TOPPING D90 III Sabre DAC Review

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Would you like to buy some Tulips?

You have to do your best to convince me

ps. are you from Netherlands?

 

[Deleted member 21114]

You have to do your best to convince me

Extremes are always bad.

Buy half my Tulips.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Buy half my Tulips.

H@H@ good one, you are smart.

 

[Punchy_Power_Cat]

Amir is a golfing panther.

 

[beagleman]

Yes. And because similarly high SiNAD can be had for a fraction of the price - see the „blue range“ of the forum’s review chart (and not even considering audibility)

I look at things with a focus on:

1-Will this actually SOUND better?

2-Is this a good value?

 

[daniboun]

Why 'smartphone' companies release every new flagship model every year? They are basically the same.

I'll give you small hint, it's called business.

As long as there are fish to bite the hook then there will be business)
We are all victims of marketing and this is even more true since the digital revolution...

 

[delta76]

I agree with the overall message but I believe what they need to work on is features. RME support is great, and given all the functionality of their products, that is useful. I don't think customer support would make a big difference for a DAC like this however. Plug in the cables, chose a filter and that's that.

Don't underestimate how many weird scenarios customers can be using DACs with. Compatibility with players/streamers, and amps, and driver/firmware updates can create huge complexity. It is important to have someone to turn to and actually look into the problem, other than just "have you turned it on and off"

 

[Zippo]

A friend here told he bought eleven (11) DACs at the 100-1100 euro price range the last 3 years and they all sound the same.
What's sad is that even last year's DACs at this price range have literally no reselling value,at all, after this race.

And it makes sense,who would pay 400-500 for an 800 euro last year's DAC when it's (inaudible) performance is lower than a 200 euro one?
They even look alike!

Now tell me about cost through time,which is the only meaningful metric.

"No resale value" is absolutely not correct, I regularly see used Topping, SMSL and similar brands sell quickly for about 60%-70% of the - admitably somewhat inflated - brand new prices.
Check HiFi Shark sales stats.
Just buy these used and have them for "free" as you will be able to flip them for no to minimum loss after the initial price drop.

 

[Ajax]

I have had many RME devices for 20 years, I would not recommend them for home hi-fi.

Hi MBO,

Would you care to elaborate, anything in particular about the product or service you don't like?

 

[CleanSound]

Just another DAC status quo. Same played out designed and casework, no new innovative features (maybe except that that Bluetooth remote, someone posted it here).

And most importantly no reason to upgrade. Anyways, next review please.

 

[Ajax]

Fine, but once again only 2 channels ...

Hey Toni,

The Topping DM7 has 8 channels for US$599

Topping DM7 8-Channel DAC Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping DM7 8-channel balanced USB DAC. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $599. The DM7 is simplicity in itself as you can tell from its rear terminals: USB input is the only one provided which is just fine with me. And seems...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[JeremyFife]

Yes, it's great - voted great, because it is - but I couldn't justify this feature set at that price. There's no need to spend that much for 'just' a DAC IMO.

I think I really mean "Meh"

 

[CleanSound]

For almost 900 an ADC would have been included.

$900 is a great deal for the performance and relative to what is in the market and historical pricing even if not taking inflation into account. Yeah, I agree it's not for those who are in a race to the bottom of the barrel, but that's not the market that it's targeted for.

I think folks are getting spoiled with the falling HiFi prices in the last decade or so. But regardless there are many many more economical options out there.

 

[Toni Mas]

Hey Toni,

The Topping DM7 has 8 channels for US$599

Topping DM7 8-Channel DAC Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping DM7 8-channel balanced USB DAC. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $599. The DM7 is simplicity in itself as you can tell from its rear terminals: USB input is the only one provided which is just fine with me. And seems...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thanks Ajax! I know this but It seems to be discontinued.

 

[Rhamnetin]

I wonder if we haven't already surpassed the human possibility of perceiving improvements. Perhaps these new models are useless for those who already own a recent DAC model

The $80 SMSL SU-1 has surpassed that, so the D90 III doesn't really offer anything more than many lower priced DACs. Improvements in the digital domain via DSP needs to be a bigger focus in this industry.

 

[F1308]

Oh, cheeeeses, still an external Bluetooth antenna
and it is January 2024.

 

[F1308]

The $80 SMSL SU-1 has surpassed that, so the D90 III doesn't really offer anything more than many lower priced DACs. Improvements in the digital domain via DSP needs to be a bigger focus in this industry.

Will my dog notice any improvement ?

 

[Toni Mas]

The $80 SMSL SU-1 has surpassed that, so the D90 III doesn't really offer anything more than many lower priced DACs. Improvements in the digital domain via DSP needs to be a bigger focus in this industry.

Something like a minidsp Flex with one analogue input (ADC) would be great.

Btw, not another usb audio interface for home studios as we have already plenty of choice by Motu, Focusrite, etc...

 

[BrooklynNick]

Amir's measurements have done a great favor for consumers and for the manufacturers who make well engineered DACs. This site provides invaluable education. It has literally changed the industry for the better.

However, having consumers and manufactures who now chase SINAD is also largely due to this website. IMO, the SINAD rankings should be retired and the measurements should now simply say that the SINAD passes (ie is transparent) or fails. A lot of consumers seem to either not understand or not fully believe that these DACs are transparent. As a result, we see more products like the this one, which chases SINAD* rather than providing meaningful upgrades.

* See Topping's product page. They tout the SNR/SINAD/THD+N many times. They also make claims about the DAC chip. Almost no one should care about the chip, but they do because they don't fully believe that these DACs are transparent.

 

[IXOYE]

It is about time that Topping and other manufacturers include PEQ, Crossfeed and other useful options in their Dac's, only superb sinad measurements doesn't impress me enough to open my wallet.