Topping D90SE Review (Balanced DAC)

[AML]

When is it coming ??? It would be interesting to give us a vs between the Gustard X16 and the D 90SE In combination with the A 90

Amazon says July 10th to 26th but Topping says 6 to 10 days. So far my other stuff came pretty quick! Shouldn't be more than a week.

 

[skyfly]

A question for those who use 2 channel hi-fi for TV watching, too.

Do Topping DACs (D90SE, D30Pro, and many others, perhaps D50s excluded) with CLDP for jitter reduction have much time delay? Does it affect the sync between audio and video?

Some Chord DACs are known to have time delay issue in AV usage due to long calculation time in their signal processor.

 

[JohnYang1997]

A question for those who use 2 channel hi-fi for TV watching, too.

Do Topping DACs (D90SE, D30Pro, and many others, perhaps D50s excluded) with CLDP for jitter reduction have much time delay? Does it affect the sync between audio and video?

Some Chord DACs are known to have time delay issue in AV usage due to long calculation time in their signal processor.

No time delay. Or only depends on the USB driver buffer.

 

[Dealux]

Is TOPPING working on an updated A90 to match the D90se?

 

[hoverdonkey]

Noob question... I am considering upgrading my Khadas Tone Board and am quite tempted to be done with it, merrily leapfrog to the top of the pile and grab a Topping D90SE.

Question is... Would it be overkill/sacrilege to use this DAC unbalanced (with my PrimaLuna ProLogue 2 amp, which is RCA only)? Might I do just as well with, say, a Topping D30Pro, which is the top ranking RCA-tested DAC here?

 

[Eetu]

Noob question... I am considering upgrading my Khadas Tone Board and am quite tempted to be done with it, merrily leapfrog to the top of the pile and grab a Topping D90SE.

Question is... Would it be overkill/sacrilege to use this DAC unbalanced (with my PrimaLuna ProLogue 2 amp, which is RCA only)? Might I do just as well with, say, a Topping D30Pro, which is the top ranking RCA-tested DAC here?

Since your amp is the bottleneck with a SINAD probably around 40-50 I doubt moving from the KTB is going to make a difference. If you'd like to leapfrog to the top of the SINAD pile I would make upgrading the amp a priority. Or if you like the PrimaLuna, perhaps consider upgrading your speakers instead.

But from your alternatives, the D30Pro would be my pick.

 

[Pjetrof]

Could you use this dac straith in your amplifier?
chrome cast audio to dac to power amplifier.
use ipad as volume control would this work?

 

[amirm]

Could you use this dac straith in your amplifier?

Sure. Anytime a DAC has a volume control, you can do this.

The only reason to use a pre-amp after it is if you have analog sources you want to switch to in addition to DAC. If all you are doing is playing digital files through the DAC then a pre-amp is not needed. Nor recommended in my book.

 

[Pjetrof]

Sure. Anytime a DAC has a volume control, you can do this.

The only reason to use a pre-amp after it is if you have analog sources you want to switch to in addition to DAC. If all you are doing is playing digital files through the DAC then a pre-amp is not needed. Nor recommended in my book.

thx Amirm i use 1 source Qobuzz through a cca and use my ipad as controller.
so i was just wondering what would be the best. System as in my signature. Quad qsp qnd quad pre
or just put the cca in this new dac and then the dac in the amplifier.

 

[amirm]

or just put the cca in this new dac and then the dac in the amplifier.

That's what I would do. The Quad Pre would severely degrade the performance of this DAC although that may not be audible.

 

[Guenselmann]

Could you use this dac straith in your amplifier?
chrome cast audio to dac to power amplifier.
use ipad as volume control would this work?

As amirm said, you can do this. My current chain is Chromecast (regular one) -> TV -> Topping E30 (optical) -> Hypex power amp.
There are some annoyances with my E30 because it produces "popping" sounds when turned on/off or when switching sources (which I never do). But D90SE might be better in this regard.
Not sure about volume control via iPad though. With the Chromecast remote it is not a problem because it has a IR transmitter. Spotify I can adjust the volume on my phone if using Spotify Connect, but Deezer doesn't have that functionality. Instead I use Google Cast for it. I think Qobuz will be the same.

 

[hoverdonkey]

Since your amp is the bottleneck with a SINAD probably around 40-50 I doubt moving from the KTB is going to make a difference. If you'd like to leapfrog to the top of the SINAD pile I would make upgrading the amp a priority. Or if you like the PrimaLuna, perhaps consider upgrading your speakers instead.

But from your alternatives, the D30Pro would be my pick.

Thank you for sprinkling some clarity over my haze. I do like my amp and speakers (IPL M3TL kit), even though I know they are far from perfect. I was working on very unscientific "money logic", i.e. that a £90 DAC must surely be a misfit with £2000 amp + speakers, and therefore hoped that a new DAC might be the cheapest way of making an improvement.

What sort of amp SINAD level might I start hearing differences? I ask as I saw that there is only one amp in the rankings here (Benchmark AHB 2, 113dB) that exceeds that of the KTB (111dB).

 

[ea666]

Yeah, XLR with the A90. Might try the singxer and see which sounds better. (I also have a Gustard X16, So I might leave the singxer with that)

Same here been more than impressed with the Gustard X16, so can’t wait to try out the D90SE.

 

[Eetu]

Thank you for sprinkling some clarity over my haze. I do like my amp and speakers (IPL M3TL kit), even though I know they are far from perfect. I was working on very unscientific "money logic", i.e. that a £90 DAC must surely be a misfit with £2000 amp + speakers, and therefore hoped that a new DAC might be the cheapest way of making an improvement.

What sort of amp SINAD level might I start hearing differences? I ask as I saw that there is only one amp in the rankings here (Benchmark AHB 2, 113dB) that exceeds that of the KTB (111dB).

DACs are very much a solved problem regarding our thresholds of hearing. D90SE is and should be considered a great DAC but it 'sounds' the same as many inferior/cheaper DACs since their performance is already beyond what we can make use of in a normal listening scenario.

With amps you basically have two routes, embrace the tube sound or go clean solid state. ASR is all about engineering prowess and the majority here are going with the latter. That way you have a clear, objective way to approach gear: go for the transparent, neutral option.

If you want to try that for a change, the Benchmark is a no-brainer. A couple of other great options are Hypex NC502MP or Purifi based amps.

I'm not familiar with your speakers but in general speakers (and their room interaction) are the weak link and where the big audible improvements are made. Digital room correction, optimal speaker and listening position, (multi-) sub integration, room treatment..

IMO YMMV etc.

 

[hoverdonkey]

DACs are very much a solved problem regarding our thresholds of hearing. D90SE is and should be considered a great DAC but it 'sounds' the same as many inferior/cheaper DACs since their performance is already beyond what we can make use of in a normal listening scenario.

With amps you basically have two routes, embrace the tube sound or go clean solid state. ASR is all about engineering prowess and the majority here are going with the latter. That way you have a clear, objective way to approach gear: go for the transparent, neutral option.

If you want to try that for a change, the Benchmark is a no-brainer. A couple of other great options are Hypex NC502MP or Purifi based amps.

I'm not familiar with your speakers but in general speakers (and their room interaction) are the weak link and where the big audible improvements are made. Digital room correction, optimal speaker and listening position, (multi-) sub integration, room treatment..

IMO YMMV etc.

I was an engineer, so these things matter to me and so, £'s permitting, I would be curious to explore the latest low distortion solid state amps, thank you for those suggestions. I did put together a class D kit a few years ago (CDA-250L, http://www.classdaudio.com), but its sounds quite confused vs my ProLogue 2. I have just noticed that there is a review of the CDA-250C right here on ASR! It didn't go down well - I wish I could have read it first (but I had mine before that was written!)

I have shunted my speakers around the room a few times and I think I have the optimal-practical compromise position for them. Wife would never allow multi subs but I think they have enough bass (they are floorstanding TLs). They may or may not have more to give, but I am bonded to them because I made them, so I would tinker with amps/DACs first. Not very scientific, I know . I will explore digital room correction though, I hadn't considered that before, thank you. Any suggestions would be welcome (it would need to integrate with my LMS>PiCorePlayer>USB DAC setup).

 

[nhs]

Got one for father's day gift.
And it has the CE logo right.

View attachment 136716View attachment 136717

We are waiting for feedback from the first lucky man who owns this DAC.
Please say something about your impressions from the users point of view.

 

[PatentLawyer]

We are waiting for feedback from the first lucky man who owns this DAC.
Please say something about your impressions from the users point of view.

Mine was shipped from China today, so should have it soon.....

 

[jaraheel]

Mine was shipped from China today, so should have it soon.....

where did you buy it from?

 

[PatentLawyer]

where did you buy it from?

Amazon, through Aoshida. (I'm in the US, I should mention.)

 

[jaraheel]

Amazon, through Aoshida. (I'm in the US, I should mention.)

I checked Amazon yesterday, and I think the delivery date was first week of July..