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Topping D90iii - worth a try?

S

steveinspain

pfm Member
I've seen a used fairly cheap one of these that I can try a home demo of.
I currently have a rega dac, have no idea what a newer dac might add, although the D90iii does offer Bluetooth which might be useful for the girls. I wouldn't mind if the sound was slightly less full in the bass (what they might call a more modern sound?)
Anyone got any experience?
 
If you can demo it then go for it - no risk if you don't like it... I have a D90SE which I'm very happy with; it replaced a D50 which in turn was a temporary fix when my Audiolab M-DAC shat itself. If the D90iii is an evolution/improvement on the D90SE then I know I would be giving it a try in your shoes.
 
I have the D90SE which is the immediate predecessor and is in every regard a state of the art DAC. It edged out a BM DAC3HGC though not by much. I'm sure the D90III will sound very similar (in fact I doubt you could hear the difference) but measures marginally better.

Never heard the Rega DAC so unable to comment on specific differences but I doubt you'll be disappointed.
 
Interestingly the mega expensive things that are claimed to be better never seem to have any proper quantitative reviews to back up the claims, apart from the Chord Dave, which was a decided embarrassment for its manufacturers.

The D90SE has plenty of positive comment, and not only from the measurement crowd. Some very surprised and well respected subjectivists here!

www.theabsolutesound.com

Topping D90SE DAC Review - The Absolute Sound

Steven Stone discovers the Topping D90SE, a perfect example of just how good today's inexpensive DACs have become.
www.theabsolutesound.com www.theabsolutesound.com

Not so sure exactly who's deluded here!
 
Thank you all for your replies, I'll give it a try and see if it works for me and brings about a pleasant change to my rega dac.
My system is currently a tiny bit bass heavy and I often have a slight treble tilt via my quad 66 pre, so this might help with that.
 
steveinspain said:
Thank you all for your replies, I'll give it a try and see if it works for me and brings about a pleasant change to my rega dac.
My system is currently a tiny bit bass heavy and I often have a slight treble tilt via my quad 66 pre, so this might help with that.
Click to expand...
You won't need the Quad pre-amp with the Topping, unless of course you have analogue sources you want to use. IMO, you don't even have to get the top of the line Topping Dac, there's plenty of models that are less expensive that will sound just fine.
 
Peter Stockwell said:
You won't need the Quad pre-amp with the Topping, unless of course you have analogue sources you want to use. IMO, you don't even have to get the top of the line Topping Dac, there's plenty of models that are less expensive that will sound just fine.
Click to expand...
The big things that the Quad gives me is it's tilt and filters, allowing me to adjust the sound slightly too suit my tiny room and big speakers and the fantastic remote control of the 66. It's the size of a book, with a large volume control so even in the dark it can easily be found and there is no need to put on my glasses and fumble around for a tiny button like I have to with so many remotes.
I know there are many dacs (ie RME adi 2) that might be able to tailor the sound to suit but I do love my big remote that has its own place on the sofa next to where I sit..
 
A word of caution about buying a Topping Dac on the basis of technical reviews. I bought a D70 after glowing reviews. Sounded thin and unmusical. Got rid of it immediately. It really was bad.
 
les24preludes said:
Sounded thin and unmusical. Got rid of it immediately. It really was bad.
Click to expand...

That is often said about about well measuring modern chip dacs as they have very little harmonic distortion and such vanishingly low signal to noise ratios, some folk prefer an older/less well engineered style dac, what is often classed as a "warm" dac can be shown to have odd order distortion that rises into the audible range when measured - just an excuse for a poorly engineered device - but if you prefer that style of eq applied to your music then that's perfectly fine.

A dac should do absolutely nothing audible to the signal that it is fed
 
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Somafunk said:
That is often said about about well measuring modern chip dacs as they have very little harmonic distortion and such vanishingly low signal to noise ratios, some folk prefer an older/less well engineered style dac, what is often classed as a "warm" dac can be shown to have odd order distortion that rises into the audible range when measured - just an excuse for a poorly engineered device - but if you prefer that style of eq applied to your music then that's perfectly fine.

A dac should do absolutely nothing audible to the signal that it is fed
Click to expand...

I don't buy this at all. No amplifying device does "nothing" to a signal, and putting any amplification device into the chain may well be (and usually is) audible. And add to that switch mode power supplies, which don't do "nothing". Then add the analog output stage and you have plenty of circuitry that makes a difference in DACs. And anyway, "warm" usually refers to the presence of second harmonics rather than odd harmonics, and appropriate second harmonics isn't "bad engineering". The Topping D70 I bought is a good example of measurements not indicating sound quality - up against my usual DAC it simply sounded poor. I was very surprised, but when I passed it on to a friend he said exactly the same thing.
 
brab said:
Elegantly argued.
Click to expand...
There's nothing to argue. Topping DACs qualify as good for the money they cost. Mass manufactured, chip based and cheap components to make a decently performing whole which will match well in a low to mid-fi system. State of the art they aren't and to represent otherwise is well, just a bit silly.
 
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