Topping D90SE Review (Balanced DAC)

[Rover]

Some spdif and toslink sources are out of spec, who knew?

This is exactly what this function is for.Isn't it clear?Interestingly, the usual D90 has never had any problems with this!

 

[rlwings]

As an example.I use Audiolab 6000a on es9018 with LG TV optics.There are sometimes rare sound drops!!!I go to the menu and set the DPLL as "wide" and the dropouts instantly stopped! This is a very useful feature and it's bad that the Topping engineers DID NOT INCLUDE it in the new firmware.Moreover, some D90SE users have such a problem just with the LG TV and P4 raspberry in this forum if you read there are complaints!On another read there is a problem with the output of Xingcore AF200 by IIS.

Yeah that would be great if they gave us the way to loosen up the timing. Even my home built Asus computer has issues with USB to this DAC.

 

[Rover]

Why buy a top of the line dac and use low end sources?

This is not a dac problem.And the problem is ES chip.Therefore, most well-known manufacturers are aware of this and embed the function of changing the DPPL of the jeter.Topping engineers can also show their professionalism !It's inexpensive to embed into a new firmware and end the argument!

 

[sq225917]

If you choose not to make the dac with multiple options that's their choice. It's a firmware overhead that most people don't want to pay for

 

[Rover]

If you choose not to make the dac with multiple options that's their choice. It's a firmware overhead that most people don't want to pay for

It's software-based and it is inexpensive.But it adds respect from users.Why are you against it, that's unclear!

 

[wizardofoz]

When you are the developer the software is not free. It has to be written, tested, debugged and supported ongoing.

If it was a paid option how much would pay for it?

 

[sq225917]

I'll clear that up for you then. I don't need it, don't want to pay for it. My purchasing doesn't exist to subsidise your poor source choices

 

[Eddy H.]

I use a laptop, TV, and a bluesound node 2i and I have never had any problems with the dac. If you're having problems maybe you got a bad unit.

 

[gvl]

I'll clear that up for you then. I don't need it, don't want to pay for it. My purchasing doesn't exist to subsidise your poor source choices

At $900 a pop your already paid for this and other features that are missing and prevent this product from being used in all use cases.

 

[sq225917]

I'm not sure how purchasing works for other people, but I buy things based in the features they have, not the ones they don't have.

 

[Barryfromholland]

i bought this dac to WORK in my hifi system. And with my Samsung tv.
but Is has problems with Samsung.

so I see the update as a “repair” rather than a new feature.

 

[sq225917]

Why is it Topping's job to make up for Samsung's spdif output being out of spec?

 

[Atanasi]

Why is it Topping's job to make up for Samsung's spdif output being out of spec?

It is an old interoperability principle to receive liberally and send conservatively. At least this is more convenient in the short term. In the long term it allows bad implementations to grow.

 

[Rover]

Why is it Topping's job to make up for Samsung's spdif output being out of spec?

Do you have documentary evidence with measurements that Samsung,LG do not meet the specifications?Or are you saying this to justify not a high-quality optical Entrance Topping?

 

[sq225917]

Why do tiu rhink its always tv'a that don't work with many dacs....?

 

[gvl]

Why is it Topping's job to make up for Samsung's spdif output being out of spec?

Because it’s very unlikely that Samsung will do anything to make their TVs work with Topping DACs.

 

[TunaBug]

Why do tiu rhink its always tv'a that don't work with many dacs....?

As an example of "receive liberally and send conservatively", consider that you can't spell very well Do you expect people to still read what you wrote, or just ignore it completely? Note that, as with the devices in question, the reason for your spelling is moot: the sequence of characters rendered on my screen has nothing to do with your reason.

The ESS DAC in the D90se is a bit sensitive regarding what it accepts, causing it to not work with some devices. IIRC there are some disc players as well. I assume it has to do with some attributes of the signal (jitter?) and has nothing to do with whether it's a TV. Other DAC chips don't have a problem. Other vendors using the same ESS chips have offered firmware that tweaks some of the configuration values for the DAC so that it is able to work just fine with those devices, but Topping does not offer that.

I don't have one of the offending combinations, and I don't believe Topping has any obligation to fix it. But I also think it's part of the value consideration when deciding what to buy. We live in a world where people regularly get firmware/software updates at no cost, so for better or worse that has become expected, and it's stands out when others have clearly fixed it.

 

[elvisizer]

I use a laptop, TV, and a bluesound node 2i and I have never had any problems with the dac. If you're having problems maybe you got a bad unit.

well I DID contact topping support about the issues I had with dropouts over optical from my LG CX OLED. They couldn't fix it and said the dac was not defective. <shrug>

 

[gvl]

It’s not clear if this can be fixed by setting control registers on the ESS chip, @JohnYang1997 mentioned it had something to do with the SPDIF receiver chip not being able to deal with the incoming signal. AKM receivers could apparently help if used but unavailable due to the factory mishap. I suspect you could build a more robust solution around non AKM receivers as well but perhaps Topping just went with a cookbook approach that works for the majority of sources and cheap/easy to implement.

 

[Eddy H.]

Quick show of hands. How many people own a Samsung TV? - 75%? Wow... It would appear that Topping is indeed under a (an assumed) obligation to produce a product that works flawlwssly with electronics most likely to be used with their devices. An obligation to adhere to their own good reputation as well as present and future profit expectations... Topping can of course do whatever they want. They can sink their own ship if they so desire. But if they plan on remaining a strong market force they are absolutely intrinsically obligated to pay attention. I don't think that a few extra keystrokes in developing a proper firmware is asking too much. (And it truely is a few keystrokes to enable timings which have already been tested and successfully implemented in multiple devices. It will work here easily).

I've never owned a Samsung or LG TV and never will. My cheap Vizios and TLC TVs work great with my D90se. It's kind of weird that the more expensive TVs don't work with this dac.