Topping DACs?

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by etane, May 6, 2020.

  1. MichaeLeroy

    MichaeLeroy Almost "Made"

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2020
    Likes Received:
    250
    Trophy Points:
    53
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    currawong is no EEVblog Dave when it comes to touring the insides of electronics products, but he does seem honest and thoughtful in his observations. The video did prompt me to look into the technology of the AD5781 DAC used in the Bifrost. I had to go to the referenced patent to get an idea of how the internal calibration works. The current DAC calibrated R-2R DAC concept seems pretty cool, not to mention all of the DSP that is going on with the Bifrost. Clearly there is a lot to be learned just on the technical side to mastering DAC design. Respect to the ADI engineers and to Mike Moffat. By contrast the Topping DACs do seem to earn the cookie cutter label.
     
  2. bboris77

    bboris77 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Likes Received:
    778
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Or, just buy a Modi 3 and spend all that extra money on speakers or headphones.
     
  3. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,345
    Trophy Points:
    113
    We’re goddamn Mongolians here who keep destroying shitty gear.
     
  4. archerious

    archerious New

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2020
    Likes Received:
    16
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    TX
    Agreed 100%, f**k audiosciencereview, that bullshit cult website are shills for Topping. This D90 sounds horrid. It's so lifeless, I think there is more life at the damn morgue than this!
     
  5. mocenigo

    mocenigo Acquaintance

    Banned
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    26
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Munich
    I read somewhere they actually mean it as the gerund of "to top".
     
  6. mocenigo

    mocenigo Acquaintance

    Banned
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    26
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Munich
    Funny. I find it very very natural (whatever this means, to me it means that it does not sound forced, that the delivery is effortless), not fatiguing at all, precise, not exaggerating anything, with a well layered, deep stage, with precise and stable source positioning, with just the right amount of air, a wealth of detail (all the plankton you need), plenty of macro- and micro-dynamics.

    This, with its ruler flat response, perfect channel separation, essentially no distortion, tells me this is a reference DAC, and if something sounds wrong, it must be somewhere else in the chain, or in the pairing of components.
     
  7. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    7,467
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Winnipeg
    Although as a verb it actually has a very different connotation... :eek::oops: or :punk::mad:o_O depending on your relative positions on the y-axis.
     
  8. farbinator

    farbinator Facebook Friend

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2020
    Likes Received:
    93
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    United States
    Screenshot_20201127-212342(1).png

    Topping.. The SPR Coffee of DACs
     
  9. dllmsch

    dllmsch Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2016
    Likes Received:
    280
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Molvanîa
    I think topping is derived from their chinese name 拓品's cantonese pronounciation, and don't have a particular meaning, just like other chi-fi companys e.g. xduoo/gustard.

    For me personally, as a Hong Konger with access to taobao, if I want a cheap chi-fi cookie cutter dac to "head the sound of the chip", I would go for something from weiliang(breeze audio/nobsound/brzhifi same company) or gustard, both on aliexpress I think. If I want better chi-fi with some proper engineering there's singxer and holo audio, heck there's even a Rockna wavedream knockoff in the Chinese market going for around $1.5k. Topping and SMSL you are basically paying $100 to $300 premium for aggressive overseas marketing.
     
  10. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,904
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Europe
    Please tell us more.
     
  11. dllmsch

    dllmsch Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2016
    Likes Received:
    280
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Molvanîa
  12. bboris77

    bboris77 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Likes Received:
    778
    Trophy Points:
    93
    I was not sure whether to post this in the ASRR thread or here, but here is "A Real Monster" DAC. D90SE, priced at $899.
    https://www.tpdz.net/productinfo/645180.html

    Here is Amir's review:
    https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-d90se-review-balanced-dac.24235/

    While I understand the appeal of this type of device to the people that need a myriad of inputs/outputs and preamp functionality, I just cannot get excited about its price point, especially considering their own D30 Pro, which is priced at $399.

    As for the whole "best measuring evah device" marketing spiel, there are $99 DACs that are already transparent - case closed.
     
  13. Huhnkopf

    Huhnkopf Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,076
    Trophy Points:
    93
    This is the perfect example of the kind of customer ASR tries to breed. Antithetical to their "original" propagated philosophy and stance.

    [​IMG]
     
  14. bboris77

    bboris77 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Likes Received:
    778
    Trophy Points:
    93
    I was not sure if he was serious or sarcastic.
     
  15. Beefy

    Beefy Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2021
    Likes Received:
    1,738
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Canada
    You'd have to admit it is a pretty impressive technological accomplishment. Yet, I still want to know how it sounds.

    They overloaded and broke my sarcasm detector. It's comedy gold to my mind.

    If ASR truly believes that people can't hear a difference, surely we are well beyond the point they should disappear in a puff of logic.
     
  16. Baten

    Baten Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,130
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    EU
    I'm pretty sure he means that ironically. As in "oh yeahh, some extra SINAD" /s
    I mean, I do hope that's what he means. A joke. :confused:
     
  17. gepardcv

    gepardcv Almost "Made"

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2015
    Likes Received:
    408
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Terra, Sol System
    Same, though not enough to spend $900 just to find out that the review sample was cherry-picked while retail units have a (still-inaudible) SINAD of 80dB, sound like every other ESS DAC, and sport that lovely Topping UI.
     
  18. Marvey

    Marvey Super Friend

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2021
    Likes Received:
    1,712
    Trophy Points:
    93
    0.13 SINAD per dollar, objectively speaking not a good value. In fact, quite poor.
     
  19. GoldenOne

    GoldenOne Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2020
    Likes Received:
    1,049
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    England
    So I have the D90 and D90SE in at the moment.

    A few manufacturers after my MQA video had told me that MQA was pressuring them to use the MQA 'renderer' upsampling filter for ALL content even if it isn't MQA. (Done because MQA can cause issues with gapless playback on some hardware).

    Seems topping is one of the manufacturers doing that.....
    The d90 MQA pretends to have selectable filters, it does not.

    I'm banned from ASR but if anyone wants to post this and ask John Yang on ASR about it feel free.
    [​IMG]


    Note: D90SE doesn't have this issue. Just D90
     
    • Epic Epic x 14
    • Like Like x 10
    • List
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2021
  20. crenca

    crenca Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    3,829
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Southern New Mexico
    This is important work. One of the central claims MQA supporters on the forums (many, but not all of them, astroturfers) make is that MQA is just another choice - you don't have to use it if you don't want to. Here we see that some manufactures gear don't actually give you a choice.
     

Share This Page