested (Mola Mola Tambaqui) uses a single bit DSD converter in its final stage-there is good reason for this, and for the excellent measurements.

May be useful to quote what Bruno actually said:

There are only two cases where the internal format coincides with an existing audio format. On one extreme are R2R DACs that directly convert the PCM data you feed them by controlling 24 switchable current sources, each of which has half the current of the previous one. On the other extreme sit 1-bit converters that switch a single current or voltage source but at a high sampling rate. Both these extremes have limitations and the most common choice these days is a kind of compromise. They use a small number of bits (typically 5) that are used to control 32 (2^5) current sources with nominally equal currents, plus some trick to make the conversion minimally sensitive to any imbalances in those currents. The Tambaqui sits more or less in this camp: the PWM signal has a switching frequency of 3.125MHz, and can take 33 discrete lengths from 0*10ns to 32*10ns. So it's basically a 5-bit, 3.125MHz converter. The choice for PWM was given by the need to get rid of those idle tones I mentioned.

 

[maverickronin]

DSD is a solution in search of a problem...

 

[boXem]

DSD is not audio madness, there are real audio benefits to DSD, which apparently you have not investigated. Perhaps you might like to investigate such before making such inaccurate statements, this is OT here (accept for the fact that the D-90 allows for Direct DSD mode, which IME with the D-90 allows for its best possible sound quality).
There are downsides to DSD as well of course (no free lunch applies here), such as the inability to edit it in its native state.

There often appear to be a lot of blanket statements made at these forums which do not apply actual science-I would love to see an actual scientific discussion of DSD recording (A/D) and playback (D/A), without prejudice, on these forums.

BTW, also note that the best measuring D/A converter Amir has tested (Mola Mola Tambaqui) uses a single bit DSD converter in its final stage-there is good reason for this, and for the excellent measurements.

One inherent weakness of the DSD format is that it cannot be properly dithered. So it's a non linear encoding by definition. Non need to go further.

Tambaqui uses PWM (pulse wide modulation), DSD is PDM (pulse density modulation). Not the same thing.

 

[jtwrace]

I sure do love the Tambaqui.