Well if I’m going to grade it on an arbitrary scale…(lol) Going on pure sound then going from the THX to RNHP is maybe a 3. For reference, I’d say going from something like an HD 650 to Elex is like a 4. Going from Elex to the Clears was maybe a 2.
If we are just talking purely sound… D70 > D90 it’s hard to give it anything more than a 1… Maybe a 0.5 even… but I went back to my old configuration and the ‘jitter’ issues or whatever it was I was having with the D70 are not present… so in which case I’d give it 2. From a usability stand-point I’d give it a 3 or 4 at least.
Could you post some pics of d90 stack on top of the THX 789? I am using d70 + 789 and considering upgrade to d90 for the Bluetooth fuction. I thought they have similar sizes (d70/90) but turns out i was wrong. If they make a good stack that ll be enough reason for me to pull the trigger:grinning:. Thanks.
I’d say (based on my ruler measurments not actually stacking) that they would stack OK, but not perfectly. The d90 is a hair wider, but much less deep than the 789. So if you put the D90 on top it is wider by a few milimeters and hangs over the edge- not necessarialy a bad thing, all preference. It’s so much shallower that you can’t put the 789 on top at all b/c the back feet of the 789 would hang over the back and the whole amp would be angled up.
Mine arrives today. Just sitting here refreshing my browser in the “order status” window. I will be testing it with a d70. I have to say, it would actually stack better with a D90. So inaudible or not, there’s a reason to upgrade!!
Still don’t know if I want a D90 or an RME ADI 2… ugh. I think I’d benefit the most from the D90 as I probably wouldn’t use most of the features of the RME, but it’s got that cool factor, you know? That display is killer.
Maybe, but I don’t need it to have an amp, I’ve got an atom, a fixed tuba on the way, and am thinking of getting the rnhp. Not sure how much of an upgrade the dx7 pro would be over the d50 I have.
Well it has balanced out, like the D70/90. And the size, screen quality etc… all of which seem identical to the D90, so you’ll get those benefits, and I think the volume knob is really nice for preamp use. Personally, I doubt there will be much audible difference between the DX7 Pro and and D70/D90, but maybe just me.
Here’s this guy reviewing the Topping D90… I personally don’t agree with him on the differences… If they are there, they are way more subtle compared to the differences I’ve gotten from amps or headphones. but there’s a take if you want something different.
This guy seems to have a good ear because he also released a review comparing thx amps which is harder to do as well, so he most likely has pretty sensitive ears
So I’m just basing this on my own experiences, it could be that he just has really great ears.
But whenever I hear new equipment… even new DACs… I almost always hear a difference. Then it pretty much always comes down to setting up a proper A/B test setup and being able to switch reasonably quickly between the two, if not instantly… and in almost every case, with few exceptions, the differences are either more subtle than I originally perceived or almost non-existent.
IMO, in the case of DACs, the best you can say is that, unless it’s doing some real ‘fuckery’ with the sound or tuning, that it’s more or less just a slightly different “seasoning” of differences to the sound… and in those cases even… it’s just a different type of ‘salt’. And I guess my palette isn’t developed enough to really appreciate the differences between different types of ‘salt’… lol
It also depends on how large of a jump you are taking, as if going from the d70 to the d90, it will be a smaller jump, but going from the d70 to a much higher tier sigma delta, the difference will be more noticeable. Personally, I would skip the 500-1k range of dacs for sigma delta, and instead go at or above 1k for a real upgrade.
