Topping D90SE Review (Balanced DAC)

[userb]

	ADI-2/4 Pro SE (XLR)	D90SE/LE (XLR)
Max output voltage	16.37V	5.25V
SINAD	116dB	127.5dB
Noise	0.869-8.69μV(A)	0.933μV(A)

great, thank you, very helpful!

 

[Snoopy]

Amir says the d90se is “more perfect than perfect” so what will it be in 1-2 years when another topping product launches, more perfect than absolute perfection?

Interesting would be to hear amir's thoughts about all these new perfect DACs recently released and if they do anything better than the D90SE...or if he would still choose the D90SE over one of these newer DACs (D400ES, EX, Su-10, D1SE2 etc).

It kinda is getting boring if they are all perfect anyways.

Would a SMPS be preferable to avoid 50hz/60hz humm.. has any of the DACs better parts.. easier to update the firmware etc.

Why do they still do these dual chip DACs when a single chip DAC is just as perfect?

 

[alexeyi]

Interesting would be to hear amir's thoughts about all these new perfect DACs recently released and if they do anything better than the D90SE...or if he would still choose the D90SE over one of these newer DACs (D400ES, EX, Su-10, D1SE2 etc).

It kinda is getting boring if they are all perfect anyways.

Would a SMPS be preferable to avoid 50hz/60hz humm.. has any of the DACs better parts.. easier to update the firmware etc.

Why do they still do these dual chip DACs when a single chip DAC is just as perfect?

One way to look at it, it is good to have multiple very performant DACs because of the price drop in the market. Nowadays it is easy to pick up a very capable DAC and some would argue that the bigger the pool of products, the better because then you can also choose on personal preference, form factor etc. and still get the performance.

As to why use dual chip variant, well, in my opinion is mostly marketing. Advertise the product as dual chip and get the price up based on that, even tho it is not justified. They will advertise also probably that the implementation will reduce cross-talk and.. yeah.

 

[Rottmannash]

One way to look at it, it is good to have multiple very performant DACs because of the price drop in the market. Nowadays it is easy to pick up a very capable DAC and some would argue that the bigger the pool of products, the better because then you can also choose on personal preference, form factor etc. and still get the performance.

As to why use dual chip variant, well, in my opinion is mostly marketing. Advertise the product as dual chip and get the price up based on that, even tho it is not justified. They will advertise also probably that the implementation will reduce cross-talk and.. yeah.

Someone more educated than me can chime in but I believe there is a legitimate reason to use multiple chips in parallel-more current output? Maybe it is marketing but I do believe someone can bring some clarity to this question, as it has been discussed elsewhere on this site.

 

[Sokel]

One way to look at it, it is good to have multiple very performant DACs because of the price drop in the market.

Yep,but this price benefit is meaningful if you buy one of them,if you buy three for example you have the same identical sound quality for x3 the price,like the good old days (at least those ones worked for years)

 

[alexeyi]

Someone more educated than me can chime in but I believe there is a legitimate reason to use multiple chips in parallel-more current output? Maybe it is marketing but I do believe someone can bring some clarity to this question, as it has been discussed elsewhere on this site.

There might be some benefits, but in my opinion, it depends on the implementation. One thing that comes to mind fast is that once you go past 2 DAC chips, the timing, or the clocks would need to be very well aligned, or anything you’ll see from that implementation would be distortion. Timing errors to tend to translate into distortion. I’m no expert, but speaking my mind here. If there are people with better knowledge on the subject, I would like to learn more.

 

[staticV3]

Someone more educated than me can chime in but I believe there is a legitimate reason to use multiple chips in parallel-more current output? Maybe it is marketing but I do believe someone can bring some clarity to this question, as it has been discussed elsewhere on this site.

Every doubling of DAC chips can theoretically increase your SNR by 3dB.
The fact however that the D90SE/LE is (afaik) still the SNR king, despite there being many 2x and 4x flagship DAC chip DACs on the market, should make it clear that implementation is still key.

 

[Yanovski]

Hello there,

I'm really sorry to bump into the thread like this as a newcomer but I've read on this thread and moreover on several other ones that some of you have succeeded in using the Chinese HDMI to I2s box with a Sony Blu-ray UBP-X700 Player that would convey SACD//DSD signals into the D90SE. I'm struggling as hell....

I was just wondering how some of you made it work as I've tried numerous settings and configurations and the DAC is showing no sign of incoming signal despite proper settings in the Sony player.

I've even noticed that the DAC is powering itself off automatically after 1 minute of inactivity while on the IIS input.....This behavior is not happening on any other inputs so I assume there may be something going on here.

Thank you very much for your help.
Best,
D*

 

[Palex]

Hello! An annoying problem has appeared . When decoding MQA - the sound is interrupted (sticks) . Updating the firmware to 1.87 did not help. The defect is manifested by DAC - USB ( Digital , Audirvana) and OPT ( coax) for MQA - CD . The frequency of the track does not matter ( 44, 96, 192, 352) - the sound is constantly interrupted. The problem is only with the MQA format ..... What to do?

 

[zhgutov]

The problem is only with the MQA format ..... What to do?

Don't use MQA

 

[Palex]

Don't use MQA

f the kettle breaks, don't drink tea?)))

 

[staticV3]

if the kettle breaks, don't drink tea?)))

More like if the alkaline water machine breaks, take it as a sign and just use regular bottled/tap water instead.

MQA is a sinking ship, and deservedly so.

 

[zhgutov]

f the kettle breaks, don't drink tea?)))

if the kettle stinks, use another one)

 

[Palex]

"It's not the fish that rots from the head, but the water in the river is rotten." Thanks for the "constructive advice"..........

 

[Toku]

More like if the alkaline water machine breaks, take it as a sign and just use regular bottled/tap water instead.

MQA is a sinking ship, and deservedly so.

MQA filed for bankruptcy on April 3.
e-onkyo, which sells Hi-Res sound sources in Japan, has withdrawn from selling MQA.
There will be no new supply of MQA to the market in the future.

If you search for "MQA bankruptcy" on the web for details on this matter, you will find a lot of information.

 

[Veri]

MQA filed for bankruptcy on April 3.
e-onkyo, which sells Hi-Res sound sources in Japan, has withdrawn from selling MQA.

Interesting development..

 

[mocenigo]

MQA filed for bankruptcy on April 3.
e-onkyo, which sells Hi-Res sound sources in Japan, has withdrawn from selling MQA.
There will be no new supply of MQA to the market in the future.

If you search for "MQA bankruptcy" on the web for details on this matter, you will find a lot of information.

The market hath spoken

 

[aphysically]

what is the consensus on filter to use? just leave at default or go for 6? I saw some people said 5 measured best too.

 

[staticV3]

what is the consensus on filter to use? just leave at default or go for 6? I saw some people said 5 measured best too.

I'd leave it at default. Filter #1 (Apodizing fast roll-off) is the best trade-off between in-band flatness and out of band attenuation.

 

[ErVikingo]

I'm doing it right now but I didn't reverse the phase. It sounds incredible and it's worth the trouble

re extractor. I read that power supply is optional. Is it? If needed, what supply are you using? I'm looking to connect i2s to Topping d90se. thanks