Topping D90 Balanced USB DAC Review

[AndyLu]

I figured it out - I had to enable DoP in settings as you said, but I can only do that before the app plays any songs, because even when a song is stopped, the options are greyed out. So I had to do it first thing on startup.

Where was the "Direct Mode" option? It still bypasses Core Audio, as it seems to be sending bitperfect to my DAC, otherwise the sampling rate wouldn't change song to song as necessary. It also hogs the audio output and shows Integer mode - see image below. How can you tell it doesn't have "Direct Mode" anymore, functionality wise?

View attachment 74024

It is normal behaviour of Audirvana that you can only change the sound settings if a song is not playing. You don't have to do it before the app plays any songs. You can simply stop a song while playing and than you can change the sound settings too.

Since I use Windows I can't answer your question about direct mode.

 

[burma]

It is normal behaviour of Audirvana that you can only change the sound settings if a song is not playing. You don't have to do it before the app plays any songs. You can simply stop a song while playing and than you can change the sound settings too.

Since I use Windows I can't answer your question about direct mode.

No, that was my issue. I cannot change it if a song is stopped - not those options anyway. Some, like those are greyed out. I guess it's like stopped, but not really stopped. Like in iTunes for example. I have to hit Control . to get it to full stop and reset. Perhaps it's the same here.

 

[Χ Ξ Σ]

I figured it out - I had to enable DoP in settings as you said, but I can only do that before the app plays any songs, because even when a song is stopped, the options are greyed out. So I had to do it first thing on startup.

Where was the "Direct Mode" option? It still bypasses Core Audio, as it seems to be sending bitperfect to my DAC, otherwise the sampling rate wouldn't change song to song as necessary. It also hogs the audio output and shows Integer mode - see image below. How can you tell it doesn't have "Direct Mode" anymore, functionality wise?

View attachment 74024

You can only change audio settings when you hit the square bottom to stop the playback. It will read "stopping audio device". This is different from pausing a song. The same rule applies to Audio Unit effects--I mention this because that is where a whole bunch of EQ options is located in case you have not tried them.
I was just using Direct Mode as an example of how Audirvana has changed over the years. Direct Mode had been an option until macOS Mojave no longer supported it. I remember I used to follow a tutorial and replace the lasted Mojave audio extension to the latest El Capitan just so that I could use Direct Mode. I hear absolutely no sonic difference, but I enjoyed tweaking with the system. Later I no longer cared about how Audirvana integrates with macOS and moved on to tweaking the EQs in Audio Unit effects. That is when I actually started hearing sonic differences.

 

[burma]

You can only change audio settings when you hit the square bottom to stop the playback. It will read "stopping audio device". This is different from pausing a song. The same rule applies to Audio Unit effects--I mention this because that is where a whole bunch of EQ options is located in case you have not tried them.
I was just using Direct Mode as an example of how Audirvana has changed over the years. Direct Mode had been an option until macOS Mojave no longer supported it. I remember I used to follow a tutorial and replace the lasted Mojave audio extension to the latest El Capitan just so that I could use Direct Mode. I hear absolutely no sonic difference, but I enjoyed tweaking with the system. Later I no longer cared about how Audirvana integrates with macOS and moved on to tweaking the EQs in Audio Unit effects. That is when I actually started hearing sonic differences.

But what exactly did Direct Mode do? I thought "direct mode" is what I was describing - bypassing Core Audio, hogging the audio, integer mode, etc. What was it supposed to be doing?

I don't want to mess with the AU effects. Of course you will notice sonic differences if you are EQing! I want to hear it as it is.

 

[Χ Ξ Σ]

But what exactly did Direct Mode do? I thought "direct mode" is what I was describing - bypassing Core Audio, hogging the audio, integer mode, etc. What was it supposed to be doing?

I don't want to mess with the AU effects. Of course you will notice sonic differences if you are EQing! I want to hear it as it is.

Just read this and this about Direct Mode. A quote from the second link, "Direct Mode is essentially a custom "audiophile" driver Damien coded to take the place of the OS X Core Audio driver."
My understanding is that Audirvana is no longer able to bypass Core Audio. Do you see a "Large Core Audio I/O buffer" option under "Integer Mode", and you might have turned it on? That should give it away.

 

[burma]

Just read this and this about Direct Mode. A quote from the second link, "Direct Mode is essentially a custom "audiophile" driver Damien coded to take the place of the OS X Core Audio driver."
My understanding is that Audirvana is no longer able to bypass Core Audio. Do you see a "Large Core Audio I/O buffer" option under "Integer Mode", and you might have turned it on? That should give it away.

Hmm - it's a tad confusing, all the options past and present. I have to read more about all the options and what they mean - right now I'm on the defaults, which had "Exclusive Access" and "Integer Mode" ON, so that's why I assumed it was somehow bypassing Core Audio. I just set "Large Core Audio I/O buffer" to ON (it was OFF by default) because I searched and Damian said it's best to have it ON (then why isn't it ON by default?). See below screenshot.

I guess programs like this will need to keep on changing as macOS changes, no way around that. Right now I'm trying it for the 30 free days. I use it for Qobuz and for my iTunes library of ALAC files from my imported CDs. Seems nice, but all these options seem a bit much. I just want a simple program that works. I'm not sure what Qobuz itself does that would make it sound worse. For iTunes I can also use Bitperfect on its own. Just playing now, not sure what's ideal TBH.

 

[AndyLu]

Hmm - it's a tad confusing, all the options past and present. I have to read more about all the options and what they mean - right now I'm on the defaults, which had "Exclusive Access" and "Integer Mode" ON, so that's why I assumed it was somehow bypassing Core Audio. I just set "Large Core Audio I/O buffer" to ON (it was OFF by default) because I searched and Damian said it's best to have it ON (then why isn't it ON by default?). See below screenshot.

I guess programs like this will need to keep on changing as macOS changes, no way around that. Right now I'm trying it for the 30 free days. I use it for Qobuz and for my iTunes library of ALAC files from my imported CDs. Seems nice, but all these options seem a bit much. I just want a simple program that works. I'm not sure what Qobuz itself does that would make it sound worse. For iTunes I can also use Bitperfect on its own. Just playing now, not sure what's ideal TBH.

View attachment 74089

In my experience Audirvana is one of the easiest and most user friendly programs to use. Other programs like JRiver, Foobar2000, HQPlayer etc. etc. are much more complicated and cluttered in their settings (but often have much more possibilities too). Every audio player which can use external DACS has at least the same settings as Audirvana, because you simply need them. I don't know what experience you have with other programs than Audirvana. If you don't, try them as well and you see what I mean.

 

[burma]

In my experience Audirvana is one of the easiest and most user friendly programs to use. Other programs like JRiver, Foobar2000, HQPlayer etc. etc. are much more complicated and cluttered in their settings (but often have much more possibilities too). Every audio player which can use external DACS has at least the same settings as Audirvana, because you simply need them. I don't know what experience you have with other programs than Audirvana. If you don't, try them as well and you see what I mean.

Yes I know it's one of the simpler ones. I guess I would like something even simpler, or something better documented. I read up on their website, and it's still not clear what many of the options really do, other than "they are better ON" or "try and see". A lot of try this and that, and tinker with this and that, and see what sounds better. Should be more objective. For example, how are Tidal or Qobuz played through Audirvana better than using the standalone apps? Why? I just want the basic, clear, objective info. Hard to find.

 

[fortune448]

I was wondering if anyone else has had any luck streaming MQA to the D90 MQA DAC via the Tidal App and USB on the the IPAD.

The D90 display seems to be showing the correct Khz of the Master Song (of what i would expect the MQA song to be, so 44.1/96 etc), however rather than MQA (or MQA.), my display shows 'OFS'. I understand the manual gives a brief explanation but does this mean the IPAD and D90 are not working as i'd hope they would together. I've tried with both an IPAD Pro (with USB C direct to the D90) and a standard IPAD (Lightning to CCK) and in all instances the display reads 'OFS'.

Using a Mac the songs render/decode as MQA as they should, but i was hoping to use my IPAD going forward

Any help or advice, or explanation as to why this is happening would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Gyroscopics]

D90 or RME ADI-2 FS for pre-amp? I already have a THX-789 and other balanced/SE DACs for HP use. I intend to use the DAC as pre-amp to a pair of NC500MP monoblocks.

 

[Tomáš Papoušek]

D90 90K bandwidth distortion, The sound is a bit bad.
The parameters are good, but the actual sound is not emotional.

 

[EdW]

D90 or RME ADI-2 FS for pre-amp? I already have a THX-789 and other balanced/SE DACs for HP use. I intend to use the DAC as pre-amp to a pair of NC500MP monoblocks.

Both are superb DACs. The RME has a simple EQ adjustment and a headphone amp but costs more. The D90 uses the more recent AK4499 IC and delivers a few dB more SINAD, so might be marginally better at low level setting of the digital volume control? Plus if you later decide on a full preamp John Yang is busy on the design of the matching PRE90.
I‘m biased though - I bought a D90!

 

[EdW]

D90 90K bandwidth distortion, The sound is a bit bad.
The parameters are good, but the actual sound is not emotional.

Try to borrow a DAC with similar high performance. I would be surprised if you could tell it apart from the D90 in a proper blind test. Ideally the emotional content of any music should come from the performance of the musicians, not the electronics, but but the next thing I’d check out would be the loudspeakers or headphones, as these can affect perceived sound quality more noticeably than a high performance DAC.

 

[gad]

Currently I have LMS/Tidal installed on iMac->Squeezebox touch. I wanted to use edo usb out from the touch to the d90, unfortunately the touch
recognizes the d90 but no sound. Other dacs I have had were compatible.
1. Will a RPI picoreplayer streaming LMS/Tidal be compatible with the D90?
2. Does the RPI 4 8gb have problems that lower spec RPI's do not have regarding heat, compatibility, ease of use, support, etc.?

 

[EdW]

Currently I have LMS/Tidal installed on iMac->Squeezebox touch. I wanted to use edo usb out from the touch to the d90, unfortunately the touch
recognizes the d90 but no sound. Other dacs I have had were compatible.
1. Will a RPI picoreplayer streaming LMS/Tidal be compatible with the D90?
2. Does the RPI 4 8gb have problems that lower spec RPI's do not have regarding heat, compatibility, ease of use, support, etc.?

I’m using Volumio on a Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB) to drive the USB of the D90. This works well. No RF interference issues found. I don’t know how this might work with piCorePlayer but I cannot see why it shouldn’t. It is also a bit of a mystery why the D90 isn’t responding to the squeezebox. Is the D90 even recognising the data on the USB? - it should show the data rate on the display if the USB I/P on the D90 has been selected.
As regards RPI4 overheating there is a problem, particularly if you also were to use a plug-in such a room EQ via bruteFIR. I’m currently considering room EQ but I’m using a FLIRC heatsink case on the RPI4 which keeps it cooler. if you want to save a few $ the 4GB RPI4 should be adequate for the streaming process and plug-in. Earlier versions of Volumio did not work with 8GB but I believe this may have been fixed recently. I also loaded Moode on the RPI4, this worked but I didn’t try it with the D90

 

[GeorgeWalk]

I have a Toppings D50s connected via USB to a PI4. I have no problems. I have been using piCorePlayer and I like it better than Volumio. I used Volumio for years and switched to piCorePlayer this year and I like the features, UI, and reliability much more. I used to a have to restart Volumio at least once a week. I haven't had to restart piCorePlayer at all in months. I also have an D90/A90, but I haven't had chance to test them with the RPI.

I also highly recommend this case, Argon Ar1 Pi4. I have tried many and this is the best! It is all aluminum and has small internal fan. The entire case is a heatsink. I ran a Pi4 in it with a max stress test and couldn't get the temp over 60 deg. C. I could not hear the fan either. The case has a small daughter board that brings all the I/O out the back or top. The GPIO is on top under a magnetic lid.

https://www.argon40.com/argon-one-raspberry-pi-4-case.html

 

[mbze430]

would the MQA version of this dac perform differently?

 

[Nybto]

Topping only provide it under duress, because so many people are sucked in by the MQA marketing.

 

[Gavin]

D90 or RME ADI-2 FS for pre-amp? I already have a THX-789 and other balanced/SE DACs for HP use. I intend to use the DAC as pre-amp to a pair of NC500MP monoblocks.

I returned D90 and bought RME. Both are superb DACs but D90 especially MQA edition is not as stable and reliable as the RME. And the RME comes with a powerful EQ adjustment and a headphone amp.
BTW I also have THX-789 and pair it with RME, they work great on my Audeze LCD-X and 6XX.

 

[ReaderZ]

D90 or RME ADI-2 FS for pre-amp? I already have a THX-789 and other balanced/SE DACs for HP use. I intend to use the DAC as pre-amp to a pair of NC500MP monoblocks.

If you will use feature like build in EQ, get RME, otherwise the price difference cannot be justified.