RunOutGroove
Addicted Member
With my slow march to upgrade my system, little by little, bit by bit (no pun intended!), I've finally invested in a DAC. After going through two phono preamps (each was a clear improvement over the built in one in my Marantz 2270) and then replacing the stylus with one recommend by folks on the forum here, I was finally getting something out of my turntable that was really satisfying. I then began to feel that my CDs were sounding a bit weak so then I got curious about what a DAC might be able to do to the sound. After reading lots of reviews and then considering my meagre budget, I decided on this Topping thing and finally found one at a decent price...
So... My first impressions: First of all, let me say that I was fully prepared to hook this thing up and decide that it really didn't sound much different than my Onkyo DV-SP502 DVD player straight up; I have heard that the differences DACs can be very subtle. I didn't figure out a good way to do an A/B test, but I did listen to a couple of things before I unhooked everything and then put on those same things after running everything though the new DAC. What I found was that there is a very clear differences between the sound of the DVD player and the player run through the DAC. One thing that I didn't like about the Onkyo (and it's onboard DAC) was that compared to the sound of LPs the treble seemed a bit flat, cymbals for example seemed to be missing some of those overtones/harmonics that I was hearing with my upgraded turntable. The Topping really seems to do a better job with that and cymbals have lots more presence. The treble portion sounds far airier... more transparent. I'm hearing lots more detail. I heard much better imaging too as there is now much more space between the instruments and a much deeper soundstage.
If I have a complaint with the sound it would be that the bass seems to have a bit less weight than what I was getting with the Onkyo onboard DAC. I'll also say that the extra detail in treble can be a bit too much of a good thing as though the music is more lively/exciting, the overall sound is a bit more fatiguing as well. As for that last issue, I wonder if part of it has to do with my Jamo C103 speakers which are a bit tilted towards the treble it seems. I did experiment with the filters (there are seven of them) and unfortunately none of them had an audible difference (I thought I may have heard something with one but it was SUBTLE!). I think that they all shape the upper treble portion which apparently is beyond my ability to hear. The fact that they didn't create some filters that have effects that a non-young person might be able to hear seems like a bit of a missed opportunity (what about something that boosts the upper bass spectrum?).
As for the design of the thing... it seems very solid and well made and as others have said TINY! Weird that something that isn't designed to be portable would have been made so damn small. Mostly not an issue except for the display, which is as one would expect also very tiny. I haven't gotten batteries for the remote, but I can see that using the remote might not be all that realistic because (at least for me and my failing eyesight) the display is so small that in order to see it you need to be close enough to the unit that you may as well just use the direct controls. Those direct control with the little joystick isn't the greatest either, but something that I can live with, knowing that I likely couldn't have gotten anything any better sounding for the price... so the interface is really a secondary consideration.
The biggest surprise was the sound coming off of the TV. I had been using a cheap, tiny little in-line DAC (it might have cost $20, if that) to hook it up to my old non-digital featured receiver. I never had a complaint with the sound quality as TV for me isn't really something that I'm so critical of in terms of audio (it has to sound decent, but not necessarily amazing). I surfed to a Youtube music concert thing (A Tiny Desk Concert and those things tend to be really well recorded) and the sound was really, really nice (much more detailed!)... like I didn't know what I was missing!
Overall, this little DAC is pretty cool, though I can definitely see some weak points to both the sound and the design. It's certainly a different sound than I was getting before with the built in DAC of my player and I think that it represents an improvement, even if it isn't an across the beard improvement. I guess that if I had crazy money to blow, I could find something that would be an amazing all around, mind blowing type improvement... or I could be underwhelmed with as much money as I spent for the thing. With a minimal investment, I got to try an outboard DAC so I'm pretty happy with that...
So... My first impressions: First of all, let me say that I was fully prepared to hook this thing up and decide that it really didn't sound much different than my Onkyo DV-SP502 DVD player straight up; I have heard that the differences DACs can be very subtle. I didn't figure out a good way to do an A/B test, but I did listen to a couple of things before I unhooked everything and then put on those same things after running everything though the new DAC. What I found was that there is a very clear differences between the sound of the DVD player and the player run through the DAC. One thing that I didn't like about the Onkyo (and it's onboard DAC) was that compared to the sound of LPs the treble seemed a bit flat, cymbals for example seemed to be missing some of those overtones/harmonics that I was hearing with my upgraded turntable. The Topping really seems to do a better job with that and cymbals have lots more presence. The treble portion sounds far airier... more transparent. I'm hearing lots more detail. I heard much better imaging too as there is now much more space between the instruments and a much deeper soundstage.
If I have a complaint with the sound it would be that the bass seems to have a bit less weight than what I was getting with the Onkyo onboard DAC. I'll also say that the extra detail in treble can be a bit too much of a good thing as though the music is more lively/exciting, the overall sound is a bit more fatiguing as well. As for that last issue, I wonder if part of it has to do with my Jamo C103 speakers which are a bit tilted towards the treble it seems. I did experiment with the filters (there are seven of them) and unfortunately none of them had an audible difference (I thought I may have heard something with one but it was SUBTLE!). I think that they all shape the upper treble portion which apparently is beyond my ability to hear. The fact that they didn't create some filters that have effects that a non-young person might be able to hear seems like a bit of a missed opportunity (what about something that boosts the upper bass spectrum?).
As for the design of the thing... it seems very solid and well made and as others have said TINY! Weird that something that isn't designed to be portable would have been made so damn small. Mostly not an issue except for the display, which is as one would expect also very tiny. I haven't gotten batteries for the remote, but I can see that using the remote might not be all that realistic because (at least for me and my failing eyesight) the display is so small that in order to see it you need to be close enough to the unit that you may as well just use the direct controls. Those direct control with the little joystick isn't the greatest either, but something that I can live with, knowing that I likely couldn't have gotten anything any better sounding for the price... so the interface is really a secondary consideration.
The biggest surprise was the sound coming off of the TV. I had been using a cheap, tiny little in-line DAC (it might have cost $20, if that) to hook it up to my old non-digital featured receiver. I never had a complaint with the sound quality as TV for me isn't really something that I'm so critical of in terms of audio (it has to sound decent, but not necessarily amazing). I surfed to a Youtube music concert thing (A Tiny Desk Concert and those things tend to be really well recorded) and the sound was really, really nice (much more detailed!)... like I didn't know what I was missing!
Overall, this little DAC is pretty cool, though I can definitely see some weak points to both the sound and the design. It's certainly a different sound than I was getting before with the built in DAC of my player and I think that it represents an improvement, even if it isn't an across the beard improvement. I guess that if I had crazy money to blow, I could find something that would be an amazing all around, mind blowing type improvement... or I could be underwhelmed with as much money as I spent for the thing. With a minimal investment, I got to try an outboard DAC so I'm pretty happy with that...
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