TOPPING D90MQA AK4499

I doubt you would hear a difference. I had the D90 and returned it I couldn't hear a difference over the ESS dac in my integrated amp. Once a DAC reaches a SINAD of around 105 db it's about impossible to tell them apart.

@djones51    

could you notice any difference in the presentation AKM velveeta sound vs ESS swashbuckling Sabre chip? I was hoping there might be a bit of the old holygrafik soundstage and a ribbon tweeter tie-me-down effect. wot.

If MQA is something you're wanting the D90 is a good DAC I don't think the SU8 decodes MQA.

No SU-8 does not do MQA

I have had the D90 MQA for 2 weeks - but it is being returned this week. I bought it to hear fully rendered MQA but the darned thing only does that through its USB input -- not Coax/BNC SPDIF or optical.  :(

As a non MQA DAC, say, streaming HR Quboz, it sounds very nice. Sweet high end, spacious, great on transients. Definitely a lil more silky than ESS Sabre sound as I remember it, though I did not have one on hand to A-B back to back.

This being said, the D90 doing non MQA is not discernably better than my Chord 2Qute/Qutest or RME ADI-2. Obviously the RME has a very similar AKM chip, so there is a family resemblance.

hmmmm

Canibefrank 
If you want to hear the AKM chips Velvet Sound with a small investment you may want to try The Schiit Modi 3 for $100.
Nothing to lose. I am very impressed with its overall quality and sound. As a matter of fact I bought 2!

hmmm hmmmm
perhaps looking at the Freya + without a change in DAC is in order
with the PreSonus USB DAC and a Wyred4Sound reclocker the hifi sounded righteous

For a time the Modi 3 was the best measuring DAC Schiit built. Not sure about the other new ones I think they started using the APx555 anyalizer to improve their products. 

That is not accurate, they didn't use the APX555 to improve their products.  They have one of the godfathers of DAC design, Mike Moffat, who started making them in the early 90's.  I've owned several of their dacs, and presently own the Gungnir and Modi Multibits.  I enjoy them both, the musical and organic sound of both is quite enjoyable.  Specs do not tell one how a component will sound

The Modi 3 was a statement by Schiit, and an acknowledgement that some audio hobbyists ignore their ears and put specs and other numbers first.  Topping has built up a forum to market their dacs and spread the  numbers and "science first" school of thought.

For anyone reading this, if you want to be able to hear the differences in dacs and other components, your system MUST be able to demonstrate the nuances.  Speakers and pre amps are most critical for this, and speaker cables as well.  

@213runnin

i garee...if you already have a sports car that does 200Km per hour, dou you need one that does 250Km per? But in a very limited listening pre-sales environment, if you start with technological excellence then you at least got that limit out of the way. Myself, I use balanced powered XLR monitors so I have to start there. In the future I will go to some tubes-amp-preamp...

Well, no $99 dac is the equivalent of a sports car, so I'm not quite sure what you're getting at there.  It sounds like you are doing pretty well with powered monitors, and the music is what it's all about.