Topping D90 vs Denafrips Ares II?

[214bobd]

Not only that. Even under $100 they perform above the limits of human hearing.

And the earth is flat,.

 

[tw99]

And the earth is flat,.

AH, that explains a lot about the rest of the stuff you've been posting.

 

[214bobd]

Subjective reviews that are not controlled are entirely unreliable and often lead to false claims. We are in the realm that many DACs are simply transparent, even the cheap ones if implementation is good.
It's not a matter of subjective or measurements or not. If you want to conduct listening tests that lead to something, you need controlled listening test, aka blind tests. If you ever try for yourself with blind listening test with controlled level, you would know.
This is Audio Science forum not some random subjective BS based site. I won't tell you D90 is obviously better. Better measurements will not indicate better sound quality. It's only about competition. Other than that well engineered DACs will sound the same when level matched.

And there is a big wide world out there that disagrees with this orthodoxy.

 

[214bobd]

AH, that explains a lot about the rest of the stuff you've been posting.

You misunderstood. I was referring to the flat earth society mentality of the one I was responding to.

 

[Killingbeans]

Yes and I have conducted my own controlled listening tests every day..

Not to be a pain in the ass or anything, but how do you define 'controlled'?

 

[Killingbeans]

And the earth is flat,.

I get it. I'm the one who's deluded.

What will it take to convince you that I'm not?

 

[tw99]

You misunderstood. I was referring to the flat earth society mentality of the one I was responding to.

If we're flat-earthers here, let me give you a pointer to some sites where you can find some fellow round-earthers:

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php
https://www.head-fi.org/
https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/
https://theartofsound.net/forum/

 

[Sukie]

If you're trying to let us know that different sites review audio equipment in different ways then please be aware that we already know.

I'm not entirely sure what else you're doing here. You haven't yet managed to engage with anything that's been posted and just keep trotting out catchphrases.

@Jimbob54's already hit the wine and I might join him soon!

 

[murraycamp]

Yes and I have conducted my own controlled listening tests every day..

Man, you sure have a lot of time on your hands to conduct multiple 2x blind, level matched component comparisons on a daily basis. Congrats!

 

[murraycamp]

And there is a big wide world out there that disagrees with this orthodoxy.

It's not orthodoxy, it's science. Important distinction. And one doesn't have to travel far to find large groups of people believing demonstrable falsehoods.

 

[Veri]

Yes and I have conducted my own uncontrolled, sighted listening tests every day..

Fixed! And good for you, still holds no value here.

 

[Taddpole]

I'm still trying to grasp the idea of an "airy and holographic" sound and whether that should be a good thing or a bad thing.

Reviewers are the most widely seen poets of our era.

 

[Sukie]

I'm still trying to grasp the idea of an "airy and holographic" sound and whether that should be a good thing or a bad thing.

Reviewers are the most widely seen poets of our era.

It's one of my favourites. Just don't get the "h" in the wrong place. I'd hate for a DAC to be described as hairy and 'olographic!

 

[20396]

Anybody do the review on Denafrips plus ?

 

[MarkOct13]

Just realized that since the start of this thread, I actually bought the Topping D90 DAC. Is it better than an Area 2? No clue. I am quite happy with it. It's actually my first standalone DAC. Thomas & Stereo (YouTube - Looking for clarity?) recently reviewed it along with several other DAC's.

Topping D90 and Klipsch Forte III's. Now to replace my Onkyo AV receiver with an Integrated Tube Amp.

Hey Mark, I just demoed the Forte III's and can't get them out of my head. Neutral maybe slightly warm. Sounded wonderful. Probably should go with my gut and just get them, but I like to demo a few other brands, one in particular: Rethm, a crossoverless single full range driver with sub. Mark, have you checked out: Boarder Patrol gear, DAC, streamers with tubes? Supposed to be very analog. Me, all I have is a vintage Mitsubishi DAA15DC dual mono block and DA P10 preamp. Got it before this pandemic hit. About to complete the system. Probably upgrade the pre with a tube pre, with the Forte III if I go that route. But thing is: I don't know if I want to stream. I like buying CD/SACD/LP. Maybe listen to free internet radio, but not sure about using platforms like Tidal, etc. Any advice? My thing is I can get swayed by sales people and the pressures of coming into the "modern age". Stay Healthy.

 

[VintageFlanker]

You have to LISTEN to them with good audio gear and good source music. Step away from the Oscilloscope. The Ares II has been described by more than one reviewer as more airy and holographic, while the D90 has much better bass, more expressive highs and much better response/attack on very fast musical passages. Thee folks are not engineers, but they actually listen to the products they review . There are people on this site with strong opinions who have never heard either one. DAC's other that the D90 that use the same AK 4499 chip have similar performance. Keep in mind that Denafrips has DAC's of at least 3 price levels and the ARes II is at the bottom. Their more expensive DAC's score much better, because their resistors are of higher precision, so the execution of R2R can make a big difference. To get the best performance from the D90, it should be set up in DAC-only mode.

Oops, I missed this one. This entire post is priceless. Thanks, it has been a while.

Les blagues les plus courtes sont les meilleures

*Shortest jokes are the best (?)

Cheers.

 

[Harmonie]

@VintageFlanker

Oups, j'ai raté celui-ci. Cet article entier n'a pas de prix. Merci, ça fait un moment.

Or do you mean This entire post is useless. Thanks, it has been a while.

Ou voulez-vous dire que tout ce message est inutile. Merci, ça fait un moment.

 

[majingotan]

To those who Don't believe that there are Dacs out there that makes noticeable audible difference, please grab a headphone or even an earphone should do. It's a bad recording. The audible difference is huge in person.

Topping E30 sound compared to Modi Multibit v2

Enjoy!✌

And heres another..

Oh uhm but these videos are useless and unscientific since there are so many variables affecting the final output: DAC -> AMP -> Speaker -> Mic -> ADC -> Youtube compression -> our DACs/amps -> headphones/speakers If you eliminate these factors and only perform DBT volume matched test, have a undeniable proof of results and a through documentation of the DBT test apparatus, etc. then we can take your experiences as a scientific evidence

 

[VintageFlanker]

To those who Don't believe that there are Dacs out there that makes noticeable audible difference, please grab a headphone or even an earphone should do. It's a bad recording. The audible difference is huge in person.

ASR is not about believing. It's about scientific evidence.

I can't listen through a YT video for the reasons @majingotan just said. Plus, I've no guarantee both units are level-matched, which would ruin the comparaison if they aren't.
Assuming all these conditions are checked: I would try a listen. But, why would people believe both should sound similar, anyway? The Modi Multibit is nothing but piece of crap comparing the the E30. Take a look at this horror show:

Personally, I don't need YT comparaison, nor DBT to pick up the E30 over the Multibit.

 

[icharlie]

Ah yes, scientific and some prefer a horrible scientifically measuring dacs or amps like with Tubes over a perfectly measuring Dacs or Amps.✌