Even at 16/44.1 better than human hearing or any loudspeakers. Most recordings are not HQ eitherHow good D90 III is at 192/384/768 kHz?
MQA is seen as a liability rather than a feature by many people here.I see your D70 Pro and I raise you the SMSL SU-9 Pro. Same DAC chip, also balanced with 5.2v RMS output, MQA, bluetooth, $500. Some input differences though.
If two DACs sound the same, what is the value of buying the one that measures "best"?
You shouldn’t. You should just make sure that both DACs have state of the art performance, then select one based on how well it fits your requirments with regard to connectivity and functionality. You should research how mature and reliable its software/firmware is, whether it has unwelcome quirks (like clicking on sample rate changes), whether it messes with digital volume control settings without your input, whether it’s prone to fail within a few months, what the support from its maker is like, etc.
MQA is seen as a liability rather than a feature by many people here.
Given the dearth of MQA material, I see it more as superfluous and imposing licensing fees that I would rather not pay.
This does not mean it will work in 768K mode at least as good as in 16/44.1 mode, maybe even much worse. That's why I'm asking.Even at 16/44.1 better than human hearing or any loudspeakers. Most recordings are not HQ either
I almost see DSD support in a similar way. It is inferior to high-bitrate PCM by almost every metric, and there isn’t a whole lot of DSD media available (other than SACD). However, I am not aware of any licensing fees associated with including DSD conversion in a DAC so I am not opposed to it, even if it is something I will never use.Yeah I despise MQA myself. I just mentioned it because it is a feature difference between them. SMSL is just insane for having 3 of the same DACs: SU-9 Pro, DO400 (this one has a headphone amp at least so it's justified), and D400ES (seems to cost more than the DO400 for some reason).
I'm a bit surprised to hear that. This is why.I almost see DSD support in a similar way. It is inferior to high-bitrate PCM by almost every metric, and there isn’t a whole lot of DSD media available (other than SACD). However, I am not aware of any licensing fees associated with including DSD conversion in a DAC so I am not opposed to it, even if it is something I will never use.
Maybe you DSD ADC is just better than your PCM ADC?I'm a bit surprised to hear that. This is why.
In my experience, when any audio device digitises an analogue input, the SQ takes a big hit compared with analogue pass through.
I have two integrated amps that are almost identical - the older one has a DSD ADC on the analogue inputs, and the newer one has a PCM ADC.
They both perform identically with digital inputs, but with analogue, the newer one sounds significantly worse.
The DSD input sounds almost like its not digitised at all, it's that much better.
I saw that part in the SU-X thread, which is most regrettable because honestly lifespan is the most important part since longevity should be at least 10 years easily in modern electronics. A month lifespan? That signifies serious issues in the soldering or assembly process or even the design itself.I would have eventually offered to send mine to Amir to review, but it already kicked the bucket.
As always, feel free to correct me. We are all here to learn and have fun together!
Multitone test is at 192 kHz.How good D90 III is at 192/384/768 kHz?
I recently found very strange behavior on D90SE when I play high frequency signal (10K+) in one channel.Multitone test is at 192 kHz.
Firstly, I don't think that last bit is fair to the D90.3 because you need to judge the performance from the chart and not from the number of bits.I have been mulling over this DAC for a couple weeks, and I do not think it is definitively better than the Topping D70 Pro Sabre even from a purely objective sense.
My argument is simple:
While the D90 III's SINAD on its own is a smidge better, 123.8 dB versus 123.4 dB....
....the D70 Pro Sabre beats it in several other important areas including:
1. The D70 Pro Sabre offers an impressive 23 bits of distortion free range with a 192 Khz 32-tone multitone signal versus the 21.7 bits of the D90 III.
It really is a no-brainer, isn’t it? Even though the D90 III has dual DAC chips, this added expense doesn’t seem to yield any results. Hence, unless you need IIS input (who needs that?) or fancy the Bluetooth remote control, go with the D70 Pro.