TOPPING D90 III Sabre DAC Review

[manisandher]

Purely out of interest, does anyone know whether Topping have stuck with a linear PS for the D90 III, or have they gone over to an SMPS, like many of their other DACs?

Mani.

 

[NHL99]

Distinguishable from the https://www.rme-audio.de/adi-2-dac.html ?

 

[JSmith]

Topping's own measurements come in just shy of 128dB SINAD

That's A-weighted.


JSmith

 

[Ra1zel]

If you are looking for sota measurements, might as well buy something much cheaper

 

[delta76]

I'm a fan of RME. I loved my HDSP card when I was using it. But, I had two FF800s fail on me, after only a few years of use. My current ADI-2 Pro seems solid though.

I've ended up with a lot of Topping gear, mainly for the fully active system in my office:
- DM7
- DX1
- 3 x LA90
- 2 x LA90D (ordered, waiting to be delivered)
- 2 x PA7 Plus
- HS02
- TP60

No issues whatsoever with any Topping component so far (touch wood). The TP60 is still going strong after 15 years or so.

Mani.

Anecdotal evidence https://gearspace.com/board/electro...rme-ff800-now-10-years-old-should-i-sell.html

it is commonly accepted that RME is more reliable and their customer support is great (which is why they are pretty popular in professional world). I'd reckon that the audio shop would be far more easier to fix them if they are out of warranty.

Nothing wrong with buying Topping if you like the brand/performance/price, you can do much worse for more money. But just want to add a point of discussion before anyone want to jump in and buy the next thing they (or other Chinese manufacturers) release. I do own a SMSL C200 and I think it's great for the price, but if it's ~1000$ my priorities are different

 

[amper42]

Another overpriced DAC from Topping with minimal features and a crappy remote. Who buys this line of marketing?

 

[mash]

Over the last 3+ years, I've updated several of the systems in my house. One of the first ASR recommended boxes that I bought was the original D90 (with AKM DACs). I also own a couple of D10s and a DM70 (note - I have never had an issue with any of the Topping devices that I have bought). At this point, I don't need to add anything and would only buy something as an upgrade to an existing component(s).

That said, my current upgrade criteria doesn't include improved SINAD (unless we are talking about HT AVRs/AVPs). At this point, I'm way more interested in things like DSP processing (support for Dirac), multi-channel sub cross over support, or being able to combine boxes (Roon support). For my current requirements, companies like MiniDSP are doing much more interesting things than Topping.

 

[Robbo99999]

It's just a balanced DAC right, that's quite expensive! It's cutting edge but there are better value balanced DACS out there that have been reviewed here on ASR.

 

[juliangst]

My enthusiasm for SOTA DACs like this Topping has gotten pretty low.

Instead of having even better measurements in the next generation I would be more excited about having actual feautres.
A subwoofer out with high pass and low pass crossover functionality, PEQ, or things like crossfeed for headphones would be way more useful than 5dB more of SINAD or 0.5 bits more of dynamic range.

 

[SAV1972]

Hello!
I had D90SE. Now I have Topping E70v. It's price is lower, but the sound is better.
I'm waiting for the Topping to improve Pre90 and create D90lll velvet

 

[manisandher]

I'd reckon that the audio shop would be far more easier to fix them if they are out of warranty.

I repaired one myself at the time - just replaced its SMPS - and then sold it.

I still have the other sitting in the 'studio' in my basement. Its PSU is OK, but something seems amiss with its Firewire interface, from what I can remember. Not sure if I can be arsed to look into it now.

Mani.

 

[poopy]

Does look like a better remote using Bluetooth though? As reported by @KenA #8 above
Also for direct to power amp operation without a preamp the balance control facility ( similar to D90 SE/LE) might appeal?

The D70 pro also has a preamp integrated.

Is the improvement just the remote control?
Not denying this is a good improvement. I mean they were offering a $2 remote control on > $500 products....

 

[sarieri]

Thanks for the review @amirm
There is a separate thread in which the op said that these III devices (D90 and D50) would be upgraded to have EQ capability. Any additional information on that?

"D50 III has PEQ, and D90 III seems to be updated in the future."

Thread 'TOPPING D90 III、TOPPING D50 III' https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-d90-iii、topping-d50-iii.50539/

False info. D90IIIis not going to have any new firmware on PEQ. This has been confirmed multiple times by sales of Topping.

 

[poopy]

False info. D90IIIis not going to have any new firmware on PEQ. This has been confirmed multiple times by sales of Topping.

Didn't believe either. The current display is not adequate to have PEQ on this DAC...

 

[renaudrenaud]

Didn't believe either. The current display is not adequate to have PEQ on this DAC...

You don't need any display in the unit. You need a smartphone.

Don't think it have any PEQ, but the screen is not an indication from my point of view.

 

[EdW]

The D70 pro also has a preamp integrated.

Is the improvement just the remote control?
Not denying this is a good improvement. I mean they were offering a $2 remote control on > $500 products....

Yes nearly all DACs these days have a volume control but the balance control is perhaps a useful feature for some which is normally only found on a full separate preamp
The remote control improvement may only have cost Topping a minimal amount extra but hopefully it fixes a significant range shortcoming noted with several remotes from them in the past

 

[poopy]

Yes nearly all DACs these days have a volume control but the balance control is perhaps a useful feature for some which is normally only found on a full separate preamp
The remote control improvement may only have cost Topping a minimal amount extra but hopefully it fixes a significant range shortcoming noted with several remotes from them in the past

What is it this balance control? Sorry I missed that feature

 

[phoenixdogfan]

For this kind of money, should have 10 band PEQ. We are now at the point where full DSP features need to be part of the expectation set. Time to raise the bar again.

 

[dogmamann]

i saw topping, I makes it as excellent and then I started reading the review. I feel like on DAC front now reached a saturation in terms of technical ability as an instrument, to the point it’s getting boring to see excellence everyday. We need some poor device to be reviewed soon. It’s fun to read the comments then!

 

[Deleted member 21114]

For this kind of money, should have 10 band PEQ. We are now at the point where full DSP features need to be part of the expectation set. Time to raise the bar again.

If Amir included "EQ-ability" in the tests, Topping would have a 2000 band graphic equalizer stuck on the front of this thing in three weeks.