RME ADI-2 fs against Topping D90SE

I have the RME , it is good for the money.   I recently replaced it with a non OS tube DAC.   Never really considered Topping or other cheap DACs.    

A note about the RME, support has been great, in December they launched firmware with additional features and improvements .   They suggested that it would probably be tje last major firmware due to memory limitations.  

Do you have either one or just looking for comparisons?

I was trying to decide between the 2 a few days ago. I heard a brand new RME (no break-in) back in Sept 2021. I owned the Topping D90SE before but sold it since I liked the Benchmark DAC3B more (they are similar).

I ended up buying the non-MQA verson, D90LE last week because I did not want to deal with the hassles of all the playback options on the RME. My friend who owns the RME is thinking of getting another DAC that is simpler to use. He thinks the RME is a bit better than the Benchmark DAC3L.

I did a review on my RME against the D90SE if anyone is interested. I still thought the RME had the edge on the D90SE which is still a great buy in the world of DACs

To be honest, once you get to fiddle a bit with the RME unit's DSP, it became quite manageable - still complicated though but in many of the different formats on offer, the sound, to my ears, did not change significantly. What I did like was the ability to better integrate the sound with the room you were listening in. Great value

The Topping D90SE or LE is now $719. I got mine today and my previous comment holds on the complexity of the RME. I have 3 DACs and there is no chance I will remember the nuances of each DAC. I setup the Topping D90LE just now to the default filter #3 and VALVE mode. I am not looking at these settings again.

👌

i had them both in early/mid 2020, sold both within a month - was the d90 mqa model and the akm-chipped rme 

they sound similar, extended top, leanish mids, decent but somewhat nondescript bass, not much harmonic richness, i preferred a chord 2qute and then an ayre codex, then a schiit gumby to either, all more musical less overtly digital sounding

neither the topping nor the rme could image properly, narrow and shallow

rme is a good headphone amp though, and that manual gave no quarter to the old bellsouth yellow pages ...😂

Mine has the AKM chip (2 yrs old) and is much more 3Dish than the Topping. I believe AKM are back in business and have developed a new chip even better than the previous but again the technology is moving fast and I find differences in units very hard to distinguish until you get up the 'ladder' (with ladder technology). The way we hear these things has a lot to do with what we integrate them with.

I just replaced the RME with a non OS unit that is 16 bit.  My brain and ears are at odds .   It shouldn't sound this good but it does.   

The following is the system I have the Topping D90LE setup on. Damn fine listening experience. I got this so I can listen in bed, the RAAL SR1a headphone is not bed friendly.

I think my streaming setup really pushes this to a very high level, even though the amp is not the best.

- Schitt Jotunheim R headphone amp (used $400)
- Topping D90LE DAC ($719)
- EtherRegen ($640) (I use this in reverse order)
- Sonore OpticalRendu ROON ONLY + LPS ($1400)
- Sony XDR FM tuner (modded $500)
- RAAL CA-1a headphone ($2000) + RAAL Jotunheim cable

I have a ’better’ DAC in the Musetec 005 which I need to listen more with 2 RAAL specific amps, the Schitt Jotunheim R and the incredible RAAL VM-1a. At this point I am leaning towards the Benchmark DAC3B and Topping D90LE for the headphones.

Matching gear is the most important consideration and comments in isolation about gear are "comments in isolation" 😀

@walkup

Mine has the AKM chip (2 yrs old) and is much more 3Dish than the Topping. I believe AKM are back in business and have developed a new chip even better than the previous but again the technology is moving fast and I find differences in units very hard to distinguish until you get up the ’ladder’ (with ladder technology).

there are numerous threads/posts here from experienced hands about what makes a dac sound good (or not so good)... it is a heck of a lot more than the specific d/a conversion topology choice

if you are curious to learn, search bar above is your friend, they are easy to find

I’ve never heard the d90 so can’t comment. I have the RME in a second system with Teddy Pardo power supply. I almost sold it after it was  broken within a month or so of ownership. It was 2D and analytical and not enjoyable, lean mids and not much harmonic richness like someone described above.

The strange thing is it’s very dependent on the power cord going into the amp it’s plugged into which for me is a CJ el34 amp. Once you find the right cord I goes from very digital to very smooth with rich tones, I hate this term but it was night and day. I run mine on NOS with everything flat.

I was going to sell the RME and just by accident I put the Harmonic Technology Magic power cord in the amp and the light presentation RME became big and full and analog sounding. Which is not how most describe the RME including myself. I also had an old Haronic Technology Fantasy 10 power cord which did the same thing just maybe a smaller degree but still a pleasant change. I have a JPS labs going into dac (Teddy Pardo) and Acoustic Zen Silver Ref 2’s going out of RME. I really think the RME is very cable dependent.

If it wasn’t for the HT cable going into the amp the RME would be long gone by now.

Interesting. I found by putting it on a thin bamboo platform with some MoonGel damper pads underneath the platform that it opened up. I also moved my speakers about until back to front staging got better. Not the best 3D but good enough for the price