Great review of E70V dac. Love it. FYI: Gustard A26 (same chip) is great - a bit too punchy for me. E70 Velvet is less punchy and I like it more but A26 is a bit more resolving with bigger stage. Overall A26 is a little better (both are great). PS If you are hesitating price-wise - just get E70 Velvet, you will love it.
Thanks Tharbamar, I bought a SMSL D300 on your recommendation and I continue to enjoy it greatly. I can see you really rate this E70 Velvet and know what Ill be buying If I get the Bug to buy another Dac. Thanks for your Views and recommendations. - Tim
Comparison? For instance, to Denafrips or Gustard, some other DACs in the same price category (+ - $400 - $500 US dollars). We all are looking for the perfect true "giant killer," man! More than one more good low-priced DAC.
Excellent video, mate! I’ve had this dac for several weeks. It’s a serious little performer for the $$. I use it with my ADAM Audio A7V studio monitors and Sub8 subwoofer.
After some tweaks in my D400EX I can say that it is really hard to make an AKM DAC sound bright. An AKM will never jump in your face. The solid low-frequency range is always there and in my opinion that's the biggest plus compared to the ESS DACs I know. The missing attack can be perceived as boring, depending on the music and personal taste.
@@Coneman3 I don't think so. I have three ESS DACs and they all share common traits, albeit being very differently implemented. I assume the same to be true for AKMs. The D400 will not be my last AKM and I am expecting a "family sound". "Implementation" basically means digital filters, which are similar across all platforms, and power supply plus output stage. Those are not so different in the latest chinese DACs by SMSL and Topping in the sub 1000$ range. In fact, quite similar.
Wrong. Softer transients of akm dac allow you to listen it louder and at louder wolumes ofc bass gonna be bigger! Wolume match and Ess gonna be clearer. There is no better its just different. Take tube amp or warm solid state and it gonna sound better with Sabre dac. Take sharp amp like Topping a90 discrete or Benchmark and it gonna sound better with r2r dac or akm dac.
With a tube amp or anything "warm", for that matter, nothing will be "better" to my ears. Of course it is all personal preference. There is no objective scale of good sound.
@Hermann Schmidt i had some soft dacs and amps and i always listened them louder. When wolume matching, difference in bass dissappears. Either warm dac or warm amp is need or else then end result gonna be over the top sharp transients causing fatigue, especially at loud wolumes.
I hear the clip and i concur it was musical..the singer voice was really good . I really like when she pronounce the word love. This budget dac is really good.
Thank you for this review. I cannot deal with ESS DACs I've tried. I'm currently using a D30Pro because I couldn't deal with the original SU-9. The D30Pro is relaxed and smooth. That's what I like. I may try this DAC out.
Nice review, I was looking for an entry level DAC and bought the Loxjie D50 on your review - and have been very pleased with it. This one sounds like its also a great buy, though I am unsure if it will bring much more to the table over the Loxjie just yet for me to jump at it.
Hi tharbamar.. thanks for another great review., i like the way than you help us, too reliable and excellent the way you structure the presentation, from start to finish ... i like rock music and grunge style like nirvana, pearl jam, etc... what do you recomend this E70V or Draco r2r ? Other ? Thx again. ✌
Just waiting on the review of the SMSL D400EX!!!! I still find that my old Musical Paradise D1 with Siemens 6922 outperforms m400,d300 and the topping d90le. This Dac seems like a winner for the price tag! Keep the vids coming. Thanks!
E70 Velvet is a bit smoother in general but it would be depending on what speaker I use them with to make a choice, both great buy for the price. Thanks
@@Tharbamar Hi, sorry if I bother you, I was looking for a natural, non fatiguing sounding high quality dac under 500€, and I am currently trying to decide between the D300 and E70 Velvet. I currently own a Topping E50 with a good linear power supply paired with a Singxer SA-1 and I feel ear fatigue even after moderate listening, something which does not occur with my smartphone, at least not at the same extent. Given your usual insightful impressions and reviews and your experience with a wide assortment of gear, I'd like to ask, what is in your opinion the most natural and effortless sounding of the two for most music genres? Thank you in advance for your advice!
@@Tharbamar Going to share my (unluckily) brief experience with the E70V. I listen with headphones and use a Singxer SA-1, so this applies to my chain of course. Immediately after receiving it and turning it on I tested the dac to try and see if I liked the overall character. Overall I did not like it paired with my Singxer SA-1, granted I did not give it any time to observe any significant break-in effect, but it sounded kinda artificial to me, the way it popped specific detail in the highs/upper mids. The sound presentation sounded to me like it was not uniform, and that part of the frequency response was constantly popping out and bothering me, not with fatigue, but with its tone/dryness compared to the rest of the spectrum, as if the dac was editorialising the sound presentation too much. I know it sounds weird compared to what others probably have said, but this was my experience at least. Bass/impact sounded good but was not enough of a difference compared to what I already have, at least in my chain. Could it have changed with burn in? I don't know, but I usually do not expect very drastic changes in dacs, especially when it comes to the overall presentation, but I might be wrong. In comparison, my Topping E50 (with Allo Shanti power supply) while slightly more analytical/fatiguing sounds pretty uniform in its presentation, as in nothing odd or unexpected pops out. Could it have changed radically after some hours of playback? Anyways, I want to try the Topping E70 or SMSL D300 next, we'll see how it turns out.
I've tried AKM based, stand-alone dacs over the years. They are certainly smooth. But I eventually switched to an integrated amplifier with an earlier model ESS chip. Why? Because I found those AKM dacs too detached and lacking in dynamic quality. Just boring. In a well-tuned amplifier system, even an earlier model chip like the ESS can get the job done: dynamic and musical, detailed, excellent tonal qualities, not bright or shrill, with excellent soundstage. The point: it's about the implementation, not just the brand of chip.
The DAC chip is just one part of the DAC... The end result is from the engineering of the complete DAC... You'll find great AKM/ESS/Etc DACs and average/bad ones too... You won't ear any difference at all if the engineering is done right.
I've been running an E50 as well. My E70 Velvet will arrive monday. If it's not a considerable improvement I'll send it back:) Really looking forward to next week.
@@Bob.martens e70V's 2.5V rca output is enough for improvement over e50. e50 and most other dacs have 2.0v rms rca output which sucks if you are using high quality stereo amplifier, volume is lower, 2.0V just cant feed the pre-amp of stereo amplifier for better gain for amplification . but when i use a 2.5V output rca dac, sound is coming much stronger, stereo amps need good input my friend.
@@Abomente Spoiler alert: I sent it back:) My system: Yamaha A-S1100 with carefully placed Wharfedale Lintons. I can not speak for other setups, nor headphones. I listen to CD/CD-rips. 16bit 44.1k forever. Unpacked and connected, I was blown away by the E70Velvet. Turned out to be new-box-syndrome. Then I A-B'd E50/E70 with voicemeeter. There is a difference. The E70 is ever so slightly smoother without any loss or gain of detail. The bass is marginally tighter. Soundstage appeared to be very much the same. The true test came when I let a friend randomly change which DAC was on which input of my amp, so I would never know which DAC I was listening to. Did that four times for a couple of days each. And so my preference was scientifically proven to be mood-related. The E70 is a nicer, more substantial unit, with the latest in BT (which I don't use) and XLR instead of TRS connectors for balanced signal (which i don't use) and a built in PSU (nice) plus a rotary knob for volume control (which I don't use). I'd have liked to keep the E70 for the looks only. The E50 with a good PSU is now half the price of the E70Velvet. If all you need is a USB DAC: E50 can't go wrong, very hard to beat even. It even does MQA (hahaha). When the refund comes in I'm going to try an SMSL in the same price range as the E70.
As I undestand the 4499ex is a switched resistor dac with about 20bits of raw power, which in conjunction with the 4191 sigma delta modulator makes a true multibit system… it should sound more musical
Hi. Excellent review. Detailed explanation of the sound signature. I Would like to know if the chord Mojo 2 sounds better than the topping E70 Velvet. I am asking about sound quality alone and not features.
Had them both. The E70 Velvet is superior to the Mojo 2 in every single aspect. The only thing that Mojo 2 does better, in my case, is the mid-highs on the vocals. On the Topping I have a fatiguing sound there that is totally missing in the Mojo 2. Vocals apart, the E70 beat the Mojo 2. But, I kept the Mojo 2 and send back the E70V just for that issue. I am referring in 2 channels setup, not headphones stuff.
Hello. My name is Alexey and I am really impressed by your reviews. They lift the mood for musical listening. So thanks for your efforts. I really appreciate it very much. I also want to advise you Class D Audio Amplifier for your next review. I think he deserves close attention. This is Sabaj A30a. I think all your numerous audience will be glad to look at this versatile device. I look forward to new reviews. Have a great day and all the best.
@@Tharbamar Thank you. we'll be waiting. Personally, I think that the product is really worthy. I would like to know your opinion after testing. All the best !)
Nice review, it would be nice if we can estimate the difference in % between all these DACS and even more interesting the difference between switching speakers compared to switching DACS. I think we are coming to a level where we are splitting hairs...
Hi Tharb, I was wondering if you could start using other different music for comparisons, live jazz albums often have too many standing waves, reflections, midbass bloom, treble can be echoey or generally smeared sound. I think modern very highly sonically mastered music like electronica or orchestral music could be used to great effect to better understand DAC limits and abilities. Great review as always! :)
I can only use what I’m allowed to use due to copyrights. All is need is listen to original music and compare it to sound samples. Music should not matter. Thanks
@@Tharbamar I believe you can legally sound sample music for up to 20-30 seconds without violating copyright law. My point was I thought quite clear, the track you are using has quite a bit of audible distortion in it thus making judging the ability of the dac almost impossible. If we are audibly critiquing audio equipment such as dacs, speakers, preamps, amps then audio chain should be as "hi-fi" as possible otherwise what is the point? No offense, just my 2 cents. Keep up the very excellent work.
@@Tharbamar each to his her own. Often with live recordings subtle refraction reflection, mid bass bloat not to mention inappropriate noise floor and general lack of focused balanced dynamic sound is very often the case so for me this makes judging a DAC next to impossible relative to starting with HQ recordings. Cheers
Measurement based recommendations are good up to certain point but I never loved best measured DACs in my system because they lacked artistic emotion of music listening experience and turn out to be my personal favorites don’t have best measurements but I love them in my system.
I somebody doesn't agree, it's a matter of proving otherwise and that's rather easy: Blind testing in a controlled environment. We already know that a well engineered basic DAC is already better than any ears...
Hi Tharbamar, you were right to advise to wait for more dac reviews. Interesting how gustard smsl and topping are all starting to implement the akm chip in different ways. I thoroughly enjoyed this review and also the a26. Obviously i wouldn't expect this topping to sound similar to a26. But somehow i missed in the part in this videos talking about e70 velvet bass characteristics. How would you rate its bass impact, texture and rumble compared to other DS dacs you reviewed in the past, such as d90se, smsl su10 or even the a26. Thank you
to be honest i have listening all dac when you use the song of "kiss of life", and for me this using the E70V sound amazing and the separation instrumental great, for instance, the guitar 15:10 seems to be more to the side and one step further than the drummer (I like that), all the other dacs the guitarist seems to be right in front of the drums... now I don't know if this good representation, and instrumental separation and sound, is due to the dac or the speakers or other equipment in the chain since it seems that you do not always use the same equipment, especially the speakers... cheers !
Thank you for this helpful review. Many audiophiles accept the view that the audiophile community is composed of two groups; music lovers and equipment lovers. The music lover group is more sensitive to tonality and the surest barometer of that factor is analog instruments because we intuitively 'know' how they should sound. Equipment lovers value resolution and details to an extent that typically, live performances do not and cannot provide at least not unless seated very closely to a musician. It would be interesting to conduct a poll of the political preferences of each group. I'd be willing to bet that the music lover group is heavily weighted politically toward the conservative to classical liberal outlook. While the equipment lovers are heavily weighted toward progressivism. 'Progressivism' like all collectivist ideologies, inherently rejects fundamental aspects of human nature (Soviet's "New Man") and key principles that govern the external reality within which we all exist. Such as supply & demand and strong support for 'fiat' money systems, that are divorced from connection to a physical material of real value. A ploy that allows for ignoring the inconvenient reality that, "there ain't no free lunches'. One way or another, someone has to pay for what we wish to have, it's either you or the other guy. Food for thought...
Thanks for sharing this, I try to keep the balance between the two but love of music from my heart is can’t be hidden when I’m making equipment decision for personal enjoyment aside from reviewer perceptive but people will and can change when they have more time to spend with their audio systems. Enjoy the music! Cheers.
Nicely Done. I often move a dac to listen with headphones instead of speakers and realize there is a difference. Many times you can hear more benefits from a speaker than a headphone. Your thoughts with the Velvet ? Thanks
yeah even the cheapest headphones give a lot more sound than moderately expensive spkeakers in a living room. with good amp + speaker, all dacs sound same to me :D but with headphones i can clearly hear differences.
Thank you for your work, excellent! I am very grateful for the support because I plan to get into the hi-fi and have absolutely no perspective. before I spend lots of money and try it, I'd rather ask an experienced audiophile. do you have a dac amplifier combination for me up to 500€-700€ (topping, smsl, sabaj or similar...)? it must have at least optical or HDMI input and remote control. gladly also all in one like loxliej A30 but this one seems too weak to me. Many Thanks!
Can anyone confirm the remote control it window , do I need to point the remote exactly to the dac to operate it or I can point it in the general direction and it works? I have a e30ii and the or window so narrow and frustrating that’s why wanted to know before buying e70.
Dear Tharbamar. Greatings from Norway! Im trying to decide between e70 velvet, and Musician Draco. Since the two videos has different speakers playing, its a bit difficult to decide. Would they sound more similar if both were played on kef r11? To me it sounds like Draco is more coherent and better textured with better slam, than the 70v but it could just be the speaker difference since the r11 is bigger and with a different mid/bass material. Best regards Matt.
Hi, both of them are great choices for the price but Draco may be more musical than E70 Velvet in some systems but E70 Velvet is better in noise control and more features with better dynamic range but I can’t tell you exactly how is going to be because I never tried them back to back in same set up, thank you.
I like how E70 Velvet can deliver for acoustic guitar but the rest A26 is just better, especially three dimensional stereo image and deep dark background E70 Velvet and it power supply is no match for A26.
It would be nice if you could compare with other dacs around the sime price point. Also, howcome do you give it 4 stars for midrange when in the review you mainly praise its midrange?
@@Tharbamar yes but they were very brief mentions. I mean comparing like in what ways one is better or worse than the other, etc. You already did a comparion with 3 under 1000$ best dacs and another one with 3 r2r dacs. I like those videos. Maybe it's time to do a under 500/600$ one. 😀 And maybe even compare to r2r sound, like ares 2. I remember your d300 review and you mentioning its sound was closer to r2r sound. So if this is richer and smoother even, how does this compare to r2r? is it very far from ares2? Keep up the good work!
@@Tharbamar Hi, thanks for another great review. You mentioned that it sounds amazing with all music but then said that if you enjoy more dynamics maybe this DAC isn’t for me, could you clarify a bit more. If I listen to all sorts of music including EDM, would you still recommend this DAC or considering EDM, should I maybe go with something like E70 Sabre?
Musician Knight 1 .. you got rid off of it? Would it not be best for a comparison with your favourite speakers(current) at budget price points as well .. eg : 1000,2000 USD??
@@Tharbamar thanks a lot. Srry for bugging you . We actually got the EVO 4.2 based on your recommendation. Trying to make sure , next upgrade will be well worth it. Not everyone can test with higher Usd equipments/system .. ( Amp, speaker, DAC and so on). Thank you again.
Hello Tharbamar, can you help me? I have a Bryston 4b amp, and preamp, and neutral/ warm floorstanding speakers with all MIT cables xlr interconnects, and 1 Cardas xlr cable from my dead cd-player. I want to buy a DAC, Witch DAC wout you recomment for my system. The Topping E70 Velvet, or the Sabaj A20D 2022 model. I like a musical Dac, withe a wide and deep soundstage, musical, and not to bright . I want a Quality, build Dac for a affordable price. Please can you give me some advice, or recommendation, Thank you for al your great videos.
Maybe you should also test DAC's preamplifier performance. This one is flat and hard sounding. I t would help because some of us use it as preamplifier with variable output directly connected to powered speakers. DAC mode is what you are all talking about, and that's not fair to hose of us who mistakenly think it's all going to be just as good as you described it. I learned that preamp functions at this price point are purposely poorly implemented.
None of the DAC with volume control never sound good, you must be new to my channel because I’ve stated many times that I don’t like DAC as PreDAC, only decent one was Loxjie D50 the rest is just gain control, just to clarify.
Hi I am getting one preowned Denafrips aries 2 at the price for Topping E70 velvet I am confused Pls suggest for which dac should I go Regards Guru From India❤
E70 Velvet is better in sound than Smsl D400EX in my experience. Not sure about SU10 (which may be a bit too soft mid range). E70 Velvet is great imho.
@@Tharbamar Hi Tharbamar, do u know if the HAP-Z1ES can be connected to the computer via USB? I have not been able to find info on it. is the DAC on it the same as TA-ZH1ES? Thanks!
Another nice review. Thank you. As a Topping fan consumer and assuming my listening room is not that refined and ready to identify subtles on sound quality, soundstage etc, I find a dilema: I started with the Topping D50S, jumped to the E30 and now I am very happy with my Topping E50 MQA, that you called "The King of Budget DAC" on you review (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-A8nOnizoXyo.html). I compared many times MQA on the Topping E50 vs Flac 48/24 on my Oppo BDP 105 and it was hard to find a winner, but, let´s say, Oppo took a little advange on some tunes, specially on female vocal. I assumed them as tiers. I kept the Oppo on my main set and put the topping E50 on a B set, together with a Mac Mini with Tidal/Audirvana as streamer. Watching Topping new products, I did not get apetite to upgrade to the Topping DX5, based on many reviews. And now comes to the scene the E70 Velvet, without MQA. If possible, could you make a comparison between E50 and E70V? Should be great for Topping fans like me, I presume.
I started with an E30, then got the E50. That was a great improvement. Now I'm waiting for the E70V to arrive next week. I am really curious. If it's nit to my liking it will go back to sender:)
How does it compare to R2R dacs around a 1K regarding stage depth and separation and timbre/tone? Additionally, how is the pre amp section if it has a variable output option?
It's pretty much comparable in sound with R2R DACs under $1k range, while R2R DAC will have a bit more air in highs, Pre and Bluetooth is just to have it there.
@@Tharbamar Thx. Using both a D70s and an Aune X8 with the Sparkos upgrade...the Aune X8 with Sparkos is nice. If the E70 is similar qualities, it would be desirable for me. More depth and refinement over what has been typical of chip based dacs. By itself, the Aune is a typical dac at its price point.
@@Tharbamar As to the Pre, I don't think any dac has a good pre unless they build in a separate power supply for the pre section. I think that may be the case with much higher priced units. XLR is a nice addition as well as a more variable volt output.
@@tallpaull9367 I think if they built the pre section with its own power supply, it could be better or at least as good as a good pre but it would add to the cost, size and weight perhaps? Most pre outputs are a secondary convenience rather than for outright performance. Some do better than others though. I think the one in my D70S is ok and would use it if I had to.
Have you considered that, while watching this video, you mainly listen through your own sound system? And I’m not even mentioning the characteristics of the other components involved here, like his speakers and the microphone. So you really can’t tell this DAC is ‘bass-heavy’.
@@Ampex1962 Well, I listened through Sennheiser hd280 pro which are monitoring headphones. And I do comment after I listened the same song, from the same room with different dac. So all my comments are comparatively to the other dacs in this channel really. And I make most of my purchases blindly tbh. And nailed it so far. And I think you are right in your comment I should have said 'comparatively'. ✌️
The E50 has more perceived depth than the rme , it’s also thinner and brighter sounding. Based on the reviews the E70 might be worth trying if you’re looking for a warmer sounding dac. However, no dac beats the versatility of the rme, It’s also probably more true to the original recording imho. I own the rme and e50.
