Topping D90 great but question future

[BobSherman]

8 hours ago, barrows said:

And I still do, but I am not going to recommend to anyone to use a different type and value of fuse than what the manufacturer recommends.  Please understand this is both a safety and a liability issue.

 

Given the small amount of overall capacitance (energy storage) in the D-90, I can see that they could get away with a fast blow fuse.  Most DACs of my experience have many times more capacitance internally than the D-90, hence why most DACs are almost certain to have a slow blow fuse at the AC line input.

I think allot of talk about the fuse for a $700 dac. IMO the fuse will make little difference. Not worth spending $150 for in this application IMO. Fast blow is also fine, it is not a power amp. Currently using the D90 I2s from a pi2aes, clearly better than usb imo.

[BobSherman]

43 minutes ago, barrows said:

As I mentioned, the fuse did make a difference here, and also that i would suggest a ~$1.50  quality, Littlefuse ceramic body fuse would likely be a nice improvement over the el cheapo glass body OE fuse, so no need to necessarily go with an expensive "audiophile" fuse to get an improvement.

I don’t disagree with using a better fuse than the stock one. In my experience usually these differences are relatively small in the big scheme of things. 

[BobSherman]

15 hours ago, barrows said:

Both the Topping and the Gustard have active output sections.  The Gustard you refer to does not equal the performance of the Topping by its measurements.  I have no comment as to whether this indicates either one will sound better than the other, which would be up to the individual listener to determine, but the Topping does measure better...

 

BTW, DACs do not have "preamps" on board.  Virtually all DACs (yes, there are some esoteric exceptions) have an active buffer stage at their output to drive the output, but calling such a "preamp" is confusing and not really meaningful.  Saying a DAC has a "preamp" onboard makes it seem like it has something extra, which is not present in other DACs.  

They seem pretty similar. The Gustard output stage is different, it does has higher output, and is cheaper. Worth a listen.

[BobSherman]

1 hour ago, beerandmusic said:

the gustard a18 states it also has linear power supply which i have heard makes quite a difference...does the topping have a linear power supply do you know?

Yes it does.