Oluv DAC/AMP comparison and results

Topping D50 has dual ESS chips, D50S has Bluetooth/LDAC too.
the M200 has the AK4497 chip (one? two? whatever?) and bluetooth/AptX too apparently.

i think its gonna come in 2 options, one blutooth

I mean, can people really hear the difference between different THX colors of uncoloured sound? :stuck_out_tongue:

Comparing thx to thx itā€™s difficult, but comparing a better amp to thx you can tell the difference

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D70 is old newsā€¦
Iā€™d personally go for the D90 if I was considering the high-end topping stuff. (Saying this as a D70 owner)

wow nice, had no idea they where up to 90. 700$ ouch

I think when you get into that price range for a DAC, there are a lot of other options Iā€™d look at, and a lot of it starts to depend on what your looking for.

Schiit Bifrost 2, or possibly a used Gungnir
Various entry level R2R DACā€™s
Maybe a used RME ADI-2

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I understand the r2r stuff if youre looking for something different. But why choose the schiit DACs over this? It has better meaurements than even the smsl D1, which is over $1000

RME is a good option with features, but its hard to get used at this price.

Measurements ainā€™t everything

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because itā€™s not about the Measurements.
My preference is less analytical and more engaging.
The Gungnir is very well respected in this regard, and the initial impressions of the Bifrost 2 seem to slant in the same direction.

Sure. I agree measurements arent everything. But then at that point its conpletely subjective.

Understandable the schiit stuff is well regarded. But i dont see that as a reason to be completely dismissive of the Topping DAC. It earns its price point. IMO

Yes of course

But i donā€™t see that as a reason to be completely dismissive of the Schiit DACs

I never was dismissive of them. Like I said. They are worth considering ad well. I took the initial response as ā€œnah. Get the shciit insteadā€

Indeed.
And I wanā€™t being dismissive of the topping.
The odds are most of us will never get to hear all of the options at a given price point, just throwing out other options.
Iā€™m actually looking at spending a on a DAC, in the new year (after my no more spending this year expires) and Iā€™ve ruled a few options out, based on what I know I like, I ruled out some based on measurements I donā€™t like (largely audible channel imbalances).
Itā€™s still a huge list.

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Okay. I think that is a fair perspective. =)

It was more why lock into something, at that price point you have options and really most people are beyond basing purchase decisions purely on measurements once they get into that range.
I like the Schiit stuff I own, and Iā€™m actually looking for a DAC in that price range, so I happened to have looked at a lot of feedback around them recently.

Sure. I get it now. Thanks for clarifying. =)

does the gungir have a compress issue?

Iā€™m not the right person to ask, while I donā€™t think any of the Schiit stuff is going for a completely neutral sound, I really donā€™t hear what people are describing as compression in the Schiit sound.
My preferred Solid state amp at the moment is a Jotunheim, mine has the balanced 4490 DACā€™s in it.

Iā€™m personally pretty happy with the D70 paired with the THX. I ended up comparing it with the SU8 before deciding on one.
IMO the differences in the DACSā€¦ at least the D70 and SU are mostly subtleā€¦ but the D70 has nice clarity and matches well with the dynamics of the Focal headphones.
Iā€™ve been a bit wary of the Schiit stuff as Iā€™ve heard of compression issuesā€¦ and Schiit tends to aim for a colored sound through the harmonic distortionā€¦ Which I understand can be pleasing, but IMO that approach can be a bit hit or miss with different headphones. I think at the very least, it would be worth giving one of their DACs a try if you have not heard them.
With any of this stuffā€¦ youā€™re never going to really know what you like until you try it for yourself.

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