Topping E70 Stereo DAC Review

[aka_Z]

Standby power consumption <0.7W
The Chinese do not say how much it has in the on mode, but I speculate that no more than 7W. SMSL DO200 claims 5W and the devices are similar. In both devices, the aluminum housing remains cold (room temperature), I did not notice the heating of the devices.

Thank you! Contrary to audiophile opinion, linear power supply is not necessarily more linear than switched-mode one. Modern SMPS can be way more linear and in fact it's easier to make them linear.

 

[Burns]

Thank you! Contrary to audiophile opinion, linear power supply is not necessarily more linear than switched-mode one. Modern SMPS can be way more linear and in fact it's easier to make them linear.

I am not sure if the review is true. The Chinese did not write in the specification. The device is too light and has an evenly distributed weight. Only a small rectangle is visible in the picture. This indicates impulse power to me. (There was an older device 3 years ago, marked D70 and there was a small coil inside - probably the same as in the P5 external power supply).

 

[aka_Z]

Yeah, pretty sure it's SMPS but it's ultra-low noise and almost breaking lows of the physics

 

[Burns]

What I think is that you have to spend time with a DAC to understand what you are hearing. I say have someone in your household switch an E70V with your DO200 without you knowing over a period of a year. I would bet you couldn't tell which was which. Just sayin" ....

Or if you could, what is it? We need you to tell us what it is? The traces inside the IC? The layout? The caps. the resistors? What?

Again, being respectful but what is the cause of the difference?

You avoid answering the question why topping made two varieties of e70 since there is no difference between chip manufacturers?

 

[Burns]

Because the AKM brand fetches $$$ and that's all, nothing more to it. Like I said both the E70 and E70V are 100% transparent, 20Hz-20kHz perfect frequency response. Indistinguishable. You bear the burden of showing us it's different.

I bear nothing. I don't have the time, inclination or money for another DAC. Why are you trying to force me? I said that for me it is the sum of the results, at the same time I maintain that based only on faith, they are not 100% identical, but 0.98%, if only because they have active filters or not, so they are not native (thanks to this, the chip manufacturer himself can bend reality and the DAC manufacturer can implement it differently).

I would try only if there was an option to turn MQA on and off in the menu. Don't confuse this with automatic MQA decoding. I want control over it. Without control I don't need MQA.

 

[JSmith]

But what's the difference between the two ?

Link to L7 measurements of E70 "Velvet" in this thread;

Topping E70 Velvet (AKM 4499EX)

Prof. Wolf posted measurements of this unit 8 days ago; https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/topping-e70-v/ It seems this implementation of the AKM 4499EX is also showing the IMD hump which showed up in the measurements of the SMSL D400EX. From what I can see it's basically the E70 with an AKM chip...

www.audiosciencereview.com

JSmith

 

[rarewolf]

You avoid answering the question why topping made two varieties of e70 since there is no difference between chip manufacturers?

Neither could he explain how a half dozen reviewers could come up with the same conclusions regarding the differences they had heard between the E70 & E70V. Psychoacoustics cannot explain how that many ears can hear the same thing…

 

[Burns]

I could even buy an e70V for my own curiosity and not hear the difference. Because if I hear it, I'll get hate anyway that I'm deaf, that I think they paid me.
I am very smart because I have one optical source, two DAC's and one amplifier. I only switch the source of the amplifier aux1, aux2, so I can hear any change immediately.

 

[Trell]

Neither could he explain how a half dozen reviewers could come up with the same conclusions regarding the differences they had heard between the E70 & E70V. Psychoacoustics cannot explain how that many ears can hear the same thing…

Depends who the reviewers are, and how the tests are implemented and executed, don't you think?

Is there any specific (good) review you can link to that supports the claimed audible differences?

 

[Burns]

Depends who the reviewers are, and how the tests are implemented and executed, don't you think?

Is there any specific (good) review you can link to that supports the claimed audible differences?

Topping E70 Velvet DAC Review, Measurements and Comparisons

2/13/23 UPDATE.... See post 2 for FULL review of the Topping E70 VELVET DAC. Also, see here for what to expect next after the Topping comparo. https://www.euphonicreview.com/blog/rohm-comes-to-town The Topping is on its way here for a full review and lab testing at Euphonicreview.com...

www.head-fi.org

TOPPING E70 Velvet (E70V)

The all-new AKM flagship from Topping

www.head-fi.org

TOPPING E70V 'VELVET' dac review

by Andrew Allen Ballew DEJA VU? To give a short recap of where we have been, I received both versions of Topping's E70 DAC. The first to arrive was the older E70 with ESS9028PRO chipset. Then...

www.euphonicreview.com

it's probably the same person all the time

"The new E70V still sounds somewhat neutral to me but it definitely has more life throughout the frequency range. I find the difference in DAC sound signature to have a minor to moderate impact when it comes to the sound chain. I don’t think a DAC will make a night and day difference per say but I was able to pick up the differences fairly quickly after listening to the original E70."

 

[Trell]

Topping E70 Velvet DAC Review, Measurements and Comparisons

2/13/23 UPDATE.... See post 2 for FULL review of the Topping E70 VELVET DAC. Also, see here for what to expect next after the Topping comparo. https://www.euphonicreview.com/blog/rohm-comes-to-town The Topping is on its way here for a full review and lab testing at Euphonicreview.com...

www.head-fi.org

TOPPING E70 Velvet (E70V)

The all-new AKM flagship from Topping

www.head-fi.org

TOPPING E70V 'VELVET' dac review

by Andrew Allen Ballew DEJA VU? To give a short recap of where we have been, I received both versions of Topping's E70 DAC. The first to arrive was the older E70 with ESS9028PRO chipset. Then...

www.euphonicreview.com

it's probably the same person all the time

From the euphonicreview

>>>From the first note what stands out is the excellent transient response. There is speed and power here, but not at the expense of nuance and beauty, which will be heard just a few bars later. The string tone is rounded and pure, with the sweetest of vibrato and micro-dynamics, that when reproduced well may be just the type of small detail that separates a good DAC from a great DAC. If I had any qualms or reservations, it would be in the soundstage. While things were very nicely spready out from left to right, from front to back the DAC left things a little flat.<<<

Really?

 

[JustJones]

Posting opinions from reviews on differences in DACs whose noise floor is -120dB without any controls to remove any bias is meaningless. IMO all of them claiming similar sound signatures to the different DACs doesn't improve their credibility just makes it look like they all buy into the same marketing babble.

 

[Burns]

"

MLGrado​

500+ Head-Fier​

the actual difference is small. As a reviewer to say there is a notable difference is a relative thing.

In other words, if you had one of these and never heard the other, there would be nothing you hear via DSD playback that would make you say anything but, 'this sounds great'.

I am convinced the E70V is the better sounding DAC overall. And that is the one I would buy.

I find that the E70 ESS version also benefits from upconversion to DSD512. Or upconvert to DSD256. DACs have a problem sometimes with 512fs and faster. It requires the onboard logic to run superfast and lowers fidelity in some cases.

And as a general manner, I think DSD64 really has too much ultrasonic noise that starts rising at too low a frequency. Some DACs handle it fine, but I find that most DACs benefit upconverting DSD64.

I wouldn't worry about it. The E70V is an overall better sounding DAC. If you already have one and like it, I think you would be a bit disappointed going with the E70 instead.

Im complaining about the FIR filter being set so low on DSD. Its an academic argument, really. In real world listening, I would recommend the E70V everytime."

 

[Burns]

Posting opinions from reviews on differences in DACs whose noise floor is -120dB without any controls to remove any bias is meaningless. IMO all of them claiming similar sound signatures to the different DACs doesn't improve their credibility just makes it look like they all buy into the same marketing babble.

I haven't bought it yet, I'm defending myself against it. I know that two identical DACs with the same chip sound identical. Two DACs from different companies with the same chip also sound identical, whether SMS ESS sounds identical to Topping AKM I have at least 0.02% doubt.
In that case, will the DAC with an external power supply from a mobile phone charger have a sound worsened by this charger.
Is it really so hard in DACs to get the rough facts without believing in voodoo?

 

[JustJones]

Neither the E70 or E70V have external power supplies. What Dac are you referring to?

 

[Veri]

I am not sure if the review is true. The Chinese did not write in the specification. The device is too light and has an evenly distributed weight. Only a small rectangle is visible in the picture. This indicates impulse power to me. (There was an older device 3 years ago, marked D70 and there was a small coil inside - probably the same as in the P5 external power supply).

The image you link shows its I/V conversion stage. Not a power supply.

 

[Burns]

Neither the E70 or E70V have external power supplies. What Dac are you referring to?

I know because I have w70 and smsl DO200 mk2 !
I am asking in the context of the E30/E50/D50s, which do not even have a power adapter in the set, will connecting any mobile phone charger worsen the sound ?
Everyone sings when buying an E30/E50/D50s buy a P5 external linear power supply for $150 it will improve the sound. Is it true or false?
prices:
price of DAC D50S + price of P5 power supply = price of DAC e70
As I showed above, the built-in pulsed power supply does not look like spaceflight technology.
So that it does not turn out to be of the same quality as the phone from 5 years ago and the only difference is that it is embedded.

 

[aka_Z]

Just for curiosity, why vendors like AKM and ESS are even developing a new DACs? Besides marketing and sales, of course

 

[theREALdotnet]

Just for curiosity, why vendors like AKM and ESS are even developing a new DACs? Besides marketing and sales, of course

They have a long way to go until they match Chord’s M-Scaler

 

[aka_Z]

But e70 has ES9028Pro. ES9038Q2M must be better than x28, at least by factor 10. But on another hand, one is pro, another one is not