TOPPING D90 III Sabre DAC Review

[fabriciom]

@fabriciom
Sharing advice that I got here and ignored (but I learned my lesson) Spend what you can on good speakers. Then look for the cheapest Class D amp in the blue area of the chart that comfortably meets the power needs for your speakers. Last, buy the cheapest DAC from the blue part of the charts. DACs are the lowest rung to improvement. I have a E1DA 9038D headphone DAC / Amp which i tried in place of my E30 and E50. That was so astonishingly good, it was almost comical.

My personal set up's: I run (original) Topping E50 DAC for main set up and an original Topping E30 for another room. TWICE, was drawn like a moth to making online orders. First was a Topping D90SE, then a year later a SMSL SU9. Whilst I am lucky to be able to afford them, each went back to Amazon. Amir's measurements are spot on. These are amazing DACs, but beyond my ability, or of any of my pals, to hear a difference. I REALLY REALLY tried to hear an improvement. At the time, I'd have kept the 'upgrade' if one of my pals could hear a difference that I couldn't.

All my problems are related to where I live. I cant have speakers. I live in an apartment the size of a shoe box. Best I can do are headphones.

Any DAC that I buy will be better than what I currently have.

 

[Bob101]

In some reviews, he is honest when afirms that on basic sets (and rooms too), diferences are hard to perceive. That is why I resist on to upgrade from my Topping E50.

My neighbour bought an E50, around the same time I did, on my advice, and uses it daily. I bought a D70pro Sabre when it came out, because i needed more functionality, not because the E50 was disappointing. A while back I lent him my D70pro sabre for evaluation. He is still not convinced that in an average living room any modern DAC that is transparent, makes, if you're generous, maybe, less then 1% of your sound(-quality). I used the output of my e2x2 interface for a while. He listens to headphones exclusively. After a few weeks of him going back and forth between my D70 and his E50 he gave it back to me, and said: there is a difference, but admitted that sometimes he thought he was listening to the D70, while he was actually using the E50. I got used to the poor Sinad (100 or so?) of my e2x2 very fast. There are differences, but they are so subtle you won't be able to differentiate between an E50 and a D70, or D90 for that matter. Unless your living room is a mastering studio... Stick with the E50.

 

[NHL99]

My neighbour bought an E50, around the same time I did, on my advice, and uses it daily. I bought a D70pro Sabre when it came out, because i needed more functionality, not because the E50 was disappointing. A while back I lent him my D70pro sabre for evaluation. He is still not convinced that in an average living room any modern DAC that is transparent, makes, if you're generous, maybe, less then 1% of your sound(-quality). I used the output of my e2x2 interface for a while. He listens to headphones exclusively. After a few weeks of him going back and forth between my D70 and his E50 he gave it back to me, and said: there is a difference, but admitted that sometimes he thought he was listening to the D70, while he was actually using the E50. I got used to the poor Sinad (100 or so?) of my e2x2 very fast. There are differences, but they are so subtle you won't be able to differentiate between an E50 and a D70, or D90 for that matter. Unless your living room is a mastering studio... Stick with the E50.

In double-blind listening tests, humans generally cannot detect distortion or noise once SINAD exceeds about 85–90 dB (THD+N ≈ 0.005% or better).
Above ~100 dB SINAD, performance differences are entirely inaudible in all practical cases.

 

[Bob101]

In double-blind listening tests, humans generally cannot detect distortion or noise once SINAD exceeds about 85–90 dB (THD+N ≈ 0.005% or better).
Above ~100 dB SINAD, performance differences are entirely inaudible in all practical cases.

I forgot to put the poor Sinad of the e2x2 in ironic "quote-unquote" marks...

 

[MLaranjeiras]

My neighbour bought an E50, around the same time I did, on my advice, and uses it daily. I bought a D70pro Sabre when it came out, because i needed more functionality, not because the E50 was disappointing. A while back I lent him my D70pro sabre for evaluation. He is still not convinced that in an average living room any modern DAC that is transparent, makes, if you're generous, maybe, less then 1% of your sound(-quality). I used the output of my e2x2 interface for a while. He listens to headphones exclusively. After a few weeks of him going back and forth between my D70 and his E50 he gave it back to me, and said: there is a difference, but admitted that sometimes he thought he was listening to the D70, while he was actually using the E50. I got used to the poor Sinad (100 or so?) of my e2x2 very fast. There are differences, but they are so subtle you won't be able to differentiate between an E50 and a D70, or D90 for that matter. Unless your living room is a mastering studio... Stick with the E50.

 

[MLaranjeiras]

He is doing his job in my entry-level set

 

[fwwwk]

topping you need to do this dac with sub out, decent LR4 crossover and delay integration + room correction software