TOPPING D90SE DAC REVIEW | Through the Looking Glass

Welcome to the third iteration of the Topping D90 DAC.
Let's take a deep dive with this DAC and gather whether this warrants such a high price tag.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:35 Hardware tour
02:33 Specs
06:25 Amp paring & overall sound
08:05 Side tangent
09:28 Staging
12:16 Imaging
14:05 Tonal balance
14:50 Dynamics
17:09 Bass
19:35 Mid-range
22:05 Treble
23:05 Let me paint you a picture
27:00 Conclusion
29:00 Outro

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Edited by

M U S I C
Music by Andre Louis

[ConvinceMeAudio]

To our newcomers welcome to the old crew welcome back.
We sincerely hope you enjoy this review.
Don’t forget, you can join us over at audiolounge on Telegram
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[nikosidis]

Thanks for the review. I love my D90SE. I heard a lot of DACs including recent models from RME and Musical Fidelity and this DAC is on another planet. This DAC just bring out so much detail that it is hard to imagine anyone could do better regardless of price. What you say about blurring the picture when a lot happen in the recording do not happen in my setup. I have Sonus Faber speakers, Custom made Tube preamp and Theta Power Amp.

[mopnem]

One of the best audio descriptions of the dac I've heard so far & I've pretty much listened to them all. I also agree on the price explanation, then again he did say he enjoyed it more than the competition at that price point. I do think him using filter 5 might have scewed a little bit of the audio as I would only use filter 2, 3 & 6. But with that many nonsense filters who can really be expected to go into all that. If I had more gear available to me like he clearly does, I might not. I wonder if he has any recommendations on how to make a D90se/A90 stack with an Arya Stealth sound less clinical?

[Reeeepicheep]

Bifrost 2 is my endgame dac. It sounds so lifelike but also punchy and fun. Best DAC under $1K imo

[jman]

If you have the change I would love to hear your review of the Denafrips Pontus II DAC. Love your reviews!

[cablebrain]

A very thorough review.
I'd love to hear one of the Terminator II, especially in comparison to the Spring 3 or May DACs.

[traveler]

D90SE users should upgrade to the latest firmware(1.88). Added features and sound similar to the new D90LE.

[АндрейМорозов-прр]

Absolutely on point about the volume difference issue. Vocals are often to quiet when they move away from the main focus.
For example:
- The Strokes - bad decisions (chorus: guitar and drums are loud, vocals are not enough)
- Van der graaph generator - scorched earth (2 : 23 this vocal sequence lacks impact because the singer is behind and pretty quiet)
In these moments i always want to turn up the volume knob on my amplifier. But it will be too loud in normal moments(esp drums) then...

Everything is good for me in this dac except this strange imaging/volume problem.

sry bad english :)

[spiritualarchitect]

It is easy to tell when you are filming on your mega yacht @0:51 by the gentle way the camera rolls with the waves. This happens several times in this video. I am assuming you are docked when you film and that this bob only happens when other boats pass by and create a swell to rock your boat. It may be my imagination, but I am also assuming that a $600 A90/A90D will power the Focal Stellia’s just fine.

[varbane]

What DAC would you recommend under $1500? I was thinking of TOPPING D90 III that's updated one, but i'm not so sure since it's very much similar to this one, at least by the reviews. My next pick would probably be Holo Cyan 2. I mainly listen to electronic music and then classical. Would appreciate any suggestion if you have one. (I would pair it with VIOLECTRIC HPA V222 or Schiit Mjolnir 3 + Meze Empyrean 2)

[JDintheDMV]

I’m really looking at those studio speakers you got behind you. What brand is that?

[Coolesttech]

I2S is not for HDMI audio from a TV. You might want to correct that in your video

[dustinmihalcheon]

I noticed your XBox controller in the background. I have a A90 running my headphones off my pc for music and gaming lately. Would this DAC benefit me for gaming? I have heard it doesn't have a very good 3D sound to it?

[Daniele_Zanardini]

Dynamic weak ? You're wrong, I have D90SE and it has huge dynamic and it is ultra detailed. Please try again ...

[sebanambrus]

YOu think D90SE is an upgrade to the RME adi2 DAC ?

[Nightjar]

No offense brother. But the D90SE is the worse sounding DAC I’ve heard. Thin and bad timbre.
I much preferred the Topping D30pro. But that just like other topping products have bad analog output stages and veil the sound and take away weight of instruments.
Again I hope no offense. Just my opinion as a musician of 40 years.
Peace.