Topping D90SE
Disclaimer: Apos Audio sent the D90SE for review as a loaner. I have no financial interest in Apos Audio, or Topping, and received no compensation for this review. I am using an affiliate link here at the request of Apos Audio for tracking purposes, but do not claim proceeds from the use of this link. Increasingly vendors are requesting use of affiliate links so you may see more of them added to my reviews for tracking purposes, rest assured I have no intention of monetizing this site. For more information about the D90SE, see Apos Audio, or Toppings website.
Unbox/Packaging:
Those familiar with topping products will recognize the packaging of the D90SE as it follows the trend with a matte black box with the Topping name on top. Details of what is in the box are provided by a label on the side. Lifting the top reveals the DAC tucked into a foam surround protected by a plastic bag with compartments cut in the foam for the accessories A little more unpacking and you have the USB cable, power cable, Bluetooth antenna, and remote unpacked. The addition of a set of RCA cables or XLR cables so you dont have to go dig for them would be appreciated but otherwise it is a fairly complete kit.
Build:
The chassis anodized aluminum and is available in either matte black or brushed metal finishes. The only visual differences between the D90 versions are the inclusion of the MQA logo on the 2nd gen model at upper right and the D90SE logo at lower left on the newest version. The face of the unit from left to right has the power button, display screen, and a pair of up/down buttons at far right that control selector functions and volume when used in pre-amp mode. The rear face from left to Right, the rear of the unit has a pair of XLR outputs followed by the RCA outs. The next block is the inputs starting with an HDMI style IIS input, then an optical [Toslink] and the blutooth antenna port stacked one on top of the other, coax and USB are similarly stacked next in line followed by single XLR for AES input. The last block is the power input which has a standard C13 female port with fusing built in and the power switch. Here again, youd be excused for not seeing any difference in previous versions as the D90 MQA sported exactly the same layout externally. Overall heft of the unit is gratifying as well as it feels very solid in hand with no rattle, lose ports, or wobble to any of the sockets. It looks equally at home in my headphone setup or replacing my Bel Canto in my home setup. Props to Topping for looking the part of a high end unit, now about that remote. [Unfortunately, the same universal remote used with all topping DAC/amps has shipped with all versions of the D90 and is not the quality of the rest of the unit. Its time for an app to replace remotes anyway so how about it topping?]
Internals:
If one could be forgiven for not noticing the external differences in D90 versions, the same cannot be said for internals. Previous generations of the D90 relied on AKM 4499 DACs while this newest iteration uses the ESS9038 Pro 8 channel DAC chip with 4 channels summed into each output for reduced noise and improved performance. The D90MQA brought the Xmos216 USB processor that allowed for full MQA decode via USB but other inputs were still limited to PCM only for some and PCM/DSD for others. The D90SE improves on that with full MQA decode, unfolding, and MQA studio are now supported via all the inputs except IIS. USB and IIS input support 32/768k PCM. The USB offers DSD512 native support while the IIS offers all the way up to DSD1024. The Coax/Optical/and AES are still limited to 24/192 PCM and DSD64 [DoP] but now do add MQA support. Even Bluetooth has upgrades with a new bypass of its internal DAC circuits and a direct pipe into the ESS9038Pro for improved sound quality. Bluetooth supports AptX Adaptive, and LDAC as well as AptX-HD, and AAC so the full gamut of sources should be compatible. Another new trick in the D90Ses bag is the addition of a new high-power option that increases RCA output to 2.5V and XLR output to a full 5V. This allows the user to set output to 4V for standard consumer gear or 5V for professional gear and gives the D90SE an even broader range of applications.
For all the added power and new features of the D90SE, Topping has not forgotten what got them here. THD+N is insanely low and pushes the boundaries of what my analyzer is capable of measuring. Others have tested the D90Se and found nearly 135 dB of dynamic range using the XLR outputs and a THD+N of