How to configure Topping D90 DAC for BEST Performance
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- In this video I will show you how to get the absolute best performance out of your Topping D90. By default there are some settings that can hold back the performance. The first is Pre-amp mode where the up and down buttons will act as a digital volume control. For best performance it's recommended to disable this and put the D90 in what is called "pure DAC mode". Another performance benefit is to disable the bluetooth receiver if you plan on never using bluetooth. Also outputting to both XLR and RCA at the same time limits performance and it's recommended to output to only one at the same time. I will demonstrate all this on the video. There is a secret hidden settings menu to change some of these settings and you can access it by holding down the power button while switching the power supply switch on the back at the same time.
I like the purist approach to minimalising the function to a simple DAC however I have to wonder is the upgrade in sound is really noticeable. I understand the concepts behind this approach. I am just not sure the improvement in sound would outweigh the convenience of the volume control etc. thanks for making time to create this.
Do a blind test and see if you can tell the difference. This will provide all the answers you need.
It may be my diminished hearing over the years, but I can perceive zero appreciable difference in taking this completely minimalist approach to functionality. Certainly things like turning off BT for power consumption sure, but the Preamp and changing to a single output does nothing for me except losing the preamp functionality. As switching outputs on the remote is simple it's no big deal. I'm sure some things may be measurable perhaps, but audible not so much for me.
I absolutely love my A90 D90 stack. Nice video
I was mainly searching for info on how to turn off BT since some device kept hijacking my D90...but the other information is useful, too. Thanks!
Thank you. You presented an excellent tutorial.
Secret menu indeed! Thanks, man, you really helped me out!
Thanks ! just got mine today and the menu looks different but all I want is to use only as DAC. Really appreciated.
The other thing to add to this useful video is if you are using this from a Windows machine via USB keep updating the drivers! The sound does keep improving. Last drivers released were this February. You will need Windows 10 upwards to benefit from this.
Thanks a lot for this video. I'm about to buy a Topping E70 Velvet so your settings for the D90 will be very helpful to get the E70 Velvet to sound right.
Dude your simple video, was so amazing in helping me out! Thank you
Very handy Thanks.
Hey what i the best way to feed the D90 music? Do you use a streamer like a WiiM?
Thanks ! These directions work of the D90SE also
Are you using the D90se with the A90? How is the performance? I am considering this but the price is rather high
@@BillyKueekSG Yes... desktop HP setup with HiFiMan Sundara
@@larrywe3320, thank you. I have the Sundara too and am considering the latest version of Arya with stealth magnet hence thinking of upgrading with a dac and amp. I am using the iFi Zen DAC amp V2 now
No problem!
Great vid, thanks bro.
Very useful! Thanks
If I use the Bluetooth output I lost a lot in sound quality ?
i find the bass is not as punch as i want it to be, and when i play call of duty the footsteps are super low and the gunshots are super high, any advice ?
great. really great. thanks. you get absolutely no documentation with this thing and their website is pretty crap. like the adi 2 from rme has pretty much the same functions as this, and its manual is like a paperback novel.
Happy New Year 2022. Does this configuration for BEST Performance work for the D90SE too? Thanks.
I personally don't have a D90SE to confirm, but I've heard from others they have the same menu system, so it should work.
@@TheN3tw0rq Thanks for reaching out. Much appreciated.
Thank you
Hi! Thanks for the video! Really cool. One question, why does the auto-power = off improve sound quality?
It doesn't, it's just a good thing to turn off. If you keep your computer on 24/7 like I do, I don't want my DAC randomly turning off, I want it to stay on all the time. I just mentioned it so people are aware of it.
@@TheN3tw0rq OK Thanks!
I have the d90se connected via Coax to a cambridge cxn v2 for a streamer and my adam audio monitors are connected via xlr, I can't seem to control the volume from cambridge and it plays at max volume when in pure dac mode. Do you know what the problem is?
The source has to control the volume when in pure dac mode. I don't know much about the Cambridge but it has to have a digital volume control. Consult the manual or contact their support. The volume control on the Cambridge is likely controlling the analog outputs from the Cambridge, not the digital coax.
Why do you need the Topping D90 if you have the Hilo? can't you just use the Hilo's D to A and go directly into the A90 for your headphones?
I could but the Topping D90 is a better DAC. I could also use the Hilo for the headphone amp too, but the Topping A90 is a better headphone amp. Everything has it's purpose, the Hilo being the ADC of the chain, because it's excellent at that.
The d90 in preamp mode was a huge disappointment to me, it made loud popping noises whenever I played, paused, stopped the music, when muting the dac and anytime sample rate changed.
I understand now why they're selling a separate preamp because the internal preamp module in the D90 is utterly useless.
Topping support confirmed the popping noises are due to the way it's designed, so I ditched it.
It was a sad choice I loved the way it sounded.
Haven't had any popping noises, but then again I've never tested the preamp mode on mine. Any popping issues I've always had with audio were the result of USB being USB. I use AES/EBU myself. Have you tested your D90 with the other inputs to see if it still pops? If you have an A90 paired with your D90, as many do, use it as the preamp instead. It's such a high quality amp, that you don't really need to adjust volume in the digital domain using the D90. I never use a preamp, I just use the Windows Volume mixer. But I understand people using a power amplifier without any gain controls.
@@TheN3tw0rq loads of poppings only in preamp mode, in dac mode it works perfectly, in fact I will surely end up getting preamp to fix the d90 issue.
I thought it was the usb ( ill definitely test the other inputs!) but then I notice that even with no sources connected it would still make a pop when muting it from the remote!
My advice would be, use Preamp mode until you understand what could happen downstream if max voltage is fed into a downstream pre/pwr power amp! What happens if 4 Volts RMS is fed into a Power Amp which only needs 1.2 to 1.4 Volts RMS to give max Pwr??????
The majority of things you connect will be fine. Example if you use consumer gear and connect the DAC via RCA, the line level will be fine. Power amps connecting via XLR will be able to take 4V RMS just fine. The main problem is a power amp that doesn't have a volume control and then you blast music, you should always adjust your source first before turning on said amp. But if you're connecting a receiver/home theater via RCA, those will always have volume controls for themselves.
hi, one question, i see you have lynx thread, two questions, does d90 topping sound better to you d / a sound than thread? And my other question, do you think the topping would work with a daw? i work in cubase on win 10.
Hello, I haven't really listened to the Lynx Hilo's D/A, I only use it for A/D. That being said, the Topping D90 measures objectively much better and is why I use the D90 as my DAC. Yes the Topping will work with any DAW and also has ASIO drivers.
@@TheN3tw0rq ok my friend, a question, have you used the d90 in any daw? if yes, is it fine to work with vsts, and for mixing with plugins? is latency good? I would use it to work on windows 10 and cubase 10 pro. and my other question, does the d90 d / a sound good?
I don't really create music so I don't personally use a DAW. The D90 should work fine with any DAW and will show up. It also has ASIO drivers available for it so latency won't be an issue. The D90 sounds good and has stellar objective performance.
@@electedmusic7685 you’re only gonna have latency if you monitor live performance using your DAW. That’s a very common problem with any interface or converter. But if you’re listening and mixing recorded material already, then the latency shouldn’t be an issue at all. In my case, I record dry signal in the DAW while using direct analog monitoring. And then apply effects to that recorded dry signal in post/mixing, so I don’t have to deal with latency.
Just curious, i have the DAC at the bottom and the amp on top (A90 D90 stack) but i noticed the D90 gets really warm.. will that affect the sound of A90?
Hi, I have heard that putting the amp below is also better because the DAC adds weight to the amp when we plug in and out our headphones. This stack combo is priced rather high, how was the performance of this combo? I am looking at the A90 and D90se combo.
The A90 actually is what gets hot. It doesn't matter which way you stack them, it shouldn't affect the sound. I found audio equipment tends to "sound better" when it's hot anyway, but that's just my subjective opinion.
These two are a killer combo. They are priced accordingly and one of the best end-game audio settings you can get.
@@TheN3tw0rq hi, I recently buy a second hand d90 and it get really hot. I've tested it on pre and dac mode, stocked and not stocked. In all scenarios it get really hot. There's something wrong with the unit? Should I try to return it?
@@funcionyforma Nope, it's normal, especially if you have the A90 sitting under it. Most of that heat would be from the A90.
BT off does not increase any performance.
Saved my butt , good facts , dumb software