RME ADI-2 fs against Topping D90SE

@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 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 ...😂