I have just started reviewing network players and DAC's in the low end of the market. After that I will review affordable speaker systems followed by amps. There are many sites doing the expensive stuff properly and many sites that 'review' affordable equipment. My goal is to do affordable equipment properly. I don't think reference studio monitors (whatever they might be) fall into my category.
The V90 was a big step up from my Cambridge DAC Magic Azur. I bought it for £125 on ebay, secondhand. Then I immediately ordered a chip based linear power supply from China circa £50 including customs and carriage. I am hostile to esoteric high priced items including power supplies. This power supply raised the sound to a whole new level. It's strange, almost as if a level of noise that you never noticed before has been removed. Suddenly the music is no longer an electronic reproduction but rather is sounds as though the instruments are in the room. Those instruments are locked in space and their individual timbre is now discernible. It's a remarkable experience that shows just what regular 16 bit cds are capable of. I was struggling to see how WhatHifi could only give this DAC only 4 stars, but one thing I can say is that it is now ruthlessly revealing. Another thing I noticed is that it showed up shortcomings in my setup too. There was a harshness I'd not noticed before, but this disappeared after allowing a long warmup period on my amp. It's hard to see this DAC with a linear PSU being bettered at any price.
I used to own the Schiit audio Jotunheim amp/DAC. I wasn't impressed. In fact, the actual measurements of the DAC are pretty bad. I now have the V90. It is 100% "A" component as stereophile indicated. Uncolored, and extremely vivid. I'm getting breathtaking detail and realism. MUCH higher quality than Topping. I'm keeping it.
Lovley dac, very musical, nice upgrade from a few years old dacmagic. Need to get a power cable the correct size to connect to my linier power supply which was custom made for the dac magic. Then this should made some great improvements especially in the bass which is where I need it the most due to lots of bass from my kef reference One floor standers. I got a taste for musical fidelity amps now, the msi6 is a dream.
Hello Hans, I am also in hunt for affordable but transparent enough DAC for my new PC system and PreSonus Eris E4.5 studio monitors. I am kinda surprised that MF didnt mention what BurrBrown DAC chip is installed inside unit. I cant find such BurrBrown chip with 117dB SNR on TexasInstruments list. Closest one is PCM4104 118dB SNR! Damn, even my motherboard have 115dB SNR DAC built in, trough Realtec ALC1150 chip, though my monitors input impedance is 10kOhm so i need audio interface of some kind. It is disappointing they didnt include at least sampling rate signalization on front panel. Does it always up sample to 32bit depth? Did you have a chance to review Pro-Ject USB Box S+? This DAC feature very nice BurrBrown PCM-5102A chip with 32bit depth and 384 KHz sampling rate. SNR is decent @112 dB. It also have sampling rate on front panel. This is cheaper unit (199eur) than MF V90DAC. I would like to hear your advice here... Chears
Hans A Great review thank you ! Can I ask one question ? I own a V90 DAC and have just subscribed to Amazon HD streaming music . Most of the songs show that they are being played at 92HZ but some are available in 192HZ . I connect to the V 90 with a USB cable from my Apple i phone 11. From you review I believe that connecting to the DAC using another input would give me access to 192 HZ . Am I correct or is it time to buy a new DAC that came stream the highest quality music ? THANK YOU ! Russ DeJulio Pittsburgh USA
I am afraid you mix up things. 92 Hz and 192 Hz are no sampling rates. I suppose those are bitrates of MP3 (=low quality), so 92 and 192 Mbit per second. So from what I see you're playing at very low audio quality.
do you have any recommendations for reference studio monitors....in my region (and place on Earth) I just don't have any shops to listen to audio equipment.
Just bought this, never satiftied like this in my audiophile life , and its only 200-300 $ ! Thanks so much for musical fidelity. for me, This DAC very good sepcially in high frequency register. not hurt my ear .
Hi Sir, thank you for this great detailed review. I have KEF Q3 speaker which is kind of light on base. May I know how's the base performance of this V-90? Thank you once again
You should not look for compensation of your speaker's lows in a DAC. If your speakers need more bottom end, place them closer to the wall (also see ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gXohzklfwPs.html), use an amplifier that can deliver more current (see ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-itKqSWH07_Y.html) or add a subwoofer. The V-90 sound neutral and will not change anything (as it belongs to be).
Hi there, my question isn't particularly technical, but i've been advised to buy this amplifier because it works well with headphones, giving them more power and using their potential more efficiently. I own a pair of Sennheiser HD 700's. Will this amplifier for it's retail price offer enough power to enable these headphones to work to full capacity? Thank you for your time -Ash.
First mine failed to get lock on the USB side, then it failed to achieve lock on any inputs. In the brief time it was working it was ok. Didn't blow me away. The output stage is weak
Hello Mr. Beekhuyzen. will you please tell me if i can use this device for conect a PC to amplifier payin with VLC media player FLAC or WAV Archives an doin the same with a Mac playing ALAC Archives. Thanks in advance. Congratulations for your channel.
Dag Hans, Met dank voor al het werk dat je verzet durf ik toch nog een vraag te stellen. Je spreekt over een aangepaste power supply voor de V90. Zelf heb ik een V90-HPA waarvan ik alleen de DAC gebruik. Kan een aangepaste power supply verschil maken?De DAC in gekoppeld aan een Schiit Asgard 2. Is updaten van de power supply zinvol? Zo ja, kun je mij dan de specificatie geven van de door jouw genoemde power supply? Met dank!
+peter loden Je hebt twee soorten voedingen: schakelende voedingen en lineaire voedingen. De schakelende voedingen zijn compact, werken op elk lichtnet van 100 tot 240 volt en zijn goedkoop. Maar helaas genereren ze ook veel sturingssignalen. Daarom klinkt een lineaire voeding duidelijk beter. Maar die is ook duurder. Ik gebruik de uitstekende voedingen van BOTW/Sbooster: www.sbooster.com. Je moet even uitzoeken welke voor jouw DAC geschikt is, je dealer kan je daarbij eventueel helpen.
+The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel Dank voor je antwoord. Ik heb een aantal voedingen liggen, mijn probleem is nu: Hoe/waaraan herken ik dat het een lineaire voeding betreft(symbool?) en: Als die voeding meer levert dan 500ma (bv. 2 A), kan dat dan kwaad? Nogmaals dank.
+peter loden Een lineaire voeding herken je primair aan het gewicht en grootte. In tegenstelling tot een schakelende voeding heeft een lineaire voeding een in verhouding 'grote' transformator aan boord. Daarnaast is een lineaire voeding altijd maar geschikt voor één netspanning (in dit deel van de wereld 220 tot 240 volt). Let er wel op dat de uitgangsspanning gelijkspanning is, er zijn ook voedingen die wisselspanning (herkenbaar aan een s op zijn kant achter de opgegeven spanning) geven. Het is prima als de voeding in staat is meer dan 500 ma af te geven. Dat betekent dat die voeding meer dan voldoende stroom kán leveren. Je wilt dus een voeding die 5 volt gelijkspanning (ook wel aangeduid met VDC) afgeeft en minimaal 500 ma kan leveren. Overigens klinkt lang niet elke lineaire voeding goed, een speciale, voor audio gemaakte voeding heeft een hele lage vervuiling van het signaal. Vandaar dat de prachtige voedingen van BOTW zoveel kosten.
+The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel Dank voor je heldere antwoord. Mocht je tijd hebben: Is dit een voeding die ik zou kunnen overwegen? www.banggood.com/96W-Multi-Function-Universal-Notebook-Laptop-AC-DC-Power-Adapter-Charger-p-981672.html
Zeker, je vind mijn review van DAC's onder € 500 hier: ru-vid.com/group/PLMbsmejHnP8HLpXfVQKM1_iL0dvawqNuM. Je zou ook een streamer kunnen overwegen zoals de Argon Audio SOLO: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DjrkraGd_F4.html. Daar zit een goede DAC in en je hebt er meteen een streamer bij. Kost nu € 200.
+Diego V I don't know. For me I switched to Mac ten years ago when Microsoft made a mess of Windows.Not they have corrected that with Win7, ruined it again with Win8 and set that straight again with Win10, I'm too much into Mac now, that I keep using Mac's for my daily job. I do own about 10 computers, four Mac's, four Windows (XP, Home Server, 7 & 10) and two Raspberry Pi's. For as far as the hardware is concerned, the advantage of a Mac is that you know what's inside. Computers built for Windows will vary largely depending on the country and the date. A XWZ computer in the USA in december is likely to differ on parts from one bought in august. For computer tasks that's no problem but for audio is't all so critical. BTW headless computers (ie without a monitor attached) sound better than ones with monitor and laptops are the least preferred choice.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel no problem I really like your reviews I like how you tell the audience where stuff is made and everything great job. I have hearing loss I can only hear out of one ear and the stuff you say makes a lot of sense I noticed that I need better equipment to hear stuff without turning it up so I can listen to it in normal volume some people tell me I'm wasting my time with buying expensive gear however I think if I can't hear the difference I don't buy it like some of the RCA wires that you talk about I can't hear the difference but it doesn't mean that you can't hear the difference it just means I can't hear the difference so then it's more better for me cuz then I just don't buy it I return it thanks for all your reviews truly a legend in the home audio
