The D90 stays all-black back to front. Matrix Audio Element X ($3000) VS Topping D90 ($700). Could you recommend a couple of daps under about $1500. When I turn off LDAC it switches to 44.1kHz on the D90 screen. the software was Windows 10, Foobar 2000 and WASAPI drivers. Launched in late 2019, TOPPING's extraordinary D90 made waves among the audiophile community, and now finally the D90's MQA ready counterpart is available. I am blown away by how musical this DAC is, and I’ve been a high end audiophile for over 20 years. Is the Arya too much for it? The Topping D90 is a new company flagship pure DAC packed with an AKM AK4499 chipset, optional MQA decoding and BT wireless capability. If you want to squeeze the best out of D90, you will need to use USB or the I2S input. Your email address will not be published. Was I offended by it sounding about on the same level with my own $3K Element X? What is there to love in a simple black box you might ask? Is the D90 deserves the increasing of price ? Bass-heads out there will be impressed by the D90 and by its ability to move large amounts of air in an instant with an impressive start and stop of the transducers. Speaking is easier for me. Refurb Dead Out of The Box- Updated Review, Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2020. Volume is changed by the +/- buttons while inputs can be switched with . Note this is a 3-prong power lead not suitable for UK sockets but they do supply a cheap adapter for 2-pin slots we use here or something suitable for your region. This is a ‘solid knock’ on the housing as opposed to some disheartening echo.

But you get used to it. You use a DAC to convert digital to analog then feed it to a headphone amp. Thanks for this interestings reviews.

It is the current product to beat. A Bluetooth antenna is also supplied. I’m glad Topping took out the best parts of DX7 PRO and D70 as their newest metal enclosure, Bluetooth capabilities, high-performance Accusilicon femtosecond clocks, the best XMOS interface and put all that inside D90, they also replaced two AK4497EQ DAC chips with a single top-of-the-line AK4499 DAC chip and achieved a staggering measured performance of 127 dB of dynamic range and 122 dB of SINAD. I’m really only…, Geshelli Labs Archel2.5 Pro Review + Interview, BLOG: The Fav Album Of…. Certainly, the dimensions are much smaller than the Cayin iDAC-6 i-series unit but still not as small as the Chord Electronics Qutest. Since then they have gained in popularity in our community. People love seeing logos. Learn how your comment data is processed. I personally don’t like V-shaped type of sound, to me midrange is the most important part of the frequency. It does seem quite linear right up to the lower-mids or relatively uncolored compared to the Cayin iDAC-6 MK2’s organic earthy sound. The sound is never forced, it is grain free and crystal clear. Thank you very much. The front panel is really simple, the On/Off button on the left works as an input selector and a longer press will turn it Off or On. Topping has gone for something a little more considered in their packaging for the D90. Maybe I wish that you would set the XLR and RCA output independently so one could be a pre out and the other a line out or vise versa but that's not a big deal. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It does have good extension into both ends of the register. Some people might say it isn’t fair to compare the D90 to something three times the price. Am loving the D90 into a tube integrated amp. that feels like a legacy role reversed because it always used to be Sabre DACs were the neutral performers.

Disclaimer: The Topping D90 sent to us for this review is a sample in exchange for our honest opinion. I was expecting it to be a bit on the hollow flexy side of things as some of these slimline units can be but not the D90. I have updated my review to four stars as Apos did get in touch-apparently breakdown in communication was due to Amazon cloud not forwarding my responses which led to great frustration. Chord is known for their extreme performance DACs. The fact D90 plays well with DSD 512 through HQPlayer is a huge plus. The iDAC-6 to me sounds more musical, more emotional and just overall more enjoyable. Topping has always been considered a high value price to performance company. I do see a 96kHz sample rate also on the OLED screen for the D90 so I presume it is recognizing the LDAC signal. On the back you can access the USB B, Coax, Optical, HDMI (I²S), AES/EBU and Bluetooth input. a great article, With lots of information in it, These articles help users interested in the site, and continue to share more … good luck! The D90 is a great value and should be an excellent performer so looking forward to replacement. On a sound quality point of view, these two perform at different levels. For me, D90 is definitely a genre master that plays exceptionally well everything from relaxing and soothing tunes to fast executed and wild slamming bass riffs. I will start by saying what I didn’t like about all AKM based designs I listened to until now. (Initial impression formed with a Samsung Note 9, Sony 1Z DAP, and a Xi Audio Broadway Amp in balanced mode). Suffice to say the D90 is an excellent, true to source DAC. Still, the D90 has a lot more features than the Qutest hence there are a lot more sockets to fit in but it is still very stackable. I already tested their tiny D50S, their big D70 and their DX7 PRO DAC and headphone amp combo, so I’m quite familiar with this brand and their products and frankly I couldn’t wait testing their newest D90 DAC. The Topping D90, easily available on Amazon and through other internet retailers, has been measured by several prominent bloggers and it has either essentially tied or come out on top as the best measuring DAC, well, ever. The D90 bass via the Broadway is very nicely defined, nothing soft at all about it.

For starters there isn’t a single visible screw on any side, you can spot them only on the back plate and underneath it. I don't expect much when it comes to DACs. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, Great quality (sound & hardware), but no panacea, Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2020. the only thing I have to say is that the speed of turning up and down the volume is just way too fast. This is a very revealing set of equipment, and the Topping MQA DAC is a perfect role player in my musical listening experience. Speaking is easier for me. The AKM4499 supersedes the AK4497, a DAC we have seen implemented in the Yulong D10 last year and in pure terms, it can churn out 140dB SNR and -124dB THD+N. These clocks are paired with an Altera Max II CPLD, which is an FPGA from Intel. The Pale Emperor by Marylin Manson is not a record I enjoy a lot, but I was always thrilled by the technical aspect of this record, for a metal/rock release it sounds damn impressive. Many thanks for the generosity and opportunity! As with any initial impressions of a DAC, there is a lot of contextual reasoning in describing how they perform.