Galactic Soap Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Hi Everyone- Quick question re: the D70. I want to run it in DAC mode. I've managed to access the menu, and changed the selection from Pre to DAC. But not sure how to navigate out of the menu when I've changed the setting. What am I doing wrong? Cheers, GS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
was_a Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 1 hour ago, deafenears said: No probs. I'm now curious to read what you wrote to cause that kind of reaction and being flagged as a 'troll' lol. But yeah, like with most forums these days, always some weird and interesting characters. See my previous posts on this thread; that's almost it, word for word. It quickly became obvious that everyone on ASR was only interested in the noise and distortion figures, because they couldn't bear commentary on anything else. I suspect many didn't know how an output stage works or have a lot of rudimentary knowledge of electronics. They were primarily interested in criticising me! It was really weird some of the stuff they wrote; very little had to do with electronics, or even the OP's precious measurements. I admit I wrote a little ironic jibe at the end, saying I hoped their sine wave graphs would give them 'great auditory pleasure'. That may have been too much for the moderator? !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ittaku Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 20 minutes ago, was_a said: See my previous posts on this thread; that's almost it, word for word. It quickly became obvious that everyone on ASR was only interested in the noise and distortion figures, because they couldn't bear commentary on anything else. They set the standard there themselves. They have graphs of lines above which apparently everything sounds the same. Since 99% of DACs meet that criteria, the only reason for measuring them is mental masturbation. It's a wondrous place. And yet despite their own recommendations, their audience often buy the best measuring DAC they can afford instead of the Topping D10. Why? No need to answer that; it's a rhetorical question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
was_a Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 (edited) Yeah, that is interesting. I think money is an underlying motivator in their belief system - at least many of them, because if you only have a small budget and were told the D30 is the greatest thing since sliced bread, wouldn't you be overjoyed to hear that? (Another rhetorical question, there!). Edited February 6, 2020 by was_a 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 6, 2020 Volunteer Share Posted February 6, 2020 22 minutes ago, Ittaku said: the Topping D10. Hey, that’s my dac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
was_a Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Cheapskate! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ittaku Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 12 minutes ago, sir sanders zingmore said: Hey, that’s my dac Indeed, "reference quality" it is too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 6, 2020 Volunteer Share Posted February 6, 2020 54 minutes ago, Ittaku said: Indeed, "reference quality" it is too. as good as any dac I've heard and at a fraction of the price of dacs I've owned. What's not to like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPete9 Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 (edited) Anyone managed to compare to D50/P50 combo or similar? Any other comparisons? Be interesting to hear the thoughts of some one who has heard one. Edited February 8, 2020 by JPete9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordcloud Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 I received my D90 last Friday. I'm away from my system at the moment, but the first few days I had with it, my initial observations were that it sounds flattish and much less tonally dense than my MHDT Labs Balanced Pagoda. I'm hoping it will sound better after it's been running for a few days.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Poort Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 "much less tonally dense" what does this mean? Are you saying your MHDT Labs Balanced Pagoda sounds less clean, warmer or veiled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muon* Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 Real vocals and instruments sound tonally dense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelossus Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 So maybe it sounds thin? To me that would be the opposite of a dense sound. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 11, 2020 Volunteer Share Posted February 11, 2020 3 hours ago, lordcloud said: I received my D90 last Friday. I'm away from my system at the moment, but the first few days I had with it, my initial observations were that it sounds flattish and much less tonally dense than my MHDT Labs Balanced Pagoda. I'm hoping it will sound better after it's been running for a few days.. I can't find the single-ended output voltage for the Topping but if you are comparing both using XLR, the Topping outputs 4v and the Pagoda is 6v (If I read their specs correctly). Unless you are carefully volume matching, this may account for the difference you hear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suopermanni Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 (edited) 45 minutes ago, sir sanders zingmore said: I can't find the single-ended output voltage for the Topping but if you are comparing both using XLR, the Topping outputs 4v and the Pagoda is 6v (If I read their specs correctly). Unless you are carefully volume matching, this may account for the difference you hear If the Topping D90 works like the other Toppings, then the single ended output voltage should be about 2V. EDIT: I checked the user manual I got off the Topping website. It's 2Vrms at 0dbFS. Edited February 11, 2020 by Suopermanni 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 11, 2020 Volunteer Share Posted February 11, 2020 9 minutes ago, Suopermanni said: If the Topping D90 works like the other Toppings, then the single ended output voltage should be about 2V. And the Pagoda is 3v single-ended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muon* Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 That would only make one quieter, it would not account for less or more tonal density. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 11, 2020 Volunteer Share Posted February 11, 2020 All sorts of difference might be attributed to things when their volumes aren't matched. Of course, it may well be that one actually does have greater tonal density but IMHO it's best to eliminate the possibility that the difference is caused by something else 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordcloud Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 5 hours ago, rob said: "much less tonally dense" what does this mean? Are you saying your MHDT Labs Balanced Pagoda sounds less clean, warmer or veiled? It sounds a bit thin in comparison to the Pagoda, which isn't a warm DAC at all. The Pagoda isn't warm or veiled, but it has more information in the midband. The D90 may be a bit cleaner though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted February 11, 2020 Author Share Posted February 11, 2020 2 hours ago, sir sanders zingmore said: All sorts of difference might be attributed to things when their volumes aren't matched. Of course, it may well be that one actually does have greater tonal density but IMHO it's best to eliminate the possibility that the difference is caused by something else Agreed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordcloud Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 3 hours ago, sir sanders zingmore said: I can't find the single-ended output voltage for the Topping but if you are comparing both using XLR, the Topping outputs 4v and the Pagoda is 6v (If I read their specs correctly). Unless you are carefully volume matching, this may account for the difference you hear It's not the volume levels. I didn't match the volumes exactly, but it's definitely not there volume levels. The two DACs sound different. I was incredibly excited to get the D90, as my goal is to move away from tubes and towards a more accurate, revealing sound. I don't think the Pagoda is incredibly inaccurate, however the sound will inevitably change as the tubes age, and I don't use readily available tubes in the first place. I want to love the D90, and I expected to. But based on the first few days I'm not so sure. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 11, 2020 Volunteer Share Posted February 11, 2020 24 minutes ago, lordcloud said: It's not the volume levels. I didn't match the volumes exactly, but it's definitely not there volume levels. The two DACs sound different. If you didn’t match volume levels then that is the most likely reason that they sound different. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
was_a Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 1 hour ago, lordcloud said: It's not the volume levels. I didn't match the volumes exactly, but it's definitely not there volume levels. The two DACs sound different. I was incredibly excited to get the D90, as my goal is to move away from tubes and towards a more accurate, revealing sound. I don't think the Pagoda is incredibly inaccurate, however the sound will inevitably change as the tubes age, and I don't use readily available tubes in the first place. I want to love the D90, and I expected to. But based on the first few days I'm not so sure. Interesting observations, echoing my own with Topping's D30, D50 and D70. P.S. Keep trusting your ears. There are a minority of people who believe "all DACs sound the same" and try to undermine opinions on sound characteristics. However this minority tend to make the majority of posts, it seems! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 11, 2020 Volunteer Share Posted February 11, 2020 7 minutes ago, was_a said: Keep trusting your ears completely agree 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordcloud Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 1 hour ago, sir sanders zingmore said: If you didn’t match volume levels then that is the most likely reason that they sound different. Lol. Ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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